A Salmon Berry at Rest

Silver Falls, Oregon

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Six Degrees of Southern Secessionary Pride

I need a little help with a problem I've been having. I have tried to convince some doubting Obamases that when we Southerners display the Confederate flag it is done not out of racism but out of pride for all that the South means to us. Being that I'm from Southern California many in the "other south" question my creds, but that is neither here nor there.

Now, when someone claims that the Confederate flag is merely a sign of pride about the South and not a symbol of racism what I want to know is this: what is there about the Confederate South that is a point of pride that is not connected, directly or indirectly, to slavery? The Old South's genteel ways were made possible by slave labor. The antebellum mansions, the plantations, agriculture, art, literature: do any of those aspects exist without slavery or the (subsequently) codified racism that came riding hard after the Civil War? Is there anything in the South to be proud of that doesn't have a whip cracking somewhere in the background, a human in bondage bent over in the field, a dark look of misery at its core?

There is no such thing as the Confederacy without slavery in the story, and I contend there is no celebrating the Confederate flag today without racism in the fibers of that flag as well, unless slavery somehow makes racism vanish. Someone from the South will tell me why I am wrong, but that's okay. I'm always wrong about something.

This July 4th I would like very much to unfurl a flag bearing the image of the United States Constitution, which to me is the idealized symbol of this country that I love and often despair for. It was so big that we have had to make ourselves bigger to fit in it: it is so small that we tear it easily if we are not cautious. Right now there are people who would divorce "We, the People" from that document, who would close the doors of personal liberty in a heartbeat if such a denial served their political purposes. We are, in effect, still fighting the Civil War, and we are still fighting the battles that nearly eight hundred years ago compelled a King to sign the Magna Carta across the sea. It's called Tyranny (with a Capital "T") and it is why We, the People remain a danger to those who benefit from controlling the board, the fields, the waters and the skies.

The Confederate Flag is only one part of an ancient tradition of finding some meaning or pride in an object, a pride colored by ad hominem emotions that get stirred up in our forgotten depths, those places beyond the daylight world of reason and justice. I only ask that we, at long last, get around to "knowing that which we do." Once that is accomplished, we might then seek to do no harm. Imagine that.

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Crossposted at Jesus' General.

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Chauncy in Portland

if you doubt
that life has meaning
howl tonight
into your ceiling

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That Night

I saw the lights go on outside
After the sun just up and died
I saw everybody crying
That night

The streets were filled with wanderers
Moving in waves, decorated dancers
We held a flame aloft
That night

(chorus)
Heaven is a ghost town
Not even ghosts around
Just some guy with a badge
And a rodeo clown
Goodbye heaven
Come on down

I saw angels descending
I saw people’s arms extending
Please, please take me up
That night

The angels fell into the ocean
We all followed with the motion
The tide just ebbed and flowed
That night

(repeat chorus)

We saw the angels sailing
We all stood against the railing
And waved goodbye
That night

We turned into the darkness
Searched for lovers we could kiss
We put off bliss no longer
That night

(repeat chorus)

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lyrics by mjs

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Moondoggies Gone Wild

Stay the fuck out of Malibu, Lebowski!

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Progressives: A Song for Obama vis a vis FISA

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Thousands of Graves to Take This to

Via TPM

We're fighting them over there so we can out our agents over here...

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Wait, I Remember the Punchline

From CNN:

LAKEVILLE, Minnesota (AP) -- A Lakeville man says he feels violated after two police officers woke him up at 3 a.m. to tell him his door was unlocked.

Their surprise visit was part of a public service campaign to remind residents to secure their homes to prevent thefts. Usually, officers just leave notices on doors.

But they went further in Troy Molde's case on Thursday. