Ewwwww.....Geraldo has a blog!!! Ewwwwwwwwwww!!!!


Now, even my friends who watch Fox News hate Geraldo. Maybe, just maybe, Geraldo will realize that everyone and their mother and their long-dead ancestors really don't like him. Noone likes Geraldo, and if you do, I'm concerned for your well-being.


However, I'm not holding my breath.

I just thought I'd share some of the spam I've been getting.

(private and highly fidential)
Greeting,

I know you will be surprised to read from me, but please this letter is a request from a family in dare need of assistance. I am FRANK ACTIVI from Angola.The first, and only son of Brigadier Arnold ACTIVI communicating to you from Accra, Ghana. I got your number from Business directory after studying your kind of work. I, and on behalf of my widowed mother Mrs. Bridget ACTIVI decide to solicit for your kind assistance to help the family invest on our behalf the sum of US$35.8 Million (and to deposit 20kg of Gold Alleviate in your Bank for us.)in your Business Venture for a long term and pay us monthly on an agreeable terms to be worked out later.
Before my father's death, he was in charge of arm and ammunition procurement for the Angola Army. In His Will he specifically drew my attention to the US$35.8 million, which he deposited, in a safe box in a private security company in Accra Ghana.
In fact I quote.My beloved son, I wish to draw your attention to a certain box containing the sum of US$35.800,000 (Thirty five and Eight Hundred Million United State Dollars). I deposited the box containing the funds in a security company in Accra Ghana as valuables. During the war, I was very dedicated and committed to winning the war against the rebels until I find out that some senior army officers and government functionaries were busy helping themselves with government funds and properties sending them to foreign countries. Due to this,when I and the former special adviser to the president were assigned by the President (Jose Eduardo Santos) to purchase arms and ammunition we saw this as a golden opportunity and diverted the money and shared it of which I got my own share of UIS$35.8 million (Thirty five and Eight Hundred Million United State Dollars). In case of my absence on earth as a result of death only you should solicit for assistance of a reliable and sincere foreign partner to assist you to transfer this money out of Ghana for investment purpose. I deposited the box in your name and you can claim it alone with a deposit code. Your mother is with all the documents. Take good care of your mother and your two sisters. Do not disappoint me Bye! Bye unquote.
From the word of my late father you will understand that our lives and future of my family depends on this funds and as such I will be grateful if you can assist us. We are now living in Ghana, as political asylum seekers, financial laws and regulations of the republic of Ghana does not permit us to certain financial rights. In view of this, I cannot invest this fund in Ghana hence: I am seeking your assistance to invest this fund out of Ghana for investment purpose. I want you to come on board help clear this money from the deposit company and open an account on your name or your company for us to pay this money in. why I also want you is that my father specifically put it in his will that the documents be released to me when my mother sees a foreign partner with me this then I think was to save as a check on my part so that I would not misused the money as
this is the only money left for the family in this generation. For your efforts,we are prepared to offer you 25% of the total fund during this transaction.
Please, note that this transaction is 100% risk-free and the major thing I demand from you is to assure me that safety of this money when it finally gets to you. Further information and arrangement will commence as soon as trust,confidence and good relationship is established. I shall be most grateful if you could maintain this high level of confidentiality I repose on you concerning this matter.

Thanks for your personal consideration.
Yours Sincerely,
FRANK ACTIVI

I've gotten that in 6 different versions...from Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Angola(!), Ivory Coast, and Venezuela. Do they think I'm stoopid?

Anyone else playing this blogshares game? I'm not doing too well. . . neither is my stock (fell to $.66 from $1.70 today...)

PERSONAL LIFE UPDATE (lol)

I won my elections held last Tuesday night. My election was close...I won by two votes. My running mate won overwhelmingly. Also, my rantings about Student Senate (they were bascially trying to kick the College Democrats off of campus) were somewhat unfounded. It turns out that there were only a handful of anti-Democrat kids in the club, and they voted in our favor last week, meaning our club is still in existence!

I'll be a little less shrill toward them in the future.

President(right) Ryan Rahl and Vice-President(left) Terry Pinder

I'm a little bit nervous. I've never held a major leadership position before, so it should be exciting too.

I have way too much work to do, still. But the semester is winding down. Which is very, very good. I only have two, no three, more major papers to finish up on. If the posts get punchy, well, it means I'm overworked and underplayed. I'm hoping that doesn't occur like it did two weeks ago. That was rough.

I'm hangin' in there, then it will be summertime!

This is a good read.

9/11 COMMISSION WATCH

There have been several big developments in recent weeks. Sadly, I fear that the media is not paying adequate attention. Twenty months after the attacks that have turned the entire world upside-down and sideways, a lot is still not being investigated.

20 months later (as reported yesterday by the Washington Post, on page A11 though), panel members still are having major trouble in getting access to intelligence briefings. Timothy Roehmer(D) had sat on the joint intelligence hearing that was held after 9/11. He's on the commission now. He has not been able to access critical documents.

"Roemer, a former Democratic House member from Indiana, tried to review the transcripts of the joint hearings held last year by the House and Senate intelligence committees. He learned that he had no permission to see them, even though he had served on the joint committee hearings and had, therefore, read the material before."

By law, the commission is given wide latitude into what it can recieve in terms of information.

Are we ever going to see a commission that works?


Also a related news: The Telegraph of UK is reporting that Bush has always thought that Saddam was behind 9/11. This is bolstered by untouched documents found in the former headquarters of the Iraqi Intelligence service, a building that was bombed several times during the recent war.

I'm going to treat this as suspect, as I've treated every cynical posture and lie this administration has put out over the last three years.

SANTORUM WATCH




If the "compassionate conservatives" have any decency, they'll rid themselves of this wingnut.

UPDATE
Tony Auth, a dead-on political cartoonist at the Philadelphia Inquirer, has this to say. Jeez, ouch. Ouch indeed.

NORTH KOREA WATCH

Warblogging,The Agonist, and others are all up on this. While we were busy exporting freedom to Iraq, N. Korea got nukes.

The only thing I can add to this debate is that we're fucked. Oops.

I think I may have been a bit knee-jerk to Senator Santorum.

Yes, he does get more shrill with each passing year. But as someone pointed out to me in conversation, he has an interesting point: what can and cannot be legal and condoned in terms of sexual activity. Obviously, polygamy cannot. Obviously neither can incest.

However, being that he is a conservative, he equates homosexuality, a biological phenomenon, with a threat to the "traditional family".

I've never understood this logic.

So I have a challenge to any conservatives out there ( and I hope someone picks this up and gets it public.):

Without using the Bible or any form of religious morality, please define why, for example, allowing gays to marry, will destroy the traditional family. What is the big threat? How will the family be destroyed?

I feel that there is no threat. Straight people are going to keep on getting married and making babies. Their straight babies are going to grow up and make more families and lots more babies.

So there's my challenge, and my opinion.

I am reading The Age of Sacred Terror, recommended to me several times over by Sean-Paul Kelly over at the Agonist. When I'm done, I'll post a full report.

I'll have some coherent thoughts about Pennsylvania's bigoted shrill wingnut embarrassement of a US Senator, Rick Santorum in a couple days. I need to sort out my thoughts. But, until then, Ricky S., this is for you. Enjoy.


I can't stand bigots, regardless of party or ideology. Period.

(SARCASM) I'm so glad the adults are in charge.

Really glad. No. Really. I'm just dripping orgasmic with pride.


(/SARCASM)

In all fairness to the neocons set on bringing about Pax Americana while spending the United States into the red, on paper it is a decent idea. On paper, that is. It calls for democracy, which is a very good thing.

But their methods, which happen to antagonize the world and the US State Department, and the fact that they want to spend and spend and spend, and then spend some more, is a very bad thing.

At the time of this writing, there are 559 days left till the election. An election that I read in this morning's New York Times is going to be heavy with cynical posturing around the 9/11 catastrophe.

Simply put, you need to start asking yourself: "Are you better off economically, spiritually, and socially since December of 2000?" If you are, then vote for Caesar, I mean Bush. If you're not, (I read unemployment and underemployment is at 10.5%), then you'd better vote Bush out of office.

