Dada, holding his breath.

In watching Sarah Palin (whoops, sorry, that's, "Alaska's Governor Palin") in her rare appearances before the American media, I've been extremely frustrated by her ability to evade answering questions posed to her. Generalities and obfuscation are the best we get from her.

A triumphant Joe Biden celebrating over Alaskan Governor
Sarah Palin Thursday night at debate's end? Dada thinks not.

I've been reading up on Thursday night's VP debate. For those of us expecting to see a battered, bludgeoned, bleeding Palin at the end, I feel implored to remind:

Americans are a compassionate people. Their sympathies often go out to the little "guy," the underdog, the ill-equipped, the under-prepared. Knowledge is not always something championed in American culture. Ignorance often is.

Sorry, I'm returning to the past, to the 2000 debates between Gore and Bush with, always, the media's post-debate assessments of Gore as the stiff who always came out 2nd to Bush because Bush "didn't fuck up as bad as everyone was expecting." It would be wise for all of us to remember that.

Also, expecting a stage flowing red with Palin's blood by the end of the evening, it's well to remind everyone Biden is being primed to be respectful at all times of the political neophyte; addressing her always as "Gov. Palin," and when she says something totally naive or stupid, which she seems likely she'll do, Biden is being coached to respond, "I'm not sure I understand what the good governor means."

And being thus prepared, we can chew on the experience of Andrew Halcro, who once debated Palin for governor of Alaska (and lost), to wit:

Sarah Palin brought something more effective than facts and figures to an agriculture debate in the Alaska governor's race. She packed an engaging disposition.

One of her opponents, Andrew Halcro, had memorized the complexities of the subject beforehand. He was super prepared. He might as well have stared out the window during the proceedings, for all it mattered.

"She did such a great job with just the glittering generalities and filling the room with her presence that people didn't care what she said about agriculture," Halcro says now. "Palin's a master at spending 45 seconds telling you what color the sky is," he adds, "and people will say, 'That's the greatest thing I ever heard.' "

So, thus prepared, while far less experienced than her opponent or her running mate McCain, Palin may at evening's end, have the media singing praises so reminiscent of the the 2000 Gore - Bush debates. "She didn't fuck up as bad as we expected."

Chew on that.

It was the worst of times, it was the best of times

While much of the nation is feeling nonplussed by recent events casting a pall of misery over most Americans, Dada would like to take a second to display his smugness. Why? Well, we know with the ever present threat of terrorism from overseas and economic terrorism from Wall Street and Washington, all of us must brace ourselves for the worst daily (as the government loves to constantly remind us).

But we in El Paso are feeling better and better. And we're feeling safer and safer. As the new wall grows longer on our Mexico border here each day, in an inverse relationship, our fears grows shorter. Week by week, month after month, more and more wall brings less and less chance of terrorists and other undocumenteds violating our borders, threatening our freedoms and taking our jobs in the lettuce fields of Salinas.

Add to that the further fortifying of El Paso and we shall ultimately have one of the safest, most militarized cities in the country. I'm referring, of course, to all the new growth being experienced at our very own little Fort Bliss, Texas. (And I don't expect our plans will be diverted no matter the outcome of November's presidential election.)

Here then are some of the benefits being reaped locally, thanks to the wonderful generosity of all American taxpayers.

Ft. Bliss, Texas:

• 2005 population: 9,300 soldiers with 15,000 family members
• 2012 population: 37,000 soldiers with 53,000 family members

• $5 billion in construction on and around Ft. Bliss

• by 2013, a total of $25 billion will have been injected into the local economy w/$6.3 billion annually after that

• a new Army medical center will be built
• a $54 million on-post mall with national chain stores constructed

• 53,000 new jobs are being created
  

So, to everyone out there, Dada extends a big "Thank you!" for the new security against foreign terrorists and our own domestic economic terrorists.

If things get really bad for you in Ohio, California, east Texas, etc., you may want to consider moving here. I'm sure we can put you to work. And our winters are mild, if you don't mind the military convoy-created traffic jams on our highways and the frequent background din of distant artillery blooming.

"Thumbs down!"

Well, gee, I fell asleep a little after noon. When I awoke, I glanced at the iPod Touch next to me. I might have fallen back asleep had I not glimpsed a note folded over it by Mrs. Dada. "The bailout vote failed!" it read.

The morning had seen me entertaining thoughts of shutting down Dada's Dally until after the election, at least, so much better could time be spent in the uncertainty that awaits all of us by retreating into the security of our little nuclear family -- Mrs. Dada, me, and editor Sam. But here, suddenly, was the unexpected news congress didn't cave to Bush and Paulson's threats of the horrendous future all of us face if we didn't stick further $billions up the asses of the people who brought us to this point. My faith in my former party of choice was restored. "Yay, democrats!" I rejoiced aloud to myself.

But wait a minute, as I ventured into the story, I found myself uttering, "WTF?" It was the republicans responsible for halting the insanity, not the democrats. At least, faith in my decision to desert my old party remained intact. (I just heard Obama hoping the rescue, as in "rescue" = heroic effort vs. "bailout" which has a criminal-out-of-jail connotation, can still be ironed out.)

So this afternoon I spent listening to Rachel Maddow. Her resident economist was relating how Paulson, in promoting his $700+bil bailout had said, "This shouldn't be punitive," (against the banking/investing industries.) And Rachel's economist was saying, "Why the hell not? It damn sure oughta be punitive!"

And by some freak accident (thanks to the people I would least suspect of supporting 'the little people'), I awoke from a nap to find the pigs on Wall Street had been invited to share in the miseries of Main Street.

To quote from an e-mailer over on Market Oracle...

“You see I am the person you were talking about. I have lived in a 1200 square foot home for 31 years and I served in the military for 4. I drive a truck for a living, 31 years and still going. I live below my means and try to always watch what I spend money for. In the end these people and every single government figure will be held accountable. I wish to God I could put each one of them in the electric chair and just pull the level down for full power. I would personally laugh as each one of them…fried. You say damn this man is crazy; no I am not crazy I just believe in vengeance and fairness. I am sick and tired of a crooked government and a crooked system.”

Whoa, those are some strong words. I don't know if I'd be willing to go so far as "full power" (especially in light of the cost of energy today). But then I might forgo one of the greater joys of my life, seeing these assholes fry.

