Monday, January 03, 2005

This Blog Has Left the Building

Some of you might have noticed that all the images on my blog have disappeared. You can thank Geocities for that. I recently discovered that all my files had disappeared from my Geocities account. I took this as a sign that it might be time to move on and end this blog. The thing is, ever since the election, I simply have no will anymore to try to sway public opinion about neo-conservatism, theocracy, and corporateering. As far as I'm concerned, the citizens of this country got the president they deserved. If more than half of us are truly that stupid, then things clearly need to get a lot worse before they'll get better. Maybe it will take another stock market crash, another Depression, another Vietnam, nuclear holocaust . . . who knows. All I know is, I am EXHAUSTED with being angry all the time. I have completely lost interest in any sort of Bush-bashing, period -- it serves no purpose at this point. Barring an impeachment or a CIA hit, Bush is in for the next four years. So I'm not wasting another minute of my energy on the sonofabitch or the assholes who voted for him.

The good news is that I've started a new blog, sugar & smut

It's going to be a far cry from Rant-O-Rama, but it's going to be a whole lot better for my emotional and mental well-being.

Thanks to all of you who have been fans of UltraDeb's Rant-O-Rama. I hope you'll test drive the new blog.

Toodles ;-)

posted by Ultra Deb 11:13 PM

This Blog Has Left the Building

Some of you might have noticed that all the images on my blog have disappeared. You can thank Geocities for that. I recently discovered that all my files had disappeared from my Geocities account. I took this as a sign that it might be time to move on and end this blog. The thing is, ever since the election, I simply have no will anymore to try to sway public opinion about neo-conservatism, theocracy, and corporateering. As far as I'm concerned, the citizens of this country got the president they deserved. If more than half of us are truly that stupid, then things clearly need to get a lot worse before they'll get better. Maybe it will take another stock market crash, another Depression, another Vietnam, nuclear holocaust . . . who knows. All I know is, I am EXHAUSTED with being angry all the time. I have completely lost interest in any sort of Bush-bashing, period -- it serves no purpose at this point. Barring an impeachment or a CIA hit, Bush is in for the next four years. So I'm not wasting another minute of my energy on the sonofabitch or the assholes who voted for him.

The good news is that I've started a new blog, sugar & smut

It's going to be a far cry from Rant-O-Rama, but it's going to be a whole lot better for my emotional and mental well-being.

Thanks to all of you who have been fans of UltraDeb's Rant-O-Rama. I hope you'll test drive the new blog.

Toodles ;-)
posted by Ultra Deb 11:13 PM

Thursday, December 02, 2004

Ultra Deb Invades the Big Apple

OK, so after a VERY long break from blogging, I’m back and I’m living in NYC. I won’t go into the details of how I ended up here, but I’m here and that’s all that anyone needs to know.

Lots has happened since my last post. As we all know, America has entered its first official period of theocracy. All I can say is this: I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO.

That’s all I have to say. I’m completely over bitching about a problem that we can’t seem to overcome.

Anyway, now that I live in New York City, there are plenty of other things to bitch about. Let’s start with subway panhandlers. I’m fucking sick of these goddamn people. Now, I understand, some people are hard on their luck, can’t get off drugs, lost their jobs – it could happen to any of us, really. But if you HAVE to make your living on the New York subways, do something that entertains me. Don’t crawl over to me in your piss-stained pants and BEG. It’s pathetic, and it lays a guilt trip on me that I don’t need after putting in a 9- or 10-hour day at work.

There are plenty of buskers who make their living on the subway, but they come on a train and play music and make people feel GOOD. It’s interesting, because when THOSE people come on the trains, passengers are practically throwing money at them by the time the train gets to the next stop.

On the other hand, I once had a guy call me a bitch because I wouldn’t give him any money. He was sitting on the stairs at a station, and as I walked past him he asked for some “spare change.” I said, “Sorry, I don’t have any cash.” And he said, “I didn’t ask for CASH. I said ‘change’ BITCH.” After I got through the turnstile, I started digging in my purse for some spare pennies – which I fully intended to pelt him with. But I couldn’t find any, and then the train came right away anyway. But if I ever see that motherfucker again, I’m gonna crack his skull open with a shiny new 50-cent piece.