Website of the Day: The Millersville University College Democrats


I'm running for vice-president. Wish me and my running mate luck. Elections are tomorrow night.

I've been doing some housekeeping.

First, I removed Gator's Bits from the blogroll. When Gator comes back, he of course is going right back on.

I also removed Drudge. The anti-France popup ads annoyed me.

I'm going to remove William Burton if there's no word on what's happened to him.

I added a lot more, including Digby, who has been wowing me for the last three weeks. So surf through the links and have fun.

Oh yeah...my blogroll isn't just for blogs anymore. Eventually, all my sites are going to be moved there, since blogger won't allow me to update the template...if I wasn't so darn broke, I'd move to Movable Type today!

POLL:

Should I put the tagboard back up? Let me know.

I am sad to say that Gator's Bits is going bye bye. Not that I'm de-linking...he's ceased operations. Keep in touch anyway, Gator.

Nationalism and Fascism: Old Ills, Future Evil

This is just one cursory chapter in what's going to become a long-term project for me. That paper posted two days ago got an A, believe it or not.

Read. And please, give me feedback.

My interest in this topic began with the reading the series currently being run by David Neiwert at Orcinus. He's simply a one-man American fascism-watching machine, although many on the Left have raised the alarms of seemingly eerie comparisons to the state of the Union today to the Weimar Republic of Depression-era Germany. I had raised my own alarms earlier this year in my beginnings of my research into this topic when I blogged about fundamentalism, and I think I was warrented. I fear though, that those of us making these alarms are mere "Cassandras," and it may already be too late. I also fear that this trend is not just native to the United States, and if and when the world undergoes another round of the evil that destroyed Europe 70 years ago, it will be global and reactionary to whoever first dove into the fascist pit.

The new fascism, when it comes (and I'm beginning to conclude that it WILL make an appearance, if not in this country then someplace else), will not resemble the fascism of old. It is highly mutable: as researcher Robert Paxton(The Five Stages of Fascism) who I, David, and several others cite has stated. American fascism will be pious and anti-minority. Western European fascism will be secular and anti-Islamist. Hell, one could extend this to any region of the world...Indian fascism will be Hindu, anti-Muslim, and anti-Western. Islamic fascism is obviously very fundamentalist, and viruently anti-Western (their wrath would be focused at the United States). I'd like to posit that Chinese/East Asian fascism would be very coporate in nature, but I don't really have much evidence other than a gut feeling. And so on, and so on.

My fear, sadly, is that that it may already be too late. There's a way out...keep your eyes open. Keep watching. I sure will.

STUDENT SENATE WATCH

It's time for me to take a stand.

I'm just going to say it: I hate cliques. Cannot stand them. Millersville's Student Senate (we had elections today, results won't be back till tomorrow) is run by a bunch of very unfriendly cliquish people.

I'm gonna bring them down. Even though it involves very few of my readers.

Keep watching this space.

If you are interested in participating in a graduate research project on blogs, journalism, and civic participation, contact Rebecca Reynolds at rbreynol@mailbox.syr.edu.

It's fun and easy, and helping graduate students is a good thing.

Added to the Blogroll:

Africa Pundit

Idols of the Marketplace

Oh, praise heaven! A fellow Lancaster area blogger!!!


I'm just glad to see there's someone else out there, and that it's a good blog to read, too.

I like Uggabugga, really I do, but sometimes I wonder where they find the time. (Just scroll down, you'll see what I mean.

I'd like to welcome my parents to The Storm, since they've both finally discovered me in cyberspace.

I guess that means no more cursing. LOL.

The first addition to The Storm Annex has been added.

I think it'll be a B+ paper...that's being optimistic of me, read away, youse guys might think otherwise. And before anyone says its too short or cursory, which I think it is, the assignment only called for it to be 5 pages in length. In print, it's 8 pages, plus a 1 page bibliography.It's a start to a larger project, however. I think my thesis will be on nationalism from the perspective of semiotics.

Question: (to test to see if anyone is still reading due to my recent breakdowns and spazouts)... can bloggers (educated ones who have written extensively or have an expertise), be used as a "scholarly source" when writing term papers? I haven't done it yet, but a number of bloggers have written on fascism, which I just finished writing a paper on. (I'll post it if I get a grade better than B+ on it.) I was very tempted to use their work, but didn't because I didn't know if it could be considered scholarly...