So what comes next I can't say. (This may speed the need for a terrorist action by the government, if only to prop up a sinking McCain candidacy but more than likely K-Street lobbyists will work overtime to get this bill passed with a few minor changes.)

But for now, it helps to know we might be in the company of the bastards who brought us to this point as the entire nation sinks into lower expectations -- thanks to them.

Adios, Paul Newman

Cool Hand Luke - 1967 - "I didn't want to do pictures about explosions.
I don't want to do pictures about shattered glass and broken bodies
and blood. That just doesn't interest me." Paul Newman 1925 - 2008

********

"What we've got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach, so you get what we had here last week which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it." (As spoken by the Captain of Road Prison 36 in the movie Cool Hand Luke.)

I don't know how many thousands of Americans Cool Hand Luke inspired with his defiance of authority, but it came along in the middle of the Vietnam War. While Luke was slight of stature in the movie, he was a giant among bigger men surrounding him. It was a film about challenging those in control at every possible opportunity.

Maybe it should be re-released here in this New American Century.

Dada's angry comment.

"A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People. " ~ Declaration of Independence

***********

OK, I honestly didn't expect the bailout yesterday (Thursday). Why? Too early. Congress does it's best work after the 5:00 o'clock whistle blows on a Friday night and folks are out the doors to seek two days of distraction, any distraction(!) after successfully making it through another fucking week of servitude to the Parties That Wrecked The Nation.

And WTF? Which Universe did I wake up in this morning? After reassurance by Nancy Pelosi the House would make a deal facilitating Bush's penultimate act (more on that in a minute) -- stealing the Treasury -- the headlines in today's paper read "NO DEAL ON BAILOUT - Dems blame Republicans!" (I must have slept on my wrong side all last night!)

So once more, it is the minority republicans controlling the debate? Well, as Mrs. Dada suspects, rather than either party giving much of a fuck (my words, not hers) for the republic, they are just posturing ala the biggest congressional posturer of all, John McCain.

We'll find out how seriously congress is taking Bush's latest threat, i.e., his promise of the terror of total financial meltdown if they don't once more give him his way, by whether or not they make a deal. If they do, it will most likely come after hours tonight. And if they do, for Christ's sake, watch out for any last minute small print insertions to what may be the nation's most important document since the late, great U.S. Constitution this very body bludgeoned and left bleeding to die in the gutters of a crumbling America.

As to the stealing of the Treasury by Bush as his penultimate act? Well, once stolen, Bush & Co. will serve up one more huge distraction from his financial disasters that will likely leave dispossessed Americans who've lost their jobs, health insurance, savings, retirements, vehicles and homes thinking that's nothing compared to what comes next -- a searing new war with Pakistan, Iran, Venezuela, Bolivia, North Korea, France or Russia -- or all of 'em simultaneously (did I leave out China? -- sorry).

Nothing like a new trumped up war or some false flag terrorism to steal our attentions from our miseries as Bush steals the bank. Which leaves one final question in Dada's mind:

In that the Bush administration has less than four months remaining in office and, in that a new administration will appoint a new secretary of the treasury, why is it secretary Paulson needs desperately $700 billion - and needs it now! (without oversight or accountability for how he spends it)? Does he plan to spend it all before he leaves town the end of next January? Whoa! What a man! To be able to spend $700 billion in under four months (remember, he can 'top up' - get more - under the original Bush proposal if he needs it) must make the bastard who helped bring us this collapse just about the most powerful mother fucker on Earth!

But first Bush must get this financial scheme deal done. Then he can focus on the *Final Act* of his administration. The big distraction, and the legacy he leaves for his successor -- a nation in shambles.

***********

(Remember: "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." -- Declaration of Independence, 1776)

Quotes of the Day:

It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.
(Emilio Zapata.)

Wait, wait! Before we come to a definite conclusion, let us try crawling on our bellies first.
(2008 democratic controlled congress.)

(NOTE: OK, I confess...Dada is upset. He made up paragraph two.)

And De Bate Goes On!

We're supposed to have dinner with friends tomorrow night. Plans were made a couple weeks ago. But since then the first debate between McCain and Obama was scheduled. It was planned to take place this Friday night. So Mrs. Dada e-mailed our dinner friends, offering 'em an out should they want to watch the debate. She received a reply, "It's not a debate if only one shows up." (Apparently there may not be a debate.)

Our friend makes a good point. But a football game doesn't fold if one team's quarterback can't make it. There are other QB's that can come in, in his place. So in the event McCain will opt out (because he's joining us for dinner?), maybe Obama could go ahead without him anyway?

There are back-ups just itching to be in the game. Folks like Bob Barr, Alan Keyes, Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney. I suppose I'm being, like, way sarcastic. That'd probably be far too risky for Obama. Plus it would probably add legitimacy to third parties as well -- the bane of the two major parties.

Interestingly, I happened upon a Ralph Nader video comparing McCain and Obama. Surprisingly, they are alike on a number of major issues. So opening the discussion to other parties might make the debate far more interesting, even if McCain doesn't show. It might even expose us to ideas not being discussed between the two major candidates.

I have a thought. Maybe third party candidates could be allowed to participate in the debates and if either the republican or democrat felt uncomfortable with them there, they could wear blinders just like race horses. (You know, blinders, like trainers put on some of their edgy horses to keep 'em from getting nervous or spooked?)

***

That aside, I wonder what it says about a nation that allows a judge to intervene in bankruptcy court hearings to modify a loan (such as lowering an interest rate so the owner can afford to pay the mortgage), but that only applies to a second home but not a primary residence?

And what does it say as we learn in an article on Truthout (from Nomi Prins at Mother Jones) about the power of the treasury secretary by giving him control of $700 billion to bailout sick companies but, as the fine print of Section VI of the bill authorizing such reveals, that's "$700 billion outstanding at one time." I guess that means if his $700 billion is running low, he can just top it back up to $700 billion again, right?

Well, minutia aside, I'd like to highlight what Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Ohio) had to say about the $700 billion plus rescue scheme being debated on the floor of the House. She did a great job.

When you talk in tongues, you talk to Dada, and believe me, brothers and sisters, I hear you!

Oh My GOD!! Dada just saw the trailer for the movie Religulous
(pronounced sorta like Caligula if it had an "s" on the end of it). I learned
that sometimes when preachers talk in tongues, they talk to Dada!

