Film Recommendation of the Week...

Quadrophenia: Can You See the Real Me?
BBC Documentary-July 2, 2012.
Running Time-1 hour 10 minutes.


Interviewer-"What was Kieth (Moon) like in 1973?" 
Roger Daltrey-"Just a little bit more drunk than he was in 1972!!!"

"Quadrophenia" was meant to be the rock opera that would replace "Tommy" in The Who's live repertoire. Things didn't work out for many reasons. This succinct documentary illustrates these difficulties without the maudlin nostalgia or overemphasis on the stereotypical drug and alcohol issues that have plagued so many rock bands over the years. We are taken from the origins of the album, as Pete Townshend has an epiphany as an 18-year old after doing a gig and getting stuck in a beach resort town. He begins to write the outline for the story starring Jimmy, the protagonist of the album who is a representative of all the members of the band, one person with four distinct and clashing personalities as he makes his way from teenage Mod to adulthood.

Here is a quote from a review from avaxhome.ws-

"In his home studio and revisiting old haunts in Shepherds Bush and Battersea, Pete Townshend opens his heart and his personal archive to revisit 'the last great album the Who ever made', one that took the Who full circle back to their earliest days via the adventures of a pill-popping mod on an epic journey of self-discovery.


But in 1973 Quadrophenia was an album that almost never was. Beset by money problems, a studio in construction, heroin-taking managers, a lunatic drummer and a culture of heavy drinking, Townshend took on an album that nearly broke him and one that within a year the band had turned their back on and would ignore for nearly three decades."

Interviews with some of the main players (those who are still around) make up the core of this documentary, and it is an enjoyable ride on the time machine for any Who fan. Some of the other band members took issue with Townshend over this project; they saw themselves as session players in a Pete Townshend solo extravaganza. When the others came in to the studio, Townshend had already laid out most of the album as highly constructed demos, leaving them with not much room to add their own creativity to the project.

The project was hampered by Townshend's desire to record and play the album live in quadrophonic sound instead of the usual stereo. Neither worked. After the album was mixed, The Who's management quickly booked a world tour, leaving the band no time to implement the changes Townshend was looking to make. Playing the album live proved to be so laborious that it was scrapped and never played again in its' entirety until fairly recently. I've always felt that with Entwistle and Moon no longer with us, The Who is no longer really "The Who". But they keep marching on, and the 2012 iteration of the band are currently on tour. Good for them, but what a tragedy that these two cats aren't around to take the stage with Roger and Pete.

If you're a fan of The Who, this documentary is not to be missed.

George Zimmerman...

Seems as if the George Zimmerman Apologist Society has been pretty silent lately, ever since the media whore deluxe himself decided to go on Sean Hannity to speak his piece. That's because he's "showing his ass" (an inner city euphemism for exhibiting one's true colors, and not in a good way) on national television. When I checked Zimmy's web site the other night, it was temporarily down. I wondered why, so I kept at it until it was up and running again, and here is an excerpt from the home page. We see George tugging at the ol' heartstrings, looking for good folks out there who believe in truth, justice, mental illness, and the right to pack heat for the sole purpose of indiscriminately shooting unarmed civilians for no good reason, to send him some money-

"I also want a place where people can send me words of encouragement, and while I wish I didn't have to ask, a place for those able to donate to my defense fund to help pay my living expenses, to help with legal expenses and help with security expenses as needed. I have no other means of generating income for five months let alone pay the enormous expenses surrounding the case." 

No such words of encouragement are needed, because the site has disabled this feature. But you CAN send money-that part of the site is operational. Too bad, because I had some positive words of encouragement for him and his trashy, whorebag of a wife. As for paying his security expenses, I suggest he go out and solicit a team of untrained neighborhood watchmen...wait, isn't that what HE was doing the night he murdered Trayvon Martin? Then he should feel safe from the hordes of marauding young, black youth who want to do him harm.

"Given the extraordinary circumstances surrounding this case, we have now realized that it is much larger than we ever thought regarding extent and cost. (You should have thought of that before pulling the trigger, asshole!!!) We have been hiding in temporary housing (don't worry, George-your housing issues will be sorted out shortly when you are found guilty and given a nice, taxpayer-subsidized unit in a correctional facility not of your choice), and our security needs have been extremely high. The fund has been devastated by the need to pay $100,000 to a bondsman and almost $50,000 in security expenses. The skyrocketing legal costs have gone unpaid. The defense fund is at its' lowest since its' inception; in fact, with outstanding expenses still unpaid, the fund is near depletion". 

