The New School Prayer...

...was read by the principal of a high school here in Athens, GA last week. He says that he just wanted to inspire debate, but you tell me if it blurs the line between church and state:

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule.

For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.

And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.

The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.

In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.

They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the "unwed daddy,'' our Senior King.

It's "inappropriate'' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such "judgments'' do not belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.

But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.

So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot, my soul please take!

Amen.

Where to start with this thing! I thought that crime was down in schools. And what of zero tolerance laws? And, well, I can't go on. There's just too much.

Cop out!

I'm spent.

I no longer have anything interesting to say, it seems. I don't want to talk politics. I talk music all day for a living, so no there. I guess I've got to go back to my roots, talking about my life. How exciting for you, dear reader!

This video store job I've got is not nearly as slow as I'd like. Sure, there's a procession of friends, foes, and cute girls coming in and out all of the time, but we have to do actual work all of the time. And that sucks. Mind you, it's not particularly hard work, but it is work nonetheless. Sometimes you just want to pop in a movie, like Frankenfish, kick back on a broken stool, and relax, you know? Clerks was a total misrepresentation of the facts! My Fridays are 15-16 hour work days. Yuck.

We went to the north GA mountains for Thanksgiving, and it was mighty nice. I think the thing that makes most vacations relaxing is the fact that you're not surrounded by all of your crap nagging you: "Fix me! Clean me! Organize me!" I had planned on doing some reading, but that didn't happen. I managed to avoid any political fights with the in-laws, which was good, but there were some heated football disagreements. Me, I'm pro-T.O. My father-in-law...not so much. My wife bought me some embarrassingly tight jeans.

Um, that's it for right now.

My wife is the best.

Seriously.

Donkey Konga...

...is awesome. Mame bought it for me as an early Christmas present, and we had a blast at an early Thanksgiving dinner we had last night. My hands are raw from clapping so much. Mame is really good at it, and, if she practiced, she might be better than me. After a delicious turkey + vegan feast (which my lovely wife and friends prepared), we threw down on those plastic bongos. Reno Melons himself was quite the bongo player, a regular Matthew McGonaghey, if you will, but J. from next door proved herself a master of "Whip It." General consensus is that the "Hungarian Dance in G minor" is the coolest because of its surprising pace changes. I like the Blink 182 song, "All The Small Things."

Congrats to Atlanta for garnering the coveted 3rd Most Dangerous City in America Award. You go!

Out of my sepulchre.

My life was sequestered by jury duty last week, and though I would love to go into the details of the case with you, I have neither the time nor the wherewithal. Let's just say that it involved teenagers and "touching" and was emotionally exhausting. I'm not sure how much I should say about it anyway, but I'll probably spill the beans on a later date.

These days I feel like I just don't have enough time for anything, the most important being hanging out with my wife. I had to work on her birthday, for Pete's sake, although that scheduling foible was mitigated by the fact that it was Girls' Night Out.

Venice Is Sinking has played three shows in less than a week (we have one tonight at Tasty World), and though they've gone well, I'm glad that we seem to be slowing down for a while. Maybe we'll actually finish the record!

This Theo Van Gogh thing is disturbing. Liberals such as myself need not forget that Islamic fundamentalists can be horrible, bloodthirsty people.

Condi Rice as Secretary of State? Please. This is a woman who refuses to be held accountable for anything. I'm sure that the rest of the world tacitly hates her because of her association to the president. Why couldn't W. get James Baker back? Oh, yeah, probably to shame the Democrats' record of not placing minorities and women in cabinet positions (and Bush has legitimately kicked the Dems' butts on this). Mor importantly, putting Rice in at State and keeping Rumsfeld means that the Bush administration admits no wrongdoing whatsoever with the conduct of the War on Terror and the War in Iraq (are these even separate entities anymore?). Colin Powell was a moderate. He's gotta go!

Happy Birthday!

Two of the coolest ladies in my life, my mom and my wife, are celebrating their birthdays today and tomorrow, respectively! Word to my mother!

Last night...

...I met a guy who said that Steve Miller stole all of his songs. This guy also said he wrote Purple Rain.

Saw Menomena last night.

Probably the best show I've seen all year.

In dark times, I turn to Bill Murray movies.

I don't know why, but thinking about these two quotes made me laugh today:

"This is pitiful. A thousand people freezing their butts off waiting to worship a rat. What a hype. Well, it used to mean something in this town. They used to pull the hog out, and they used to *eat* it. You're hypocrites, all of you! You have a problem with what I'm saying, Larry?"

"Gozer the Traveler. He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!"

