You're Worked Up Over The Confederate Flag - What About Your $$$?

Ever since the tragic shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, the cry for the state to remove the Confederate flag from flying over a war memorial near the capitol building has intensified. Given the state law governing the flag is unnecessarily cumbersome, it is doubtful anything will be done to remove it, especially in an election cycle. But, our money? Nary a peep about that. Reach into your pocket and pull out your money and you will see the visages of many slave owners.

This hue and cry over taking down the Confederate flag is mere posturing to make one's self look good in the current politically heated climate if there is not an equal or even greater commitment to remove the faces of slave owning presidents and men from our money. Let's look at what we have for money; first the coins.

Ah, the nickel, and staring back at us is Thomas Jefferson. A lot of times on social media forums you will see people quoting Jefferson or offering up some meme, all the while ignoring the fact he owned slaves, and he owned them while he was president. The quarter, good ol' two bits, and looking sideways at us is the Father Of  Our Country, the first president, George Washington. He, too, owned slaves and did so while president. Now, the paper currency.

Appearing once more on the one dollar bill is that slave owning guy. Same story. Same with the two dollar bill, slave owning president making a second appearance. The ten dollar bill doesn't feature a president, but the father of our modern capitalistic society, Alexander Hamilton. There is no record he owned slaves, however, since he was an ardent property rights kinda guy, he did help broker deals for slaves. On the twenty we have Andrew Jackson who not only helped with the near genocide of Native Americans but also owned slaves while he was president. The fifty dollar bill features Ulysses Grant. As a Civil War hero on the winning side, you'd think that...well, you would be wrong. He owned slaves, but not while he was president. Last, but certainly not least as they say, on the one hundred dollar bill, there is Benjamin Franklin. And yes, he owned slaves as a young man.

Some might offer the argument that these were men of their times and shouldn't be held up to our more "enlightened" present standards. As Sherman Potter used to say on M*A*S*H, "bull hockey!". Removing these slave owning men will not dim their history from our country. If we truly feel it is time for America to get with fact it is 2015, and flags should be removed, then it is long past time to replace these men's visages from our money.

 

If Yesteryear's Headlines Read Like Today's Website Headlines

I was pondering one night, weak and weary, pondering feverishly, that given the internet websites' odd 'zero tolerance' for important nouns and such, I pondered what yesteryear's headlines would be like given today's internet grammar, or lack thereof. I run on, verily.
Enjoy.

1865 - FFS! MRS. LINCOLN WON'T BE GOING BACK TO THEATRE

1876 - PLAINS INDIANS KNOW MATHEMATICS, ARMY NOT SO MUCH

1889 - LMAO, AMERICANS SURPRISED BY OUTCOME OF RESULTS

1912 - LOL, PASSENGERS ON LINER FIND THEIR ROUND TRIP TICKETS ARE ONLY ONE WAY

1929 - WALL STREET INVESTORS TO KEEP OFFICES ON FIRST FLOOR FOR THIS VERY OBVIOUS REASON

1932 - YANKEE DOES THIS AMAZING THING

1939 - SOUTHERN FILM WINS AWARDS

1941 - UNITED STATES IS ANGRY OVER JAPANESE HAWAIIAN AIR SHOW

1945 - OMG! HITLER FINDS SOVIET SHELLING NEARBY, THE RESPONSE IS PRICELESS

1945 - JAPANESE ANGRY OVER UNITED STATES AIR BURST

1953 - ROSENBERGS FIND CHAIR ENLIGHTING

1963 - TRIP TO DALLAS ENDS IN SURPRISE FOR PRESIDENT KENNEDY

1964 - BRITISH INVASION CURSES AMERICAN PARENTS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT WILL AMAZE YOU

1965 - U.S. TROOPS FIND THEIR ASIAN HOLIDAY NOT AS ADVERSTISED

1969 - BALTIMORE UPSET BY NEW YORK

1973 - PRESIDENT NIXON FINDS TAPED EXPLETIVE OFFENSIVE AND DELETES IT BY NIGHTFALL

1979 - LOL, AMERICANS SURPRISED BY REVOLUTION, WHO KNEW?

1980 - MT. ST. HELENS LOSES 1,000 FEET WHERE IT WENT MAY SURPRISE YOU

1983 - U.S. FLEXES MIGHT OVER TINY ISLAND TO SAVE STUDENTS GRADES SAVED TOO

1994 - EX-FOOTBALL STAR GETS VERY RUDE AWAKENING

2001 - LMAO, AMERICANS SURPRISED BY OUTCOME OF RESULTS


 

WACO PART DEUX - Bikers vs. Cops

UPDATES BELOW

OK.
Here's one thing about the Waco Bikers vs. Cops shootout on May 17th, 2015. I've looked at the one hundred plus mug shots. Remember it was a big biker brawl with chains and knives and then guns and damn if those mug shots look fine! I mean, mighty fine. Not a cut, nor scrape nor green eggs and ham. But, anyway, damn(!), but them guys are behind bars on a $1 million bond each. Why not? We only killed nine, I mean they 'only killed nine'. Who had guns? Uhm... Or, injured 18. Wait. What? What was the final tally in all this bloodshed? But, please, fer gersh sakes, ignore those mug shots! Ignore! Ignore! Ignore! Big biker brawl. We should be seeing some scrapes, perhaps a minor bruise? A little itty bitty cut maybe?



