A Chicken Is Not Pillage

We're Not Even Human To These F**ers Any more

I graduated from Montana State University in 1992 with a BS in Philosophy, Honors Highest Distinction.  This should not be an issue. 

Four times in the last three years I have been called a liar, a phony, because certainly a white trash rural product couldn't be that smart.  Three out of those four are Baby-Boomers, so much more intelligent than the rest of us that they can read the abilities of all around them.  Why not, it was those same people who couldn't understand that a Nigra could become President of these United States.

I'm tired of having my abilities questioned, so here it is.  I graduated college in 1992, the first of my surname to do so.  That's my diploma, and all you doubters can go fuck yourselves.  For four years I worked for a despicable alcoholic to pay for that schooling.  It cost me that respect of family and two wives.  That may not have been the greatest of life choices, but I still did it.  Listening to assholes online tell me I couldn't accomplish such a feat is so very infuriating, not because of anything I've done, but rather because the privileged think that a degree is philosophy is only the domain of their effort. 

I didn't have announcements made, so I can't scan those.  This is the graduation booklet proclaiming the graduating class of 1992.  Notice please right there.  That's my name.  Robert Lynn Kailey.  I have a few symbols after my name.  Here's what they mean:

University Honors, Honors Program highest distinction.  I wore the gold brocade as one of the happiest moments of my life.  When you grow up blue color, told by your father that "Our family doesn't go to college" and realize that you've done something special?  You feel a sense of pride.  You feel that you've done something well.

But no.  A couple of privileged assholes who don't have any idea what struggles you worked through are more than welcome to tell the world how you've lied about that accomplishment, so small and yet so important.  Fine.  I think that's the nature of the Intertubes anymore.  Anything that can be writ will be writ.  Of course it's true because people read it on the Internet.  What shocks me and saddens me the most is how so many 'good' liberal and progressive' folk are willing to attack with class bias such that if you don't agree with them you must be 'low brow', a 'mouth breather', a loser and a liar.  They will happily tell you how much we need to raise the minimum wage such that their waitress makes a living wage, but spew nothing but venom and lie at that waitress should she actually disagree with them on any particular point.  How dare someone of working background actually think themselves a human equal?  There is no competition for intellect.  You either have it or you don't, and neither is a moral failing.  The only fail is to think there is such a standard, a willful stupidity.  And sadly, it's on the left that this most prevalent.

 

Dick Cheney Is The Smartest [email protected]#%*r In America

Read this.  Go ahead and read it.  It's the transcript from Meet the Press on Sunday, with *special guest star*, Dick Cheney.  Yes, it's about torture, specifically about the United States of America using torture, or not since "real torture" is talking to your kids before you die horribly (not an outcome guarenteed, except the death part) when you are an American attacked by ... THEM.  Waterboarding?  Not torture. Ramming a tube up somebody's ass, and pumping goo into their colon?  Not torture.  Forced sleep deprevation?  Not torture.  Chained by the wrists such that you can't stand or actually sit in a room at sub-50 degrees and forgotten for days until you die of hypothermia?  Not torture.  According to Cheney, REAL TORTURE is being an American afraid of the other.  Read it.  That is his very message.  In the Home of Brave, real torture is being afraid of those others.

As goofy as it sounds, that's a powerful message, and a complete fricking lie.  There have been many posts around the Intertubes on them nancy wimp librul sites, dissecting Dick's arguments, rating which are the worst, or attempting to generate horror at the obviously deranged and inhuman sociopath, the Beast that Came from Wyoming.   All of it, for the most part, is quality writing and instills the proper degree of horror.  But what struck me was the obvious:  Dick.don't.care.  He knows he's lying, and he knows that anyone paying attention will know he's lying.  He is reducing the most heinous abuses that can be perpetrated on a human being to just a lie told to an audience.  It's an offering, a taste of impotent superiority.  "I know that Dick is lying", we cry.  "We tortured and that's wrong", people will say.  "His arguments don't make sense", we will ponder and assert.

