Shards. Questions. Snippets.

[Note: The rampant factionalism of America’s political landscape impels me to include the following disclaimer in all my opinion posts: I am not a Republican.  I am not a Democrat.  I am not of the neocon persuasion, who are but false conservatives.  I am not of the  progressive persuasion, who are but false liberals.  I am not of the so-called Tea Party movement.  I do not belong to any organized religion.  I loathe all demagogues, thus disdain talk radio and realize our leviathan-dominated media are corrupted by self-interest profit and all manner of ideology.].

Read.  Absorb. Think.  Act!
Be obstreperous, not obsequious.

October 2010.  One might call what follows a compilation of thoughts, questions and idea snippets.  In short, stuff I am too lazy to develop into full-blown posts for your mental enjoyment.  Thus, I shall keep it short and relatively painless so as not to interfere with your reality TV viewing schedule.  After all, that be more important than, you know, actually thinking, or somethin.’

That odious WWE steel cage Siren of steroids and smut threatens to wrestle the Nutmeggers into the gutter.

Shall it come to pass? Shall the alleged good taste citizens of CT, the Nutmeg State, elect the odious Linda McMahon, thus giving us visuals of her equally odious husband, one Vince McMahon of the WWE?

Sad Sack, Velma Hart and the slough that has become the American Dream.

“Sad Sack” was a strip drawn by Sgt. George Baker, and was popular with our fighting boys during World War II.  Velma Hart is the African American woman, middle class, who asked President Obama that question during a D.C. Townhall-type meeting on 20 September.  My point? Sad Sack always got the shaft, the muddy end of the stick, and Velma Hart and the middle class proles are getting the stick-daily, monthly, yearly, and it does not matter who is in the White House, or controls Congress.

Celebrity druggies unite! You have nothing to lose but…Uh, yeah, that’s the point, you have nothing to lose.  SWEET!

Do you ever wonder if there are two justice systems: one for the poor proles like you and me, walking around, day-to-day schlubs, and one for celebrities? Seriously, ever wonder how Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Rush Limbaugh get nabbed with drugs, but never seem to get tagged with the twenty in hard time the rest do?

It’s a sign.  What, you can’t see it?

In the 30 September edition of the New York Daily News there appeared a story as regards the Federal Highway Administration’s edict that New York City shall hereby change the look and lettering (font) of all said city’s street signs.  And for the today only price of $27 million.  Of course the pseudo-feds would pick up the tab.  This change from all UPPER CASE to UPPER/lower is supposed to-Wait for it!-save lives.  And this change is included in something called the “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices,” and soon to be a major motion picture.  What’s my point? It is to illustrate the ceaseless depths/layers to which government grows.  Mandate, rules and regs, orders, blah, blah bureaucracy-it never stops accumulating.

Essay phase of the exam:

DIRECTIONS: Pick two [2] of the following ten [10] questions/topics and write 500 word essays on each.  No, you may not use outside sources such as the Internet, or connect to lifelines via annoying communication devices.  You have forty-five [45] minutes, and spelllingg and pun,ctu;atio!n count.  Got me, Poindexter?
1.- Is Lady Gaga Amy Winehouse in bad clothes? Is Lindsay Lohan Amy Winehous in good clothes?
2.- Has the PGA (Professional Golf Association) rule book become a metaphor for American government regulation?
3.- Should there not be a Citizen Protection Act to protect us against government?
4.- Has America become a harlot on the street of schemes?
5.- Why do you not recognize all these demagogues on talk radio and cable TV for what they are-incestuous frauds, who are getting rich off YOU?
6.- How is it that God speaks only to those who then use being spoken to by God as a money-making device?
7.- Government service v. enrichment via government-Discuss.
8.- Who did steal the strawberries? What current American leader most resembles Captain Queeg?
9.- What shall happen first: The cast of “Jersey Shore” shall form their own third party and win the White House, or the cast shall have balloon likenesses of themselves in the Macy’s Day parade?
10.- Should ice picks be covered by the Second Amendment?

NOW SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS! THOSE THAT DO NOT WRITE, DO NOT GET THEIR FAST FOOD CARCINOGENIC FIX – Prof. Trotsky.

Ooze-Beckistan.

September 2010.  In an effort to educate the citizenry as to world geography, today I shall consider the country of Ooze-Beckistan.

