The Heretik

From the Brain Deadman Doctor Walking File

Sometimes satire is a stiletto, sometimes it takes a sledgehammer. Oy.

FRIST COULD GET FROSTED
The Heretik notes the following with a certain ha, ha, ho, ho, wo,wo wonder
from PANDAGON

As a proud member of the Culture of Death (t-shirts on the way!), when I hear that Republicans who don't want to believe a Republican could draft a shitheaded memo are declaring it a forgery, I have only one solution. Find the asshole who drew it up and kill him. No matter who, kill 'em. If it was a Republican, which it most likely was, kill him twice.

They Are Not Playing Our Song in Guantanamo 2

GUANTANAMO: LAND WHERE OUR FATHER'S PRIDE DIED

 

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST: U.S. law enforcement agents working at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, concluded that controversial interrogation practices used there by the Defense Department produced intelligence information that was "suspect at best," an FBI agent told a superior in a memo in May last year.
But the Justice Department, which reviewed the memo for national security secrets before releasing it to a civil liberties group in December, redacted the FBI agent's conclusion.

MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON POST:The department, acting after the Defense Department expressed its own views on which portions of the letter should be redacted, also blacked out a separate assertion in the memo that military interrogation practices could undermine future military trials for terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay.

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST: It also withheld a statement by the memo's author that Justice Department criminal division officials were so concerned about the military interrogation practices that they took their complaints to the office of the Pentagon's chief attorney, William J. Haynes II, whom President Bush has nominated to become a federal appellate judge.
The revelations in the memo, released yesterday by Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) , generally amplify previously disclosed FBI concerns that military interrogators at the island prison were using coercive interrogation methods that could compromise any evidence of terrorist activities they obtained.
FBI agents and officials had complained about the shackling of detainees to the floor for periods exceeding 24 hours, without food and water; the draping of a detainee in an Israeli flag; and the use of growling dogs to scare detainees.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, who as White House counsel participated in detailed discussions about the legality of aggressive military interrogation techniques, has twice publicly expressed skepticism about the reliability of these FBI accounts.

ALBERTO GONZALES EXPRESSED SKEPTICISIM?
The Heretik expresses extreme skepticism in Mister Gonzales.  He is a singular disgrace in this entire sorry litany of shame.  Anyone with any doubts should read what Mister Gonzales believes is permissible and then read the United States Constitution.  Read them in that order and don't eat before hand.  Because if you read the Fourth Amendment and then Gonzales, The Heretik makes no guarantee you will not be sick to your stomach.

THE FOURTH AMENDMENT:The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

We are told these are extraordinary times. Some things have to be done to protect us.  Yes, some things have to be done.  We need to be protected from our protectors.  Criticism of torturers is deemed unAmerican.  Nothing is more American than dissent. It is the bedrock of this country that no weathering of harsh times can or will erode so long as citizen keep a watchful eye on those who are supposed to be watching out for us.
THE FIRST AMENDMENT:Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The Heretik asks why everything is done in secrecy with this administration?  Why the beating down of prisoners and dissenters alike?  The two actions are nothing less than the two heads of a monster unleashed upon The People. 
That monster is the Hydra.  Those who remember the Hydra from Greek myth may remembe anyone who confronted the hydra would try to cut its many snake heads off one by one, and two heads would grow back for every head cut.
The lesson applies today. How to kill the hydra that bites at our protections?  One needs remember how Hercules finally killed the hydra.  Not by attacking the single heads of the beast, but by confronting the beast at close quarters and killing the beast whole.
THE FIFTH AMENDMENT: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Some will read all of this and say none of this matters.  We are at war and we must do what we must do.  What does it matter what matters to prisoners under our control if we are saved?  It matters more than we think.  For in being so saved, we are all lost.

FROM ARTICLE TWO on THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

THE PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
The above words are the bedrock of our country that can perhaps be weathered away in harsh times, when some thing have to be done. Or not.
Are we living in a country where we have formed a more perfect Union, where we have established Justice, where we have secured the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity?  Or have we done something else, by doing nothing when things have to done?

Has our President to the best of his Ability, preserved, protected and defended the Constitution of the United States? Or has he done something else, when things had to be done?

They are not playing our song in Guantanamo.