(Need to make a cell call, OK, brother? Well, no prob, brother.)

OK.
So, by now you know I think something is up other than a biker brawl "gone bad". The meeting was known well in advance. Law Enforcement knew about it a month previously. Associated Press has seen the in restaurant video (which, of course, at this date has not been publicly released) and it does not jibe with this big ass biker brawl in the restaurant. Again, look at those mug shots. But, anyway, so in an age of everyone with a cell phone camera, we have only one. Uhm, OK, that makes sense, I guess, oh(!) has the world gone...uhm, anyway, no video of this big ass bike brawl, with some 200 bikers, plus the people in the breastaurant and, why bo-de-dedle-lee, please stop looking at my breasts! Start shooting some gosh darn video that is going to buttress this story. AND, yes, I said buttress. Wait. What?

UPDATE
Apparently, Waco is holding the detained Americans for ransom.

2ND UPDATE
Officials are finally being slightly scrutinized for this behavior.
http://news.yahoo.com/texas-officials-under-scrutiny-biker-shootout-case-134230082.html

 

The Service Requested is Not Medically Necessary...

Written by Justin Lane
(guest author)

The Affordable Care Act was admittedly, a step forward. Millions of Americans who could not access health care before because of costs and pre-existing conditions are finally able to access the medical services they need. That said, it is far from a perfect system – and is a poor substitute for publicly-funded, guaranteed, no fuss, no-nonsense health care services enjoyed by those living in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany (which instituted universal health care in 1872), France and virtually every other industrialized nation. Periodically, there are reminders that health care services in the United States are still operated by a corrupt, for-profit system – and too many Americans are still falling through the cracks.

Case in point – Rod H.
An aspiring actor residing in Los Angeles, Rod's income disqualified him from obtaining insurance through California's marketplace. Fortunately, California is one of the states that has adopted the Medicare Expansion, so he was able to obtain coverage through Medi-Cal. Unfortunately, when the rubber hit the road and Rod was in serious need of medical attention, the company he wound up with – a “managed care” network known as “Preferred IPA” – demonstrated that in many ways, the bad old days of bureaucracy, denials and “profits over people,” bottom line corporate mentality are still with us.

Given Drugs and Sent Home
Rod had been with Preferred IPA only a short time when he began experiencing pain and started noticing blood in his urine. While there are multiple reasons as to why this occurs, it's generally a symptom of a serious medical condition – and not one to simply be ignored. Rod went to a nearby emergency room at the beginning of August, 2014. Diagnosis: infection. Treatment: send patient home with antibiotics.

The bleeding and pain continued. Rod's next step was to schedule an appointment with his “Preferred Care Provider” (PCP). Getting into see the doctor took over three weeks. The PCP scheduled an entire battery of tests, including blood, stools and urine. All results came back negative for cancer, the primary concern. Again, Rod was sent home with pills.

Since getting those test results, the bloody urine has become a near daily occurrence – and the pain has not eased. Over the next several months, Rod visited the emergency room numerous times. Each time resulted in the same diagnosis and treatment. In Rod's words: “Hey! You have blood in  your urine! Really? And a very, very minor infection. So, here's  some pills and go the f*** home!” In November, Rod returned to his PCP. The physician wondered if he might have kidney stones – a painful, potentially serious, but easily treated condition caused by excess minerals in the urine. Rod underwent two sonograms in order to discover if this was indeed the case – but the procedures revealed nothing.
It was time to consult a specialist.

The Final Diagnosis
Rod was finally able to see a specialist in January, 2015 – over five months since he had begun experiencing symptoms. The urologist discovered that Rod had a bladder tumor. It was not known if the tumor was malignant or not – but it was urgent to have it removed immediately, if not sooner.
Preferred IPA, with its corporate mentality, has its own idea as to what constitutes “urgent.” Rod would spend the next several weeks in attempts to get his surgery scheduled. This proved to be like the proverbial mating of elephants (done with a great deal of heaving and grunting at a high level, taking two years to obtain results).  By mid-February, Rod's PCP, also frustrated by the delays, advised him to “take the bull by the horns” and apply pressure by calling his urologist daily to find out if his needed surgery had been scheduled.

That was on February 24th. In the meantime, Rod was forced to cut back on auditions and turn down paying work for fear that it would aggravate his condition. Finally, however, Rod received notice on March 12th that his surgery had been approved.  Over the next two weeks, he was sent information on the procedure as well as prescriptions for various medications in preparation for the operation.
On March 24th – nearly eight months since the onset of his symptoms – Rod was scheduled for surgery.