You can hear one talk to Dada here, or here, .....

... & here. Truthfully, the tongues talking guy? I didn't understand
a word he said to Dada. "Sorry, were you talking to me?" I asked.
[Of course he was! And while I didn't understand what the Hell
he was saying/asking, the really important thing was I heard him.]

Actually, the above links send you all to the same place, kinda just
like all those prayers from all those different religions globally
probably link to the same place (i.e., if anyone's really listening).

Note: One caveat -- if you choose to watch the trailer, it may
contain doses of blasphemy depending on your tolerance for
or against intolerence (???). But Dada found president Bush's
part to be the most impressive clip of the lot of 'em! After all,
how could we have gotten to this point in our history without him?

Bless his heart, George Bush tries so hard, doesn't he? But while
he talks to me and I can hear him, just like the preacher in above
trailer for the movie who speaks in tongues, I can't understand
a fucking word Bush is saying either.

NOTE: Images courtesy of disbeliefnet.com which co-opted 'em from someplace else, I suppose.

What a difference a Universe makes!

In parallel Universe #37 (just one over from our own), Condoleezza Rice fulfilled her parent's wildest dream they'd prayed for her since childhood -- she became a world renown concert pianist!

In our own Universe however, prayers are sometimes answered as they are misheard, i.e., Condoleezza Rice became her parents worst nightmare -- she became a world despised disconcerted penis.

U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice says the west must stand
up to Moscow's "bullying."

"The picture emerging from this pattern* of behavior is that of a Russia increasingly authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad," proclaims Rice.

* "Russia’s intimidation of its sovereign neighbors, its use of oil and gas as a political weapon, its threat to target peaceful nations with nuclear weapons, its arms sales to states and groups that threaten international security, and its persecution—and worse—of journalists and dissidents and others."


(Condoleezza Rice, who carries a "big stick"
but lives in an empire made of straw.)

*****

As we prepare to enter the new world of collapsed empire.

Regular readers here at Dada's know I repeatedly make reference to the future home of me, Mrs. Dada, and editor Sam. In light of current news, I thought I'd share with readers a photo which its file reveals, coincidentally, was taken exactly one year ago today during a walk Sam and I took that morning. (The foothills are much, much greener this September, thanks to the plentiful rains last month.)


The overpass is a very nice place under which to take shelter from the elements. It has a great view of the foothills leading up to the Franklin Mountains that slice into the mid-section of El Paso, splitting it in two.

With a large number of bodies huddling there against the winter cold, it should be warm and "cozy." But just as that is its advantage against the elements, that may be its problem, i.e., competition for space beneath the bridge will be very, very contested. Occupancy may be determined by violent contests between folks vying for residence each night.

Right now the overpass enjoys quick access to the 7-11 (on the right in photo above), but with little traffic due to little or no gas availability, I expect that to be closed, same as the two grocery stores about a mile in either direction. And without fuel, traffic on the freeway above our "bedroom" should be mostly pedestrian and those fortunate to own bikes. In other words, much quieter than the cars now speeding past spewing noxious CO fumes.

Our primary concern will be the safety of our editor, Sam. As folks grow more and more hungry, I'm sure more and more folks will be eying him as a possible next meal. Such may be the concerns of us all in the world unfolding, courtesy of 'the party that wrecked America.'

To "The Party That Wrecked America" -- Let's give 'em eight more years to fix it!

It's difficult for me to conceive of people who would vote for another 4 or 8 years of those tax-cuts-and-smaller-government folks when they are now reaping the "rewards" of those policies. The fact is, we may not have another 4 or 8 years. We may not even have another 4 or 8 months of life as we knew it! The nation's in the middle of total economic meltdown!

As the saying goes, always, "Profits will be privatized, losses socialized," and boy are our pockets, our purses, our savings, our retirement accounts and net worths being socialized to bail out the bulls in the china shop! But in November, why not give 'em another 4 or 8 years?

I sometimes wonder if half of this nation is walking around *free* when they should be locked in a damn loony bin? (Sadly, they look much like the other half of us.)

Eight years ago November, we let "junior" in the House, left him its keys, gave him the keys to the liquor cabinet and family cars, along with all the credit cards and told him "No Parties!"

And what's been the result? After 8 years of Junior and his friend's drunkenness and binging in their orgies of excess, the cars have long ago been totaled, all the neighbors are pissed because the (global) neighborhood's been trashed, the credit cards are maxed out beyond their ability to repay and they've burned down the fucking House (-- the only thing saving it from foreclosure - nobody can afford to repossess it, to own it, or wants the damn thing).

But let's give the kids another 4 or 8 years. Now is no time to come home when everything's in smoldering, gutted ruins. Maybe John McCain, tapping into the experiences of his running mate Sarah Palin and his economic tutor, Phil Gramm (the architect of the Dec. 15, 2000, financial coup for Wall Street gluttons which have brought us to this meltdown point, can get the House back in order before Mom and Dad America come home in 2016?

I don't think so, but maybe as Gramm told us in July, we're not a nation in decline. Maybe those of us who would disagree are just part of that "nation of whiners" he described. After all, we're in the middle of what Gramm said is "a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy." (Now why does that remind me of Enron execs reassuring nervous employees and investors their company stock values were sound as management was deserting ship with suitcasefuls of proceeds from sales of Enron stock on the threshold of total worthlessness?)

Is this who we want as a possible Secretary of Treasury the next 4 o4 8 years? Is this the *change* McCain is offering us? The visions of a delusionary responsible for letting the pigs out of the barn?

Maybe. Maybe things aren't all that bad. Maybe Dada's just a doom and gloomer baby boomer suffering Phil Gram "mental recessions."

If you agree, then come November, why don't you Polyannas (or sadomasochists -- I can't decide which) give these guys another 4 or 8 years? They can't do much more damage then's already been done. Right, Sarah? (Save for total annihilation in a "nucular" war with Russia, of course. Huh Sarah?)

In the parallel Universe just next door to our own.

Notes from the parallel Universe (# 37) just one over from your own:

MORRISON FOR PRESIDENT?