But I have to ask, why would a guy who is worth more than all readers here and Daily Kos and Pumadog Lake put together put himself in front of a camera to defend torture with obvious lies?  He has his millions, his retirement and he has thrown his 'boss' and compatriots under the bus already.  He has as much as admitted to war crimes, but isn't afraid of that at all (a lesson I fear he learned from Kissinger.)  That might be the very key.  Cheney is being honest with his lies.  Not honest about the US using torture or it's effectiveness, mind you.  He's being honest that we can't do one single thing to stop any of it.  That was his message.  Regardless of whether we are afraid of losing the moral high-ground, regardless of whether we are afraid of the Muslamic Terrists, we need to be afraid of each other because people like him run the show, and they can and will decide who gets tortured and how.

That's actually rather brilliant on his part.  People are distrusting the authority of the banks as they pass their liabilities onto us.  They don't trust the police who murder young black men for no reason other than that they will get away with it.  They certainly don't trust Congress or that 'man' in the White House (pick which side of the prism you wish to view that distortion from.)  We don't trust each other, at all.  Fear is all we have and Cheney is the sysmbol of that fear which doesn't fear us, or much of anything, the sociopath which brings order through obvious lies.  Dick didn't need to go on MTP to defend himself.  He needed to go on the network to prove that we can't do one singl;e thing to stop him, or even slow him and his down.  While defending a practice we find intolerable, he quite clearly made the statement that we will tolerate what 'they' tell us to tolerate and we can't do shit about it.  Admit it, that's kind of brilliant.

The Oppression of the White Man

Since I've already received an email about my last post telling me how the European White Folk are in danger of extinction, I thought I'd offer a visual of exactly how that could come to be:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now you got a choice there, White boy.  You can keep believing that the black and the hispanic and the jew are your deepest ememies who've come to oppress your sorry white ass.  Or, you can revile the guys with guns, who actually can oppress your sorry white ass.  They don't recognize race; they see targets.  So you just keep telling me how we all need to bow to police authority, and how the black man is all that they care about and "should be" 'defending us' from ...

When the guys in camo with masks and WMDs come to put you down, asshole, they aren't going to care about the color of your skin.  Do you really think the black man so scary that you worship those guys with guns who don't give one sad fuck about you?

I Plagiarized This Post

No, of course I didn't.  It likely wouldn't matter if I had; seems that it would take 12 years and well-financed opposition research to figure it out.  WARNING:  extreme cynicism ahead, and possible forcast of 'bad language' and sarcasm.  If you are looking for proper tone and Strunk and White style spew and proper footnotes, you should defer to reading something submitted to the United States Army War College.  I understand their ability for discernment is impeccable.  And don't take this as a response in defense of Walsh.  I intend to respond to the response, hence the cynicism.

So, Senator/General John Walsh got caught plagiarizing a paper.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, please get out of your cave.  Color me pink with shock and surprise.  (Yes, that would be sarcasm.)  I would love to say that I am surprised, just as I would adore actually being surprised at the reactions I've read to this scandilous horror which undermines our ENTIRE FAITH IN POLITICS!  Being true to myself, I'm going to try and generate some surprise, just to see if I can find any.

When the story broke, the first thing that crossed my mind was this:  how convenient that the NY Times ran the story short days after the release of a poll that showed Daines vulnerable, narrowing the Senate election in Montana to 7 points.  Over on the Tweeters, Montana state Representative Ellie Hill noticed the same thing, with the same dry resolution I feel.  It's dirty politics as usual, plyed by dirty people for dirty reasons.  Which leads me to the first point of curiousity.

Mr. Mark Tokarski, never one to fail at defending the poor 'good' people, argues that they are politically, and often physically, assassinated by the ruling Illuminati who have all dirt against everyone.  He has strangely been silent about the timing of this revelation of horrors.  It's no mystery that Tokarski doesn't like Walsh, certainly doesn't think him a good person; but it is so curious that he doesn't comment on this obvious manipulation of the electorate.  Mark knows all things politics, so what did Walsh do that pissed the oligarchs off enough to conspire such a character assasination?  If our real struggle is against the foul and evil men who coerce our destiny, shouldn't we be supporting Walsh since they have deemed him 'dangerous'?  Every single thing in this paragraph is a logical question based on what Mark has put forth for the last eight years.  He has argued, well, I might add, that the only danger faced by politicians from the shadow government is that politician's ability to tell the truth and upset the order of shadow rule.  He has argued that Democrats are the "real" problem because the somnabulent people will follow Democrats to Republicant policy without question.  Yet, not once has Mark questioned the unbelievably coincidental timing of this 'scandel' which hurts a Democrat.  So I am left with the questions:  does Mark really believe what he spouts?  Does his caterwaul have "integrity"?  I'm certain, gentle reader, that you can understand my confusion.