Please, you apologists need to send Georgie Porgy some cash right away. He needs it. Don't let the fact that he attempted to hide assets accrued for his so-called legal defense from the judge who set the original bond amount, requiring the waste of taxpayer dollars to track him down and re-arrest him. And that he and his wife were speaking in code over the phone while Zimmy was in prison, conniving over what to do with this unexpected windfall, which included purchasing a new flatscreen tv, an all-oak bedroom set (if you are familiar with the film "Pulp Fiction", you'd get the reference), and running away to Mexico, a country where they understand the meaning of the Second Amendment, seeing as shooting people with American-made assault rifles has usurped drinking tequila and drunken fist-fighting as their national pastime.

Send your donations NOW, before it's too late.

Here is an audio excerpt from one of the videos, which was immediately taken down (but not before the investigative team here on "Busting Chops" got a hold of it)-

(Cue in some Kenny G background music, as Zimmerman casually strolls into his trailer park-I mean gated community, takes off his bulletproof v-neck sweater vest and changes into a pair of  fur-lined, steel-toed Hush Puppy slippers...)


"Hi, I'm George Zimmerman. And I like long walks in the park, shooting unarmed Negroes, I mean nigg...I mean potential burglars without due cause and pretending to be a police officer on my spare time. 


That's because I have a license to carry a gun, but not a license to carry a brain that isn't diluted with visions of blacks and Mexicans running rampant all over my community, turning it into a literal version of "Escape from New York". We can't have "those people" always getting away with crimes in my neighborhood, which is why I started a one-man neighborhood watch (with no training and no supervision). 


This career move ended badly when I shot a criminal who turned out to be an unarmed youth who was doing nothing worse than going to watch a basketball game at his father's house. But he was wearing a hoodie, so I came to the reasonable conclusion that he was a thug up to no good-aren't they all?


Please send me money for my escape...I mean defense, because I'm innocent. I'm innocent because God told me I was.


And please remember to send money, because I'm innocent. I'm sorry Trayvon Martin chose to end his life the way he did, but like I said in my interview with Mr. Hannity that I would not change anything that happened that night because it was all part of God's plan. 


I'm George Zimmerman, and I approve this message."


Here's a video of Zimmerman attempting to raise money as a contestant on "Wheel of Fortune"-



Zimmerman has some serious public relations issues to work through without us having to bust his chops, but we are going to anyway because that's what we do. Irresponsible gun ownership, a protracted life of peripheral issues with race and law enforcement, documented cases of harassment, and a sense of entitlement all convened in the form of George Zimmerman on that fateful night, and that is why we are here today. His groupies, those fun-loving conservative nutjobs who can't stand seeing men of color walking down the street without thinking they're up to no good, must ask themselves one question-if Zimmy was so gun-ho about protecting any community from street crime, why not set up a neighborhood watch in, say, Liberty City? Because those cats will fire back, that's why. And it won't be with a pack of Skittles, either.

USADA on Trial...

The USADA, the national organization of the United States which oversees the anti-doping efforts for among others, US Olympic athletes, is under fire by Lance Armstrong. The basis of his lawsuit is that the arbitration process is corrupt, rigged against him and denies him any right to due process. The first suit, a rambling, 80-plus page diatribe was dismissed by Judge Sam Sparks of the Western District  of Texas. Armstrong was admonished for grandstanding and using the suit as a vehicle to sway public opinion. Here is an outline of the proceedings from Velonation.com-

However it is the language of the ruling which is the most notable, with the judge blasting Armstrong for what he states was an application containing irrelevant ‘allegations’ which were ‘included solely to increase media coverage of this case, and to incite public opinion against Defendants.’

The ruling highlights several areas of concern. The first is the structure of the complaints made, with the court referring to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a), which that a plaintiff's complaint should contain "short and plain" statements of both the basis of the court's jurisdiction, and the plaintiff's legal claim for relief. It adds that Rule 8(d)(1) states, "Each allegation must be simple, concise, and direct."’