Only in the USA
Only hours before undergoing surgery, Rod was informed that the surgery had been canceled – not by the doctor, not by the hospital, but by Preferred IPA, which had approved the surgery in the first place. The initial reason given was that the insurance company wanted the operation performed by a surgeon that was “in their network.” However, in a letter, Rod was also told that, according to the California Code of Regulations, Title 22 CCR, § 51303, the “service requested is not medically necessary.”

To re-iterate: the man has a painful bladder tumor that may indicate a serious, even life-threatening condition – but according to “regulations,” having it removed is “not medically necessary.”
Rod was referred to another “in-network” for “evaluation and treatment to be done at a LA Care MediCal contracted facility.” On a social media site, Rod posted his feelings about the latest delay, which could have been said by any number of Americans over the past generation and more:
“...a significant delay will be had before any actual surgery takes place. Meanwhile, of course, the tumor continues to grow and I continue to bleed and insurance  companies continue to profit.”

Still Waiting...
As of this writing, Preferred IPA has graciously deigned to allow Rod have (yet another!) consultation with an “approved” urologist on April 30th in order to confirm what the previous specialist has already diagnosed (there's some “free market efficiency” for you!) By then, it will be nine months since the onset of his symptoms – and he will still be waiting for surgery to be approved and scheduled. In the meantime, he has called upon his friends and acquaintances to contact Preferred IPA as well as the surgeon and demand that the date of surgery be moved up. Rod also contacted a lawyer from the Independent Medical Review Board. The conversation was brief – primarily, the lawyer wanted to know if he was “satisfied” with Preferred IPA's decision.

Rod gave the answer one would expect. It's a conversation that would not even be necessary if the U.S. was not controlled by amoral, profiteering corporate vampires determined to literally suck the lifeblood out of the American people – the same corporate tyrants that blocked every attempt to institute true, guaranteed, publicly-funded health care of all.

As Rod continues to suffer pain and bleeding every day, and as this potentially dangerous tumor in his bladder continues to grow while he waits for a procedure deemed “medically unnecessary” in the USA that would have been done for him almost immediately in any other democracy on the planet, his story serves as a reminder that under America's hyper-capitalist, bottom-line society, profits continue to trump concern for human life and well-being. The Affordable Care Act may, as talk show host and author Thom Hartmann says, be the proverbial “camel's nose under the tent” – but there are millions of Americans who may not be able to wait for the rest of the camel.

NOTE
Rod has had a biopsy from his new urologist (results pending) and his tumor, of course, has grown larger since the previous procedure. Surgery is scheduled for later in May.

2ND NOTE
Rod has had surgery (results pending) has been officially diagnosed with cancer.

 

COPS BEAT A COMPLYING SUSPECT AFTER HORSE PURSUIT

UPDATE BELOW

It would seem we are reading on websites and seeing even on the usually lame Mainstream Media (MSM) more and more lately how cops across the country have gone almost totally out of control. As if this is some new 21st century phenomenon. But, it is not. More people and news outlets have cameras and are simply exposing what has always existed in America: the dark underbelly of unbridled police brutality. A good analogy would be how there are more and more sightings of wild animals in populated areas. Why? Because the population has sprawled into and destroyed their normal hunting grounds.

Now, cops are literally facing the cameras they don't even know that are there. It pisses them off it would seem. Cops are not taking it lying down, employing their cronies in the legislatures across America to draft and pass laws banning citizens from filming the police. Who is working for who here anyway?

Today, a man in San Bernardino County saw San Bernardino Sheriffs' Department officers serving a warrant on a neighbor. Thinking the police were after him, he fled in a vehicle. Then, he abandoned the vehicle and was fleeing on foot in the rugged countryside. Then, he stole a horse from a group of people and fled on the horse. Police pursued with a helicopter and off-terrain vehicles. Eventually, they caught up with man and used a taser on the suspect and he fell off the horse. Police tasered the man again. What happened next was exclusively caught on video by a KNBC/Los Angeles helicopter as seen below.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Man-on-Stolen-Horse-Stunned-by-Sheriffs-Deputies-in-IE-299250951.html

As you can see, the suspect complies by placing his hands behind his back. That doesn't bloody matter as the cops go insane! They kick him in the head at least a dozen times and also kick him in the ribs and in the groin. When they are finally spent, the suspect lies motionless on the ground. As far as is known at this time, the suspect is still alive.

What we are seeing are cops becoming jury, judge and most of time, executioners or in this case punishers. That's not their job last time I check. But, this has been going on for decades and decades. Now, with more cameras, we are seeing the horrors. If nothing else, taxpayers must rise up in defense of their own pocketbooks if they don't want to criticize the police or think that it was a "good arrest". For lawsuits follow cowardly, pathetic crap like this and tens of millions, if not more, have been paid out to victims of these brutal acts and murders. And it isn't these POS cops paying the lawsuits, it is YOU!