Ooze-Beckistan.  A State of Mind and located within the boundaries of the United States, much like one of those Black states in South Africa, but without the Blacks.  Ooze-Beckistan is run by a cult of personality, its Supreme Leader, to be precise (Okay, God).  This works out well, as Ooze-Becks are generally of one mind, anyway.  Thus Ooze-Beckistan is a one party state, the T-Party, a party given to wrapping itself in the Ooze-Beck flag (”Don’t Defecate on Me!”) and in religious fervor, thus a mixture of politics and religion, a sort of American Shintoism, if you will.  The Ooze-Becks are usually whipped into Two Minutes Hate by Ooze-Beckistan’s ostensible First Lady, and known to the Ooze-Becks as La Pea (This appellation should not be taken as a slight against her mental acumen, but merely as a devotion.).  La Pea was found by Ooze-Beckistan’s Supreme Leader (Okay, God) floating on the last iceberg as it was slowly being devoured by the Global Warming.  Half dead, she had been saved by the World’s Last Polar Bear, and which was promptly shot dead by an Ooze-Beck  Enviro SWAT squad.  La Pea was brought to Ooze-Beck’s capital, SlyFox, where she soon recovered.  She proved to be a magnetic personality, most especially by males of a certain demographic.  In short order she was travelling about Ooze-Beckistan, garbed in leather and other bits of swag, giving speeches on the imminent moral and political decay of Ooze-Beckistan.  And what was the solution? More power and devotion to Ooze-Beckistan’s Supreme Leader (Okay God).  And the dumbed down Ooze-Becks bought it.  Of course, Ooze-Beckistan was also a state with but one media channel, the Blank Slate (Lovingly referred to as “The BS” by the adoring Ooze-Becks.), and whose motto was “A wink is as good as a nod to a brain-dead Ooze-Beck.”).

Ooze-Beckistan’s Supreme Leader was one Oozimandius Y(ahoo) Beckstan, and was often seen wandering the streets of the capital garbed in his bulletproof  vest, and dragging a mobile blackboard after him (Actually, he had people to do this-two blacks-who he called his “inclusionary sons,” sons, by the way, who were not in the Supreme Leader’s (Okay, God) will.  One can only take social justice so far.

The Supreme Leader would often abruptly stop and begin scribbling on his board, at which all citizens in the immediate area were required to stop and listen with appropriate respect to the Supreme Leader’s rants and conspiracies.  And if his chalk broke they were required to supply a new piece.

At any rate, Ooze-Beckistan is cool place to live.  It’s chief export is demagoguery and its monetary unit is the Gold Ooze.  THE END…P.S.: Jet Blue does not fly to Ooze-Beckistan.  Neither does Southwest.

On sociopolitical detritus V (10 September 2010)