Shadows: a Poem by Joe Ivory Mattingly Doubly Dedicated to Uppity Women Lauren the Feministe and Bitch Ph.d

Dear W: On Good and Bad versus What Is Worse Part One

To George W. Bush, President of the United States of America:

Mister President, 
This is the second time I have had to get in contact with you this week.  Apparently even James Wolcott is wondering about what might bring about The Rapture, The End Daze when we could all drink to the final fate of Schiavo or of Alaska.  But do not ask for whom The Heretik toils.  I toil for you, Mister President.  You and Satan. Once again I am caught in the middle of much madness.
I am beginning to think I have found my purpose in life.  Or is it death?  You may not be aware of something.  Actually The Heretik is sure that you are aware of not too many things and that is why I end up having to write these letters to you.  You probably are not aware of anything at all, Dubbalino. 
Can I call you Dubbalino? Ha, I am not even going to bother to ask.  Dubbalino, you are a dumbass. Dumbass!  Dumbass!  Dumbass!  Ah, that felt better to get it out.  If you don't understand  how that makes me feel, ask Laura how she felt after the first time she farted in front of you.
Yes, I know you may not believe that Laura farts.  She does.  And your mom Bar?  At her advanced years, you would not believe the way that old lady can rip.  The twins? You don't believe they fart either, but then there are a lot of other things you wouldn't believe they do either.  Your harem of hellions also fart all the time.  Tell Condi she will seem just a little less odiferous if she lays off the beans the next time she is down in Crawford.  She is just stinking up the joint. 
Karen Hughes?  She is farting all the time, but nobody would know it.  Karen Hughes does not fart out her ass at all, most times she is farting straight out of her mouth.  I have just one thing to say.  Oy.  Oy vey.  Know what I mean, Doctor Dubbenstein?  But enough about the farting.
Yet afrikkingain, Dubster, my landlord has asked me to contact you .  The man with the horn and the tails has asked me to ask you if you know about the times when good and bad align in battle against what is worse.  Do you know what it is like when Satan comes upstairs and joins the fight right there in the White House living room?  Not pretty.Oh, holy Sheila, the Dark Prince is calling me.  Not Wolfowitz, Satan. Got to get back with you because I have to get back with the most horned of guys, fratboy budster.  Tell Lynne Cheney Satan appreciates all the work she is doing under the desk.  You know, whatever it takes to keep Big Time going or is it coming and going?  Say hi to the twins.  Beelzebub is buzzing me again, but he says I can answer your wee ones' questions. Satan says Jenna is far better at doing the first thing and Barbara is better at the second, but neither of them is as good (or is that bad,bad bad) as Laura with the mad skills that make Satan smile. Oh, yes. Or in your case, is it oh, no? The Prince of Darkness appreciates Laura's  style.  For her to lie down and take it from you in public and private is impressive.  Laura is truly an exemplar of womanly Christian duty.  And for her to not say a word about issues that matter to women while she says they matter to her?  Big Wows from The Wicked One on that.  All props to the White House Proprietress of Put Up and Shut Up on that!  Do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight on that, huh, Dubbly dudely!  Anyway, I gots to goes now. 

Thanks for your time, Mister President. I will be getting back to you as soon as possible regarding bad and good aligned against what is worse soon.

I remain not just another Kid In Service of Satan,

The Heretik

. . . play the funky music, white boy . . . . play that funky music now . . .lay down the boogie and play that funky music til we die . . . . til we die . . . .

John Negroponte: Goosestepping Over the Grave

ALL THAT'S MISSING IS THE GOOSESTEP
On the Day of the Twentyfifth Anniversary of the Assassination of Archbishop Oscar  Romero , The Heretik would like to offer a reminder of what those insane times were like and who was involved in  and how.  The Archbishop was assassinated while he was saying mass in public by Salvadoran military forces, forces supported by the likes of John Negroponte.  John Negroponte was a prime supporter and exponent of what is politely called The Salvadoran Option.

You may have heard that term described for what is currently taking place in Iraq, the forgotten place in newspapers and broadcasts.  The Salvadorn Option is a euphemism for sending out death squads to find and kill leading opponents.  Somehow in El Salvador "opponents" came to include nun, priests, missionaries and archbishops.