Sheena Rice, on the Facilebook, wrote this:

On the latest political "scandal" this is all I have to say. While I was an undergrad TA at Montana State I graded many many papers, and the number of papers that included wrongly cited sources and/or outright plagiarized paragraphs were the majority. Maybe I'm jaded to it, but I honestly don't give a shit. Can we get back to talking about real issues that matter now? Like income inequality, the prison industrial complex, discrimination, global unrest, and the economy? Please? This so called "news" does absolutely nothing to get people interested in the political process and just provides opportunities for negative campaigning to those playing inside baseball.

 I could not agree with her more.  I spent two years working as a TA in Philosophy, and have spent 18 since working with students in the technological age.  I would likely be retired now if I had charged good money to every person who has asked for or intimated that they would like a place to download papers to fulfill school work.  (Hint:  that would be plagiarism.)  Like Sheena, I'm jaded to it.  I do not consider plagiarism to be a high crime deserving casting of ash, woeful wail, and demand for public flogging.  In truth, I consider it the very least of crimes that a sitting Congress-person could have committed.  More than half the bills these assholes take credit for are submitted by other entities.  All one has to do is follow the Tweeters and one will see more plagiarism in a day than Walsh has committed in his lifetime.  I defy anyone reading this post to claim that they have never taken credit for another's thoughts, efforts or ideas.  (If anyone does respond to that challenge, I will call them a liar, and the burden of proof lies with them.)  The over-reaction to this scurrilous behavior is comedic, yet I find myself not laughing very much.

The over-reaction that does have me laughing comes from Bob Brigham.  The camps have set their tents, and the lines have been drawn.  Pogie is just a 'Walsh Denialist/Defender' and the good folk at 4 & 20 are rationally slamming Walsh as a pretender.  But Brigham ... he is tearing up the Tweeters with the claim that anyone who sees Walsh as anything other than scum shares in that man's corruption; they have no "integrity".  He has used the hashtag "cultureofcorruption" so many times that it is becoming meaningless.    I like Bob Brigham; I've defended him at several websites.  But let's be clear.  He is bought and payed for.  For him to be judging the "integrity" of anyone is a joke.  The 'Culture of Corruption' refers to moneyed powers buying the democratic process, just like Bob is bought and payed for.  He's being a fucking hypocrite.  Not once has he bothered to question how the New York Times got the information they published.  (Did they get it from him?)  Not once has he bothered to publically question the timing of the release of this information.  Nope, Bob is acting like a good little soldier for the candidate he was payed to support, and ignoring the fact that the 'culture of corruption' is really about hidden powers buying elections.  Daines has more money than the God who he believes created the world 6,000 years ago (as long as it is politically expedient.)  Much of that money comes from the "culture of corruption", but you won't find Bob bitching about that.  He focuses on the candidate that beat the guy he was payed to get elected, and tells us all that if we do not turn that horrific moral pariah into the wilderness, than we are as corrupt as the Judas Walsh.  Tell me that isn't funny.

The Copper Kids (no intention of linking) are all about how TERRIBLE a crime Walsh committed.  Lizard (again, no intention of linking) has stated his peace that Walsh's crime is horrific but it's hard to pay attention to that given that we all must be concerned about what's happening in the Gaza.  DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT WHAT"S REALLY IMPORTANT, YOU ASSHOLES!!!  (I told you I was going to be sarcastic, so sue me.)  JC's comments are the familiar flavor of 'This is how it affects me and you should think so too."  The most rational and forthright post on the topic I've read so far is, of course, from James Conner at the Flathead Memo.  He is patient and considerate. I encourage you to read this brief post and consider your own response before camping with any of the partisans, left, extremist left, disenchanted Democrat, right or extreme right.

 

Mission Accomplished?