September 2010.  In no particular order: *** MEMO: to Victor Davis Hanson [”Why We Miss Bush” 7 September New York Post], and other neocon nitwits: Uh, Victor, et al, NO, WE DON’T miss Bobblehead Bush, America’s second most ruinous President [next to Wilson].  Whereas I have no use for Lord Protector Obama, the current President’s record noes NOT serve as a pardon for the former President, who was a nightmare.  *** BREAKING NEWS!…GOD FILES RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST GLEN BECK AND AL SHARPTON…STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS… *** The Republicans, aka the neocons want Obama and the Dems to give credit to former President Geo. Dubya “Bobblehead” Bush for Iraq.  No, it’s true.  They wish credit for a war which was prosecuted under false circumstances-premeditated lies, actually-and I say let us give them credit in the form of gilt-edged indictments. *** Oh, and speaking of Iraq, it has been so quiet over there, yes? A veritable surge of tranquility. *** Hurricane Hooey.  I have now been blasted with seemingly ceaseless information about Hurricane Earl.  Our dumbing down media have talked and reported endlessly about this blowhard storm.  Every year our media go nuts covering weather in general and hurricanes in particular…Wait, wait, don’t tell me! When hurricanes threaten people board up homes and businesses; people leave town, and during hurricanes it rains hard; streets are flooded; the wind blows wheely-wheely hard; roofs and signs are dislodged; trees are toppled…you know, like that.  Am I right or am I correct? Please, ENOUGH! *** Sheldon Silver, Democrat and Assembly Speaker of New York State’s dysfunctional government (But thriving criminal enterprise) is a gonif, a crook, a wheeler-dealer, a schmuck.  Why is he not under arrest? [WARNING: Anyone outside of New York State who is reading this and considering a move to, or the starting of a business in NYS-DO NOT DO IT! You will regret it.  The taxes, the bureaucracy, aka private sector industry, and the regulations are lethal.  You have been warned.]. *** Do you ever notice how people who wrap themselves in God and religion are almost always the least tolerant and ones given to hate-mongering?  Like Glenn Beck and other demagogues. *** Hillary Clinton.  Oy vey, already with this woman! I recently read a news piece about a dentist with a loose cerebral molar from Somewhere, USA, who has created a “Hillary for President in 2012” commercial.  Dentist calls her one of the most admired women.  Perhaps, but why? She was married to Bill Clinton, President.  She devised a healthcare solution even more contrived than Obama’s.  She carpetbagged to NYS and ran for Senate.  She won.  She did nothing of note in that capacity [I live in NYS].  She ran against Obama and lost.  Obama named her Secretary of State.  And short of solving the ongoing bloodbath which is the Mideast Peace Process [HAH!] she shall not have done anything in that capacity either. *** Is there a more unattractive cast of gits and nits and twits than that of “Jersey Shore?” *** Is LiLo a vampire and will a vodka-laced rib eye do for a steak? *** Ooze-Beckistan, or how to get rid of it [Is there a dispersant?] *** When, oh when, shall reality TV jump the shark, or better yet, be devoured by a passel of them? *** Tattoos.  When shall this silly craze end? And why do attractive women with beautiful skin insist on defiling same with ugly tattoos?

Too bad Lincoln’s statue can’t spit.

[Note: The rampant factionalism of America’s political landscape impels me to include the following disclaimer in all my opinion posts: I am not a Republican.  I am not a Democrat.  I am not of the neocon persuasion, who are but false conservatives.  I am not of the  progressive persuasion, who are but false liberals.  I am not of the so-called Tea Party movement.  I do not belong to any organized religion.  I loathe all demagogues, thus disdain talk radio and realize our leviathan-dominated media are corrupted by self-interest profit and all manner of ideology.].

Read.  Absorb. Think.  Act!
Be obstreperous, not obsequious.

August 2010.  It is 28 August 2010, a Saturday, and two race-baiting demagogues, and all-around loathsome fellows are holding a rally-off in Washington, D.C., a city which is no stranger to loathsome individuals.  Beck and Sharpton: The loathsome leading the lame-brained.

Glenn Beck, a FOX demagogue in a line-up of demagogues, had been touting his rally at the Lincoln Memorial, on the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech.  Beck claimed he did not know his rally would be on that very date until one of his flunkies told him so.  But then, that is what demagogues do-they lie, and the BIGGER the lie the better.  Beck told his ignorant and lame-brained followers his rally was to reclaim honor and God (If God had been smart he would have issued a statement disassociating himself from both Beck and Sharpton.).  And Beck’s key guest speaker? Well, aside from himself, of course, it was the money and publicity-grubbing Sarah Palin, an empty vessel if there ever was one.  Surely, Palin must by now hold the record for the longest fifteen minutes of fame in the history of the “Fifteen Minutes of Fame” category.

The Reverend (That title applied to Sharpton and his ilk always cracks me up) Al Sharpton, long a race-baiter and huckster and, above all, an opportunist, is everywhere there are cameras, microphones and a buck to be made playing the healer.  Sharpton is head of some ruse.org called The National Action Network.  Reverend Al held a counter-rally to Beck.

Two self-absorbed, godless shills invoking God and honor.  Where is God and his lightning bolts when you really need ‘em?

Both Beck and Sharpton have followers and have raked in the moolah, which goes to show there is no shortage of ignorant and gullible dimwits traversing the landscape.

Yes, it’s hard to upstage the regular loathsome lot which occupies D.C., but on 28 August 2010 the loathsome Beck and the loathsome Sharpton did just that.  Too bad Lincoln’s statue can’t spit.

Frankly, my dears, all you sons of bitches have blood on your hands.