UPDATE
KNBC/Los Angeles has included an interview with the beaten man on their website. Link below.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Francis-Pusok-Talks-San-Bernardino-County--299582141.html

 

The Boston Baked Bombing Game!

As we all know (or should), the trial of the Boston Baked Bomber, Joker Tsarnaev, is underway in Boston and he is as guilty as sin. We know this because his own lawyers said he was guilty in their opening statement last week. If his government appointed attorneys say he is guilty then that's good enough for me. Regardless that one of his lawyers said before the trial started that the surveillance video of Joker dropping the pressure cooker bomb laden backpack on the ground didn't exist, the prosecution introduced it in the trial! Apparently, the rule of discovery doesn't exist for this trial or his lawyers are idiots; or, of course, both. Watch the video below and you see Joker with the backpack and then he doesn't have it.

Why, that cocksucking little Chechen bastard! But, wait! Like so many things related to the Boston bombing, there is an anomaly. Joker's backpack is light in color, but the FBI will go to it's grave saying the bomb backpacks were black. Well, if the FBI says the backpacks were both black, then that's good enough for me! As Americans, we should know better than to use any critical thinking skills. I mean, really! So, now it's time to look at just a few more of these odd anomalies (for looking at them all would take weeks to create and days to read and as Americans, the last thing we want to do is read for days). Let us play the Boston Baked Bombing game! It's easy, but, I must warn you, it is also ultimately depressing.

The bombs have been described as very powerful. Look, depending on the source, the bombs injured anywhere from 170 to 250 people and killed 3 people. How then can we fathom that the second bomb (the one planted by Joker) couldn't even knock over plastic cups on a table only 10 feet away?

You can see the plastic cups on the table to the left of the woman in red.

Here are the same plastic cups on the same table in the same position after the explosion.

Let's blame it on the odd happenstance of air currents and that flying shrapnel and people never hit the table so we can sleep better at night. Along those same lines, an even stranger occurrence happened at the first bomb site. It involved two wooden benches situated about 25 feet from the blast.



This photo was taken about 10 seconds after the first blast, they look pretty good.



The same wooden benches in a photo taken about 30 minutes later and they're smashed to pieces.

I'm sure that some delayed, uhm, er, there's a property in physics that, uhm, and oh just fucking forget it. Joker's guilty, just go back to sleep. Now, it's time to move on to blood. We see blood all the time. In movies, video games, television and even theatre (especially if you go see a production of Titus Andronicus). Here are 2 rather nearly insane examples of blood, both at the first bombing site. Let's start with the man. For nearly 20 seconds after the blast we see this man standing with his wife and daughter as they react to what just happened. They are about 25 feet away from the blast and when the strange second engulfing smoke cloud comes along, they disappear. Then we see the man lying prone in front of a candy store and it's been about a minute since the explosion.

He is obviously in some pain, but as you can see, there is no blood below his raised leg.

A few seconds later there is blood below his leg.

About a half-a-minute later, there's blood all over the place, despite the tourniquet.

What the hell? He was standing with no blood and then he was lying down with no blood and then there is blood all over the place. But, he wasn't the only one. There were many others with this long delayed sudden bleeding. Let's look at one more: a poor, helpless old lady. In this first picture, she is sitting on the sidewalk about 10 feet away from the blast and about 6 seconds afterward. She is obviously in shock, but there is no blood except for a trickle on her right knee and then...well, by now, you can probably guess.

Here she is about 5 minutes later. What the hell indeed? Not a mark on her in those places before and then she looks like she's been in an explosion...oh, that's right!

I don't know about you, but when I cut myself it starts bleeding right away and if it is a real bad cut it bleeds like a son of bitch, especially on the head. I don't know if I can sleep well at night after this part of the game, but no matter, the government's story is the correct one. Why would they lie? Finally, it's a gallery of the effects of both black backpack bombs: shredded pants, but no blood. Well, in later pictures, of course, we see them with blood all over, but in the immediate aftermath, the bombs have shredded their pants, although modestly leaving the underwear untouched. Odd bombs to be sure. Sending the shrapnel no higher than the waist most of the time, unless one was sitting down, of course. And this is how the game ends. You're left to figure it out and to realize that there are no winners here. There is something wrong here, to be sure, and it will probably never be addressed except on those cwazy conspiracy sites, which is a shame. This was a tragedy, but mixed in with this tragedy were some very dark underpinnings of time, space and the belief of one's own eyes to look at it.

My thanks to Peekay for inspiring this article

All photos copied under Fair Use
 

Pastor Refuses To Do Funeral Service For Lesbian Who Shot Self While Cleaning Gun

Outrage, and rightfully so, after a Pastor refused to continue a funeral service for a Lesbian because of photos showing her kissing her wife. Nowhere in the Think Progress story is a reason for a 33 year old to have died suddenly. The answer is buried in the story at this link. Social media has taken the Pastor and the church to task for demeaning and insulting the service and the friends and family who had gathered to attend. Yet, hardly anyone has pointed out that she died while cleaning her gun.