It then blasts what was submitted: “Ultimately, what Rule 8 demands is a short and plain statement of detailed facts, not a mechanical recital of boilerplate allegations, nor as is more relevant here a lengthy and bitter polemic against the named defendants.

“Armstrong's complaint is far from short, spanning eighty pages and containing 261 numbered paragraphs, many of which have multiple subparts. Worse, the bulk of these paragraphs contain "allegations" that are wholly irrelevant to Armstrong's claims and which, the Court must presume, were included solely to increase media coverage of this case, and to incite public opinion against Defendants.”

It continues by criticising Armstrong in relation to these areas. “This Court is not inclined to indulge Armstrong's desire for publicity, self-aggrandizement, or vilification of Defendants, by sifting through eighty mostly unnecessary pages in search of the few kernels of factual material relevant to his claims,” it states.

A note adds that sanctions could potentially apply if lawyers didn’t follow the rules, again knocking the former pro rider. “Contrary to Armstrong's apparent belief, pleadings filed in the United States District Courts are not press releases, internet blogs, or pieces of investigative journalism. All parties, and their lawyers, are expected to comply with the rules of this Court, and face potential sanctions if they do not.”

 The second effort was cut down to 25 pages of basically the same bullshit that was in the first suit.

The second suit contains the same claims of a witch hunt that Armstrong has been screeching about for years. He claims the head of the USADA, Travis Tygart, has an ax to grind against him and accuses Tygart of wanting to take his scalp for personal aggrandizement. Here is an overview of the responsibilities of the USADA from Wikipedia-

The USADA is a non-profit organization and the national anti-doping organization (NADO) for the United States. The organization is charged with managing the anti-doping program for U.S. Olympic, Paralympic, Pan-American and ParaPan American sport. Its work includes in-competition and out-of-competition testing, the results management and adjudication process, the provision of drug reference resources, the therapeutic-use exemption process, various scientific research initiatives, and athlete and outreach education. USADA is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado.


USADA is a signatory to, and responsible for implementation in the United States of, the World Anti-Doping Code (WADA), widely considered the basis for the strongest and strictest anti-doping programs in sports. In 2001 the agency was recognized by the U.S. Congress as "the official anti-doping agency for Olympic Pan American and Paralympic sport in the United States". USADA is not a government entity, however the agency is partly funded by a U.S. federal grant through the Office of National Drug Control Policy, with its remaining budget generated from contracts for anti-doping services with sport organizations, most notably the United States Olympic Committee. The United States has also ratified the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport, the first global international treaty against doping in sport.


The underlined is what is at the heart of Armstrong's suit against Tygart and USADA. The most ridiculous claim by Armstrong and his over-compensated hacks is that the USADA is a "state actor", therefore he must be accorded due process as if he were being tried in a local, state or federal courtroom. Here is a brief summary of this particular point from the Washington Post-

"Armstrong’s brief further argues that USADA, a quasi-government agency, is effectively a state actor since it participated in a two-year federal criminal probe into doping claims against Armstrong that was officially closed in February. That designation means Armstrong is owed certain constitutional protections that USADA’s arbitration system denies, the complaint contends.


The complaint also says Sparks’s court should have jurisdiction and claims that USADA broke its own rules in charging Armstrong, making deals with witnesses that go against the World Anti-Doping Agency code and ignoring its eight-year statute of limitations to bring doping claims."

Its' been alleged that the USADA has given witnesses 6-month sentences to begin after the end of this years' cycling calendar. for those who haven't retired yet, this afforded them the opportunity to ride in this year's Tour de France. The suspicion is that they are the same riders who opted out of consideration for the US men's Olympic road race team to avoid the very real but highly unlikely scenario that the Olympic road race champion would months down the line be serving a ban for steroid use. I say unlikely because no US rider is really a favorite for this race.

The danger of this lawsuit is that if it is at all effective and the judge rules in favor of Armstrong, it de-legitimizes the very existence of the USADA. Next thing you know every US athlete who gets busted for steroid use can claim the same thing and the USADA loses it's power to enforce the very rules that are at the heart of its' existence. It all depends on Judge Sparks down in Austin, Texas. We'll see on August 10th when the case is going to be heard in his courtroom.

Meanwhile, Armstrong has asked and received from the USADA a 30-day extension to answer the charges, whether he wants to go to arbitration or like his co-horts in crime decide to accept a lifetime ban from the sport. Three of the individuals named in the original charging letter have decided not to argue their case and have received lifetime bans-Dr. Michele Farrari, Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral, and steroid bagman/trainer José "Pepe" Marti.

