Looking at Barry Goldwater forty-five years later

Not a great guy. For example, he was brutally opposed to the Civil Rights Act.

Still, I would prefer this type of conservative greatly to those we have today.



At the time of the 1964 presidential campaign, people on the left, the entire range of the progressive/liberal/radical spectrum, viewed his potential election to office as some permutation of the second coming of Hitler. He was universally reviled, from people like Roy Wilkins, a man no one could ever argue was extreme, through the fledgling antiwar movement to radicals of all stripes, including Malcolm X, communists, socialists, anarchists and so on. Of course, this also includes Democrats.

What do we have now? A bunch of people who make him look like Bill Clinton - Bush. Bush II. Rumsfeld. Palin. Rand Paul and the entirety of the "Tea Party." These people fucking hate everything and everyone. At least Goldwater was readable. You know where he stood. This type of conservatism has largely died. I think people such as him are regarded as libertarians now, and substantially marginalized, fodder for late night talk show jokes. Conservatives vying for power now fashion themselves after Ronald Reagan, a man who was demonstrably and profoundly worse than Goldwater ever was. Goldwater reviled what conservatism had come to mean by the late 70s and early 80s. For the record, while not a supporter of gay rights, he also didn't oppose them - he thought it had nothing to do with the government. He hated the religious zealots who have become such a dominant force in our lives now.

It's no wonder that activism has died and drug use is high. What else could the people who fought against Goldwater in the 60s feel once they saw Reagan come into power and usher in a deep cultural conservatism that has been with us ever since? Talk about defeat.

Planned Parenthood

Now, I know that no one reads this blog, and if anyone were to do so, it is highly unlikely that she or he would be of the conservative persuasion, but given the recent "controversy" over Planned Parenthood and abortion, which a bunch of regressive people are trying to make the same thing, and the fact that a woman has a right to do whatever she likes with her body, I do feel that it is necessary to disseminate the reality of the organization's actions as far and wide as possible.

Here is an image that I found in the Washington Post that breaks down its services by percentage in a friendly pie chart:

Abortion services, three percent. Not that it matters. It could be a hundred percent, and that would be fine. But it just gives the lie to all those woman haters and religious zealots out there, talking about how Planned Parenthood is this massive baby killing machine or whatever.

Also, let us never forget the fact that the federal funding that Planned Parenthood gets is barred from being used for abortions, as it has been since 1976.

Anyone got a way to make 2012 come sooner?

Here is the newest "if there were a button I would be pounding on it with my head" story. It's not even the story. Just the first sentence:

"In rapid-fire action Friday, the Republican-controlled House voted to strip federal money from President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and from Planned Parenthood and to bar the EPA from issuing global warming regulations."

Yup. That's it. Goodbye. Kill us please.

Non-surgical abortion, live on the internet

Hats off to you, Angie Jackson. Here we see a strong woman explaining, with absolutely no apologies, that she is having an abortion. You see, since she took RU-486, she is actually having the abortion while she speaks. It's a French pill that induces abortion and finally made it over here some years back. She got it at Planned Parenthood, that redoubt of women's rights, and has been posting her experiences with it on the internet. All over the internet, actually. The description of her video says she has a blog and twitter account (Twitter hashtag #livetweetingabortion or follow me @antitheistangie) documenting it.

Here is a Daily News article all about what she's doing, replete with a "response" (as though they have a fucking thing to do with it) from the Family Research Council, which is just some bullshit cloak name for a bunch of misogynistic, fourteenth century fucks.

Hell yes Angie. Good for you. I do not know anything else about this woman, and to be honest, I really don't feel like watching the rest of her youtube videos, reading her blog or having a fucking thing to do with twitter. This, though, is fucking awesome, that she is showing the world what having a non-surgical abortion is like. I guess no one has done this before? I'm not sure why. People will put literally anything on the internet. I guess they tend to be a bit more hesitant to do things that are of import. Also, I understand that a lot of women, for a variety of reasons, don't really want to be waving this flag all over the place. Well, someone has, so they don't have to. It's so, so important to combat this fear-fanning crap that the would-be controllers of women put out there.

Of course, she is being bombarded by those same religious (Christian) woman-hating zealots telling her what a piece of shit she is, calling her a baby killer, a whore and whatever else, and even threatening her life. All because she made a decision about her body, that ultimately affects no one else besides her and to a lesser extent, her boyfriend or whomever the potential father is. What a wonderful world.

The shit that people say and do to intimidate women out of having abortions makes me want to go on a face-punching spree.

Things get stupider

and people reveal themselves to be a little more ignominious as time passes. A lot of people seem to have this idea of constant, irrepressible human progress towards some semblance of equality, harmony and understanding. Fuck that.