Until next time, Ultra Deb signing off.
posted by Ultra Deb 9:24 PM

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

Need Proof?

... that the New York Post is a neocon, ass-licking, piece of shit rag? Here ya go.



Post editor Col Allan says he decided to run with the headline after getting what he thought was reliable inside info. I'm guessing—and it would be so sweet if this turns out to be true—that he got set up by a Kerry supporter. In any case, Allan should be given the ax pronto.

I have to admit, though, that I was a bit surprised when I woke up this morning and heard on NPR that Kerry had picked Edwards for VP. I thought for sure he would pick Gephardt—and I would have been really pissed if he had. Kerry picking Edwards says two things to me:

1) Kerry is not afraid of taking risks

2) Kerry listened to his constituents

No one wanted Gephardt. He would have added nothing to the ticket, and in fact, he tends to turn people off. It's been clear that Kerry needs a Southern Protestant on the ticket far more than a creepy-looking midwesterner. In terms of campaigning, the VP-hopeful really serves little purpose other than cheerleader and fundraiser. For those morons out there who still don't get that George W. Bush is the mother-fuckin' Antichrist, Edwards is just the guy to sway them to Kerry's side.

I'm feeling better today about Kerry's chances of ousting Bush. But I'm not holding my breath. The power of stupid, fuckwad fundamentalist Christian assholes in large numbers still looms like a mushroom cloud.
posted by Ultra Deb 7:24 PM

Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Chickenhawk Sovereignty

In true cowardly fashion, the Bush administration handed over alleged control to the interim Iraqi government two days early, on the sly, in total cut-and-run fashion. Then they promptly scuttled back to the U.S. before someone could behead them.

Who the fuck do they think they're kidding--other than the 45% of unwavering Bush Sheep in this country? This "transfer of power" is 100% MEANINGLESS. 135,000 U.S. troops will still be in Iraq, indefinitely, enforcing the inevitable martial law that will be imposed. They will continue to be shot, blown up and decapitated. And, mark my words, if Bush gets a second term, there will be a re-instatement of the draft.
posted by Ultra Deb 12:20 AM

Saturday, June 26, 2004

posted by Ultra Deb 2:55 PM

Friday, June 25, 2004

Michael Moore ...


... is counting his millions. And he deserves every penny of it.

After an incredibly busy month at work, I finally made some time to catch a movie, and right now, there's no more important movie than Farenheit 9/11.

I went to a 1:45 pm show, and the theater parking lot was more packed than I'd ever seen it on a Saturday night, much less an early show on a weekday. Needless to say, the screening was jam packed—in two theaters simultaneously. And here's the weird thing: Almost no one was eating popcorn or drinking soda pop. Virtually every person in that theater was fixated on the screen. It's one of the rare times that I've gone to a movie and not had to bitch someone out for talking or answering a cell phone. All around that theater, you could feel the collective blood pressure going up and up.

I predict—and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out—that when the box office numbers come in this week, Farenheit 9/11 will take the prize of highest-grossing opening weekend for any documentary in history. It's likely to pass up an assload of dramatic features, for that matter.

it's true that a lot of the film is stuff you already know if you're a bonafide Bush-basher. But it's the way Moore stitches things together. The cohesiveness of it reminds you, in case you've forgotten, of why we MUST get Bush out of office in November. During the moments when I wasn't laughing, I was fuming.

There's one particular moment in the movie that made me want to hit the shooting range. It's when Moore is filming a woman whose son was killed in Baghdad early on in the war. The grieving mother is walking around the Mall in D.C., and she comes upon a tearful, distraught Middle Eastern lady who has a makeshift tent and memorial set up with photos of dead Iraqis. The woman is crying about the dead Iraqis, about how Bush has murdered them, and the mother empathizes, telling the woman about her son's death. Then this horrible, nationalist, Bush-loving cunt comes along and abrasively accuses the show of grief by the women as phony and "staged." The mother, falling apart with grief, cannot believe what she's hearing. She tells the horrible, screeching cunt of a Republican cocksucking bitch that her son was killed in Iraq. You know what the cunt says? "When?! Where?!" As if the mother is lying about it. The mother tells her the when and where, and the woman all but dismisses the answer, saying, "Well, a lot of people died," or something to that effect.