Okay. So. It's over.

Last weekend, my beloved said something in jest that I love her for, and I feel deeply today.  "I like my beer like I like my man, bitter."  I am bitter, and this is one of the biggest reasons.  I began commenting on blogs outside of my good friend's place because I was horrified that we would attack a nation based on shoddy intel and do so blatantly.  I began this blog in part because I wanted a personal forum to rail against the obvious injustice being perpetrated abroad and here at home.  All voices against the great Iraqi adventure fell on truly deaf ears.  We had invaded by the time I started this blog, and little changed for so very long.

I certainly didn't expect anyone to listen to little ol' me.  But I did expect that we would be smarter as a country, full of voters.  Instead, I have been subjected to all kinds of claims that I don't understand or care about international affairs.  I have listened as jackwads, most of which were dead silent 9 years ago when we invaded,  told me that we would never leave Iraq.  I  have not so patiently waited while my betters told me that we would never have less than 50 thousand troops in country and our $50,000,000 bases would never be turned over to the Iraqis.  Not anyone reading this hasn't heard the jokes or seen the cartoons about how we should just 'glass' the entire region.

I guess I'm not so bitter as I am tired.  The assholes who've all told me how wrong my country is will not ever admit how they were wrong in prediction.  The money's already been spent and the lives, 4500+ lives, have already been lost.  But yet, the American Empire marches on.  And those who claim such were wrong before and remain wrong now.  Somehow, I'm certain, this is my fault.  Yeah, I'm pretty bitter, and tired.

I am weakly and wearily happy that our country is turning Iraq over to the Iraqis.  I wish them luck.  I wish our troops a great "Welcome Home".  I want healing to begin.

But, the Iraq war caused more than just death and suffering.  It has polarized the opinions of people more than I can express, and caused a rise in what was already a burgeoning police state here at home.   John McCain thinks that our declaring an end to the Iraq war signals that the terrorists have won.  I'm certain that his buddy LIEberman shares that view.  Strangely, those views appear the most harmless.  What does damage is the fact that Congress has avoided responsibility for the horror they brought, and now blame the guy who actually ended this stuff.  The damage is multiplied because the left seeks desperately to believe the message from the right.  This will not end well.

The authoritarian state grows.  I've been warning about this for 8 years.  Iraq, and the thinking that led to it's invasion, is precisely what gives credence to the crap spewed today.  We needn't worry about invading Iran.  That will happen when the Repulicants take over governance because they keep the super-secret knowledge of what will help us internationally.  We *really* need to worry about that stealth Republican in the White House.  Obama needs to lose and that will make the Iraq war all worth while.

~sigh~

No.  No mission was accomplished here, save enriching Halliburton and Blackwater.

Thank you to the troops who did what they were asked.  Thank you.  I will do whatever I can to help you come to grips with the horrors you've been sold.  I hope for you that life goes on and becomes worthwhile.  (I work in providing materials to higher ed, and that's not a hollow offer I make.)

They See Me Rollin'. They Hatin'

I got hit with something last night that I admit leaves me angry and gobsmacked.  While chiding problembear for attempting unfunny humor about the mass death of our government, he decided to play internet tough guy.  He claimed that the 'bear' smacks 'the dog' across the floor.  So I had some fun with him, pointing out that he was agreeing with Rush Limbaugh, and I would love to see a fight between 'the bear' and 'the hog'.  My comment:

If you think yourself that tough, take on Limbaugh. You share the same sense of humor.

I’ve always wanted to watch a fight between a bear and a hog. My money’s on the hog.

It's his response that set me back more than just a bit.  Problembear:

this from someone who is only tough enough to threaten j-girl……

Wow.  That was rather shocking, considering that I've never threatened jhwygirl.  (Don't fret that you can't see those comments.  The Drama Queen is excellent at ass-covering.  That's why I copied those comments verbatum, with html.)  Ive had the Drama Twins (JC and Lizard) accuse me of slander (It's libel, dickheads) but they've never had the guts to actually provide any proof.  And here problembear accuses me of an actually crime, threatening is a crime online or off, and my surprise was overwhelming.  It was also educational.