Under USADA rules, Moral, Marti and Ferrari had until Monday to challenge the allegations against them in arbitration or ask for a five-day extension. If they did not respond, USADA could impose sanctions. Although none lives in the United States, USADA says the ban blocks them from participating in any sport that falls under the World Anti-Doping Agency code.

“The respondents chose not to waste resources by moving forward with the arbitration process, which would only reveal what they already know to be the truth of their doping activity,” said Travis Tygart, chief executive of USADA.

US Postal, Discovery and Astana team manager Johan Bruyneel and another team doctor, Pedro Celaya, have decided to fight the charges and notified the USADA of their intentions. The only bozo left is Armstrong, who has taken the egregious step of utilizing a corporate lobbyist from the Livestrong Foundation to stalk the hallways of the US House of Representatives in Washington inquiring about the "fairness" of the investigation.

One of the visits paid by this lobbyist was to US Representative José Serrano, who just so happens to be a member of the House Appropriations Committee. The USADA gets their budget allotment from this committee. Using a Livestrong lobbyist, who is paid by the Livestrong Foundation, which is supposed to be out there "fighting" cancer, to undermine the very existence of the USADA is about as low as any slimy, slithering snake can stoop.

According to a spokesperson for Congressman José Serrano, the lobbyist broached the "fairness" of the USADA case against the Livestrong Chairman, the Wall Street Journal reported. Congressman Serrano sits on the House Appropriations Committee, whose role it is to set government funding. USADA currently receives $9 million of government funding as part of its $15 million annual budget. Here is a quote from the SI article that delves further into this egregious conflict of interest story-


Targeting Serrano for such a meeting hits the anti-doping agency in a sensitive spot. Serrano is the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee on financial services and general government, which oversees part of the agency's budget. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy provides $9 million a year to USADA. The meeting was "substantially if not all about USADA and concerns about the process that Lance Armstrong is being put through," said Serrano spokesman Philip Schmidt. 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/news/20120717/lance-armstrong-foundation-lobbying-campaign/#ixzz20w6fzJkZ

Here is your hero, America. Cancer Jesus putting donation dollars to work to undercut the investigation against him. But this crap is beginning to backfire on Armstrong. Senator John McCain chimed in and had this to say after Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner opened the proceedings by shilling for Lance Armstrong-

Last week, Congressman  Jim Sensenbrenner sent an open letter to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) querying the $9 million dollars of tax payer funding given to USADA. The move was then followed by United States Senator John McCain backing the USADA investigation into Armstrong and his associates, saying that the Agency's rules and processes applied to all U.S. athletes "regardless of their public profile or success in sport."

There will be more about the underhanded dealings of Lance Armstrong as he tries to rally political opposition to his cause on Capital Hill. Stay tuned, because August 10th is still a few weeks away, when Judge Sparks rules on the validity of the suit against Tygart and the USADA.

Old Timer's Day in the NBA...

The New York Knicks have added pieces to their team that will take them absolutely nowhere. Jason Kidd, who will be 40 next March, signed for three years for a whopping 9 million dollars. Marcus Camby just got a three year deal at 13.2 million at 38 years of age. The Knicks plan on matching the Houston Rockets' offer sheet to restricted free agent Jeremy Lin for 4 years at almost 30 million. And they re-signed ass-meister J.R. Smith, who's best move all last year was posting a photo of his girlfriend's fat culo on Twitter. None of these moves will make them one bit better. Their main problems are as follows-

1) Carmelo Anthony is a one-dimensional, out of shape ballhog who is more intent on cheating on his wife with every hoochie in New York City every time she leaves town than on getting his game to mesh with the other players on the team. Every single problem the Knicks have revolves around him. The only reason he's even here is because his wife, LaLa, wanted to be in the Big Apple to advance her career as an equally useless reality television star and awards show hostess extraordinaire.

2) Amar'e Stoudemire is a shell of his former self, with back and knee issues requiring surgical procedures he refuses to get. Because of this, he has lost his athleticism. He also cannot attack the basket due to the Knicks having no point guard who can run an effective pick-and-roll, something he perfected in Phoenix with Steve Nash and that is now the offense du jour in the NBA.