The fact of the matter is that give us the chance, and we will demonstrate our hatred and intolerance in waves. You can check yesterday's elections for that. Voters in Maine came out to repeal a gay marriage law the state legislature passed. Just like thirty states before them, gay marriage went up for a vote, and it was denied. And I still don't know why. I mean, I know why people vote against it. They cite some religious drivel, some nonsense about sanctity and honor or whatever, but I really just don't know why they care if gay people get married or not. It has nothing to ostensibly do with them. They are just hateful and seem to relish in denying other people joy.

I have this idea that people in America, other places too, I am sure, but I only know America, know that their lives are empty, shitty and lived in service to higher powers - their employers, politicians and the rich, which are often indistinguishable from one another. They may not be aware of it in a fully conscious sense, and they may not give it much thought, but they have a sense of it at some level. It compels them to act in such awful, vengeful ways. They love taking things out on other people. They will direct their misery at just about anyone, acting out in a wide variety of situations - driving, internet forums, picking on individuals they perceive as weak and oppressing groups they feel are susceptible to being dominated. We are a profoundly miserable people who often behave much like electricity. We will strike out at whatever is closest to us, requiring the least amount of effort. I feel that this is a large part of why men beat and cow their families - they are closest to them. They're always there, as is these men's rage, the rage that comes from so many other places and is channeled in such unproductive ways.

When it comes to enacting legislation and things of that nature, white people in this country love to enshrine their special status. They will and have put laws on the books to discriminate against, well, anyone, really. I guess just about everyone has faced discrimination in this country, save for the white man born here to a wealthy family. And by fucking god do white people like to keep it that way. They will go against themselves so often, just to try to ingratiate themselves in some way with these untouchables who rule them.

Wave a flag or a cross at them and poor white people will come out in droves for just about anything you want, as long as it's hateful and glorifies their idea of white, religious, individualistic America. Cut taxes for the rich? You bet. Fight against socialized medicine? Here we are, boss. Slash funding for education? Sure thing. Whatever you want.

Dear Earth Lords, you have long since convinced us that black people, Mexicans and transoceanic, non-white immigrants are our enemies. They want our jobs and our virtuous white women. We will defend all of those with vigor, devoting special energy to maintaining the homogeneity of our neighborhoods. We will unite along racial lines, much to the detriment of our economic well-being. We eagerly embark on this journey with you. It is of no practical value to us, but we promise to never examine this fact.

As for the white middle classes, they are scared as fuck of losing their tenuous economic perches. The poor white people, they never had shit to begin with and don't expect to ever gain much, so all they really need is their whiteness, maleness, Americanness, femininity and whatever else. But these middle-class people, they will bite whether you wave a flag or a dollar. Taxes, taxes taxes. Economy, economy, economy. Jobs, jobs, jobs. And they hate black people, but mostly because they are beneath them, as well as a criminal threat. They are not primarily their competition. They hate immigrants, but like it when they trim the shrubs in the front yard.

And everyone hates gay people. White people, black people, religious people of all stripes, rich people, poor people. Maybe portions of the middle classes sympathize with them the most, for trying to maintain that delicate balance. Middle class people know what it's like to have to pretend, to put on a show for everyone.

In New Jersey, Chris Christie trotted out this platform of "fixing the economy," whatever the fuck that means. I suppose it's calculated to be a statement open to maximum interpretation, where people take it to apply to them. It got him elected, along with his messages of repression - specifically anti-choice and anti-gay. The images of his fat, happy, white family put the cream in the twinkie. He's a religious conservative and loves George Bush. He favors such brilliant measures as further reducing state funding for education at all levels, always a guarantor of a bright future.

Christie won. More people chose him than anyone else. People in New Jersey, counter to its liberal image, tend to be rather conservative. Sure, Obama trashed McCain last year, but also, look who he was up against - an old man and an idiot hick. A lot of young people came out, a lot of black people came out, and a lot of white people felt like they had to "do the right thing."

This time around, there was no celebrity candidate. Nothing fresh was at hand. "Hope" was reserved for lower taxes, and the only aspirations for "change" were for that mystical nebulousness, the economy. It was back to that same American political drudgery - which white guy? That's the shit that turns a lot of people off. They don't want those choices. They don't see anyone who represents them or whom they want to represent them, so they abstain. Maybe they don't think much changes for them, regardless of who is in office. So other people go to the polls and choose for them.