The Doors
(Front row: Ray Manzarek - keyboards, Jim Morrison - vocals, John
Densmore - drums. Back row: Robby Kreiger - guitar, Dada - banjo)

Dada joined the Doors as a fifth member in late 1969. Playing tambourine and banjo
with the group only briefly, he left in 1970 just before the release of their fifth album
"Dada Hotel," which was renamed "Morrison Hotel" after his split from the group.

I wonder how many know in your Universe, had Jim Morrison lived, he would have eased out of the Doors (a group Dada had hoped unsuccessfully to take over and rename after himself) and away from rock n' roll entirely.

"That was my plan," says Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and co-founder, with Morrison, of the Doors from his home in Napa. "We'd get into film and then, after he turned 35, put Jim up for president."

According to Manzarek who met Morrison while they were attending UCLA film school, "No one can believe it, but no one knows Jim like I did back in the early days." And he was quite serious about a Morrison presidency.

As unlikely as it may have sounded back in the 60's, it was Manzarek who imagined someone from Hollywood likely becoming president one day. Regarding Jim Morrison as "an American prince," it was an easy leap to see Morrison in the White House.

"I thought in 1966 or '67 that at some point or another, someone from show business was going to be president," he recalls. "And somebody did: Ronald Reagan. I thought, 'Oh, god, no. Wrong guy.'"

But now for the good news: In the parallel Universe #37, Jim Morrison did not die. One result of that is there is nobody dying in Mexican drug wars here today as there is your Universe. (Drugs were legalized in the U.S. in the early 90's.)

(Follow up on the Doors members: Jim Morrison, after the Doors disbanded in late 1974, went into film making, followed by a stellar career in politics as two term senator from California and eight years as president. He is currently seated on the U.S. Supreme Court. Manzarek, Densmore, and Kreiger continued on with successful careers in the music industry. Dada, briefly a member of the Doors for less than six months, faded into oblivion in the 70's but continued to play the tambourine. Reemerging from obscurity in 2005 when he started an even more obscure blog entitled Dada's Dally. "Yep, I'm doing the same thing over here as I'm doing over there! Weird, huh?)

Alamogordo, NM: Where killing trumps laughing every time?

(Caution: Due to its strong sexual themes, the following links to the trailer for the movie "Horror In The Wind" may be unsuitable for viewing by children as well as the spouses of husbands or wives who may harbor latent non-heterosexual fantasies. Oh, and should I mention?....I have not seen this movie, so this should not be construed in any way as a recommendation by Dada. [But, damn, it looks interesting!])

A website that claims their movie has been labeled by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as, "More fun than gutting a moose!" has been banned by the sole Cineplex in Alamogordo, NM. Reason? It is just too political according to Russell Allen, owner of that city's Allen Theaters.

The ban of "Horror In The Wind" locally, which portrays a future U.S. presided over by it's evangelical president, Pat Robertson, and his vice president, James Dobson, is especially sad in that it was filmed in part in the city of Alamogordo.

According to Revision Studios, maker of "Horror In The Wind," of the ten movies being screened at Allen's cineplex, seven of them contain extreme violence. "They are offended by political comedy but have no problem screening wall to wall graphic violence," said writer director Max Mitchell. "I guess it's better to kill than laugh."

"Horror In The Wind" is scheduled for release next month.

A few things I learned today while folding the laundry.

Folding laundry is usually a boring task. But as I'm learning, podcasts on the iPod can
enhance the experience considerably -- and even enlighten while folding, that is, if you've
let the folding "pile up" so that you can hear an entire podcast. Today was such a day.

**********

Today's podcast while folding towels, T-shirts, and skivvies was from Terry Gross's, Fresh Air of a day or two ago. Her guest: Michael Greenberger - law professor at University of Maryland, former Director of Trading and Markets at the Commodity Futures Trading Commision.

Here then are just a couple of his points:

• Re the system here in the United States (system = "Crapitalism"): Always, "Profits are privatized, while losses are socialized." Let me say that again because it's probably the most important point of this entire blog: "Profits are privatized, while losses are socialized." Just a reminder that business is permitted to keep the obscene profits it reaps, but when their asses are on the griddle, forgiving Americans willingly throw ice water on 'em to save their butts (reality -- they have no choice). This probably explains the difficulty Americans have accepting socialism, i.e., it costs them billions and billions (trillions?) bailing out crapitalists -- costs they can ill afford. They never reap the benefits of true socialism (mostly because they can't afford to -- they're (we, us) are too busy throwing ice water on the asses of hogs or incompetents who brought us to this point who, of course, get to walk away from their messes with their golden parachutes and huge retirements while the rest of American's futures go down the fucking drain.)

• The reason the government will loan or give bail outs to all of these sinking ships week after week is to avoid the public learning the vanishing billions of dollars we think lost never actually existed in the first place! They were simply the inflated figures given to other scammers (and elated investors) to grow stock valuations or new scams on top of others. Always remember, after 4,000-5,000 years, the Egyptians rock solid pyramids still stand, while American's paper pyramid schemes are in total collapse.
  

• I'm omitting many other good points, but at the end of the program Greenberger was asked by Gross, "What can Americans do to best protect their savings in these most difficult of times?" to which Greenberger answered, "I am not qualified to answer that." (BTW, he gives the government's current efforts to save the economy/nation a 50/50 chance of success. ) "The best advice I can offer is for them to have their money in cash, in banks, but beware of their bank's financial security," he advised.

(Dada would only add, "And stock up on necessities so, while depleting them, you can seek out a solid freeway overpass under which to take up future residence.")

Today's Palin *Sing-A-Long*

Seems our friends, Steve and Kathy, just up north in way-south New Mexico, have been doing mischief with Steve's "satiric anthem about Sarah Palin's home town."

REDNECK FROM WASILLA
By Steve Klinger © 2008

We don’t eat arugula in Wasilla
We don’t get our kicks from crËme brulee
We do lots of praying for the end times
We know God protects the USA

I’m proud to be a redneck from Wasilla
A place with each and every big box store
We shoot our wolves and caribou from airplanes
And soon we’ll be drilling in ANWAR

We don’t write our memoirs in Wasilla
We’re pretty picky when it comes to books
We don’t believe in manmade global warming
And we like our mayors with good looks

We don’t use our football fields for speeches
We don’t have no Muslim middle names
We think evolution’s just a theory
We don’t trust politicians with big brains

And I’m proud to be a redneck from Wasilla
A place with each and every big box store
We shoot our wolves and caribou from airplanes
And soon we’ll be drilling in ANWAR


We shoot our wolves and caribou from airplanes
In Wasilla, Alaska, USA

Dish Satellite Update

I know this project is progressing slowly. I guess that's how I work. But Sam and I thought we'd share the progress so far on our Dish satellite "upgrade." Stay tuned. The painting part is not done yet. When it is, I hope to incorporate a small solar motor into it.