Now, if you've read this blog enough, you know I'm not one to mince words when I really do wish someone would fucking just die. So, Horrible Cunt, I hope you're reading this. You know what you deserve, you soulless, black-hearted, complete and utter piece of shit? You deserve to lose a child of your own in some awful, unjust war in which your kid is a pawn for some wealthy, smug despot. That's what you deserve. You deserve to feel that gutwrenching, black pit of pain you fucking vile CUNT.

I know some of my readers will be disappointed that I didn't say something like, "You deserve to be bent over the buttocks of a rabid goat and ass-raped with a sawed-off 12-gauge." And, of course, she does deserve that as well. But mostly, she deserves the bad karma she's brought upon herself by being the inhuman monster she is. No wonder Bush still has 48% in the polls. It's horrid subhumans like the Horrible Cunt that make up those numbers.

Now, before you judge me as too harsh in my criticism of this awful, vile Cunt, just do me a favor and see the movie. I guarantee you'll feel the same about that fucking swamp witch. Or your money back.

posted by Ultra Deb 11:01 PM

Thursday, June 10, 2004

posted by Ultra Deb 11:43 PM

Sunday, June 06, 2004

posted by Ultra Deb 11:32 PM

Ding Dong, the Bitch Is Dead ...

... so, when I dance on his grave, should I do an Irish jig or the Macarena? I can't decide.
posted by Ultra Deb 12:20 AM

Wednesday, May 26, 2004

posted by Ultra Deb 11:22 AM

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

What'll They Be Doing at the Republican Convention?

[Thanks to my pal Barry for e-mailing this to me.]

The following is the "first final" list of events for the Republican National Convention in New York City, August 30 to September 2.

AUGUST 30

6 p.m. -- OPENING PRAYER, read by Mel Gibson while being flogged with a spiked leather strap wielded by Ann Coulter, who will enjoy it a little too much.

* TOM RIDGE raises National Alert Level to RED.

* LEST WE FORGET -- HONORARY ROLL CALL of All Members of (and Friends of) Bush Administration Who Might Very Well Have Been Killed in Vietnam if It Hadn't Been for Nasty Trick Knees, Anal Cysts, Recurrent Headaches and Highly Placed, Overly Protective Parents. (Sponsored by Tyson Chicken)

* ANTONIN SCALIA speaks -- "SLAVERY: THE ORIGINAL INTENT OF OUR FOREFATHERS, AND GREAT FOR BUSINESS!" (Sponsored by Wal-Mart)

* DICK CHENEY hosts AMBASSADORSHIP RAFFLE - Opening bid $1,000,000 (cash, non-sequential bills--20s or less).

* CLIMAX OF THE EVENING -- FILM - BRING IT ON!
Stirring, fictionalized re-creation of Mr. Bush's actual dental appointment in Alabama in 1972, when he showed the incredible courage to allow "deep cleaning" of gums without anesthetic. (Sponsored by Sinclair Broadcasting)

* SUGGESTED AFTER-EVENT -- GET BAKED WITH RUSH "Crankster" LIMBAUGH! (Location TBD) (Sponsored by Pfizer)

AUGUST 31

6 p.m. -- OPENING PRAYER, read by Our Lord (The Passion of) Jesus H. Christ, as channeled by Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin, the man who first revealed that Mr. Bush was chosen by God to lead this country into war against the heathens. Mr. Boykin will then give a short, upbeat presentation on Islam, "My God Can Beat Up Your God."

* TOM RIDGE raises National Alert Level to FLASHING RED.

* WAYNE LAPIERRE will pry Davy Crockett's Kentucky long rifle out of Charlton Heston's cold fingers (Sponsored by Smith & Wesson)

* DESIGNATED BROWN PERSON (Hispanic or Muslim, or possibly a Hispanic Muslim, if we can find one) will speak on how being a brown person doesn't automatically disqualify you from being a Republican (subject to finding a brown person capable of being bribed to do this -- may need professional actor, possibly brought in from Third-World country).