I've butted heads with most every wingnut blogger in this state.  We've called each other names, and accused each other of all manner of ill-behavior.  Not once, not even once, has anyone accused me of threats against their person or lively hood.  Very much like Tokarski, it took "progressives" to cross that foolish line.  I give problembear this much credit.  He had the chutzpa to actually speak the truth.  He won't actually tell where this information came from, and his tracks of courage have been erased by the weak.  No surprise there.

I've been amazed, truly, at how virulent the anger at me has been from 4 & 20 Egobirds.  Now I at least know why.  Those folk are convinced that I have threatened the poor girl, with what I still have no idea and likely never will.  But the question remains out there.  How did these pricks get the idea that I threatened jhwygirl?  There is an obvious answer that suggests itself.  But none of them will actually give it.  And if they try, JC will delete it.

Jhwygirl has said that I am dedicated to hating on 4 & 20 Egobirds.  I wasn't before.  I am now.  Liars, egoists, assholes.  I am not happy with this decision, but it really doesn't matter does it?

Quotes of the Days

Tengrain:

Obama Appoints Record Number of Gays – Less than halfway through his first term, President Barack Obama has appointed more openly gay officials than any other president in history. “And none of them have any rights either, so quit whining,” Obama did not say. (AP)

Blue Texan:

You know that woman who goaded those brownshirts patriotic, Teabagger supporters of Rand Paul into stomping on her head? She’s an unhinged, left-wing, MoveOn eco-moonbat.

Bitch had it coming.

And do read the quotes from the noble right ...

Driftglass:

"If you want a picture of the Teabaggers, imagine a boot that was paid for by Medicare stomping on a human face -- forever." -- George Orwell v 2.0

The graphic is priceless.

Mistermix:

I assume the reason Rand Paul supporters literally kicked this woman to the curb and stomped her head was because she had a Muslim appearance and made them nervous. I’m not discounting the theory that this was simply a harmless fraternity prank that was misunderstood, nor the possibility that the bitch ran her big mouth and got what she deserved.

Dougj:

What I’ve learned over the past few days is that both sides do it. Whether it’s a left-leaning writer using the phrase “curb-stomping” or an angry mob of conservatives actually performing a curb-stomping, whether it’s a liberal drawing a Hitler mustache on George W. Bush or a right-wing militia member blowing up a federal building, whether it’s two black guys in berets standing outside a polling station or a hundred years of Jim Crow laws. It’s all the same stuff and we should just admit it.

Kyle-Anne Shiver:

From where I’m sitting, all of these seemingly coordinated efforts by Democrats and their press minions to label Party dissidents as “insane” are not only creepy, they smack of tactics widely used by the most repressive, most brutal tyrannies the world has ever known.

They smack of Soviet-style, scientific tyranny in the worst way imaginable.

Really?  Stomping a woman's head into concrete is sane?

Barbara Morrill:

Now we know why Rand Paul spent the past twelve or so hours blaming the vicious assault of Lauren Valle by his supporters on "both sides" and a "daze of lights flashing" -- because one of the assailants is Tim Profitt, the Bourbon County coordinator for Paul's campaign.

According to Mr. Profitt:

... the camera angle made the scuffle Monday night appear worse that it was.

Tammy Webber, AP:

Gay voters angry at Democrats could sway election*

Across the country, activists say gay voters are angry — at the lack of progress on issues from eliminating employment discrimination to uncertainty over serving in the military to the economy — and some are choosing to sit out this election or look for other candidates.

Y'know, just once, I'd like to see a story from the press about how people, (Gay, Het, Poly, White, Black, Red, Yellow, Male, Female, Rich and Not) are going to swing this election because they're tired of the damned stupidity, extremism, violence (physical, verbal and virtual) and bullshit coming from the "Tea Party" who want to take back America from the overwhelming majority of Americans to whatever goddamned fantasy they live in.

 

*Don't even start with the "You're blaming the gays for a vote that isn't in!" shit.  I'm not.  If you actually start to think about it for a second, Tammy Webber just invited one to do so.  But she offers no proof that the GBLT vote has that kind of sway in swing districts.  The press, having been willing accomplices to Tea Party excess, is now in CYA mode.  And what handier scapegoat could they offer than the Gay voter who doesn't vote.  Other than Obama, of course ...