3) Injuries to players young and old. Madison Square Garden has the highest rate of knee injuries per capita in the whole league. Iman Shumpert, their promising defensive stopper, went down with an ACL tear. Lin was out of the playoffs due to torn cartilage, and who can forget the sorry sight below when the perpetually out of shape Baron Davis destroyed his knee late last year. Davis basically ruined what little was left of a career that was already difficult to see from the fumes he was running on-

So what is the Knicks answer to an unathletic backcourt? Get even more unathletic by adding an aging veteran (Kidd) and pairing him up with a suspect point guard (Lin) who is the NBA equivalent of Tim Tebow. What these idiots are doing is officially beyond my comprehension. They are back to being saddled with egregiously onerous long-term contracts that are going to be worth less and less as time goes on, becasue these bums ain't gonna produce. And as a Knicks fan, I'm officially throwing in the towel-

I'm glad Stoudemire and Anthony got their millions, but they are a terrible fit together. If MSG owner James Dolan continues with this stupidity, the next time the Knicks win a championship will be when aliens invade the Earth and decide on devouring every crackhead sports franchise owner before leaving. Dolan will be first on the menu, as he is the biggest idiot owner in the league.

*Update-the Houston Rockets have offered Lin a contract that pays him 15 million in the third year. The Knicks have decided not to match the offer, and instead went after Raymond Felton. Jason Kidd has been arrested on Long Island on a DUI charge after plowing his Cadillac Escalade into a telephone pole Sunday, July 15th. An inauspicious start indeed for the Knicks in what has been an off-season full of moves that scream desperation on their part.

The Miami Heat managed to lure Ray Allen away from Boston. At 36 he can still contribute, but off the bench and with limited minutes. He was going to have the same opportunities with the Celtics for more money, but with the Heat he has the opportunity to win another championship or two before he officially retires. Boston fans will hate him, but he gave them everything he had. If they want to hate anyone, it should be the Celtics front office, who basically blew up their bench and brought in a carousel of superannuated aardvarks (Jermaine and Shaquille O'Neal come to mind) who never panned out due to age and injuries from never being in shape (again, do these general managers EVER learn?).

The glaring hypocrisy of Boston fans was in full effect for calling Allen a traitor, when all last year he was the subject of intense trade rumors until the deadline in February. Then they go out and sign a shorter and not-as-efficient version of Allen in Dallas' Jason Terry. Imagine Allen returning, signing a proposed three-year deal and then getting traded to Cleveland by December. I don't think so. And with Boston inexplicably signing Kevin Garnett to a three-year deal, you just know they are headed in the wrong direction. Garnett is indeed a warrior, but I think the Celtics believe he can still perform like he did against the Heat in the playoffs. That was a mirage. What no one can see is that he has lost his ability to attack and defend the basket becacue he has no more lift in his legs, and is basically a turnaround jump shooter who can get taken to the basket by quicker and younger players.

The theme in this NBA off-season so far has been "Whoever is the oldest bum out there, line up to get paid". Some of these guys won't see the end of their contracts, others should have retired YEARS ago, but they will be collecting checks until they're eligible for motorized scooters. There is a serious lack of talent available  to anyone wanting to sign free agents, which is why these walking corpses are being exhumed from their graves. And another reason why teams like the Heat and Oklahoma City will continue to dominate for years to come.

The Shit Doth Hitteth the Fan...

Despite the USADA's best efforts to keep a lid on the Armstrong proceedings, it seems as if leaks will be the inevitable result of what is sure to be a shitstorm of controversy. Today at the Tour de France, Jonathan Vaughters, he of the Cornish game hen sideburns and questionable argyle attire, had to face a scrum of reporters in front of the team bus to answer allegations revealed in a Dutch newspaper that a couple of his riders will be receiving back-dated 6-month suspensions that will allow them to continue riding the Tour. He himself has also been implicated, and so far all we've gotten out of him is the company line about "focusing on the race" and "moving the sport forward".

Well, that's too damn bad, Jonathan. This is all about looking backwards, and backwards and backwards and backwards until something resembling the truth finally rises to the surface. We know it won't come from Armstrong himself, so we are left with the surrounding players in this putrid display of collective cowardice. The reason it has come to this is everyone involved has been so scared of Lance Armstrong for so long that they let him bully, intimidate and harass anyone who dared question the Myth. Cancer Jesus wasn't having any of it, and this particular leak of riders currently riding was no accident.