My main concern here is: The solar motor and related parts must attach very securely to the front armature, such that the strong winter/spring winds don't separate the solar pieces from the Dish, blowing next door into my Republican neighbor's driveway when he's outside, striking him in the head and killing him.

My neighbor may be a conservative, but after living side by side for 20+ years, I still like the guy despite his extreme flaws, like his simplistic views against anything that smacks of socialism such as public schools, highways, social security, healthcare for all (even though he gets his from the government), etc. etc.

This ain't your neighborhood WET N' WILD waterslide

The slippery slope that is the slide into "The Greatest Depression" is progressing nicely. (I love superlatives, e.g., The Pretty Good Depression of 1893, The Great Depression of the 1930's, and The Greatest Depression [and last?] of the 21st Century-- Dada's tag.)

Momentum is building while we get a surprise visit from Bush today. Sticking his head out of the hole in the east end of the White House lawn (where the hell's he been hiding the last 6 weeks?), he reassured us how the nation's underlying economic fundamentals are strong despite the abysmal abyss the rest of us are presently sinking into at lightening speed.

The administration is just trying to hold off the angry mobs until January 21, 2009, when they and their Wall Street cronies can legally get the hell out of town; to be reunited with their booty spirited out of the U.S. Treasury the past 8 years in places overseas (any places over seas) that don't subscribe to international treaties against war criminals.

Meanwhile, next (of the 'biggies') in line for the guillotine: AIG and Washington Mutual.

From today's economic tome over at Urban Survival comes the following tidbit where an e-mailer wrote to inquire what all of these bankruptcies and other ominous economic factors looming larger and larger on the horizon mean for us:

No retirement account or prospect of retirement, to begin with. A semi-nomadic life among the ruins is a kind of worst-case, but a high enough possibility to have good all-weather clothing and broken-in hiking shoes. But again, I always over prep for things.

You can test your preps easy enough any time by unplugging your phone, turning off your power, not using your checking account or credit cards - and don't forget to turn off the water, too. If you can get by for 90-days to a couple of years in this condition, I'd say you're about as well prepared as you can get.

On the other hand, if you can't, then relax because you've got...let me see....20 days to October 7th.

I won't even begin to go into October 7th (as in some kind of October surprise?), but suffice it for me to say, if this past weekend without drinking water in the neighborhood for a couple of days was any indication, our future will be very bleak indeed!

Fasten your seat belts. This will be the most amusingest of amusement rides.

Of paradises lost...

Tina Fey in the role of Sarah Palin this weekend on Saturday Night Live.

What a sad, sad revelation Saturday Night Live must have been to the Barrack Obama camp. After watching this skit I'm sure he and his political experts realized the grave error they made in selecting Joe Biden as his running mate. Instead, Obama should have selected Tina Fey!

What a brilliant stratagem that would have been. Like something straight out of the (George) Bush Doctrine playbook. In a strike that would have totally preempted McCain's snickering choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate, Fey would have likely resulted in a McCain/Lieberman, or some other more conventional ticket. Instead, by not choosing Fey as his vice presidential choice, Obama conceded the shock and awe to McCain. The result? An Obama campaign more devastated then the nation of Iraq.

Besides aborting McCain's first choice for vice president before he could have birthed it, Fey makes a far better looking Sarah Palin than Sarah Palin herself. She can also act, so when asked if she feels qualified to conduct foreign policy based on her ability to see Russia across the Bering Strait or her visit "overseas" to Canada, I'm sure she would have sounded far more convincing than Palin saying, "Hell yah -- I'm ready to be president!"

Even more valuable is Fey's experience as comedy writer and performances before live audiences as a comedian. Imagine how less provocative might her treats sound to the Russians, seasoned with some laughs, that if they don't stand down she and her NATO brothers may have to go "nuculur" on their Red asses. Why, Dada can even imagine Putin chuckling at that! 

Sadly, the Obama camp can now only rue their choice of Biden for VP. But not to feel too badly, however. That's because democratic party followers take politics a little more seriously than their sarcastic republican opponents whose choice of Palin mocks the entire political system, even if it means sacrificing the nation's future. But that's the price they are willing to pay for victory.

Democrats would likely have abandoned an Obama/Fey ticket in droves had he so blatantly flipped off the serious consideration choosing a vice president demands. Sadly, therein lies the rub. Because Fey would have made a great VP!

Do you buy this? Do you swallow this shit? Quiz for El Pasoans at end of this blog

Water drawn from the kitchen this morning. Note the opa-
city of the water. Note the mud in the bottom of the bottle.

I'm not sure how much of this contaminated water Mrs. Dada or I, or thousands of other El Pasoans consumed yesterday before we noticed the water in our commodes looked horribly discolored, leading us to investigate the water coming out of our kitchen faucet.

On the evening news that asked, "Some El Pasoans are wondering, 'What's that coming out of my tap?' " we learned El Paso Water Utilities claimed it was a developer that had accidentally allowed dirt to get into the water lines. Dirt that is still coming into homes today in Northeast El Paso disguised as water.

Water drawn this morning from the "flushed" water lines.

The news also reported EPWU had "flushed the line" but this morning's water remains unpotable. Being as how it is our day to water the yard, I did so hoping that would clear the line from the street to our house. It has not.

Quiz for El Pasoans drawing shit through their pipes instead of water:
(Dada Note: Not to worry if you didn't study for this quiz. While there are definitely right or wrong answers, you will not be graded, but the possibility exists if you drink this crap you may be degraded.)

Are you swallowing this shit? If the water line has been flushed (with the implication it's okay to resume consuming it), why is our water still brown?

Are you buying this crap, i.e., are you going to pay your water bill compliantly without assessing a penalty on your water supplier, just as we buy anything the powers that be sell us from homes we can't afford to phony wars we can't either?