UPDATE:  And like cockroaches, the vermin keep returning.

UPDATE 2:  I said, ~hrumph~, like cockroaches, the vermin keep returning.

 

 

Quote of the Day

Meticulous paperwork, a sense of security, and the confidence they are professionals is why people go to banks. This is the most basic service they screwed up. Not processing loan documents accurately or carefully is akin to a mechanic pouring motor oil in the wiper fluid receptacle or a professional cook not being able to make a roux.

They’ve literally fucked up everything they have touched.

I've been saying that for years.

Enough, Part 1, The Trolling (Updated)

I've had enough of Mr. Tokarski.  It's time that the whole sorry and sad tale be wrote.

I started this blog 7 years ago.  As such, it is the oldest active blog running in consistent form in the state (with possible exception of Jeff's, if he would post more than twice a year.)   I don't write that as a statement of arrogant importance; but it is germane to what follows.  My 'blog-fathers' were my friend Jon, who started blogging 1998 in order to keep in touch with his people in distant locations, and my friends Craig and David.  Craig has gone silent, save for his humanitarian efforts, and David is now a corporate shill  (~wink~).

I've learned a great deal from each of them.  From Jon I learned more than I can express here, save that what happens online can have very real and wonderful consequence in your existence.  Hi Batgrl.  From David, I've learned to love where you're at and love what you say about where you're at.  Honesty is fun, online.  From Craig, I've learned one of the most important lessons.  Support your peeps, whether you agree with them or not.  The online community was onto something new and righteous, and they needed every ounce of support they could get.  In truth, I think I've done a pretty damned outstanding job of the latter.  I hosted the first and second Montana Weblog awards, sadly now defunct.  I hosted the first Montana blogger get-together in my back yard.   I've spoken about community at a gathering of one of Montana's best online communities hosted by one of Montana's best bloggers.  I tried to get a viable "drinking Liberally" community going here in Bozeman.  I've attended and supported meetings for online activism and it's expansion (Hi Jeff).  I've promoted Montana blogs at such sites as Metafilter and I've frequently linked Montana websites to nationally renowned websites like Daily Kos.  I think I've done my bit.

When it came to the Montana Weblog Awards 2007, I sent out an email to one who had claimed that I was fixing the results.  I had hoped that we might have something in common.  The response was less human than anticipated, and the weblog awards died.  I'm not blaming anyone else.  It was my decision.  I was tired of taking abuse from halfwits, and decided that enough is enough.  Should any get the wrong idea, no, it wasn't Mark Tokarski.  But still, a few things can be gleaned from this anecdote.  I do what I do because it's fun in the same manner that collecting stamps is fun, or collecting friends on Facebook is fun,  or just hanging discussing with others is fun.  When it becomes not fun, and personally abusive, it just isn't fun anymore.

Enter Mark Tokarski.  Mark waded into the Montana blog-o-tubes with a unique attitude, and was actually well received because of it.  Many, if not most of us, attempted to promote and display his offerings.  But, because the whole deal didn't become about him, and all about him, things went wrong.  It started slow, no doubts, but accelerated quickly.

Someone tried to get me fired.    I'm oh so certain that it was only coincidence that that very morning my website had an unbelievable number of hits relating to John Sinrud.   I was pissed off.  Very Pissed off, so I wrote a post about it.   To that post, I got this comment:

Your wit is as sharp as a butter knife.

Funny.  That comment came from the same IP address as Mark Tokarski used at the time.   I tried to be somewhat polite about it, considering that someone had just tried to get my ass fired.

"Monty", my response to you is posted within your comment in the thread above. If you have a question, state it. Quit with the shit.

Mark's response was this:

Touchy aren't we. Everyone else was drooling over your writing skills that I thought I would add my admiration as well.

And people actually question why I have a problem with Mark Totardski?  So I called him on his bullshit:

Mark T. (for Tokarski) is posting under the nom de plume of "Monty" from IP address 216.166.168.55.  I can only assume that he is doing so to get me to expose why I wrote a previous post without explanation for those who have no need to know.  He'd have been better off just emailing me to ask, but no.  He sought to stir shit up, by being contrary and rather rude.  I would expect that from Eric, or one of his pets, but not from a "friendly", as it were.