* CLIMAX OF THE EVENING -- PAUL WOLFOWITZ announces American plans to invade Iran, strip it of nuclear weapons and turn over entire country to Bechtel to be run as a subsidiary. (Wolfowitz will tell anxious voters that the operation will involve 200 out-sourced "consultants," take one week and be funded entirely by pocket change found in a White House couch.) (Sponsored by Halliburton)

* SUGGESTED AFTER-EVENT -- RIDE THE WAVE WITH RUSH "Big Oxy" LIMBAUGH! (Do a couple of "ringers" with Big Pharma.) (Sponsored by Robitussin)


SEPTEMBER 1

6 p.m. -- OPENING PRAYER by the REV. JERRY FALWELL, who will demonstrate the spirit of Compassionate Conservatism (TM) and the eternal mercy of God by wishing a horrible, fiery death and an eternity in the pit of Hell for all nonwhite, nonmale, non-Christian, nonheterosexual non-Republicans.

* TOM RIDGE raises National Alert Level to PULSATING RED.

* THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF INSANELY RICH PERSONS (AAIRP) will present LAURA BUSH with A PLATINUM CHAINSAW in thanks for the Bush Administration's tax cuts. (Sponsored by Gulfstream)

* ANN COULTER, BILL O'REILLY and SEAN HANNITY will lead a special TWO-MINUTE HATE, aimed at a photo of John Kerry.

* CLIMAX OF THE EVENING -- DIEBOLD CORP. WILL ANNOUNCE ELECTION RETURNS: BUSH WINS RE-ELECTION WITH 51% OF VOTE (YET TO BE CAST). (JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA will certify vote results.) Diebold board member Wilbur H. Grafton will deny fraud, announce his retirement and be named the new ambassador to Jamaica. (Sponsored by Diebold)

* SUGGESTED AFTER-EVENT -- GET WRECKED WITH RUSH "Kicker" LIMBAUGH. (Sponsored by Eli Lilly)
 

SEPTEMBER 2 (nomination night)

6 p.m. -- OPENING PRAYER by ATTORNEY GENERAL JOHN ASHCROFT, who will then sing "Let the Eagle Soar" and light the ceremonial TORCH OF FREEDOM (TM) with the (actual) Bill of Rights.

* TOM RIDGE raises National Alert Level to Fire Engine Red and ANNOUNCES CAPTURE OF OSAMA BIN LADEN.

* CONVENTION SHIFTS TO "GROUND ZERO" - DICK CHENEY will introduce and personally renominate PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, who will impale OSAMA BIN LADEN with DAVY CROCKETT'S Kentucky long rifle, donated by Wayne LaPierre. (Sponsored by NRA)

* PRESIDENT BUSH WILL GIVE ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, standing on Osama's dead body.

FIRST PEEK - Here is the proposed text for President Bush's speech: "Hey, Freedom-Lovers! 9-11 Democracy Freedom Stay the course Evil-doers Trust my gut 9-11 Freedom Evil-doers Stay the course Democracy 9-11 Evil-doers Trust my gut 9-11 Democracy Freedom Stay the course Trust my gut Tax cuts Who cares what you think Evil-doers Things are great Jesus speaks to me 9-11 Democracy Freedom Stay the Course Evil-doers 9-11 Freedom Evil-doers Stay the course Democracy 9-11 Evil-doers Trust my gut 9-11 Democracy Freedom Stay the course Trust my gut Tax cuts Who cares what you think Evil-doers Things are great Jesus speaks to me. G'night, everybody!

POST-CEREMONY CLOSING-NIGHT PARTY OPPORTUNITIES:

* GET MAXED with RUSH "Rocket Cap" LIMBAUGH! (Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline)

* RICK SANTORUM "DOG-ON-DOG" PETTING ZOO (adults only, please).

* BILL O'REILLY SHOWS OFF PULITZER PRIZE, ACADEMY AWARD AND NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.

* SPECIAL BUFFET - JOHN ASHCROFT will PERSONALLY EXORCISE A KINDLE OF CALICO KITTENS, BARBECUE THEM AND SERVE THEM ON CANAPES. (Sponsored by KRAFT Thick 'n Spicy BBQ Sauce
posted by Ultra Deb 7:55 PM

Friday, May 21, 2004

Barbara Bush, Mother of Satan's Spawn

This March 2003 quote from Barbara Bush has been brought to my attention via Frank Rich's review of Michael Moore's new doc, Faranheit 911 (thanks to Chas for this):

"But why should we hear about body bags, and deaths, and how many, what day it's gonna happen, and how many this or what do you suppose? Or, I mean, it's, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that? And watch him suffer." - Barbara Bush on "Good Morning America," March 18, 2003.