[Note: The rampant factionalism of America’s political landscape impels me to include the following disclaimer in all my opinion posts: I am not a Republican.  I am not a Democrat.  I am not of the neocon persuasion, who are but false conservatives.  I am not of the  progressive persuasion, who are but false liberals.  I am not of the so-called Tea Party movement.  I do not belong to any organized religion.  I loathe all demagogues, thus disdain talk radio and realize our leviathan-dominated media are corrupted by self-interest profit and all manner of ideology.].

Read.  Absorb. Think.  Act!
Be obstreperous, not obsequious.

“Tin moralists and O’Bushma comin’, 4415 dead in Iraq-I-O.”

“Hardly had the last aircraft withdrawn from the bases of Iraq than the young Harrovian king, with all his family, was murdered by the rebellious mob, and the Prime Minister Nuri es Said, a friend and ally for thirty years, was cut in pieces and dragged through the streets of Baghdad.” – From James Morris’ Farewell the Trumpets, the third volume of his Victorian  “Pax Britannica Trilogy.”

August 2010.  It is 18 August 2010 and I am listening to hyperventilations on MSNBC tell me the Iraq War is over.  The troops are leaving! Mission accomplished II? Be still my heart! Yeah, please, STOP! STOP telling me the bobblehead George Dubya,  along with his crippled, Couthonesque VEEP were men of freedom.  Please, STOP telling me about “mission accomplished.”  Please, STOP telling me General Petraeus is a warrior, a man of conscience.  Please, STOP telling me that this oily Gates fellow is a public servant to be lauded.  Petraeus and Gates, et al, are moral cowards.  If they were true men of conscience they would have long ago stood up and said to whatever President, “Sir, this war, these wars, are an abomination against the soul of America.”

We didn’t get that from them, did we?  Instead, we got body bags zipped up around dead Americans.  4,415 of them.  Four thousand four hundred and fifteen.  All dead for no damn good reason.  Spare me your national security nonsense.  Spare me your “We had to stop al-Qaeda!” drivel.  Lies, all lies.

And do not stop with the military, as Nancy Pekosi and the cowardly Dimbulbocrats kept funding the Iraq fiasco (And are now funding the Af-gaffe-istan fiasco.  “We can win in Afghanistan!,” they squeal.).  And the Republicans (NeoCONplebians?) kept screaming for more and more blood baksheesh to feed the military-industrial complex.  And today remain persistent in their calls to bomb Iran.  And do not allow the anti-war phony Hillary to sneak away.  Lots dead and lots to hold accountable.

The body bag march of folly continues apace.

Bush and Obama.  O’Bushma.  4415 dead in Iraq I-O.

Hey, who’s more nutmeggier than you?

August 2010.  Ah, CT! That’s Connecticut to you, you mere member of the unwashed.  Can you say, Con*nect*i*cut? One of the original thirteen.  The Fundamental Orders, 1639.  That olde enuff fer ye? Ah, yes, that Connecticut.  Hartford.  The center of American insurance.  Oh, and the capital of Connecticut.  Age and insurance-What more could a body want?

They are just so much better than youse and yourn (Pete?) up there in Con*nect*i*cut, don’t you know.  Better educated (Hey, isn’t that where that Ivy League brain power joint is…Same name as that lock company…Anyway, where was I?…Right, better educated and, of course, more money and better stuff to pass down to the heirs.  Better taste and…

-Whoa, hold on there, good man!

Hello, I am being interrupted by some churl whilst composing my ode to CT.  Yes, what is it, churl?

-I beg to differ on the Nutmeg State.

Object? On what grounds?

-On the grounds their taste is all in their mouths…oh, and on their charge cards.

Speak, churl, and be quick about it.  Just the facts, churl, as I have no truck with some Limbaughian rant, some FOXish faux news fairy tale.

-Chris Dodd, oily Senator, who has long used his office to feather his nest…His odious companion in the Senate Joe Lieberman, whose mere visual makes one’s skin crawl, and who has for years played both ends against the middle…This Blumenthal fellow, a prevaricator, now seeking himself to join the Senate…His opponent, this thuggish McMahon woman, who represents the debasement of all good taste and decency, and who, along with her thuggish husband have made millions in their foul, steroid-fueled, phony wrestling enterprise…This addle-brained Governor Rell, who appointed the thuggish McMahon woman to a post in education, of all positions.  And don’t forget that she has become a hedge fund whore of late.  Oh, and CT supplied the Supreme Court the opportunity to make their horrendous “Kelo v. City of New London” ruling.  Had enough? How’s that for incompetence and corruption? What say you now about these Connecticut Yankees in their Abercrombie and Fitch britches?