My lady is sick.

And I hope she gets better soon. It makes me very sad.

I had to take her to the hospital yesterday, and they hooked her up with antibiotics. I yelled at her earlier that morning, although I was yelling at her to stay home. Then she collapsed. I felt bad about the yelling, even though I was right. She seems to be getting better, but having a sinus infection-induced headache for six days has to be horrible.

I hope she gets better soon.

This map is funny.

And so true.

The #1 issue.

The #1 issue facing this country and the world in general is probably environmental degradation, at least in terms of its immediate effect on us. It's a short- and long-term issue, and Bush has placated the polluters from the beginning. And yet we heard hardly a peep about it from Kerry. Sure, he mentioned it in the debates, and it's not a very popular issue, but it could be if all those families out there who voted for Bush based on fears for safety and security knew that their families' health is at a greater risk because of their "tough" president.

When candidates talk about "the environment" most people nod off, visions of Earth First-ers chaining themselves to trees and Greenpeace going after whalers dancing in their heads. But the environment means so much more. I've never heard a candidate adequately address issues of environemntal justice, that poor whites and blacks alike are dumped on, literally, by big-time polluters. There are Love Canals going on all of the time, and the media has moved along to bigger better issues. Of course, that happened to middle class white people, so...

I like this guy's thinking.

From a Salon article:

Alan Wolfe is a professor of political science and director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College. His most recent books include "The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Practice Our Faith" and "An Intellectual in Public."


The one thing we do not do is panic. With invective as treacherous and outrageous as any heaped at a candidate for national office in our history, John F. Kerry showed himself to be a man of courage, principle and commitment. He fought war against opponents who treat politics as warfare and came very close to winning. Of all the candidates who made themselves available, he was the best, and we should be grateful to him for his efforts.


The real disaster is on the legislative side. The country is in a very conservative mood, far more than I (for one) realized. For the first time in their history, Americans are about to experience what conservatism really means, and I am not sure they will be pleased with the results. As the next few years unfold, Democrats should talk about such ideas as stewardship, responsibility, long-term consequences and other such ideas that are conservative in their own way, not conservative politically, but temperamentally. We are about to experience a very radical turn in our history. Reminding Americans that their traditions also embody respect for our society as a whole -- for its historic values, its beauty, its sense of the common good -- is the kind of conservatism to which people will respond when this particular version of our long national nightmare is over.

Right on!

Screw the red states

You know what? I'm glad John Kerry didn't get the votes from people who actually believed the propaganda about the banning of the Bible. I'm glad he didn't get the votes of ignorance and hatred. The Dems should remind the red staters about how their slavish devotion to American corporatism is incredibly misguided and leave it at that. We shouldn't kowtow to people who obviously hate Americans and real American values. Call me elitist, but Democrats shouldn't sacrifice their souls to win elections like that. The DLC has already brought the party too far to the right as it is.

I'm just glad that my county went for Kerry. Most of the Republicans here are frat boy-types from out of state. We don't buy tax-cutting rhetoric here because, being the smallest county in the state, area-wise, we can't depend on property taxes for revenue. We have to raise money through all manner of taxes, so the Republican message has never really worked.

58-41 for Kerry. Ah, yeah! We also overthrew Max Burns. Nice.

I don't hate my country.

I love it, in fact. But I'm embarrassed to be an American today. And no, not because of George W. Bush necessarily. I'm embarrassed by the passage of these gay marriage amendments everywhere. If I was gay, I'd move to Canada. Obviously, there is no place in this country--save for NYC, California, etc.--for gay Americans to conduct their lives with a modicum of dignity and respect.

Gross. I just feel queasy thinking about it.

A @$%&-ing disaster

I mean, is there even a Democratic Party anymore? It sure doesn't look like it right now. They got spanked. Trounced. Destroyed. Shellacked. Thumped.

You know things are bad when you come to the American people with a message that seems remarkably old-school conservative--fiscal conservatism, isolationist trade policies, less nation-building--and you still get beaten. The Dems were worried about Howard Dean being too liberal. Well, you know what? They still would have lost the election! So why not go with that kind of guy? It's not like we have a party anymore that's worth a crap. Terry McAuliffe must go. Under his watch, the Democrats have lost two presidential elections to a certifiable moron and are steadily ceding power in the legislative branch. Shouldn't a guy like that be fired? If you were a coach and had that kind of record you'd be gone in a heartbeat.

And can we stop trusting anything Paul Begala, James Carville, Joe Lockhart, et al. have to say? They're worthless relics fromt the Clinton Era. Where the Democratic Party sold out. Losers.