The "him" she's referring to, whom she doesn't want to watch "suffer," is none other than her baby boy, George.

I just about came out of my skin when I read this.

I sometimes wonder if my blog has ever come to the attention of Barbara Bush. Highly doubtful, I'm sure, since she's known for coddling her "boys" and damning any and all who even dare to criticize them, much less call them "cocksuckers," "pigfuckers," and "brazen Fundamentalist Christian pricks." It's not likely Mrs. Bush will be inviting me over for Thanksgiving turkey anytime in the near future. But just in case she does ever see this blog, here's what I have to say to her:

Fuck you, too, you burly MANBEAST. What kind of sick, twisted, dysfunctional household did you run while your "boys" were growing up? By all accounts you're a bitch and a control freak of rare intensity, and somewhere down the line, I have to believe that YOU play some role in how your household turned out at least two complete and utter sociopaths, both of whom are wreaking havoc on all they preside over. They want to "save" zygotes and embryos, but don't give a good goddamn about WOMEN dying. They rule by sadistic, old-world Biblical hypocrisy. They are motherfucking DEMON SPAWN, you egomaniacal bitch. So the next time you want to tell Jay Leno to stop making jokes about your precious monkeyboy, why don't you have a look through the photos of the THOUSANDS of Iraqi civilians and HUNDREDS of U.S. and allied troops who are bloody and dead thanks to that bastard you spewed from your womb.

As for your "beautiful mind" of which you audaciously boast, the one that you shouldn't "waste" thinking about body bags and death, the only thing beautiful about you is that you're too old to breed anymore. Face it, cow, your little "darlings" should have been abortions.

You're a vile, horrid woman. Your sons are vile, your husband is vile--your whole dynasty is VILE. Is it any wonder your granddaughters are crack addicts and alcoholics? It's actually a precious gift to the world that your grandchildren are chronic fuck-ups--after all, it runs in the family. At least it means that your revolting sons will be the last in line for any sort of political power.
posted by Ultra Deb 10:03 PM

Holy Crap! U.S. Raids Chalabi!



See the guy on the right? That's Ahmed Chalabi, the new guy that -- up until yesterday -- I was certain the U.S. was going to place in power in the "newly liberated" Iraq. (The smiling chimp on the far left is our fuckwit president). Now, while this is probably the first time that mainstream America has heard his name, those of of in the blogosphere and the alternative-news world have been well familiar with him since day one. He was typical of the types of men the U.S. likes to put in power in countries whose regimes we've toppled. That is our pattern after all: put a new guy in power; wait a few years until he becomes a greedy and sadistic dictator; sell him a bunch of weapons of mass destruction; sit back for a few more years as he slaughters his own people; topple the regime; put a new guy in power; wait a few years ... get it?

OK, so this is what the U.S. does all around the world, and activists and news junkies can tell you from the get-go what will go wrong with any given mission to topple a regime.

Ahmed Chalabi was sure that the U.S. was priming him to become the new president of Iraq -- but now I'm sure they were setting him up from the beginning as a scapegoat. The Bush administration claims he's the one who fed the Pentagon bogus info about the presence of WMD in Iraq, a story that doesn't jell with me at all. Everyone in the Bush administration knew damn well that there were no WMD in Iraq; it was a phony justification for their imperialistic venture. They even cooked up phony documents to prove that Hussein tried to buy uranium in Africa.

The Bush cronies also claim -- and this I actually believe -- that it was Chalabi who assured them that the Iraqis would greet the American coalition as "liberators." Hmm, apparently no one in the administration had a clue that 60% of the Iraqi population were Shi'ite Muslim, or as I like to call them, "The Craziest of Muslims." So, yes, I believe that Chalabi told them that, and that most of them believed it hook, line, and sinker. Because that's how fucking dumb and uneducated the Bush administration is. I think Nancy Pelosi put it quite eloquently yesterday:

"I believe that the president's leadership in the actions taken in Iraq demonstrates an incompetence in terms of knowledge, judgment, and experience in making the decisions that would have been necessary to truly accomplish the mission without the deaths to our troops and the cost to our taxpayers ... There was plenty of intelligence to say that there would be chaos in Iraq following the fall of Baghdad."