I say, good points, thus one would reasonably have to question the smarts and taste of those nutmeggers.  It would appear per capita income and a degree from a lock company do not dictate common sense and taste.

Sarah v. Katie: Who ya got?

August 2010.  I’ve written several pieces on our babe-dominated media, the proclivity to choose a babe-type to front for anything on our screens.  Well, Sarah Palin and Katie Couric are regarded as leg-centric babes by certain factions.  And both may considered members of the media, given Palin’s signing with those truth-seekers at FOX, and Couric with whomever she’s with these days.  They’ve crossed gams across from one another before, so  who ya got? Let’s break it down together, shall we?

MOOLAH:

Couric has received two multi-million dollar contracts from two separate networks; Palin was recently taken on by FOX for, one would suppose, big money.  And Palin is glomming yet more on the outside.  EDGE: Couric.

HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, KID:

Looks.  Hey, to each is own yadda yadda…Both have the neighborhood-cute-to-hot-mom-next door thing going, but Palin has inspired look-alike porn.  And in today’s America that scores big.  EDGE: Palin.

LEGS/GAMS:

Both women have had their legs analyzed, and have sites devoted to their gams.  I’m a leg man and I give the nod to Palin.  Perhaps if Katie were a shade taller it would be a draw.  EDGE: Palin.

BRAIN:

Oh, I know, you are automatically giving the edge to Couric because, after all, she is a network news reader.  Truth be told, I wouldn’t want either one running anything, let alone flashing their gams in the Oval Office (Okay, maybe that, but no signing stuff or pushing buttons.).  EDGE: Couric, but not by as much as you think.

TWEET SWEETS:

I don’t follow anyone on Twitter, nor would I.  I don’t know if Couric tweets, but Palin is fast becoming a Twitter twit legend.  I defy you to refudiate this.  EDGE: Palin.

CANOODLE FACTOR:

I’ve seen several photos of, and heard several reports of Katie and her canoodling.  She is close to being an urban canoodling legend.  Palin has not once been associated with canoodling.  And if she does canoodle, she is discreet.  EDGE: Couric, and big.

MOCKING SNIDE ASIDES:

Recently, Katie was heard mocking the names of Sarah’s children.  This is right out of the Limbaugh/Beck playbook.  Ouch!  But Sarah has done her share of snide mockery.  EDGE: Draw.

FASHION:

Hey, do I look like that annoying Wintour babe, here? Legs, I know.  I’ll give fashion a shot though.  Okay, first the good news: Neither woman is at risk of becoming the next Amy Winehouse or Gaga.  That’s good.  And neither shall give us the wild hits and misses of Courtney Love.  Look, Palin is Alaska Gold Rush provincial mixed with whatever she can free-glom at those celebrity ditty bag, give away thingy events.  Couric is reasonably solid within the context of the NYC tried-and-true fashion sense.  I’m sure Katie does the ditty bag glom though.  EDGE: Couric.

REALITY SHOW FODDER:

Since Palin is reportedly set to do pseudo-reality, she gets the nod.  After all, FOX pseudo news is a lot like a reality show, is it not? EDGE: Palin.

MOST ANNOYING ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN SON-IN-LAW:

Heeyyyyy, the Fonz says: Palin.  EDGE: Palin, and big.

ONE YOU’D LIKE TO SEE WALKING DOWN FIFTH AVENUE WEARING ONLY HIGH HEELS, A SCARF AND SUNGLASSES.

This category was suggested-strongly-by the editor of a former conservative magazine, one which now serves as a neocon shill organ.  He was quite firm in his choice, unwavering.  He called in using the name Mr. Anon (No period after the “n,” he said, but I recognized the voice and said, ****, is that you?).  Anyway, it’s a matter of taste.  EDGE: Draw.

