"I AM standing up", said the short guy #1

"I do my best to keep my men alive while we carry out this sick policy of sticking our nose in other people's business. When was the last time you had a friend die in your arms or look for the leg that was just blown off of the man next to you? When was the last time you walked past dead children that were killed by U.S. weapons? I'm glad you can sleep at night, because many times I cannot." -Sargeant Lewis

Dear Mr. President: Please bring our troops home. Please stop the country you are leader of, my country of birth, from its rigorous meddling into the affairs of other sovereign states. Your short time in office has shown you to be a bigger bully than G.Dub, Bubba & even Bush Sr. Short guy notices these things, and can't keep quiet.

My Letter to the Editor as it appeared in The Chico Enterprise,8/14/11

The letter to Mark Sorenson from the executive board of the Chico Police Officers Association, dated July, 20, regarding the City Council's amendment to section 19.77(regarding medical marijuana dispensaries) of the Municipal Code states very clearly why local law enforcement cannot abide by it, or any other city guideline which goes against federal law, regardless of its just, moral or ethical standing within the community. In fact, they smartly pointed out that it is the precise wording in the Municipal Code, regarding the function of law enforcement, not necessarily the unspecific nature of our nation's Constitution, that ties their hands in this matter.
Nowhere in Section 2.28.020 of said code does it say that local law enforcement is bound to protect our rights, explicitly, as has been posited. One hopes that we might share a common vision with those we trust to maintain our public safety, but what the code really asks of them is to, "Prevent crime and maintain law and order in the city by enforcing the laws of the United States, the state, and (lastly) the city..." That is the crux of the biscuit insofar as what local sway we might have with law enforcement.
Between now and the next time the issue of dispensaries is argued before the City Council, which it will, as it should, I believe the wording of the Municipal Code should be perhaps modified so as to give our officers more discretion in carrying out local statutes.

A 'musing' thought #6

We the people hereby declare the Executive and Legislative branches of the Federal Government of these United States a national disaster.

Gaga Aghast at Rival's 'Stunt'

News out of the Lady Gaga camp is not smiley. On monday, July 24, just a day after the passing of songstress Amy Winehouse, Gags' agent issued a statement calling Winehouse's overdose a "clear effort at getting her name back in the headlines to sell some albums, because obviously her new European Tour(cancelled) and the many rehab assignments aren't doing the trick," adding, "she(Winehouse) realizes her own ways to generate pr have been severely lacking in shock value and pizazz of late, so why not take a page out of the master's(Gaga) handbook and die." When told that the Grammy winning singer had, indeed, died, he simply brushed it off with a ,"yeah, right." The press note comes from her agent, Troy Carter, but surely the pop star/publicity whore herself will be heard from soon. Most likely in a death topping stunt that will make us all forget the skank Brit with all those tattoos and addictions. The only question is, when?
One-upmanship in the glam-pop world is nothing new. Diva's of all stripes from every era have been busy trying to out freak the freak that shocked the public just prior. Think Diana, Cher, Donna and Bette.
Then Madonna came along and raised the bar so high that no one really came close to matching her stunt for stunt. Janet, Mariah, Celine, please... It seemed for about a decade that she was playing one-on-none with the music world. And nobody cried foul. Other artists basically just stood on the sidelines alongside the fans and mortified public, mouthing silent 'oh no you di'int''s as she pushed the envelope of acceptability, creating wide swaths of territory for up and coming pretenders like Brittany and Rihanna.
The replacement crop, to be nice, seemed to get the message that the exploits were over for a while. The public sighed, 'whateve'. That is, until one Ms. Gaga decided she'd had enough of loner picked on status and club struggling gargler, and went and got downright obnoxious.
She'd already worked hard on some musical skills and added dance and a nose for publicity and off she went. Whether crossing a Sydney stage in a wheelchair, touring as a mermaid, or a mermaid in a wheelchair(calling Bette Midler), dangling a mini penis, or wearing a suit made of Kermit the Frogs or raw meat, even getting trapped onstage, Spinal Tap-style, in her egg shell prop, Mother Monster knows how to get the world's attention. Millions of 'little monsters'(her fans) lap up every new stunt with awe, and self-acceptance replaces the fears of belonging to whatever outcast demographic that had previously quieted their lives. Album sales and tour merchandise revenues drown out the borrowed dance moves, mediocre music and the occasional hiss from certain rights groups who think that what she speaks for is really just a marketing ploy.
Her Gaga-ness is known to react quick and sharp against accusations and threats to her shock throne. So beware. We can only hope that she matches Ms. Winehouse's results, albeit in a more colorful and public way.

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A 'musing' thought #5

No such thing as absolute truths? I beg to differ, and posit two from among the slipperiest, and slopiest of subjects in all examplahood: ART is always motivational and stimulating, never causal; LOVE is never blind, or universal, and rarely an end or answer, but will always see you through.