I can think of dozens upon dozens of postings on social media about how yet another "backwards", "gun lover" idiot shot himself (it always seems to be a man) to death while cleaning their gun. The righteousness in pointing out other people's misfortune, especially when it comes to gun owners, boarders on and sometimes teeters over into morbid gleefulness. Or perhaps, perverse satisfaction is a better phrase.

(Photo by Nick M; under Fair Use)

Yet, is the idea of a left-wing, Lesbian gun owner something that cannot be reconciled? I don't think so. When reading through most of the articles about this outrage and the accompanying social media comments, however, one would be hard pressed to find mention of how she died. I think it is that it would screw up the narrative of yet another backwards church refusing services for homosexuals. Throw in that she was a gun owner and that she accidently killed herself while cleaning her gun and too many people, both on the left and right of the spectrum, would probably have a "system's overload". They couldn't reconcile two seemingly different narratives because that's not what they have been hard-wired for.

This appears to one of those "have your cake and eat it to" situations. Simple narratives would like to focus on the outrage of a Pastor refusing funeral services on the basis of sexual orientations and leave the whole gun owner cleaning a loaded gun out of it. Simple narratives would like to focus on the gun owner cleaning a loaded gun and keep the church, Pastor and sexual orientation out of it.


 

Dear Health Care System

Dear Health Care System,

Well, it's been quite a week, hasn't it? It seems you have reached a point with me wherein you haven't a clue what to do with me anymore. You wanted me there at 9am to withdraw some blood and I was there at 8:58am. At 10:36am, after several people were called ahead of me, I just fucking left.

Of course, once a specialist sees me and renders his/her verdict, then you will have something to sink your teeth into. Until that time, when I visit your crowded ER once again I am sure, you will shake your weary head and shrug your weary shoulders. You will wonder aloud how strange it is that a man should be having such a problem, and whether or not I have an infection to go along with the 1/2 pint or so blood loss per event (which alarms me more than you), you'll give me some antibiotics, pat me on the head and send me home.

I know you desperately want some satisfaction and sometimes you seem a bit hostile that I don't have any kidney, bladder, prostate or even liver maladies. You're left holding an empty bag and the best you can do is wave a scolding finger at me because I smoke (even though that has nothing to do with it). Yet, fear not! Perhaps the bubble on my bladder will burst and you can get all atwitter with excitement treating some good old fashioned peritonitis! The cutting, the sucking, the sewing! You will be very pleased with yourself then and have a feeling of accomplishment.

Signed,
Your Health Care Pal

 

Top Ten Blog Posts Of 2014

Yes, it's that time of year when folks roll out the ol' top ten lists for the year. In the past, I have listed the top ten blog posts according to readership. This year, I've decided to list my favorite top ten for 2014. It is an eclectic array of topics, as usual. Here we go!

#1 - Race Hatred: THE Divisive Issue - http://rod-harrel.blogspot.com/2014/03/race-hatred-divisive-issue.html

#2 -  9/11 Museum Of Rich Crass Elites & Tastelessness - http://rod-harrel.blogspot.com/2014/05/911-museum-of-rich-crass-elites.html

#3 - Forget The First Amendment - Jail Climate Change Deniers! - http://rod-harrel.blogspot.com/2014/03/forget-first-amendment-jail-climate.html

#4 - Multiple Gunmen Yet AGAIN! and AGAIN! - http://rod-harrel.blogspot.com/2014/05/multiple-gumen-yet-again.html

#5 - It's Not About "Burger Flippers" It's About The Devalued Dollar - http://rod-harrel.blogspot.com/2014/05/its-not-about-burger-flippers-its-about.html

#6 - A Tale Of Two Transvestites - http://rod-harrel.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-tale-of-two-transvestites.html

#7 - Critical Thinking Is Becoming Passé In The 21st Century - http://rod-harrel.blogspot.com/2014/06/critical-thinking-is-becoming-passe-in.html

#8 - The Cigarettes Of 'The Maltese Falcon' - http://rod-harrel.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-cigarettes-of-maltese-falcon.html

#9 - Video Of Boy Saving Girl From Sniper Fire In Syria IS FAKE! - http://rod-harrel.blogspot.com/2014/11/video-of-boy-saving-girl-from-sniper.html

#10 - The Middle East Wars From A To Z - http://rod-harrel.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-middle-east-wars-from-to-z.html

 

SONY E-Mail Leaks Are Not About Bickering Executives & Actors

NOW WITH UPDATE

Unless you have been under a rock lately, you have heard about how Sony Entertainment Pictures e-mails were hacked by a group who does not want the company to release the movie, "The Interview". So, this group released a whole bunch of e-mails that put Sony executives in an embarrassing kettle of hot water. The Mainstream Media (MSM), of course, focused on e-mails in which Angelina Jolie was called a spoiled brat and musings on what sort of films President Obama would like (black themed ones naturally). But, perhaps the MSM was doing its job by obfuscating the real surprise contained in e-mails released thus far. A most dangerous surprise.