Let me know.

Ok, the state of Pennsylvania gets a big old F for getting rid of the EZ forms and making the PA-40 needlessly complicated when it doesn't need to be.


I get a C- for not doing this earlier.

UPDATE: $2???? They want me to pay them 2 BUCKS?? Eh well.

This week's hiatus is academic, unlike last week's.

DOMESTIC WATCH


** Anthrax attacks were domestic Terrorism
Note: No fucking shit. We've been fucking sayin' that for over a year now! Now CATCH the motherfucker, sheesh! Sorry, I'm between pills.

**Former Professor denied bond in Terror Case.

**Judge blocks Bush Administration attempt to loosen standards on Dolphin Safe Tuna.
I really don't know what to say to that.

**New Command at Air Force Academy.
Good.

This is a week old, but I will not be posting anything on the controversy involving my collegue, Sean-Paul. I posted my piece a week ago, and that will be the end of it.

I really don't feel like doing this anymore, but I'm sure everyone has caught on to my bizarre and schizophrenic(sp?) mood swings so maybe tomorrow, I'll be good as new.

There will be no posts on Thursday.

Awhile ago, I drew this:

The Multi-Polar International System


I was wrong. Now that Iraq has been conquered...er...liberated, the world is more like this:

Unipolar Hegemon System---goal of PNAC.


Enjoy the new Unipolar system.

DOMESTIC WATCH: A PROGRESSIVE OPINION

I wrote this morning a simple sentence. An article in this morning's New York Times left me so livid that I could not think straight. It's generally pissed me off for much of the day. I very nearly went back to bed, which is my normal anger-management strategy but I've missed enough classes using this.

I think I've calmed down enough to write about it. Actually, this post was written several times over, what you're about to read is the most calm and most collected version. Others devolved into expletives, name-calling, and specious logic.

It's about the Patriot Act.

Apparently many Republicans, and some Democrats too, want to make the Patriot Act permanent. I can't stand the legislation now, but I take a small comfort in the fact that many of the most draconian of its provisions "sunset" in 2005. Especially the ones that have wide overreach that step on, in the eyes of me and other civil libertarians, the Constitutional Rights of American citizens which are the very core of our American beings. Of course, there's also Patriot Act II in the works...Total Information Awareness isn't as dead as it should be, and I'm sure a derivative of Operation TIPS is in the works.

I'm very sorry, but this cannot occur. I'll say it again. This. Cannot. Occur.

I am unwilling to live in a country that must take draconian measures to protect its citizens. I'm unwilling to let this happen. There are ways to protect citizens without ripping our cherished, MY cherished Constitution to shreds. I would urge the Bush Administration and their cohorts in the Justice Department to come up with something better. I would urge the Republicans to rethink some of what they want to do with the already horrible Patriot Act.

I'm still far too depressed to write in full, but some bloggers have been writing about their "end of history" moment...the moment when history ceased to be impersonal.


This war, which now appears to be more or less over, and the build up to it, is mine. I knew in July we'd be at war with Iraq by the end of the school year. One does not leak information to the press about war plans and not act on them.

Everything from this point on is personal.

Please tell me this is satire. Please.

I am so livid about this I can't even think straight.

I'm taking a hiatus and THIS time I REALLY MEAN IT!

Reasons:

#1. Too much work
#2. Not enough play
#3. Simply put, the world really sucks.
#4. The bloggers over there to the left underneath my ever-so-charming picture do it better than I do.

There's really no sense in me blogging if I can't find any freakin' positive things to write about. Hence, I'm not gonna do it. I'm taking a nice LONG break and this time I REALLY MEAN IT!

Tsk, tsk.

Although...
I don't see you in any less of a light, my friend. Keep up the good work, you've certainly done me a great service in presenting an unbiased view of the war.


And next time, cite.

Yeah, so I wake up this morning and it is snowing.


Springtime for Terry in Pennsylvania... ugh.


UPDATE:
I was wrong. It isn't snowing. It's doing a delightful thing called "wintry mix." Oh joy of joys. With very strong and gusty northeast winds.


