Holy Jeebus & Joe Scarborough

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, and even a retarded hedgehog can enjoy a Stouffer's french bread pizza, and even that dunder-headed shill Joe Scarborough can be right about some things:

"There are some people out there who are Christians...who believe that homosexuality is a sin. You know what? I'm a Christian. I do believe that it's a sin. You know what else? I believe divorce is a sin. Guess what? I've been divorced. Guess what? Jesus talks about divorce a lot more than he talks about homosexuality. I don't know why people obsess over it so much, but they do. Wait a second, I do know why they obsess over it. Because they get votes bashing gays."
--Joe Scarborough, on the Bill Maher Show, 4/22/05

Note: However, I really cant think of one piece of the Gospels in which Jesus even mentions homosexuality. Now, promoting the redistribution of wealth... he says quite a lot about that. But that aint gonna get many votes in the Heartland.

Also, the demise of LeftCross has been exagerated... like good Liberals everywhere, we aint goin' nowhere. Bee-atch.

Ugh.

I dont know what to do. Stay on and suffer through the miserable amounts of hits I get (and believe you me, they are so low in number that I can NOT dare repeat them here)...

or do I just fight the good fight. I mean, I wasnt doing this for YOU anyway, it was for me. To rage rage rage against the dying of the light and the lying of the Right.

I dont know.

I do know I love the following:

a) Aqua Teen Hunger Force
b) good BBQ
c) Red Sox baseball
d) tension & release jamming in music
e) watching my kids be happy
f) the thought of Dubya in leg irons going to prison for crimes against humanity
g) good blue cheese... go figure.


More on the fate of Left Cross later.....

Left Cross signing off... for now.

LeftCross is going on hiatus until further notice. Reason being the rating suck. And we need to retool. Stay tuned.

Excuse Me Mr.

Ben Harper is one of those cats that is caught between mainstream popular fame and just being one cool motherfucker that plays small theatres (though he does quite a bit better in Europe). He can pretty much play anything with a string, has as much soul as Bob Marley or Otis Redding, and is married to Laura Dern.

He was harmed by having such a one hit explosion (Steal My Kisses) -- but he's so much more than that one song. Excuse Me Mister is a brilliant song that sneaks up on you -- biting, sharp, and timeless. It could have been writen in 1964 or 2004.

Check it.

Excuse Me Mr. -- Words & Music by Harper & Plunier

excuse me mr.
do you have the time
or are you so important
that it stands still for you

excuse me mr.
lend me your ear
or are you not only blind
but do you not hear

excuse me mr.
isn't that your oil in the sea
and the pollution in the air mr.
whose could that be

excuse me mr.
but i'm a mister too
and you're givin' mr. a bad name
mr. like you

so i'm taking the mr.
from out in front of your name
cause it's a mr. like you
that puts the rest of us to shame
it's a mr. like you
that puts the rest of us to shame

and i've seen enough to know
that i've seen too much

excuse me mr.
can't you see the children dying
you say that you can't help them
mr. you're not even trying

excuse me mr.
take a look around
mr. just look up
and you will see it's comin' down

excuse me mr.
but i'm a mister too
and you're givin' mr. a bad name
mr. like you

so i'm taking the mr.
from out in front of your name
cause it's a mr. like you
that puts the rest of us to shame
it's a mr. like you
that puts the rest of us to shame

and i've seen enough to know
that i've seen too much

so mr. when you're rattling
on heaven's gate
let me tell you mr.
by then it is too late

cause mr. when you get there
they don't ask how much you saved
all they'll want to know, mr.
is what you gave

excuse me mr.
but i'm a mister too
and you're givin' mr. a bad name
mr. like you

so i'm taking the mr.
from out in front of your name
cause it's a mr. like you
that puts the rest of us to shame
it's a mr. like you
that puts the rest of us to shame

Hell yeah.

www.benharper.com
.

Say goodnight to Ole Squashy

Looks like Old Bug Squasher (OBS) Tom DeLay is headed for the big fall.

This once heralded champion of all things Right Wing is now being cast aside like a chicken bone at the Limbaugh house. When one of the American Taliban's favorite Senators, in this case Rick Santorum, starts acting like he's cutting bait. And you're the bait... sheee-it, you better start lining up the show on Fox News, Tommy Boy, cause the end is nigh.

Bwa-fuckin-ha, couldnt be happening to a more disgusting man.

BRB

Going to eat, drink, and be merry - and see Spamalot.


Shall Return On 4/11

God Hates Shrimp

GOD HATES SHRIMP

LMAO.

Amen, brother. God hates Gays? Then he also hates people who eat shrimp, lobster, and crab. Not to mention people that work on Sunday and people who like bacon.

Ive said it for a while - if the American Taliban insists on having laws based from scripture, lets quit picking and chosing and follow them all (stonings for adulterers, floggings for people who eat babyback ribs, etc...)

OBS might get squashed this time

Old Bug Squasher (otherwise known as House Majority Whip Tom DeLay) is in hot water again. Oy. My god, how many scandals, how much smoke, how many rules violations and breaking of laws is it gonna take to get this dude outta government?

Anyway, the scoop:

A six-day trip to Moscow in 1997 by then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) was underwritten by business interests lobbying in support of the Russian government, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the trip arrangements.

DeLay reported that the trip was sponsored by a Washington-based nonprofit organization. But interviews with those involved in planning DeLay's trip say the expenses were covered by a mysterious company registered in the Bahamas that also paid for an intensive $440,000 lobbying campaign.

Think Progress has a DOZEN of OBS' greatest misdeeds.

(and, sorry, but I'll say it again - IMAGINE if this guy was a Democrat, IMAGINE if this happened under the terms of WJC. Where is the outrage? Rush? Sean? Bill? Brit?)