Thanks to the fundamental shortsighted nature of Americans, it was Chris Christie this time. Idiot people ate up his promises of more money in their pockets and clung desperately to his denigration of Jon Corzine's economic abilities. Surely, it must be Jon Corzine's fault! After all, he WAS the one in office when all this meltdown business took place. No need to look even a few years back, to the policies of yore. No, this is all on Corzine. New Jersey operates in an economic vacuum, and everything is in the governor's hands. All he had to do was fix it, but he wouldn't. Or something. At least, that seems to be the gist of much support for Christie. I am no Corzine supporter and do not care to entrench myself in the uselessness of American party politics. It's just that, come on, Chris Christie? This guy is a fat piece of shit who just can't hate enough.

I guess that a lot of people who voted for Christie are in need of something to believe in. They don't know shit about economics and think it's as simple as one person fixing what's broken. Even worse, they believe, or at least pretend to believe that when someone makes campaign promises to do so, it will happen, as though he deals in magic. How could New Jersey have a thriving capitalist economy when the national economy is fucked, not to mention the global situation? Duh. These voters also either embrace his social conservatism or find it generally agreeable. They just don't care about people who aren't them. Money is their god, and at this time, they have chosen Chris Christie as their...what, bishop or something like that?

Here is November 4th, the day that Americans revealed themselves to be a little more hateful and vindictive than they were yesterday.

"There is an inner logic,

and we're taught to stay far from it.
It is simple and elegant,
but it's cruel and antithetic,
and there's no effort to reveal it."

Pigs for Christ, against women

Fucking brilliant quote from this former pig who runs an anti-choice organization in Las Vegas:

Three months later, Operation Rescue, the umbrella anti-abortion group, arrived in Las Vegas, where Mr. Gallagher was a police officer. He refused to arrest protesters, and when his sergeant suspended him, he joined the “rescuers.”

“I learned something that changed my life,” Mr. Gallagher said. “It wasn’t civil disobedience; it was biblical obedience.”

Thanks pig. Your trenchant insight has shown the issue so clearly. Biblical obedience. What other choice do you have, really. It has to be the truth, because it does. Get it? Sure, the bible came around a few thousand years ago, and yeah, the current human species had been around for about five hundred thousand years at that point, but that's irrelevant. The Lord God Jesus (The LGJ) was really busy for all that time, and was having a hard time finding a lady until Mary came along. You think he would have made her earlier, but again, he was busy. He's The LGJ.

The quote is from a broader story on the more in your face types of woman hating anti-choice people and all their very creative signs and stickers.

Lol @ "Elderly Pro-life Activist Attacked, Injured in Flagstaff"

Fuck Johnny Wallace. Didn't get shot, but I'm glad he caught a beatdown, and DELIGHTED that it was from two women. Fucking awesome.

As usual, he's not "pro-life", he's anti choice. Here is a motherfucker standing around trying just as hard as can be to also be a Christ Warrior and prohibit women from controlling their bodies, their futures and their lives. Progress through intimidation, right Johnny? Ok, so that's offensive enough. He deserves a kicking just for that.

BUT, here's the best part. As Operation Rescue tells it, Johnny simply "held two non-graphic, text-only signs protesting abortion..." One of them was some standard shit about dead babies, while the other read “Abortion kills more black Americans in four days than the Klan killed in 150 years." HOLY SHIT. Again, WOW. Johnny would have caught a lot more than a beatdown in a lot of places. He's lucky he was in Flagstaff. Incredible, thinking it's reasonable to compare the Klan and abortion. It's not really a comparison though; what he's saying is the black women are worse than the Klan. Black women kill more black people than the Klan.

On one hand, we have a terrorist organization (actual terrorists, as in maintaining power and accomplishing goals through extreme violence and, you know, terror) fighting to keep hatred alive and black people scared, impoverished and "in their places." They have maintained a reign of terror since shortly after the Civil War. They are alive and well today. Lynchings, beatings, shootings, burnings (of people), arson, bombings, stabbings, and whatever other kinds of physical violence of which one can conceive. If you can think of it, they've done it. And they still will do it. Black people in this situation are, unfortunately, subjects. When you are being beaten by a gang of men based on your skin, you have lost virtually all power to act effectively.

Abortion - a woman deciding she does not want to have a child at this time. No terror, no hatred, no one being dragged to death by horse. Black women are actors here. They are exercising agency. They are making decisions over their lives.

Holy shit. After writing that out, clearly, they are very similar, if not indiscernible from one another. I just realized how very wrong I am. I used to think abortions should be mandatory for all pregnant women everywhere, back last minute when I was pro abortion, but Jimmy's sign showed me that no one should ever have an abortion anywhere ever cause God.

Lol @ anti-choice guy getting gunned down

This happened a few weeks ago; I meant to write on it, but it's been slipping my mind. All this stuff with Attack Attack! has been taking up a lot of time.