Did you make your coffee and oatmeal with this shit this morning? Will you wash your dishes in it? Do your laundry with it? Did you shower in it this morning? (You dirty bastards!! ~grin)

Will you charge EPWU for the bottled water you'll buy at the store (if you care about what you put in your body)? What if you get sick from drinking this shit?

Dada would love to sit down with EPWU and the developer allegedly responsible for this contamination and discuss it. Would they share with me, a pot of coffee made from this crap? More than likely not. Most likely they'd politely decline my offer and ask me to drink some of their Kool-Aid instead. (Made with their water, not mine, of course.)

Tying down loose ends

And who might that be?

This past week Mrs. Dada was solicited via a MoveOn political action group to participate in their campaign to knock on "a million doors for peace" and talk to voters about Iraq. The idea is to enlist people across the nation to go out on Saturday 20th and talk to their neighbors about ending that war.

Before signing up, however, Mrs. Dada wrote them asking, "If asked for the name of a candidate who might prevail upon the Washington powers that be to bring an end to the Iraq war, whose name might she respond with?" She is still waiting a reply.

And Dada wonders if four years from now this group might have to repeat their ambitious effort to end the war in Afghani- and Paki- stan?

Ooh, could you sing for me too?

Yesterday afternoon while in the middle of a Scrabble game with Mrs. Dada, we were interrupted by Charles Gibson interviewing our next vice president(?), Sarah Palin. Her repeated obfuscation served up in her answers to Gibson's questions were annoying at the least, scarier than hell at the most.

We learned she didn't know what the Bush Doctrine is. But we also discovered you can actually see Russia from someplace in western Alaska which, right after her visit to Canada is sufficient experience to validate her foreign affairs expertise, hence, to blow the shit out of Iran on behalf of the Israelis.

(NOTICE: Dada can see Juarez from El Paso and, should McCain win the election, please note I plan to vie for the ambassadorship to Mexico at the least, or the State Department's chargés d'affaires of all of Latin America at most.)

The deeper Gibson and Palin got into the interview, the more and more I found myself thinking of Britney Spears and her sweet yet very dangerous political naiveté. Maybe my confusion was why I was expecting Palin to grace us with a few bars of "Hit Me Baby One More Time."

Curious side note: After the interview, we resumed our Scrabble game and Mrs. Dada immediately hit me with an 8 letter word: n-a-i-v-e-t-é!

Hmm, synchronicity? I think not!

It's Friday! Time for another government "weekend surprise"?

Well, after last Friday night's government surprise, i.e., to take control of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to the tune of untold tens of billions more dollars to American tax payers, I'm wondering if this might be the Friday (after everyone goes home distracted with plans for their weekends, of course) that the government jumps in to bail out Lehman Brothers? (Dada's not sure how many more of these bailouts he, we, can afford but apparently when it comes to saving fat greedy cat's asses, money is no object for me, for you.)

Seems there are a couple of interested buyers in the market for drowning-in-debt Lehman -- like Bank of America for one. The only thing needed to dissolve Lehman's insolvency is some guarantee from the government they'll bail out whoever decides to buy the dying beast if that decision turns out to be a very, very bad idea.

As Dada is learning, when it comes to rescuing folks in trouble, American taxpayers find totally unacceptable witnessing helpless, drowning crapitalists, yet don't share that same compassion for their own sinking masses in crises (of whom we are all a part).

Your hard-earned tax dollars at work? (Or, "Sex, Lies and Videotape"?)

Kevin Moloney for The New York Times

Office of the Minerals Management Service outside Denver. “A culture of substance abuse and promiscuity”

Best place in America to work? (Free work place tickets to major concerts, sporting events, paint ball, golf,
all-you-can a.) drink alcohol, b.) smoke marijuana, c.) snort cocaine...and much, much more! During work hours!

Dada, perhaps out of his own self-naivetés, likes to believe if Americans really knew more about the workings of government, its lies, the truths being secreted away from the public in files forever marked with 'national security' or 'above top secret' designations, the corruptions engaged in at so many levels of the greatest "democracy on Earth," there would be a tremendous coming together of most Americans, right and left, in outrage of just how this country conducts itself on our behalf.

OK, I confess, my middle name is Polyanna, I live at an undisclosed address somewhere in the middle of a place called "Wonderland" and I overestimate American's capacity to be outraged, much less come together to do something about it.

That's why it's probably best the major mainstream media are downplaying the story of the scandal at the Interior Department because it's obviously just another hard working agency staffed with Americans just like us working their asses off, day in, day out, trying to make an honest living like the rest of us.

After all, what would be the incentive to get up and go to work in jobs that so many of us find tedious, unchallenging and under-rewarding if we didn't have those little surprise rewards like free tickets to concerts and sporting events, drunken parties with all the free booze, weed and cocaine your heart desires to look forward to while working? Ooh, and don't forget the wonderful, expensive gifts, financial bonuses and those exciting and surprising sexual trysts with oil and gas industry reps, or your own workplace subordinates.

No wonder Americans don't give a shit what their government representatives are doing on their behalves while at work. Americans are doing the same at their own workplaces I guess. So much for the myth of the drudgery of work.

The Passing of a Legend. "Farewell Coach!"

Tuesday the doors to the Special Events Center that bears his name on the University of Texas, El Paso, campus were opened several hours. During that time, 5,000 friends and fans filed past Coach Don Haskins lying in state there.

UTEP basketball coach Don Haskins, aka "The Bear."
photo courtesy of the El Paso Times

In my youth, I had never been a fan of college basketball. Any basketball for that matter. Attending my high school's basketball games was most always a dismal lesson in humility, so out manned and outsized was our little school's team. The two years of junior college basketball that followed were pretty much the same.

But then I found myself in the winter of 1965-66 living in an army barracks in the southern New Mexico desert. When I wasn't shining boots and brass, there was sometimes a basketball game on in the darkened TV room of my 2nd floor "apartment" I shared with 80 other guys. Sometimes the game showing was that of the local school, Texas Western College (later to become UTEP). Unlike all my previous experiences with basketball in high school and JC, seeing this team was different. That's because, strangely, they won. And won regularly and often! Only once in an otherwise perfect year did the Texas Western Miner team falter and lose late in the season to the University of Seattle.