Yes, there was plenty of intelligence, which is worthless when circulated among an administration of trigger-happy cowboys.

You've got Dr. Strangelove Rumsfeld who just wants to bomb the living shit out of everything and will tell any lie to have his will appeased. Then there's Atty. Gen. John Ashcrap, who wants to imprison women who have abortions and spends thousands of taxpayers' dollars to buy velvet to cover up the bare breast of a motherfucking statue. And let's not forget about Uncle Tom Powell and Condi Rice, the token Bush blacks, because as long as you appoint some real, live blacks to your cabinet, that proves you're not racist. Powell and Rice: living proof that black slavery still exists in America. "Oh, uh, yessum, Masser George, I takes da fall fo' dat whole 9/11 mess, yessum. Can a fixes ya up sum nice bowl 'o chitlins now, Masser George?" PATHETIC.

But back to Chalabi, U.S. forces raided his headquarters and house yesterday -- and had only recently stopped making payments to him of roughly $335,000 per month. (And that's all in U.S. tax dollars, baby.) They were looking for more than a dozen fugitives that they suspect of fraud and kidnapping. So, Chalabi is quite suddenly out of favor with the U.S. coalition. I guess the fact that he is a convicted criminal never set off any alarms to anyone in the Bush administration that this might not be the best guy to trust, even (if you ultimately plan to scapegoat him): Chalabi was convicted of embezzlement in the 1980's after the fall of a major Jordanian bank.

Any person even vaguely educated on Middle Eastern culture, religion, and power structures could have told the Bushies what a disaster this invasion and occupation would be. Oh, wait, we did do that -- MILLIONS of us protested this so-called "war" as I recall. But Bush snubbed us. You cocksucking monkey.
posted by Ultra Deb 9:31 PM

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Liberation of Iraq Going Just Dandy
Some 40 Iraqis at a wedding party were "liberated" from their lives today. Thanks George, for this "culture of life" you're always talking about.

U.S. Reportedly Kills 40 Iraqis at Party

By SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. helicopter fired on a wedding party early Wednesday in western Iraq, killing more than 40 people, Iraqi officials said. The U.S. military said it could not confirm the report and was investigating.

Lt. Col Ziyad al-Jbouri, deputy police chief of the city of Ramadi, said between 42 and 45 people died in the attack, which took place about 2:45 a.m. in a remote desert area near the border with Syria and Jordan. He said those killed included 15 children and 10 women.

Dr. Salah al-Ani, who works at a hospital in Ramadi, put the death toll at 45.

Associated Press Television News obtained videotape showing a truck containing bodies of those allegedly killed. Most of the bodies were wrapped in blankets and other cloths, but the footage showed at least eight uncovered, bloody bodies, several of them children. One child was headless.
posted by Ultra Deb 1:31 PM

Who Really Killed Nick Berg?

A few things about the Nick Berg murder have really been bugging me, and have been from day one. Am I just a loony conspiracy theorist, or are these things nagging at other people too?

• In the video, why is he wearing what appears to be a standard U.S.-issue, orange prison uniform?

• If the killer is indeed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, why is he wearing a mask? He verbally identifies himself by name as well as on the caption for the video. So why the mask? He knows that he is on the U.S.'s hit list and that everyone in the Arab world and U.S.-intelligence world knows what he looks like. It doesn't make a bit of sense.

• If the killer is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, he's pretty agile for a guy with only one leg. That's right, al-Zarqawi has only one leg. In fact, Colin Powell himself confirmed before the invasion of Iraq that al-Zarqawi had recently been fitted for an artificial leg. The killer in the video sure seems to have two perfectly good legs.

Could this thing have been orchestrated by the U.S. as spin control to detract attention from the Abu Ghraib abuse? I don't put anything past this administration, especially as it's all coming out in the wash that Rumsfeld OK'd the abuse and that Bush concurred.

And STILL Bush is polling at around 48%. His numbers SHOULD be in the low teens at most. Just proves how fucking gullible and nationalistic many Americans are.

When the fuck is the tipping point going to arrive already???
posted by Ultra Deb 1:15 AM

Vote Kerry!