WHO WOULD WIN THE PRESIDENCY, HEAD TO HEAD:

You’re automatically giving it to Palin, as she has oodles of experience, right? Not so fast, Poindexter.  Let’s give this some thought.  Palin has her base and would win a fair amount of the popular vote-Tea Par-tay on types and FOX and Limbaugh types, but I think Couric would ultimately win the female vote and would carry those big bookend states like New York and California (Can’t you see Katie’s CA commercial: on a surfboard, sun-blonde hair, little bikini almost washed away by those devilish waves-and canoodling with some goofy-footed stud?).  Besides, head to head, Couric has already bested Palin in the Interview Invitational, which turned into a reading material bitch-slap.  EDGE: Couric, your next President of these United States….Of course, all bets are off if Sharron Angle stops running from the media long enough to enter the race.
Next week’s question: Who would you most like to see crawling across a beach in Seaside Heights wearing only high heels, a scarf, sunglasses…oh, and drunk: Snooki or Gaga?

On sociopolitical detritus IV (10 August 2010)

August 2010.  In no particular order: *** Can we put Naomi Campbell, the Brit snit, on the No Fly List? *** How much more William Shatner must we endure? *** Why didn’t the Clintons, those friends to the masses, allow said masses to share the joy of their daughter’s $3 million dollar wedding? Yeah, I thought so.  Three million dollars! ***  I get a kick out of announcers (and others) who profess sadness over the demise of Tiger Woods.  Why? Did not his own stupidity bring it upon himself? Besides, he shall never have any money woes, unlike millions of others. *** Who are these feeble-minded souls?  Recently saw a photo of the annoying fraud Gaga as she was crowd-surfing, and I focused on the rapturous faces of the fans.  Again, who are these feeble-minded souls? I must wonder what percentage of our 310 million population are gullible, or ignorant, or stupid…or all three.   *** Afghan War = March of Folly, anyone…Someone?  President Obama, how do you sleep? *** Bud Selig, the ostensible commissioner of Major League Baseball, has got to go.  He is clueless-overpaid and clueless. *** Hey, is that culture of corruption thingy gone from Congress yet? I prefer to call it the Cauldron of Corruption and it has been bubbling apace for decades now.  The people deserve their representatives, as they continue to disdain making a concerted effort to demand term limits.  People keep talking about change and diversity yet continue to reelect the same tired, old farts, who continue to steal and waste and steal and waste… *** Term limits aside, if you really want to make a difference take the following two actions: 1.- Turn off the demagogues on talk radio, and 2.- Stop watching reality TV. *** Why do you (Yes, you Poindexter) stand in line for hours to buy some silly electronic gadget, which shall be altered several times within the next six months? Well, stop it! *** Noise in America has given way to yet MORE NOISE. Noisier has become noisiest.  One cannot do anything anymore without being assailed by noise: Go shopping; go to the ballpark; watch TV; go for a walk… *** Celebrity worship in America has become an epidemic, one more threatening than many of the viral scares we have been subjected to in recent years.  Today, any dolt who can keep a straight face while hoodwinking the booboisie, can achieve his/her fifteen minutes (See reality TV) *** Phil Mushnick is a columnist who covers both sport and the media.  The good news: He is one of the best columnists in the country.  The bad news: He writes for the New York Post.  *** Stanley Crouch, syndicated columnist, who has written on a wide array of subjects, including jazz, politics and social commentary, is also of that disappearing breed of the good journalist. *** Can we put the pathetic Gaga and the repulsive cast of Jersey Shore and the Kardashians and the unreal housewives on the No Fly Back list once they leave? Just fantasizing.  *** Certain individuals desire to repeal the Fourteenth Amendment, when actually the correct word for what they desire is amend the Fourteenth Amendment.

Barkers, freaks and marks: Such has America become.

[Note: The rampant factionalism of America’s political landscape impels me to include the following disclaimer in all my opinion posts: I am not a Republican.  I am not a Democrat.  I am not of the neocon persuasion, who are but false conservatives.  I am not of the  progressive persuasion, who are but false liberals.  I am not of the so-called Tea Party movement.  I do not belong to any organized religion.  I loathe all demagogues, thus disdain talk radio and realize our leviathan-dominated media are corrupted by self-interest profit and all manner of ideology.].

Read.  Absorb. Think.  Act!
Be obstreperous, not obsequious.