(WE will erase your site from the internet!!!)

The Verge published an article on their website that what Hollywood is really up is to break the Domain Name System (DNS), the backbone of the internet. And that is pretty scary indeed. Essentially, the documents that were leaked, "reveal a frightening line of attack that's currently being considered by the MPAA: What if you simply erased any record that the site was there in the first place?" Sounds Orwellian but it is entirely possible!

As the article points out, the leaked memo "sketches out a legal case for blocking infringing sites from the DNS records entirely, like wiping unsavory addresses out of the phone book". It has been shown in the past that some of the pirating on the internet that Hollywood studios have been complaining about are done by people on the payroll of said studios. This allows them to cry "more internet control" and this DNS tactic shows just how Hollywood would accomplish it without any Congressional law. A worthwhile and sobering read.

UPDATE
Now that the distributors have grown to a large enough number not wanting to show "The Interview" because of perceived North Korean 9/11 type threats, Sony Pictures had no choice but to cancel the release of the film. The company now has no plans to ever theatrically release the film! This blaming North Korea and the threats now smells like a false flag serving as a distraction away from what the linked article here is all about.

 

Help Me Fix My Front Tooth

Hello to all my loyal followers and readers alike!

I've started a GoFundMe campaign to fix my tooth, because, all I want for Christmas a new front tooth. If you look to the right of my main blog page, you will see a button you can click on that will take you right to the site. The explanation for this campaign is also on the site, but, in brief, fixing my tooth would open up a new avenue to seek acting work here in Los Angeles.

(The author shows no shame as he brazenly poses with his adorable cat Abra in an attempt to elicit sympathy for his cause!)

Given my usual eclectic postings this might seem a bit off, but it is very important. Even though I have dental insurance, it doesn't cover the entire cost of the procedure (see campaign site). Your help is very appreciated and if you are unable to help, please like the page and/or share with someone who might help. Thank you Random Thoughts Of A Random Guy From A Random Place Up In The Sky readers!

 

Look My Eye Socket Is Shattered

No, you lying scum, your eye socket is not shattered.

 

Video Of Boy Saving Girl From Sniper Fire In Syria IS FAKE!

Oh, Rod, you tin foil hat wearing conspiracy nutter you, how could even think that the video of the brave little boy saving a girl from sniper fire in Syria is fake?

Because, it turns out, my friends, that it was! The You Tube channel, an anti-Assad channel, posted the video as real, but then the Norwegian filmmakers who made the video admitted it was fake. But, of course, they did the fake propaganda piece for all the right intentions. They wanted to start a discussion of the plight of children in war torn regions. Well, give me a fucking break. Here is the video below.

Now here is a report from a United States television station praising the "heroism" of the boy. Fake video being presented as real news. Even going so far as to say that, "(e)xperts who viewed the video say they have no reason to doubt this incredible act of heroism is real." Experts? At what? Experts at lying? Because, they are surely not experts at examining video are they? And where are the retractions in the media? The sense of any real embarrassment of showing this fake video as real? What is very instructive about how propaganda works is by looking at the comments from both the fake video on You Tube and from the news channel that presented the video as absolutely true. Once a lot of commentators realized they had been duped, they went along with the idea it wasn't so bad because it did start a dialogue. Holy blinders, Batman! Yeah, it sure did start a dialogue; a dialogue of hatred and bigotry!

(Look, Ma, I'm a Hero!)

The filmmakers truly believe that by faking propaganda they are somehow advancing a dialogue about what children go through in war regions. They even admit to surprise that anyone watching it would believe it was real! Give me a break! The grant they wrote to get Norwegian government money even stressed the point they would release the video without informing viewers that what they were seeing was faked. Essentially, these loathsome propagandists have done a disservice to the real plight of children caught in war and have also called into question the reality of any future videos that may be seen on You Tube or on broadcast and cable networks. Perhaps, that is the real intention of this whole charade. Perhaps, it is to obfuscate the "conspiracy nutters" idea that previous videos shown on television "news" have also been faked. That Anderson Cooper wasn't really reporting from a war zone but merely standing comfortably before a green screen at a New York studio. But, I digress.

It would appear that it is not conspiracy theorists wearing the tin foil hats, but the dupes who believe what they watch on the news is real.
 

WAKE UP And Realize This Is A Two Party Dictatorship

Nothing brings out the worst in Democratic voters than losing.

Nothing brings out the worst in Republican voters than losing.

And nothing brings out the scrawny, pointy finger of shame of both party's voters than the idea that some people have figured out the United States of America's political system is nothing more than a two party dictatorship and that's why some of those people don't vote. The owners' of these scrawny, pointy fingers don't realize that it is such a dictatorship and hence their 'tsk-tsk' and 'cluck-cluck' at those who do understand speaks volumes; or at least it should.

After an election such as the 2014 mid-terms, the 2000, the 2004 and so on, the spinners make a washing machine seem clunky and slow. Losing is winning!