The Heretik hopes the people who brought us the shock of the  awful remember what happens when a dog of a policy is unleashed.  The innocent take the bite.

from: AGITPROP

The Martyr of El Salvador

Brothers, you came from our own people. You are killing your own brothers. Any human order to kill must be subordinate to the law of God, which says, 'Thou shalt not kill'. No soldier is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God. No one has to obey an immoral law. It is high time you obeyed your consciences rather than sinful orders. The church cannot remain silent before such an abomination. ... In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cry rises to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you: stop the repression."

These are the words of Archbishop Oscar Romero who was assassinated 25 years ago today by the Salvadoran militarywhile saying mass in San Salvador, El Salvador. He was an outspoken critic of the repressive military government that ruled El Salvador.

The Heretik on The Three Faces of Eve and Uppity Uberwoman Maureen

SMARTASSMOUTH

CASTRATINGBITCHQUEENBEE

SUREFINEWHATEVERNOBODY

EVERCALLSMAUREENDOWDDUMBWHY?

DOWD in the NYTimes
Oh my God, we really are in a theocracy.

 

Are the Republicans so obsessed with maintaining control over all branches of government, and are the Democrats so emasculated about not having any power, that they are willing to turn the nation into a wholly owned subsidiary of the church?

YOUMAYNOTLIKEWHATSHESAYS

YOUMAYNOTCAREFORHOWSHESAYSIT

ATLEASTYOUKNOWWHERESHESTANDS 

IFTHATLINEWORKEDFORAPRESIDENT

WHOISANIDIOTWHYCAN'TITWORK

FORAWOMANWHOISSMART?

A Reminder of What The World Might Be from Uppity Woman Arse Poetica

OUR WORLD IS A CONSTANT WONDER
Thanks for the reminder: arse poetica

Nothing prepared me for what I experienced in Tierra del Fuego. The whole time I thought, Land of the Lost, Lord of the Rings, the Enchanted Forest. It's so real, it's unreal.

FROM THE HERETIK: When we consider what was and what is lost, it is good to have a friend to remind us of what is and what might be.  For those who see it hanging like a mist in an otherwise poisoned atmosphere, hope remains.

The world is permanently screwed. It has been before and it will be again. When you think that we are all damned forever,  remember and treasure the friends who save you now.

A friend is one who speaks wisely without words.  If there are words worthy of friendship, they must be found in poetry.

When our own words fail and the world is too much with us, always there is poetry.  I know Arse Poetica has an easy feeling for the words of W.C. Williams (as do I).  Here are a few from the master poet of Patterson

The Red Wheelbarrow

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

To Elsie

The pure products of America
go crazy—
mountain folk from Kentucky

or the ribbed north end of
Jersey
with its isolate lakes and

valleys, its deaf-mutes, thieves
old names
and promiscuity between

devil-may-care men who have taken
to railroading
out of sheer lust of adventure—

and young slatterns, bathed
in filth
from Monday to Saturday

to be tricked out that night
with gauds
from imaginations which have no

peasant traditions to give them
character
but flutter and flaunt

sheer rags-succumbing without
emotion
save numbed terror

under some hedge of choke-cherry
or viburnum-
which they cannot express—

Unless it be that marriage
perhaps
with a dash of Indian blood

will throw up a girl so desolate
so hemmed round
with disease or murder

that she'll be rescued by
an agent—
reared by the state and

sent out at fifteen to work in
some hard-pressed
house in the suburbs—

some doctor's family, some Elsie—
voluptuous water
expressing with broken

brain the truth about us—
her great
ungainly hips and flopping breasts

addressed to cheap
jewelry
and rich young men with fine eyes

as if the earth under our feet
were
an excrement of some sky

and we degraded prisoners
destined
to hunger until we eat filth

while the imagination strains
after deer
going by fields of goldenrod in

the stifling heat of September
Somehow
it seems to destroy us

It is only in isolate flecks that
something
is given off

No one
to witness
and adjust,no one to drive the car.