The Dutch newspaper in question is one that Johan Bruyneel writes daily articles for. My sense is the names were leaked by him and/or Armstrong in an attempt to get the smear campaign going full-swing, seeing as smearing the other dopers on their teams is all Armstrong and Bruyneel have left as a defense. This is how Armstrong will fight the allegations against him, and judging by his comments on Twitter and Facebook today these riders better be prepared to fight back just as hard-

"So let me get this straight...come in and tell USADA exactly what they want to hear in exchange for immunity, anonymity and the opportunity to continue to race the biggest event in cycling. This isn't about USADA wanting to clean up cycling rather its' just plain ol' selective prosecution that reeks of vendetta."-Lance Armstrong on Facebook

Armstrong is claiming he never received such a deal. That's because he refused to meet with the USADA officials when they contacted him. He conveniently leaves this out to make himself look like the persecuted martyr in a witch hunt, the favorite phrase used by the Livestrong Branch Davidians on the internet. So instead of giving testimony, he now stands as one of five co-conspirators named by the agency. This story is not going away, despite all the denials and obfuscations. It was leaked to three different European newspapers-De Telegraaf in Holland, El País in Madrid, and La Gazzetta dello Sport in Milan. One of the reporters who worked on the story confirmed the source came from the United States, but would for obvious reasons would not commit to exposing the identity of the person or persons.

Vaughters released this statement to counteract the revelations and to diffuse the situation so everyone involved can "move forward"-"Regarding the Dutch media report: no 6 month suspensions have been given to any member of Slipstream Sports. Today or at any future date." 


That's funny how Vaughters can see into the future. Must be those Nostradamus muttonchops of his. Or the snow globe that gives him the same answer every time he shakes it--EPO...EPO...EPO...

Talk that bullshit, homeboy-

Above are pictured the collective mugs of the four riders named in the article who have refused media requests to tell the truth. You know, because the past is the past and we should all move forward if we really want a cleaner sport, something they seem unequivocally passionate about. I have no sympathy for any of them, and I hope the Tour press corps hound them right out of the Tour. The New York Times, not exactly a gossip rag, has reported that yes indeed these four cats will give testimony against Armstrong and Bruyneel-http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/06/sports/cycling/former-teammates-to-testify-against-armstrong.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

This photo is also significant for another reason. It represents a whole generation of American riders who have been involved in one of the biggest doping scandals in modern-day sport that began it's rise on the US National team of the early 90's. As much as people talk about a French conspiracy to discredit Armstrong for having the audacity to dominate their home Tour, this particular crew will go down as the dirtiest dopers the peloton has ever seen. This will be their legacy, and if they don't talk soon their reputations will deservedly remain in tatters as long as they live.

Stay tuned, because this is going to get worse.

Happy 4th of July!!!

What is the preeminent event that exemplifies what America is all about on this great day? Fireworks? No. Celebrating our independence from Great Britain? Absolutely not. A day off from work, especially in the middle of the week? Barbecues with the family? Not even close.

It's the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, New York. On display will be a uniquely gratuitous sort of gluttony that is shared by one and all Americans. Greed, avarice, gulosity, crapulence, whatever superlatives you'd like to use, this is what the day is really about. The forced ingestion of mass quantities of processed meat food products dunked in beer is what the 4th of July stands for, because that is what we've become-a nation of ravenous, corpulent gormandizers who look forward to eating until full, belching, farting and crapping said vileness from their systems, and then eating some more.

And since the world is running out of places for us to exploit in true corporate-elitist imperialist style, we have now turned our sights inward and have begun to eat ourselves like a cannibal zombie nightmare dipped in mustard, ketchup, vomit and hog grease, all wrapped in a Star-Spangled enema.

The Unites States, as presently constituted, make up only 6% of the world's total population, but we consume over 50% of its' resources, most of it in the form of hamburgers, hot dogs, beer, Pepto Bismol and toilet paper. We also hoard a large majority of the world's wealth, despite the fact that many right-wing conservative pundits would have everyone believe illegal immigrants are responsible for sucking up the rapidly emptying coffers of this once-proud nation.