Oh, and did I mention that George W. Bush is maybe the worst president in a century? And that we've lost to him twice?

My high school atheist thought of the day.

If you vote according to your religious beliefs then you're probably stupid because the Bible was written nearly two thousand years ago by some guys, and it's all pretty much a joke. So there. And just because the president thinks Jesus is great because he saved him from all of that coke-snorting and business-ruining doesn't mean that he should be reelected. In fact, we should worry about a president who puts God before his country because, well, believing in God is stupid. I mean, there's some guy up in the clouds? Get over it!

Congratulations, America!

You've just disproven the accuracy of exit polls!

You've proven that high voter turnout doesn't necessarily help Democrats!

You've proven that a bad Republican is okay with you as long as he likes Jesus!

And you've reelected the worst president in nearly a century!

Good job, guys!

The weather here is wet, dank, and gloomy, as befits the day.

Democrats are cheaters!

At least according to two Republican friends I was talking to last night. I immediately countered with all of the Ohio voter suppression stuff, and they had literally nothing to say, but not because they had no defense...they hadn't even heard about it. They expressed worry that they would be the whiners about the election for the next four years (a pretty legitimate worry), and I mentioned that it was probably just the chickens coming home to roost for all that smack they talked about Clinton's "drug use" and "draft dodging" before electing a draft-dodging, coke snorter.

Anyway, the Democrats have this reputation as the vote manufacturers, and it's a hard one to shake, considering that it most likely won an election for 'em (1960). Daley has done a lot of image damage to the Democratic Party, and I don't know if they're ever going to shake it. Some idiots somewhere piss on a Bush-Cheney sign, and it's just "those dirty Democrats," even though it's hardly an act of organized political sabotage. And, of course, there are Democrats out there who keep doing stupid crap, so the story never loses any steam, even as GOP voter suppression tactics grow more draconian.

What was amazing to me was that my pals had never heard of any GOP voter stuff. Maybe they were ignorant to it, but I think they live in such a WorldNetDaily/Newsmax/townhall.com bubble that they never see any dissenting views of any kind. Hell, I know about the Democrat foibles as well as the Republican ones. And I don't trust Democrats as far as they can throw them (like Woody Allen said, paraphrasing here, "politicians are like a notch below child molester"). This kind of ignorance is telling about the GOP in general these days.

More Boortz Belligerence

OSAMA ENDORSES KERRY!

Sorry, but there's just no other way to look at it. Osama bin Laden's video exhorting American to prove that they feel all nice and warm about Muslims can be seen as nothing but an endorsement of John Kerry. Anyone who actually believes that Osama would call off his rabid Islamic jihadist dogs if Kerry won and made nice-nice is a fool. Osama and his serpent followers don't just want the infidels to leave them alone in the Middle East, they want our culture and society to die ... to cease to exist.

I'm joining Sean Hannity, Oliver North and others today to visit Jacksonville, Orlando, Pensacola, Dayton, and Cincinnati on a get out the vote rally. Suddenly, after that tape, I realize how important this is. The families of 9/11, as well as your children and grandchildren are depending on you.

And remember ... there is no secret ballot this Tuesday. Either you stand in that voting booth with Osama bin Laden's arm around your shoulder, or you stand there with the victims of Islamic terrorism and vow to fight on.

By the way...

...I'm endorsing John Kerry for president.

Osama's good for Bush

According to a GOP senior strategist, he is. Talk about exploiting fear: look at these quotes from GOP campaign-type folks:

"We want people to think 'terrorism' for the last four days," said a Bush-Cheney campaign official. "And anything that raises the issue in people's minds is good for us."

A senior GOP strategist added, "anything that makes people nervous about their personal safety helps Bush."

He called it "a little gift," saying it helps the President but doesn't guarantee his reelection.

Then now how the article turns the videotape against Kerry for exploiting terrorism. Um, who's doing the exploitation here?

Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the tip-off on this one.

Glenn Reynolds is a moron.

He thinks this war has been well-run. And then he backpedals and concedes, "Okay. There is some violence, but that happens with all wars...sheesh!" Of course, this misses the entire point, which is that we didn't have to have this war in the first place. If we needed to attack someone, there were plenty of better targets out there. Wouldn't you rather be having this mess in Iran right now? I think I might. The war plan sucked because there was no plan, Mr. Instapundit. To accuse detractors of succumbing to spin is fairly ironic, no? Do we have to win this war? Of course. When you take the limp-noodle position of "but all wars are messes!" than it's pretty easy to stand your ground. What a jerk.