Anyway, finally. Someone took out one of those self-appointed warriors for Christ. Fuck this guy. I'm glad he's dead. This piece of shit, a member of Operation Rescue, had spent years sitting outside a high school, a car dealership (?), Planned Parenthood offices, abortion clinics and who knows where else, holding up the usual signs of "the murdered unborn" or whatever they want to call fetuses, endeavoring to put his hands on women's bodies, to force them into having children they don't want, denying them the rights to control their lives.

See that guy up top? That's Harlan Drake. He did it. He shot Captain Christ, aka Jim Pouillon.

He wasn't killed in a personal dispute, he wasn't killed by accident. He was shot and killed deliberately because of the nature of his activities and his refusal to relent. A long time ago, he decided to dedicate his life to hating and controlling women.

The county's chief assistant prosecutor, Sara Edwards, said there didn't appear to be a "triggering event" but Pouillon's presence outside the school seemed to aggravate Drake. It was "the fact that he was outside the high school with his signs in front of children going to school," she said.

Yup.

Operation Rescue president Troy Newman said Pouillon was a member of the anti-abortion group, adding that he wept Friday when he received word that his friend had been killed. "He was just a kind, gentle man who loved life and endeavored to save other people's lives," Newman said.

Boo hoo hoo. What a tragic loss. Such a wonderful Christ warrior. He sure loved to control women's bodies. Troy Newman, what a judge of character.

Again, fuck this guy. He wasn't just someone who didn't like abortion. Operation Rescue, these are the people who kill doctors, these are the people who foster the sentiments that convince people to kill doctors, these are the people who love the dirty work that the doctor killers do for them. They thrive on the orgasmic power of intimidation.

Mr. Pouillon was at the real hardcore of this crap. A real die hard. And he died hard.

The Rev. Rodger DeVore, pastor of the Church of the Nazarene, said Pouillon never seemed to tire and even protested outside the church.

"He did not attend a church because he felt pastors were not strong enough in their defense of the aborted child," DeVore said. "I told him, 'Jim, everyone has to fight in their own armor. You have your approach and we have our approach.' We agreed to disagree."

Jim Pouillon won't be intimidating anyone ever again. May there be a bullet for everyone like him.

I fucking hate this country, pt. 2

You're gonna need more than "Obama's help."

Here you have the SHAC people in prison for some organized crime bullshit with a "terrorism" enhancement for trying to shut down an animal testing corporation, but those fascistic, woman-hating hicks who kill people, they don't go to prison until they kill/try to kill someone.

There is undoubtedly a long history of organized terrorism, as in actual terrorism, as in trying to intimidate and coerce people into changing what they do through threats and practices of extreme violence and death, when it comes to anti-choice people and groups. These people have their little "activist" organizations, loads of websites, prisoner support groups, and endless protests. Clearly, they have an agenda, one that has long included premeditated murder.

But the government doesn't do much about that one, do they? They bust people after they kill. They don't try to silence Operation Rescue or others like them, who clearly and adamantly promote an agenda of fear, violence and death, even having the audacity to openly celebrate the murders of doctors. Their intimidation goes unchecked, and not just by the government - we let them have their ways, we let them push people around. I think if they faced some of the same, they wouldn't be nearly so bold.

No, they go after SHAC, a bunch of people accused of running a website. That's who the state says terrorists are. Or people who try to get in the way of industry gone wild. And of course the standard religious targets. A succinct summary of today's perceived terrorists:

1. Muslims
2. People who come in between business and profit.

Why not prosecute the anti-choice thugs? It's not for lack of feasibility. There's obviously ample evidence and ability, at least judging by the government's success in going after SHAC and people involved with the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front. I see a few reasons why they don't go after God's Army Of Loving Christ Crusaders For The Cross Of The Baby Most Holy In Jesus' Name - one, the people who run this country are and have always been varying degrees of sexist, misogynistic and male-centric. Abortion is a "woman's issue." Another is that people in this country are, by and large, religious and socially/politically conservative, so there is not a whole lot of support for abortion rights, at least not in comparison to something like support for gun rights. Finally, and this is a huge one in my eyes, that abortion doesn't generate a lot of money, and certainly not in a concentrated way. Animal exploitation industries, on the other hand, those are huge money makers, along with other ALF/ELF targets, like the timber industry, luxury home construction industry and producing genetically modified crops. There is no real abortion industry lobby to fill politicians' coffers. If abortion were to be outlawed tomorrow, the economy would not suffer a substantial loss and no CEO would lose his job.

As an addendum, I would add that this war on choice helps to promote the chaos of daily life, making it essentially impossible for people to focus on and unite against their common oppression under capital and industry, and also does some of the ugly groundwork necessary to keep women subjugated, anxious, afraid and marginalized. The government could absolutely ameliorate this ridiculous tide of fear and violence, but they won't.