Charles Drago

A blind inmate walks into a bar.

"Dogs look up to you. Cats look down on you. Pigs treat you as an equal."

-- Sir Winston Churchill

And what exactly do "facts" and "FBI reports" have in common?

A scientist, after working a lifetime, created a breakthrough in interspecies communication.

To demonstrate, he took a flea, said, "Fly, flea," and the flea flew.

"Fly, flea," and the flea flew, again and again.

Then the scientist surgically removed the wings from the flea.

He said, "Fly flea," but the flea didn't fly.

"Fly, flea."

Nothing.

So!

That night the scientist recorded his conclusion.

"When one removes the wings from a flea, it becomes deaf."

I, for one, am most assuredly glad to see that you stick within the limits of your abilities.

Perhaps there are some "childrens forums" where you can impress!

Okay.

Two guys are sitting on the latrine. As the one who's known to be a Class A cheapskate stands up, a quarter and a dime fall out of his pocket and into the hole.

So!

The cheapskate doesn't miss a beat. He takes a twenty dollar bill from his wallet and drops it in.

"What the hell did you do that for?" his friend asks.

And the cheapskate says, "You don't expect me to go down there for 35 cents, do you?"

You see, both stories speak to your ...

Never mind.

Why do I bother?

Agreed, Mark, on the "politically justifiable" bit.

But America's body politic -- bent at the waist, hands gripping ankles -- hardly may be described as a "tough crowd" (as in "difficult audience").

How hard a sell do you think the Colbys and Lamsons, in their wooly millions, would require before they bought in?

Putin is wrong. There is nothing mad about them. They are cold, calculating, brilliant (the shepherds, not the sheep). We diminish them at our own peril.

These people are not insane.

They are evil incarnate.

Charles

Dawn,

To me, the bottom line -- and I use the term in its twin meanings -- is that an attack on Iran will happen if it has been deemed to be profitable and controllable.

Bush is irrelevant. Also, profitable and controllable.

The CA fires terrorism card nearly was played. Did anyone else hear a report of the shooting to death, by police, of at least one arsonist caught in the act?

Charles

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The goal is not resolution of conflict, but controlled perpetuation of conflict.

The replacement for the economic engine that was the Cold War has been found. Who among its beneficiaries would be crazy enough to dismantle it?

Aramageddon's just another word for loss of market share.

Weapons of mass destruction?

Uh-uh.

Weapons of mass oppression?

You got it, brother.

Don't be afraid that the end of days is at hand.

There's no profit in it.

But there's definitely a prophet.

Charles

There have always been suckers willing to fall for anything as long as it fits neatly into their warped worldview.

[sTAGE DIRECTION: Hands on hips, foot stomp on fourth word.]

[DIALOGUE DIRECTION: Theatrically petulant and scolding tone.]

It's always about you, isn't it!

If one can derive satisfaction from bearing witness to Bush's willing executioners, it comes with the realization that they will reap what they sow.

There's a sucker born again every minute.

Right.

And Atta met with Iraqis in Prague.

Oswald met with Kostikov in Mexico City.

Saddam tried to assassinate Bush the Elder.

The Jews torched the Reichstag.

The filthy dagos sank the Maine.

Joe McCarthy had a list of 33/59/77/91/105 card-carrying communists -- and 599 who never got cards -- in the State Department.

Thanks to rendition, torture, eavesdropping, and Jesus, 37 Al Queda attacks in the U.S. have been stopped.

An invisible man lives in the sky and sees everything we do.

And if my Aunt Carmella had testicles, she'd be my Uncle Carmine.

Perhaps Charles

"How do you say 'banana daiquiri'?"

A scientist, after working a lifetime, created a breakthrough in interspecies communication.

To demonstrate, he took a flea, said, "Fly, flea," and the flea flew.

"Fly, flea," and the flea flew, again and again.

Then the scientist surgically removed the wings from the flea.

He said, "Fly flea," but the flea didn't fly.

"Fly, flea."

Nothing.

So!

That night the scientist recorded his conclusion.

"When one removes the wings from a flea, it becomes deaf."

Peter -- and indeed, all who visit and value this forum:

The Nixonian tone of Gratz's threat could not be more glaring.

The substance of the threat may very well rise to the level of blackmail.

I quote: "Again, I could have embarrassed you but chose not to. Maybe you should have a little appreciation."

Or else what, Timmy?

In his previous post, and again I quote: "Peter, a very interesting comment (threat) inasmuch as I have carefully avoided posting the details of the Russell matter so as not to embarass you."

The vile implications could not be more obvious.

Who in a position of authority is prepared to act on this most serious matter.

Charles Drago

David, et al,

It is not my intention to demean this very valuable thread. But I can't resist sharing the following:

Did you hear about the fellow who was half Japanese and half-Black?

Every December 7 he bombed Pearl Bailey.

The Italian navy ...

A very dear friend was stationed aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier during the Afghanistan operation. As a high-ranking officer, he was invited by his opposite number to visit the nearby Italian carrier for what turned out to be a memorable lunch.

The food was spectacular. The wine was ... superb ... plentiful ... simply intoxicating.

Since I am of Italian descent, I feel free to opine that the Allies had little to fear from the Terrors of Taranto.

Other than hangovers, that is.

Carlo

What does the valid appreciation of organized religion as politics by other means say to us about the quest for spiritual meaning?

How does acknowledgment of the holocausts perpetrated in the names of organized religions support a materialist world view?

Organized religions, to paraphrase Smedley Buter, are rackets. The most accurate response to Stalin's question, "How many divisions does the Pope have?" would be "More than you have, Uncle Joe."

And the point is???

Organized religions have hijacked spirituality. They did not, however, create the spiritual impulse.

Accordingly, the tortured syllogism "Organized religion is a con game; worship of a fictional deity or deities is the essential component of the con game; therefore all notions of God are generated by a con" is shown to be patently absurd.

Charles Drago

Were toxicology screens part of JFK's autopsy?

If so, were the results released?

If not, why not?

Charles

In my alternate life as a jazz critic, educator, and concert/festival producer, I was blessed on many occasions to spend time with Diz.

Good to make the cyber acquaintance of his namesake.

Charles

You are aware, of course, that the fact Hitler had one testicle gave rise (!) to the original "lone nut" theory.

John,

As I've previously noted, Castro as a cash-generating, power-petuating (for the killers of Kennedy) hemispheric bogeyman was, and is, far more valuable alive than dead.

Good to know that kindred spirits haunt these pages.

Your middle name isn't Birks, is it?

Charles

And, although the primary mission of the WC may have been to convince the american public that LHO was the lone assassin, the secondary mission of the WC, and the one which ultlimately is responsible for almost all of the WC's failures, was protection of the image of John B. Connally.

Nothing further need be said.

Charles

Another tusk-egee experiment gone bad, I'm tempted to write.

I LOVE this guy!

Excuse me if I tend to ignore anything posted by anyone who references an "Admiral Burke" in this discussion.

Typical intellectual rigor from a member of the Specious Farces, I guess.

Nice try, Ashton.

But you're addressing a guy who says this fine mess was engineered to protect the SS and JBC.

I'm reminded of the scene in The Producers (the movie, that is) when the boys first encounter Franz Liebkind, author of "Springtime for Hitler."

BLOOM

(quietly to Bialystock)

He's wearing a German helmet.

BIALYSTOCK

(in a fierce whisper)

Shhh. Don't say anything to offend him.

Charles