The real significance of that special TWC basketball team came at the end of that season in the spring of 1966 when those Miners faced the University of Kentucky in the NCAA National Championship game. As all basketball fans know, it was significant because for the first time in the history a team with an all African American starting line-up faced off with the heavily favored all white basketball team from the University of Kentucky. During the Miner's post game 72-67 upset cutting-down-of-the-nets victory celebration, I had a sudden epiphany: I realized over the past four months, the Texas Western men's championship team had made me a fan of college basketball! What I had witnessed time and again over those four months was a David repeatedly slewing a long list of Goliaths.

The story of that year, the coach, and his team, was documented in the 2006 movie Glory Road. Don Haskins went on to build his Hall of Fame record (719-353) in what I consider another of his remarkable accomplishments rarely heard of any more these days, i.e., he spent his entire 38 year college coaching career at the same university! (Since his retirement in 1999, UTEP has had four head basketball coaches. Three have gone on to head coaching jobs in China, U. of Nebraska, and, yes, ironically, Kentucky.)

Anecdotes

This past week have seen hundreds of Coach Haskins stories emerge. Here are but a few.

• In the 1970-90's, as students at UTEP, then alumni, Mrs. Dada and I attended many years of Coach Haskin's very successful basketball teams. We were there the night of December 16, 1989 when Coach and his great friend (and rival that evening) came out wearing the other's usual courtside apparel. Bobby Knight in a Haskins coat and clip on tie (which Knight ripped off in the style Haskins was so noted for doing) and Coach Haskins in Knight's famous red Indiana sweater.

"There was never anyone like him before and there will never be one like him again."
(Bobby Knight. photo courtesy of the El Paso Times)

• "You knew you were somebody if you were offered a truck ride with Don Haskins, and to Haskins a lot of people were somebodies. Sportswriters and broadcasters. The star in "Glory Road," Josh Lucas. UTEP football coaches, like Gary Nord, who relates how one time he and Coach were out in the boonies and they passed the international boundary sign. Nord mentioned that the sign said guns were not allowed in Mexico, and there were rifles in the pickup bed.

" 'Aw, they all know me here,' " Haskins said as he puttered around the sand, in an out of two countries."
(El Paso Times)

(NOTE: The border wall now being constructed between El Paso and Mexico will see to it such occasions will never happen again.)

• "An outstanding free-throw shooter in college, Haskins tried his luck as the UTEP coach once. In a game at Arizona State, in the days when they still left the ball rack at the end of the bench, Haskins grabbed a ball and sauntered out to the free-throw line while play was going on at the other end of the floor. He shot - and made - two free throws. When the official asked him what the hell he thought he was doing, Haskins dead-panned: 'Just shooting the two free throws we should've gotten when we were down on this end the last time.' " (Courtesy El Paso Times)
  
  

• "UTEP - with no recruiting base, no media attention and substandard budgets - had no business winning much of anything," sports columnist Dan Wetzel said. "No coach did more with less, maximized his talent and made strange parts fit better than 'The Bear.' " (From CBS Sportsline.com which in 2001 named Don Haskins the greatest Division I men's basketball coach of all time.)

Farewell, Coach! And thanks for all the wonderful memories.

It wouldn't be Texas if.....

....we didn't allow teachers to carry concealed weapons into their public school classrooms. (Making totally obsolete the book Classroom Discipline 101 - How to Get Control of Any Classroom No Matter How Tough the Students.)

It wouldn't be Texas if: they didn't allow hunting in the suburbs. "Police in cities like McKinney say they're now trying to educate neighbors about the right to fire shotguns or rifles under certain conditions..."

(Apparently some residents in these neighborhoods, like Lori Castoldi of Prosper, TX, have a real problem being awoken in the middle of the night by gunfire. "I'm afraid for my kids. I don't get it," she said.)

It wouldn't be Texas if: the 2005 state legislature hadn't passed a law forbidding growing suburbs to make discharging firearms within their city limits illegal.

(Some residents in the growing suburban community of McKinney, pop. 115,000 thirty miles north of Dallas, are complaining about their houses being hit by shotgun pellets. Dada feels those complaining ought to act like real Texans and just "Buck it up!" After all, Dick Cheney on a duck hunting trip filled his drinking buddy's face with buckshot when he mistook him for a walrus and you didn't hear him whining about it, didya?)

10 seconds at power level 4?

How many of you have put something in the microwave for a minute or so to heat and gone about some other business only to realize several minutes later the microwave is still running? And when you check it to see, it still has 7 minutes, 37 seconds to go! I do this occasionally, the result of inattentiveness when entering my heating time.

Sadly 28 year old China Arnold has just learned such carelessness will cause her to spend the rest of her life in prison without chance of parole.

The fact that Arnold admitted during her trial she had been drinking and arguing with her boyfriend about whether or not he was the father of her one year old daughter, Paris Talley, did little to save Arnold for the death of that daughter. You see, Paris was killed by over microwaving.

China claims she is innocent. Maybe she is. Knowing, as I suspect many of us do, how easy it is to enter a wrong time, maybe China Arnold, distracted by drinking and fighting with her boyfriend, misentered the time the time she intended to zap little Paris by punching in 20 minutes instead of 20 seconds?

"The triviality of our own existence" found serendipitously at mid-field during pre-game coin flip

Pre-Game Coin Toss Makes Jacksonville Jaguars Realize Randomness Of Life

"Free the Cuban Five" ... who's that?

President Bush reaffirmed Sunday through his secretary of state and former Chevron oil tanker, Condoleezza Rice, that he will continue the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba, but that he would be responsive "to a Cuban regime that is prepared to release political prisoners (and) has a process to get to free and fair elections."

Dada believes Bush would like to see how such a system might work by Cuba trying it out first before implementing such reforms in the U.S.

Tsk, tsk, Joe!

the following from Truthout:

"A sometimes angry Sen. Joe Biden on Friday railed against the 'abject failure' of
Republicans to help middle-class Americans cope with shrinking wages,
job losses and the rising cost of gas, groceries, health insurance and
college."

Dada would only add the following omission an angry Biden might have also said:

"And I had absolutely no idea how adversely the far tougher bankruptcy law would
affect middle and lower class Americans when I advocated for its passage on behalf
of my credit card and banking industry lobbyists in 2005."

What if this is as good as it gets?

Or subtitle: "Friday nights and Mondays always get me down" (from a 70's lyric by Paul Williams and Dada)

A U.S. archetypal failed bank. Model for more coming very soon?