The ones who are bringing us to our knees aren't the greedy bankers who, due to their corporate lobbying efforts, get to write the rules in their favor while absolving themselves of any wrongdoing in the form of publicly-financed bailouts whenever they fuck up. It's Pedro working for some landscaper in Parsippany, New Jersey or Griselda getting paid $135 US dollars for a 70-hour work week taking care of some rich white lady's spoiled, snot-nosed kids. These illegal aliens are destroying America for having the audacity to show up at their local emergency rooms when they're so sick they can't take it anymore and MUST see a doctor. Doesn't matter that their employers would never think of paying a living wage with health benefits to these underpaid, overworked losers. They're still losers and should continue to lose. That's what they get for being born poor. How dare they?

Republicans hearken back to the days when you could pay for a doctor's visit with a couple of chickens. But those glory days of yore never existed. You can't use "Little House on the Prairie" as a template to move this country forward, because back in the days that house was usually full of prostitutes and their drunken, odorous patrons shooting each other and spreading venereal diseases. Yeah, we need relive THAT disgustingly amoral scenario to make America great again.

We are NOT a land of immigrants. Just ask any Teabagger. They are convinced that they are the descendants of Europe's best and brightest, when the reality is they are the remnants of the trash Europe was desperately looking to throw overboard and dunk into the Atlantic Ocean first chance possible. Their ghettos, prisons, and whorehouses were disgorged of the most scurrilous filth on the continent and were told to board ships bound for parts unknown, length of trip unknown in conditions better left unknown.

What these hapless souls were escaping was poverty and religious intolerance. What they created was more poverty, racial intolerance and diseases the Native Americans were ill-equipped to overcome. And if that didn't do them in, there was the good ol' gun. Nothing Americans love more than a fair fight. The thirteen colonies didn't quite like the exploitative financial arrangement England instituted, and quite rightly revolted until they gained their independence.

Yet throughout our history we have aided and abetted every noxious Latin American dictator and helped overthrow democratically elected governments in that region for the sake of protecting our corporate hegemony over other sovereign nations. We wanted their resources, their cheap labor and in return they recieve slums, crime and poverty so abysmal as to defy belief. Sort of the very reasons we separated from Great Britain when they tried to do the same to us.

What says "Freedom" more than franks washed down with a pink, candy-flavored rectal diuretic?

Binge eaters, the true athletes of America...

Glory, Glory Hallelujah...

An example of what I'm talking about is a situation most Americans have no idea is taking place right under their fat stomachs. Remember all those toxic mortgages that were rewrapped, repackaged and resold like hot dogs in the form of credit default swaps? Then, the same people who were bundling them and selling them with A-I credit ratings were taking bets on their losing their value via insurance policies. Those financial instruments were the reason the whole system almost ground to a halt and caused a recession so massive in scale we're still floating down Shit's Creek without a paddle. Except now, the very banks that engaged in this criminal behavior have deals in place with the Federal government (who bought these toxic assets in the form of bailouts so these banks wouldn't go under) to buy back these mortgages for pennies on the dollar.

Read about it here-

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/another-hidden-bailout-helping-wall-street-collect-your-rent-20120319

So instead of cutting homeowners who've lost their homes a break, they plan on becoming landlords because they will be able to make more money renting in a slow economy than trying to fix the properties and putting them up for sale. This is what I mean about America feeding on itself, imperialist style. But like I said, its' easier for the average conservative to get mad at a couple of crackhead welfare recipients and illegal immigrants and blame them for all the economic problems we're having, because that's just how they roll. These are people who cannot utter the term "Puerto Rican" without the word "welfare" following right behind it, because the only qualities they equate Puerto Ricans and other minority groups with are laziness, drug abuse and criminal behavior.

The Teabaggers and others on the right side of the political spectrum are up in arms over the Supreme Court ruling that the nation's national health plan (imperfect but long overdue) is an injustice and a tax boondoggle. It will stifle freedom and will have a corroding effect on our liberties, leaving the entrepreneurs, financiers and all the other dickwads who think they're the masters of the universe scrambling to take their talents elsewhere, in vain search of the proverbial Galt's Gulch if you will.

Except such a place only exists in their fevered, Libertarian little pea brains. For these anti-American assholes who think paying their fair share of taxes is akin to socialism, I suggest four countries with limited government they should consider relocating to immediately-the tropical paradise of Haiti, Liberia, Sierra Leone or Somalia. Go now, because if America has taught us anything, it's that anyone can be replaced. And if anyone decides to leave, they won't be missed. That is the beauty of this country-we don't really need you.