The best reason to vote for John Kerry? He's not George W. Bush. The second best reason? That half naked babe in the above photo is his daughter Alexandra. Yowsa.
posted by Ultra Deb 12:24 AM

Thursday, May 13, 2004

The Murder of Nick Berg

By now we all know about the beheading of a 26-year-old American named Nick Berg. It's been on my mind for the last two days, and frankly, I'm surprised at how quickly the story has faded from the headlines. When I first read the description of the video, my stomach sank. In reading postings on numerous message boards and the myriad editorials on the murder, almost all of which sought to politicize it one way or another, I felt so completely sad and haunted -- I have no desire to try to politicize this. Some postings blamed Berg himself. He had supported the war and had gone to Iraq to reap the financial benefits of the country's reconstruction. Others pointed out that his murder, and the audacious flaunting of it, are far worse than anything in portrayed in the abuse photos from Abu Ghraib. Right-wingers point out that "this is what we're fighting against." Left-wingers ultimately blame decades of unconscionable U.S. foreign policy -- with particular blame on the current Bush administration -- for the widespread Arab hatred of America. The interesting thing is, there's some truth in all of these views.

Along with the postings were many links to screen captures of the video, as well as the video itself. For two days, I've struggled with whether or not I want to see the video. This morning, I decided that I did, partly out of morbid curiosity, but also because I wondered about how desensitized I was to violent imagery. I wondered how affected I would actually be -- if I could still feel anything at all.

I went to every site I could find that linked to the video, but they were all down. Then I found screen captures of the video. There was a warning in big, red letters at the top of the page letting me know that the images were extremely graphic. I scrolled down anyway. God, how I wish I hadn't. The thing is, once who get those images in your head, you can never get them out again.

The last few screen captures showed close-ups of Nick Berg's decapitated head in the grip of his killer. I stared long and hard at the image. I was frozen with shock. It was such a horrific vision that it was surreal. I could almost feel my synapses firing, trying to decode what was passing through my eyes. I've seen this before in movies -- lots and lots of movies. Heck, I've seen worse than this in movies. Is this real? Are these special effects? Am I moved? Should I be upset?

Once the initial shock wore off, I became keenly aware of just how shaken I was. I got queasy and felt a knot forming in my throat. I'm not prone to sentimentalism, but all I could think was, That's a real person. That's someone's son. And he's lying in a massive pool of his own blood while his murderer is holding his decapitated head up to the camera. The horror of it was more than I could bear. I clicked out of the page as quickly as I could.

What these men did to Nick Berg was monstrous, just plain monstrous. These men are angry at the U.S. government -- specifically George W. Bush -- but they chose to transfer that anger onto a 26-year-old kid who had nothing to do with Bush or his policies.

People who know me personally wonder why I'm so jaded, so angry, so indignant all the time. I suppose it's because I see the world as a fundamentally ugly, violent and unjust place. Call me a pessimist, go right ahead. But my pessimism is based on my own travels, my own experiences, my own observations. Maybe it's because I've actually spent time in third world countries and have seen first-hand the real, harsh suffering of peoples who weren't fortunate enough to be born into the consumer-frenzy driven U.S.A. This might come as news to most Americans, but the rest of the world suffers for our consumerism, greed and wastefulness. A lot of the world hated us before the Iraq invasion, but surely, even more people hate us now. The murder of Nick Berg exemplifies this so profoundly. It's one thing to shoot someone from afar, to drop a bomb from high in the sky. But to get up close to a person, to physically saw a person's head off with a dull knife ... what you should understand is that they did not kill Nick Berg before they beheaded him; he died in the process of being beheaded. The savagery of this act is incomprehensible. What kind of man is capable of this?

The vast majority of the ugliness in the world is due to a handful of men who are greedy, power-hungry, and sadistic. It's been this way all throughout antiquity. And it will never change. The Machiavellian mindset seems innate, particularly among men. Testosterone + Patriarchal Religions + Material Greed = Murder and Mayhem

I am not going to post links to the videos or screen captures. It's not something I want to revisit. If you want to see the images for yourself, you know how to Google it.
posted by Ultra Deb 1:19 PM

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

TV Censors Are RETARDED

CBS censors, forever paranoid that a show's content might offend someone, have made The Black Eyed Peas change the lyrics of "Let's Get Retarded" to "Let's Get It Started." Like there might actually be retarded people watching the David Letterman Show.
posted by Ultra Deb 12:41 AM