Of course, since the Republicans won big in last night's mid-term we get wonderful examples of Democrats creating and distributing charming memes such as the one below.

Then, we get, from the so-called party of tolerance and inclusion a cargo ship or two full of the most prejudicial, stereotype and bigoted caricatures as one could imagine. All the while, they conveniently ignore how the Obama administration has continued and expanded upon the draconian path began with the Bush administration about, oh say, 10 minutes after 9/11.

BUT WAIT!

THERE'S MORE!

The Republicans do the exact same thing when they lose, too!

Yet, rarely, and boy do I mean rarely, does anyone pop their head out of the sand and admit that we live in a two party dictatorship. Wall Street and the Military/Industrial complex are the real party and those in national office are beholden to their owners. Some out there do understand this and act accordingly whether by not voting, at least admitting this has been a problem for decades, or actively seeking ways to overcome the dictatorship. But, that last part is difficult considering how entrenched the machine has become. It is easier to be a lemming, nay, a smug lemming, and follow the Limbaughs, the Savages, the Maddows or the Stewarts (who are all corporate shills by the way, get the picture yet?) and parrot their spewed garbage as if it were gospel.

One of the major activities of the two party dictatorship is sowing divisiveness with your favorite political footballs. Abortion! Illegal Immigrants! Racism! Guns! Health Care!

Look around two party adherents, nay, zealots, and tell me when was the last time any of the events listed below happened in the last 40 years.

- Abortion was outlawed
- Government storm troopers came and took away your guns
- You wanted to pick vegetables or fruits
- Government storm troopers came and ripped up your health card
- You must stop speaking English

Well, you get the picture. It hasn't happened because it isn't going to happen. Otherwise, we could no longer be divided. We might become like Toto and pull back the curtain to reveal to the others what is happening with that man. And to update for modern times, or that woman, too.

 

ANNOUNCING - New Gaza Housing Development

ANNOUNCING:


A new housing development in Gaza. Yes, it's true! You and your loved ones can move into this beautiful new house in the brand new Gaza housing development! The leases for these gorgeous "houses" are going fast! The amenities are nearly too numerous to mention.

Check out the central heating. You will never go cold again, my friends. Of course, there is ample space for you to place your furniture into any configurations you can think of, within your lease agreement terms, of course. Plenty of room for your pets to wander about the development as well! What schools and hospitals that still exist are within a rocket launch away from this fabulous development!

As some of our prospective buyers have discovered, you are merely buying back your own "homes", but what the hey, a family's got to do what a family has got to do! Am I right, my friends? Hope to see you soon!

 

Cell Phone Service Down Around The Country - Mainstream Media Blackout

NOW INCLUDES UPDATES

When I got home from a gig in Hollywood yesterday (September 12th), I discovered I no longer had text or calling capabilities with my cell phone. After doing some research, I found that this is a wide spread problem across the nation with not only my cell provider (Sprint), but with other companies as well.

Interestingly enough, this massive outage affecting millions of Americans has been totally unreported by the Mainstream Media (MSM). Go ahead and check it out for yourself, for as of this writing, absolutely nothing about this has been reported. The only information outside of Sprint's Facebook page comes from a website called downdectector.com. Here are Sprint's nationwide outages as of the time of publication of this blog post. But, as I've mentioned, it is not only Sprint. Here's the nationwide map for US Cellular. Things with AT&T look even worse. Lastly, and randomly, here is what the map for T-Mobile looks like.

(The author failing once again to get a connection.)

Reading the comments for each map reveals some interesting and on-going problems that haven't been confined to just the last 24 to 48 hour period. The person on Sprint's Facebook page is trying to get some answers to the problem, but it kind of reminds me of that song, "Nowhere Man". What is more frustrating and a bit unsettling than the phone service being down is the utter lack of any MSM coverage. Why that is, I have found nary a clue. Repeated e-mails to the local news TV stations have gone unanswered. If anyone out there reading this is having similar problems, please make a comment. I'll provide any updates when they are applicable. Hello?

UPDATE

According to Sprint on-line staff, as far as my situation goes, it is caused by "a tower is currently impaired in your area. Our network team is aware and working diligently to resolve the issue." This doesn't explain what is happening around the country, of course. I still cannot text or make calls.

2ND UPDATE

After nearly 48 hours I can sort of get the phone to work. By that I mean I have to try several times before a call will go through AND THEN WHILE I'M STANDING IN THE BACKYARD! Sprint wants me to take my phone to one of their stores for some diagnosis which makes no sense to me as it is their problem. Besides, I don't have the time to do that because I'm busy working to pay for the service to begin with. Solar flares my ass!

3RD UPDATE

By standing in the backyard in 107 degree heat I was able to finally contact Sprint's 'customer service' on the my phone. I was told that they are aware of the problem but it will not be fixed until THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH! That would be nearly a week. And they are blaming it on a single cell tower in my neighborhood. Does that make any sense? Is this some scam to make me buy a new phone? And there are still no reports about it on the news. You decide.

