LEAVE IT TO PEEVER

Iraq = Vietnam. Maybe?

— Bumper sticker of the week: Peace takes more courage than war.

— Quote of the week: “I have been accused of being judgmental. I’ve been told, “Judge not that ye be not judged.” But I wonder if judgment is really a bad habit-or if the social taboo against passing judgment simply allows us to feel safer in our own hypocrisy.” Janisse Ray

— The most basic of worker rights, the right to organize and represent ourselves, hardly exists today in the workplace. Look no further than Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, and Starbuck’s if you disagree. They all run vigorous anti-union pep rallies for their employees and will close a store before allowing it to unionize. In their search for cheap labor and huge corporate profits, they have moved us forward into the 1800's. And wouldn’t you know it, we are now operating on the same level as India, Russia, China, Thailand, and Mexico, competing with them to make the cheapest product possible with the lowest wages. This is all due to an inherent flaw in capitalism. Theorists are unable, or unwilling, to consider greed as the capitalists greatest motive. Making a profit means you’ve got to screw someone, and boy, are they getting good at it.

— A conversation with The Dark Side:

• Bush, Rove, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Gonzales. Ministers of gloom.

• Eve would have been better off with the snake.

• Hell is no further down the road than the first hungry child, or homeless person, or lonely shut-in.

• Dying is not near as hard as living.

• Which is worse? A prostitute, a drug dealer, or a fortune 500 CEO?

• Killing and destruction have always been popular activities among humans.

• There is no necessity that the human race survive. Time could care less.

• Which came first? Air, water, or management screwing labor?

• How did society come to believe that health-care is a privilege rather than a right?

• If you find yourself in a state of mental confusion, where things just don’t seem to add up, my advice to you would be to get out of politics.

— Real estate taxes and private ownership: Private ownership of property is an illusion. You basically never own what you buy. The city can always take 10 ft. from your border, to widen a road, put in an alley, or improve utilities. It’s listed as “what’s good for the community good”. What that means in reality is “what’s good for the corporate good.” In practice, this could eventually eat up your entire property, including your house, which fairly recently has been made easier to condemn to make way for “progress.” So technically, you don’t really own anything. If you have a weed over 12 inches high, you are in violation of a city ordinance. It’s my property. I like weeds. They have pretty flowers. But for the good of the city, I must pull it or face a fine. Ok, I can buy that up to a point. But where does that point end? Someone paints their house a bright yellow, or purple. That doesn’t do the neighborhood any good? How about renting a home to outsiders? People who are not loyal to the neighborhood. Or a couch on the front porch? Can’t afford fancy patio furniture. Or a old car in the driveway? I’ll get it fixed when I get my utility bill paid up. Too many yard statues? The wrong type of political signs? A wheelchair ramp? If you hit oil in the back yard, sorry, it ain’t yours. Or gold. Or silver. Or coal. There seemingly is no end to what private property owners don’t really own and can’t do with their own property. So my question is: What is it exactly that I do own? Why am I paying property taxes? It doesn’t seem to be mine to begin with.

— Bush likens Iraq to Vietnam: Repeatedly, President Bush has stated that Iraq is totally different from Vietnam. Now all of a sudden they’re the same. He says there would be horrible killings and destruction if we were to leave too early. I wonder what the hell he thinks is happening now?