If this is a joke, it's reeeal freakin' funny. Yeah, I'm talkin' to you, Mother Nature. Reeeeeeeal. Freakin'. Funny.

Aren't they gorgeous?

Weddings are great. Now if I can just keep my family from planning mine (if I ever do get to that point . . . )

Added to the Blogroll:

Russian War Blog

Ok, before I got back to glowering in my corner, I really need to deconstruct something I read over at CalPundit via that idiot Instapundit, who I've now lost all respect for.


Apparently, it's now vogue to make fun of the Europeans because of their teeth!


News Flash.

I have bad teeth. Judging from the media, lots of Americans really do have bad teeth. However because of American MTV and American pop culture, having bad teeth makes you unmarketable and ugly. End result? I never smile in pictures. err.. I rarely smile in pictures. That's why I'm not smiling in that picture there to the left. And in about 3-5 years, I'm going to spend thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars on cosmetic dentistry, among other things.

Now I could fix this but we could never afford braces growing up. You know, I just happen to be one of the 50 million americans who do not have health care. The United States does not provide universal health care for its people.

Due to that, getting dental exams and etc., which are FREE under the European system, were not an option for me, my siblings, and my family. They were unaffordible.

To pick on a group of people due to their teeth (this rant was going somewhere, but now it's just not worth it) is purile, immature, and idiotic. So someone, please tell Instapundit, and his anti-rest-of-the-world ilk to go fuck off.

Changeble skies. Very moody. Too much work. Not enough play.

Read about Godwin's Law, it's kind of fascinating.

I'm taking a break.


Bleh.

It's Sean-Paul's and Tatiana's Big DAY!!! WHOO HOO!

I'm gonna have a drink in their honor tonight.

If you haven't noticed yet, the Agonist got all new webforums.

My productivity has gone from slim to nil.

Private Lynch, the rescued POW, fought till she ran out of ammunition.


Now, I really do hope this shuts up the crowd (which includes Ann "I'm Eva Braun Incarnate" Coulter) that says that women cannot fight combat roles and makes them hang their petty little heads in shame. PFC Lynch fought hard to keep from being captured. She's an inspiration, I think, and she should be honored. And this should shut up that paternalistic crowd that doesn't want women to be firefighters, police officers, or military personell serving their country. This is absolute proof that women can fight just as hard and long as men can.


The same article says that her home state of West Virginia will be helping out with her education. Good, cause that's how it should be.

Ann Coulter, uberbitch and Eva Braun Nazi Wannabe, has moved to Miami.


That's funny, because I thought she hated minorites because, you know, she IS a fascist bitch. And Florida is just chock full of them. I believe Miami has a 60-80% minority population or somewhere in that range.


Again, I apologize, I'm in a bad mood.

Look Mom! Fascism!

Idiots in Oregon.


I'm in a really bad mood.

According to the New York Times, MSNBC and FOX News are having a media battle. I see it as which network can wedge their tongue the firmest between the Pentagon's proverbial buttcheeks.

I hate our news media, especially those two.

Overloaded with work. Light blogging, plus my infamous mood swings have returned.

Blogger ate tonight's Domestic Watch and I'm too annoyed to write it over again.

Tonight's Domestic Watch (due between 6pm and 8pm Eastern) will feature the Affirmative Action case before the Supreme Court right now.

I will try not to get nasty about it, as I have in the past. This is just one of those issues that gets under my skin and festers.

I'm thinking about starting up a SARS watch too by next Monday at the latest.

The Storm will then feature:

Domestic Watch (which does need some help from you readers out there...send me news tips.)
9/11 Commission Watch
and hopefully, after I research it and understand it, SARS Watch.

9/11 Commission Watch

Simulcast here.


A related story, Mayor Bloomberg warns that the lawsuits pending could bankrupt the city of New York.

BREAKING NEWS

SARS has entered the United States, apparently. More as this develops.

Counterspin, Orcinus, and Eschaton are both on the right-wing thug watch.


Good. 'Cause I don't think I have the tempermant to even read about their nonsense. Although, it's only a matter of time until I encounter such morons. So I will educate myself...