What lurks in the shadows

What lurks in the shadows? What good can come of what does?

Our government hides in the shadows - and that's never good. It seems that in 2004 the Bush White House and the GOP-led government "issued a record 15.6 million decisions to classify information last year".

Most secretive Administration in our history.

That's never good.

Under any circumstances.

Granted, 9/11 DID change things - but a lack of transparency in government allows the scoundrels to act with impunity. A society run from the shadows does not remain free for very long. That's all I'm saying.

The Line Must Be Drawn - HERE.

Granted, it comes from The Moonie Times, but the article illuminates a coming battle within the Democratic Party between the Real Democrats (aka Liberals) and the GOOPER LITE (aka "Centrist" Dems). They want to bring the fight to US - fine by me. It's about flipping time.

The bastion of DINO (Democrat In Name Only) politics lies within the Democratic Leadership Council -- and it's these types of Dems that think Joe Lieberman would make a GREAT President. It's these types of Dems that would sell their mother to K Street, sell their brother to Wall Street, pimp out their wives to the Neo-Cons... and still have time to give the NRA a reach-around.

So The Moonie Times says there is a war coming between the so-called Centrists that believe the message is to blame (it's been to "Liberal") and the Left Wing of the Party, the Deaniacs, who believe that we just have to sell the message. Well, for one, I think the article is full of shit.

This is one Left Wing'er that thinks we have sold ourselves out too much already.

The American people want a REAL change from the American Taliban and the Radical Republican Swine that run our country - THEY DO NOT WANT a watered down version of the same sad thing. DINO Evan Bayh and fellow DLC monkies say that the Dems need:

"to make clear to the American people that winning the war on jihadist extremism will be the Democratic Party's first priority this year and every year until the danger recedes."

Oh, ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLIDERS, no time for Civil Rights, no time for verifying CIA Intel, onto Iraq, onto Syria, onto VICTORY.

What the fuck? Even the most Liberal Dem has no plans on laying down before the fundementalist terrorists that endanger our country. What has many Liberals so angry, what the DLC'ers do not understand - the vast majority of us are not ANTI-WAR when it comes to fighting terrorism. We were just ANTI-IRAQ WAR that had NOTHING to do with fighting terrorism.

So it's not that the message has been too far Left and it's not getting the vote out. It's being proud of being Liberal. It's about telling the country what they have to gain by voting Democratic and letting the chips fall where they may.

Still, you silly wanna-be Radical Repuglican assjacks feel the need for a fight? Fine by me, fine by us. Bring it on.

If it's too loud...

Well, the concert fuckin RAWKED. Really did. Started the night off at Lennie's brew pub -- nice little microbrewery in town, had a big-ass kalamata olive, italian sausage, and feta calzone along with four tasty made-right-there Belgian whites.

The thing I like about great ensemble playing, something that the Grateful Dead were masters at doing (and something that Widespread Panic do very well) was to create such wonderful sonic layers with their music. You can pick out any of the band members and lock in on whatever they are doing - and be assured that they are probably doing it very well. Or you can listen to them combined and just let the music surround you. It's all good.

Anyway, as for the show -- I wont recount the setlist besides to say that they offered up a VERY tasty version of "Tonight's The Night" in honor of Neil Young's recent health problems.

Again, to check em out: Widespread Panic or for live downloads Live Widespread Panic.

(oh yeah, I do have one mean ear ache -- and the ears are ringing like crazy... but fuck it, it's ROCK N ROLL)

Panic Attack

T-minus three hours to Widespread Panic.

There are a handful of very talented bands that enjoy great fame (U2, Dave Matthews, Coldplay, etc...) and then there are the bands that are equally talented but, for whatever reason, remain pretty much a secret to the world at large -- Widespread Panic is one of these bands.

And that's fine by me since I can see them in auditoriums instead of stadiums... though I should have seen them in the bars when I had the chance. Doh!



See their website: Widespread Panic

Download their shows: Live Widespread Panic

gay child? SEEK HELP ASAP

Or so says the US Government. I aint bullshitin' ya. Your tax dollars fund a website called 4parents.gov which spews ignorant and bigoted bile like this:

A homosexual is a person who prefers sexual contact with people of the same sex... If you believe your adolescent may be gay, or is experiencing difficulties with gender identity or sexual orientation issues, consider seeing a family therapist who shares your values to clarify and work through these issues.

What.
The.
Fuck.

Oh, and this:

Abstinence helps protect teens from contracting a sexually transmitted disease, becoming pregnant, and the emotional risk and responsibility involved with sex. Abstinence is the healthiest choice for teens because they are not ready for the adult emotions of sex and the adult choices that sex entails

Hey, I'm all for using abstinence AS PART of a sex education program. But for the love of every horndog 16 year-old boy - do you not think telling them about rubbers might be a crucial part of any sex education program?

You want to prevent teen pregnencies and put an end to abortion? TELL THE FUCKING KIDS WHO ARE FUCKING TO USE A FUCKING RUBBER.

Putting your hands over your ears and screaming "LA LA LA LA LA" doesnt make the fact go away... kids are going to have sex. End of subject.

As for the "if you believe your adolecent might be gay" section... imagine if it said:

If you believe your adolescent may be involved with a negro, or is experiencing difficulties with racial identity or sexual orientation regarding race, consider seeing a family therapist who shares your values to clarify and work through these issues.

I know that's a fucked up analogy, but I think the point remains - bigotry is bigotry, whether it be over race or over sexual identity.

These bigoted bastards must be defeated in 2006.

The LA Times has the whole story.

Stolen with pride from Daily Kos