4TH UPDATE

Here we are, Day 17, and the problem has still not been fixed. It was, I was told, to be fixed today. But, no. Time to go in the backyard and hopefully find a signal and then call the inappropriately named Sprint Solutions.

 

Where In The World Is Barack Obama?

I ran across this video on the so-called interweb. In it, President Obama appears out of nowhere to give his 'peaceful' bomb the shit out of ISIS speech. Beside the point that ISIS was created by the United States Government to fight that badass Assad from Syria and is now our new, polished public enemy number one, we have the Obombster seemingly being beamed in ala Scotty-style to give his latest all important speech to the American sheeple, er, uh, I mean , people. I mean, where in the world is Barack Obama? This green screen speech given on the anniversary of 9/11 is odd enough, but Obama appearing, nay materializing, to give the speech is well, uhm, a bit bizarre, don't you think? Kill Usama! Oh, wait, we already did, right?

I mean, really, here is this video of him appearing out of nowhere. It must be a Republican plot, right? Well, then, there, now. Regardless, the President Peace Prize once again extolls us into yet another war. Another war. I'm so fucking tired of these endless wars. Aren't you?

P.S.
The video, is of course, no longer available. That should tell you something.

 

Help Out Clyde Lewis Of Ground Zero Radio

My pal, Clyde Lewis, host of Ground Zero Radio, is in need of some financial help due to yet more medical problems. Here is a link to a site soliciting donations on Clyde's behalf and a disclaimer states that Clyde himself has nothing to do with setting it up. Just something a friend and a fan decided to do. This blog post is my way of doing what little that I can.

I first met Clyde when I appeared on his show to plug my new documentary, "John Lennon - A Conspiracy Of Silence". Although I don't agree with Clyde's theories about Lennon's assassination and some other theories he has, I found the experience fun and enjoyable. When the Occupy movement hit Portland, Oregon, I did a film about it that featured Clyde, along with his sometime cohort, Eric Sloane. See the link below for that particular video and if you can give anything for this donation drive, fantastic, if not, please share this with your friends.

 

IT'S HARREL, WITH ONE "L"!

Sometimes being an actor means your name gets misspelled in the credits. Not my first name, but my last name. It hasn't happened that often, but it did recently on a short film I performed in, of which a DVD copy was shipped to me. It's always the same mistake, instead of Rod Harrel, the billing is "Rod Harrell". The film in question, "Diana Leigh", is very good and considering it's low budget, me asking the producers to fix the mistake would be rather pointless. But, it is irksome mainly because it relates me to the side of the family that once owned slaves.

As far as I know about my family history, the clan may have originated in a hamlet in Normandy, France named Harel. There is also the odd chance that I may be related somehow to the person who "invented" Camembert cheese! Regardless, the family probably immigrated to Great Britain and from there, perhaps around 1750-1770, immigrated to the United States. Shortly after arriving, there was some sort of fight amongst the Harrel family and they split up. The Harrels apparently settled in the Indiana/Kentucky area while the Harrells (now sporting an extra "l" at the end of the name) wound up going to the South. That was about all I knew about outside of the direct lineage of my father, grandfather and so on. That is, until the early part of the 21st century when I got a sweet gig helping remodel a restaurant.

On a certain pay day, I happened to notice that one of my co-worker's last name was "Harrell". This was interesting for two reasons: one, it's not a common name and two, he was a black man. So, during lunch break I engaged him in a conversation about our similar last names whereupon I learned the ugly truth: the Harrells were once plantation owners and owners of slaves and those slaves were his descendants! In fact he knew more about the family history of Harrel/Harrell than I did. He regaled me with some stories I already knew (like the fight that split up the family) and some that I did not.

Besides the business about slavery, he told me that there still existed a town called Harrellsville and it was in North Carolina. Sporting a current population of about 106, it was more than likely built around the old Harrell plantation and was a far cry from it's mid-nineteenth century population of nearly 10,000. The fact that Mr. Harrell knew so much about my side of the family history indicated to me that some of the split up family must of had communicated.

(The courthouse in Harrellsville, North Carolina.)

What of Mr. Harrell himself? At the time I knew him, he was living in a flop house across the street from the restaurant we were helping to remodel. He wound up there after a divorce from his wife. He had played football in college and some professional football in minor, short lived leagues such as the United States Football League as a running back. I mused that I had more than likely seen him play football on television. Although it was a brief encounter with Mr. Harrell, I found him to be affable and, of course, highly knowledgeable of the family history. It was because of this meeting that besides having people misspell my name as "Harrell" being an annoyance, it also became a source of irritation. "Don't lump me together with the family that owned slaves! It's Harrel, with one 'l'".
 

The Middle East Wars From A To Z

A billion children die especially for Governments. Helpless
individuals judge killing less morbidly. No other previous
questions reviewed. Straining to understand variants with xenophobes yelling zealotry.