July 2010.  There are daily so many inspirations to compose such a piece as this, but the final stimulus was the recent “LeBron-a-Thon” [May-July] culminating with his televised special to announce which team he shall toil with over his next contract.  For the uninitiated, LeBron James is a professional basketball player, the chief prize in the current free agent market.  Where this over-promoted fellow shall play has been the source of a media nonsense orgy for seemingly a month now.  Several cities have been making fools of themselves over Mr. James.  But the LeBron nonsense is only one small aspect of our “Barkers, Freaks and Marks” society.
barker n. 2. Informal.  An employee who stands before the entrance to a show and solicits customers with loud, colorful sales talk.
freak n.  2.  An abnormally formed organism, esp. a person or animal regarded as a curiosity or monstrosity.
mark n. 14.  Slang.  A person who is the intended victim of a swindler; dupe. [Note: All definitions are from “The American Heritage Dictionary” (Second College Edition).]

The American Oligarchy, the status quo who wield the power and wealth, do not have to dumb down everyone-just enough.  If they get a big enough percentage of the American citizenry distracted by Nonsense News; by Pseudo-News; by dim-witted celebrities and individuals vested with manufactured importance (See reality TV); by the Big Lie of ideological cable stations (FOX and MSNBC); by events such as LeBron-a-Thon, well, by any amount of drivel, THEN, so distracted, the populace is easily led hither and yon by those individuals; entities; corporations; demagogues; .coms; .orgs, et al, which the American Oligarchy comprises.

Thus, we have the marks-Youse da People.  The citizenry.  The proles.  The serfs.  The indentured class.  The booboisie.  Hoi polloi.  The sans-culottes.  The Common Man & Woman.  Call these marks what you will, but they provide the foundation upon which the American Oligarchy rests, as the Oligarchy exploits them with a cynical, relentless and remorseless zeal.

Okay, so the American Oligarchy has its marks, but what of its barkers and freaks?  As the Fonz woulda said, “Heeeeyyyy!”  In short, no problem, as in current America there is no shortage of individuals who will willingly and quickly sell themselves to attain employ as a barker or freak.  After all, conscience and self-esteem are in short supply in current America.  Publicity, money and the ecstasy of seeing oneself on a screen of some sort are all of greater value than the mere pittance of conscience and self-esteem.  Thus let us first consider the barkers, as they sell the freaks.

The barkers.  Who are they? They are plentiful.  Ubiquitous.  Given the ever-changing communications technology, barkers are able to operate from anywhere and everywhere and sell everything.  Okay, blog posting dude, give us some examples of these barkers.

The barkers include our politicians of both parties, as there little difference between them; the ideologues (neocons and progressives); the demagogues of talk radio and cable TV (FOX, MSNBC, et al); the corporate bureaucracy; the mass marketers, who keep us enslaved to all manner of gadgets and gizmos and silly trends; the Madison Avenue advertising cabal, which annoys us 24/7; the celebutocracy, which comprises not only the celebs, but all the breathless reporters, the paparazzi, the reality TV industry; the Hollywood and network execs; the sports industry, which drain silly fans of their money while it leads them on, is also a prominent barker [Want a recent example of barkerism? You heard LiLo was sentenced to 90 days in the joint, right? Well, the bottom feeding celeb industry barkers have offered LiLo several hundred thousand for a pre-jail interview, a prison diary and a post-jail interview.  Can you say SICK?].

The freaks.  America’s freaks are nonentities who have been accorded publicity and wealth. And silly Americans both enable and make wealthy these freaks, even though said Americans are barely able to keep their own financial heads above water.  It is especially disheartening to realize Americans control the purse strings, however rarely choose to exert their financial power-just as they often neglect using their political power.  Thus are left to be exploited.  Okay, okay, enough with the lecturing.  So, who are some of these so-called freaks?

When I refer to freaks, I am not referring to two-headed babies, or the like, but rather those individuals upon whom Americans choose to bestow publicity and wealth and with no reasonable reason.  Consider Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Howard Stern, Simon Cowell, Dr. Phil, et al, yearly pull down millions upon millions of dollars.  So? So, in a sane and responsible society the aforementioned, and others of their ilk, would be both virtually unheard of and from.

Consider daily we are assaulted by our so-called media with visions of pouting, sneering brats and nonentities such as LiLo; Gaga; anyone named Kardashian; Hilton; the housewives of Podunk, USA; any reality TV person; washed up D listers; legions of sophomoric comedians; foul-mouthed rap and hip-hop wannabe gangsta-punks; legions of  pneumatic bimbo pseudo-singers and their sullen, posturing boyfriends [See RiRi and Katy Perry-what female role models they are!]…the list is seemingly endless.