Isn't it great how sometimes the most exciting news comes from the centers of finance and/or government on Friday evenings just after the stock markets have closed and folks are on their ways to wonderful weekends?

This Friday evening was one of those biggies. In order to avoid a panicky sell off on Wall Street, the government waited to release news of their intent to announce today they will oust the top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and place these companies which control $5.3 trillion in mortgage debt in government conservatorship. Investors, who have seen these stocks fall 89.7% and 91.4% respectively in the last 12 months (and were off an additional 20% of their closing prices in post-market trading Friday evening), can expect to lose even more when markets resume trading tomorrow. Foreign market's reactions to this latest financial train wreck should also be interesting.

So what exactly does this mean? Well, tighten your seat belts because what will follow will likely be the government's largest (ah, "government" being "we the people") bailout ever. While the exact cost is not known, estimates are it will cost us in the tens of billions of dollars.

Dada is thankful we live in the richest nation on Earth, able to expand our global empire and ambitions to the tune of several trillions of dollars while simultaneously bailing out endless institutions costing Americans hundreds of billions more.

But I wonder if maybe the recent high price of gasoline isn't the result of increased competition for oil from the U.S. Treasury needing to print greater and greater supplies of money from oil based inks for their presses running 24/7 at its mints?

My only regret is our current wars which I always thought could be carried on endlessly without any sacrifice by those of us on the home front -- save for those who expend vast amounts of energy to honk their car horns in support of peace demonstrators they occasionally pass on the sidewalks of America -- may have been a misconception.

Could it be our global hubris will extract sacrifices from each of us far more costly than the yellow ribbons on the rear ends of SUVs and drive by honkings?

Fasten your seatbelts. This ride is just beginning to get interesting.

And right here, right now? Could it be this is as good as it gets?

Ooh, I'm so confused!!

What a brilliant McCain stratagem!

Suddenly the U.S.'s race for president, a race that's been going on for two or three years now is finally getting interesting - and confusing. That's because John McCain has announced he, McCain, is the candidate of change!

Now how am I suppose to decide who in the fuck to vote for?

American politics continue to devolve to their basest level, i.e., the level of the electorate. “Oink, oink,” - “Hee-haw, hee-haw!” (Sorry, no offense intended towards pigs and asses (nor dogs, slugs, and slime molds -- all obviously more highly evolved than Man.)

Actually, I’m thinking a McCain/Palin presidency (and I’m pretty sure McCain won’t complete his first term - skin cancers - he spent way too much time lying around in the sun in the late 60's, early 70’s) will probably bring America to the place it needs to be quicker than an Obama presidency, i.e., it will expedite the end of Empire, the end of the nation and allow us to move on towards whatever America’s destined to become — Third World Nation, a Chinese satellite, or a grand pack of post apocalyptic neo-Neolithic Cro-magnon mutants wondering at our uncontrollable urge to try to chip perfectly round wheels from stone.

With McCain's announcement he is the real candidate of change, the election is suddenly cast in a totally different state. A state of confusion, making the decision who to vote for almost impossible.

Suddenly the candidate's VP choices really do matter. Enter Palin! And who better and more likely to get us where we need to go as a nation than Palin as probable 45th (and last) president of the nation?

So onward Americans! We will have the leadership and ultimately the nation we deserve.

It's that time of year again and the fall fashions are arriving in full force!

Coming this fall: Softer handled clubs (officers had reported instances of callouses after
prolonged beating of protesters); floral scented pepper sprays and tear gases; Tasers
that play the chorus from the Beatles song "All You Need is Love" between discharges.

Unveiling of the latest 2008 Autumn martial-style wardrobes and gear is now underway across the United States. And the theme this year is definitely retro!

Law enforcement agencies across the country are scrambling to outdo one another in their race toward the more nostalgic militaristic looks so reminiscent of the 30's and 40's. And they're enlisting some of the biggest names in the industry to do it. Designers like Claiborne and Versace.

Last week's Democratic National Convention in Denver gave hints of what we might expect to see in police departments around the country this fall.

While not outwardly apparent, but following Liz DuBois' advice, we learned that layering can instantly update a simple yet authority dripping black uniform as some departments of Denver law enforcement were secretly adorned in hipster chic scarves and bling under those uniforms.

One officer coming off duty proudly sported a flashy gold flapper top paired with short shorts beneath his uniform while slipping into a pair of T-strap flats.

"It's all vintage," he said proudly. "As Amy Van Doran reminded us, it helps sensitive officers like myself stay in touch with their feminine side."

"And it's less frightening to those we look in on when off duty whom we hospitalized during work with broken ribs and fractured skulls," he said softly yet without hint of regret. "It's all in a day's work, you know?" he sighed.

Now with the opening of the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, a number of police there have been spotted wearing the latest jackboots. Reminiscent of World War II aristocratic Nazi officer's riding boots they come not only with the traditional 'skull buster' steel toes, their steel plated 'rib-cracker' heels add an ominous warning as they march in storm trooper unison toward unruly anarchists like yesterday's "Democracy Now!" - Amy Goodman mob . A mild jingling from the George Bush wild, wild west, "bring 'em in dead or alive" spurs add an extra twist of terror to rioters as police approach, so anxious to show off their authority and latest fall fashions.

As one Minneapolis officer said of his new softer leathered boots, "These are so much more comfortable, I feel like I could do this my entire shift," demonstrating his "Let me kick you hard with my hate" technique.

Anyone busted or broken by our nation's men and women in black (and blue) and who may have noticed other fashion statements in the process, please feel free to share them here.

Anyone else smell fascism wafting through the air?

"Hold right there! She's under arrest. Stay right there. Back up! Back up! "

Another officer: "Anyone who crosses this line you'll be under arrest so don't do it." (This was an open invitation by the police for all to cross their fucking line but, sadly, it was lost on the somnambulists present.)

Below is an excerpt from the arrest of Demoncracy Now! journalist Amy Goodman.



While the "Spirit of '76" is seemingly absent in this corpse of a nation, I'd like to thank Minnesota's Ramsey County Sheriff's Department for tickling the brain cells of sleeping Americans with their brazen arrest of Amy Goodman late this afternoon. It is actions such as their's that cross the line.

NOTE: Amy Goodman has been released. No word on her producers, if they have also been freed or renditioned to another country for further questioning.