Mark's response, and this where it gets really funny, is that someone stole his IP address. 

Well, I've had an email exchange with Mr. Kailey, and from what he has shown me there, there was indeed a nasty email exchange between him and a person calling himself Monty and using a bogus email address, and using my IP address.

It was not me, but I have to say, the evidence is pretty damning. the IP address is mine. I look guilty as hell.

But I'm not.

Please, read all the comments to that thread.  You will see that Mark is arguing that his IP address was stolen and that he's arguing against 3 IT professionals who know better.  He even blamed Craig, an honorable man, of having done this nefarious deed.  No.  All 3 of us told Marktard that it didn't happen, and couldn't.  Of course, the ironically amusing part is this:

God this sucks. I can see why people are getting out of blogging. It's been taken over by trolls. I am not one of them.

Yes, he really is one of them.   Notice, Mark didn't get out of blogging.  He just decided to character assassinate anyone who knew the truth of his poor decisions, just as he attempted in that thread.  It would be nice, and kind, if these were the wost of Mark Tokardski's foibles.  But they aren't.  Kindly pay attention when part 2 comes.

Update:  I confess, after 4 years of dealing with Mark's condescending critiques of my blog and my person, I'm having a great time watching the liar dig himself in deeper.  His latest shovel full is that I fabricated the "monty" comments to "punk" him.  Why I would do such a thing to him will remain an eternal mystery.  Whoops ...

That right there is a screenshot of the typepad comment edit function.  Clicken to biggin.  Notice that I can alter comments, including email or poster.  But what I can't do is to change the IP address, or time and date in which a comment is left.  Now, it would be posible to morph one of Mark's other comments into this, given that the IP was definately his.  But you'd think Mark would have noticed that I done that.  No, his claim now and then isn't that I altered a comment he had left, but that he never left a comment at all.  And now he claims that I just made it up.  Sorry, Charlie.  But do try again, Mark.  Because I'm enjoying myself now.

Good? Bad? I'm The Guy With The Gun.

It seems there's a lot of folks who want to argue that the Health Care Reform bill was bad, 0r maybe it was good.  What's truly intriguing to me is the idea that things have to get worse before they can get better.  In truth, I tend to agree with the latter.  But the funny part is this.  Not everything has to get worse for health reform to get better.  Yet it appears that many think it does.

Insurance companies are profit taking.  Health care reform appears to be more of a dismal failure than before the HCR act.  McDonalds isn't even going to be able to offer their crap coverage any more because of OBAMACARE!  EVERYBODY PANIC!  My point?  That's a good thing.  But there are many still obsessed that we didn't get single payer/public option out of the box.

So, those folk are talking letting the Republicants take the reigns again.  How bad can it be, right?  Well, how 'bout this bad.  Teapublicants take the Congress in November.  Forget a repeal of DADT.  Expect a further expansion of state Amendments that ban gay marriage.  The culture wars heat up with further erosion of Roe v. Wade.  The mandates for Health Insurance get repealed (the only thing that actually saves money according to the CBO), and we move back to the status quo of 2004.   Congress overrules any CiC mandate for withdrawal of troops because we are at war.  Bush's tax cuts are extended in their entirety.  And there is no faint hope of getting a public option for insurance.  The retirement age for SS is raised to 70, and more jobs continue to be lost.  I'm leaving a lot of stuff out, but it doesn't matter because progressives won't focus.

I agree that pain is a necessary part of progress.  If one is concerned about health care reform, then those sympathetic to those concerns should be protected.  It's only coincidence that most of those folk are Democrats, I suppose. The dealio is this;  concern for one issue is not justification for abandoning all others, unless pain is precisely the desire.  I've lived as an adult through the Reagan years, and the Bush years.  I'm fricking tired of watching people abandon any real progress because it hurts ... so they call for more hurt.

If you want real health care reform, watch things play out with the actors who might actually do something.  We can get rid of Baucus in 2014.  We can get rid of a lot of Congress between now and then.  But getting rid of the people who might actually help because of issues that have nothing to do with *your* issue?   Seriously?  Be careful of the trades you're making.