Modesty has no place among the barkers and freaks, as it is all about buzz, publicity and, oh, right, $$$$$$$$.  Recently, I read snippets from an interview with the aforementioned Katy Perry, who issued several &%$#@*&^# as regards her relationship with some pseudo-comedian.  What class.

More recently, I read a recap of the opening show of “Real Bimbo Tramps of New Jersey.”  Apparently, one bimbo’s hair extensions were pulled out and various [bleeped out] references to crack whores were made.  Hey, who said you can’t find class and sparkling dialogue on TV anymore?

If you are reading this odds are you are a mark, thus perhaps you should consider a career change.

Rush Limbaugh is irrelevant.

[Note: The rampant factionalism of America’s political landscape impels me to include the following disclaimer in all my opinion posts: I am not a Republican.  I am not a Democrat.  I am not of the neocon persuasion, who are but false conservatives.  I am not of the  progressive persuasion, who are but false liberals.  I am not of the so-called Tea Party movement.  I do not belong to any organized religion.  I loathe all demagogues, thus disdain talk radio and realize our leviathan-dominated media are corrupted by self-interest profit and all manner of ideology.].

“Demagogues succeed for the same reason as confidence tricksters-because they have a gift of gab, charm, and an intuitive knowledge of human nature, because their personality is magnetic, and their manner is open and affable.  Men and women are so easily gulled, that a talented swindler can always be certain of making a handsome living.”  – Aldous Huxley’s Proper Studies (1927).

In current America, where every nobody receives his or her fifteen minutes, no one has received a longer fifteen minutes than Rush Limbaugh, demagogue.  The question: Why?

A few years back, Al Franken, comedian, wrote a book entitled “Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot.”  Franken, still a comedian, now serves in the U.S. Senate, a body given more to dark humor than slapstick.

Chris Matthews, a demagogue in the employ of MSNBC, recently issued a challenge to any Republican politician to come on his show and repudiate Rush Limbaugh.  Yet MSNBC’s lineup of demagogues cannot seemingly go through one evening without all of them referencing Rush Limbaugh in some derogatory fashion.

As regards Franken and the MSNBC demagogues-Why? Why mention Limbaugh at all?

As regards Republicans, why genuflect to or be cowed by Rush Limbaugh?

Allow me to offer answers.  As regards Senator Franken and the MSNBC demagogues, who serve the so-called progressive (false liberal) agenda, Limbaugh represents their Emmanuel Goldstein, but with their Two Minutes Hate extended to 24/7.  But it is all about money, as the so-called progressive demagogue shills are playing to their base so as to acquire publicity and personal wealth [Dear reader, please know that ALL demagogues are frauds, and care nothing for you and your plight.].  In short, Limbaugh is a $$$$ maker for the phony liberal set.

As regards the Republicans, they have been cowed by Limbaugh because the noxious neocons who took control of the party under Bush, the Dub-ya, long ago began mining that ancient vein of the loony which travels back to the Birchers, who believed Ike to be a commie.  Today, the Birchers have been replaced by the Birthers and Orly Taitz, et al.  Thus Republicans are cowed by the size of Limbaugh’s “Dittohead” legion.

You know who the Radio Thug Don Imus is, don’t you? Well, for years this emaciated twerp cowed those who sought his publicity machine.  Spineless moral pukes, all.  Well, Limbaugh is from the same tattered cloth.  America has created a new genre of bottom feeders, those who employ an ever-evolving technology to exploit their ever-dumbing down bases.  Thus America has been subjected to burgeoning factionalism.

Why should one be surprised Rush Limbaugh is a multi-gazillionaire?  Hell, the American people could have elected a ticket which featured an addle-brained nit as Veep, a ticket millions ultimately voted for.

The bottom line is Rush Limbaugh is no intellectual.  He is, however, a cynical, conscience-free individual who fits perfectly within the confines of Huxley’s definition at the head of this piece.  Bottom line, Rush Limbaugh is not a big, fat idiot, but a pathetic, cynical and intellectually-challenged bottom feeder-a talented swindler, yes-and, oh, with the gift of gab.  But in the end, a pathetic bottom feeder.