Senator Medical Bill Frist May Have Been Brain Dead Long Before Schiavo

MOVING IN ONE DIRECTION Senator Medical Bill Frist Seems to Be Playing Politics With Schiavo.   Reports Indicating Conscience Only Recently Removed May Be Inaccurate

Frist wrote a book in 1989 called Transplant where he advocated changing the definition of "brain dead" to include anencephalic babies. Anencephalic babies are in the same state as Terri Schiavo except that she suffered a physical trauma that put her into a vegetative state while the anencephalic babies are born that way.

This remarkable discovery buttresses the argument that Frist's advocacy for Schiavo is wholly political. How does he explain this remarkable inconsistency? Here is the relevant passage on Frist as quoted by the New Republic in 2003:

"And, although Frist writes frequently about the ethical issues surrounding transplants--for example, the question of when death begins--he approaches these issues in starkly scientific terms, with little patience for religious objections.

"Near the end of the book, for example, Frist suggests changing the legal definition of 'brain death' to include anencephalic babies, who are born with a fatal neurological disorder but show just the slightest hint of brain-stem activity. Such a change would make it possible to harvest their organs for transplant--something the Catholic Church and pro-life groups oppose. 'Three thousand anencephalic babies were born a year, enough to solve our demand many times over--but we never used them.'" [The New Republic, 1/27/03]

THREAD: New Republic?>>>DC Insider>>>CE Petro>>>The Heretik

The Blair Bush Bash (and Other McKRAP tm)

Sometimes satire is a stiletto, sometimes it takes a sledgehammer. Oy.

THE BLAIR BUSH BASH
The Heretik notes the following with a certain bashful glee.
from the BBC:

Mr Blair said faith was very important on a personal level but could quickly become misinterpreted.

"I don't want to end up with an American-style type ofpolitics with us all going out there and beating our chests about our faith," he said.
People were defined by their faith but it was "a bit unhealthy" if it became used in the political process.

WHO SAYS CONDI CANDI DON'T TASTE SO SWEET?
The Heretik notes the following with a bitter sweet taste in his mouth.
 
Condoleezza Rice, the United States Secretary of State, has made a not so veiled threat to Pyongyang about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea facing  other options if it does not cooperate in talks over its nuclear plans. . . .

The Foreign Ministry of this
country (?????) stated recently that "It is utterly illogical for the U.S. to argue about the prospect of the resumption of the six-party talks while declaring that it would seek the overthrow of the system of the DPRK to the very end, adding that "It is not only quite natural but alsoworthy of being proud of that the DPRK makes nukes for self-defense when the U.S. threatens it with a preemptive attack while boasting of nuclear predominance."
The question is not the attitude of the DPR Korea, but rather that of Washington. Basically, start behaving in a manner which goes hand in hand with international law, stop threatening other countries, stop using bullying and blackmail and start gaining more friends.  Condoleezza Rice also raised the issue of human rights within China, yet again providing fuel for the notion that she is the most absurd figure ever to have headed US diplomacy. How can this lady speak about human rights when she represents a country which has committed institutional acts of torture in two continents, when its legions have slaughtered tens of thousands of civilians in an illegal war?
Maybe Condoleezza Rice forgot to look at the photographs where US military personnel were committingacts of sodomy and sexual depravity against Iraqis in Abu Ghraib, before she made her comments about human rights. Maybe Condoleezza Rice forgot to take a look at those horrific scenes of civilians murdered by the armed forces of the country she represents.
And she speaks about human rights?
from  PRAVDA (????? RUSSIA !!!!!)

I love the smell of satire in the morning.  It smells . . . like victory.  Some day this war is gonna end. 

Marvin Gaye, A Saint in Song, Heretik

MARVIN GAYE COULD HAVE GONE ON MAKING HAPPY MOTOWN HITS FOR THE REST OF HIS ALL TOO SHORT LIFE
Marvin Gaye Was Never About Chump Change (and all money is chump change, champ).
With his song "What's Going On?" Marvin Gaye changed the world.
When some sorrowful facts are long forgotten, the wisdom in Marvin Gaye's  words and his joy in life will float forever free on clouds above.
We've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today

Mother, mother
There's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today
Father, father
We don't need to escalate
War is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know you've got to find a way
To bring some understanding yeah today
Aw, picket lines, picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me so you can see
Oh what's going on,
Tell me what's going on
Mother, mother
Ev'ry body thinks we're wrong
Baby who are they to judge us
'Cause our hair is long
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Good God