Happy 4th of July, motherfuckers. Enjoy those processed, hyper-roasted pig snouts wrapped in plastic casings that take 500 years to dissolve in your intestines. Wash 'em down with some cheap beer and you'll save the coroner the trouble of having to rip open your bloated stomach with a hacksaw in search of a cause of death. He'll know from the red, white and blue shit stains on your underwear what caused your untimely demise.

Film Recommendation of the Week...

Pablo Escobar-El Patrón del Mal

This is Colombia's most ambitious television project, filmed in high-definition HD in 450 different locations in and around the country of Colombia. The script was taken from interviews with as many of the protagonists from those times who managed to survive that were willing to talk and from newspaper reports that covered the life and times of one of the most infamous and financially successful criminals that ever existed in Latin America, and some say the world. His net worth was reported by Forbes magazine at $3 billion dollars. The tale of Pablo Escobar is so incredible and outlandish it rivals anything ever seen before or since in the annals of organized crime.

Interestingly enough, Escobar's lone son took offense to the Forbes article listing his father as the wealthiest narco-trafficker on Earth, blaming the magazine's publishing of the (according to him) fictitious accounting of his father's net worth, stating that it caused the rise of kidnapping attempts against him and other family members. He brings up some very excellent points, but of course Michael Noer, Forbes staff writer, responds like a typical out-of-touch idiot gringo who knows nothing about Latin America and how things work.

Sanctimonious platitudes like the following when responding to the criminal sub-culture of kidnappings in Latin America illustrates how stupid and insensitive these right-wing jag-offs are about the world around them-

"I’m sorry that your country remains that dysfunctional. That is something you should strive to change."

No shit, asshole. Maybe you should give this sentiment a bit more thought when you're at a Republican fund raiser and watch how many of these elitist assholes go to the bathroom every five minutes to snort cocaine, and how people of your ilk are just as responsible for the misery incurred by drug trafficking than anyone who looks to it as a  money-making venture.

Here is a link to the exchange between Noer and Escobar's son-

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelnoer/2011/11/15/pablo-escobars-son-forbes-is-lying/

There really is no accounting for the total amount of money Escobar had amassed during his reign of terror. He did spend tons of it not only on himself but in the community, building soccer fields, low-income housing, and aiding countless campesinos with their problems. He also paid a lot in bribes to politicians, public officials, and military/police personnel and spent probably just as much on assassinations. His son states that after the death of his father, only about 1/20th of said amount was actually accounted for, but let's not forget the properties and bank accounts confiscated by the Colombian government during his father's time on the run. It is not difficult to imagine that even if the figure given by Forbes is an exaggeration, it is probably closer to the truth than his son cares to admit, who stated during an interview that while living at Hacienda Nápoles, Pablo Escobar's infamous ranch, they actually stopped making purchases for a while because they had run out of things to buy. Ain't that some shit.

Moving on, I've watched the first 23 chapters (and counting) on this site-
http://www.mundovago.com/pablo-escobar-el-patron-del-mal-capitulos

...and I have to say it's been excellent. For those looking for the blood and guts of Escobar's criminal enterprise, you will be disappointed. This series focuses on the personal, business and political machinations of the Medellín cartel, and Pablo's role in it. The gratuitous womanizing and wild parties is downplayed in an attempt to get an authentic feel for what Escobar's life was like on a daily basis.

It is a fascinating account of one of the most feared and heralded banditos of the 20th Century and should not be missed. And yes, the series is in Spanish. The link I provided does not include English subtitles, so if you're not a native speaker you're a bit out of luck. But when this series is released on DVD, it will no doubt include subtitles*.

*If you have any plans on visiting Colombia or any other Latin American country, do yourself a favor an get the Rosetta Stone Instructional Series for Spanish. In six months you should have the basics down pat and you'll be good to go. Once you do that, watch about 4-5 Spanish drama series to familiarize yourself with the accents and vocabulary so you'll be able to understand the lingo enough to fend for yourself when you travel.

*Sorry, everyone-the video trailer that I posted has been taken down from youtube, and I can't find another one anywhere on the internet. When I find it I'll re-post it. Thank you for your patience.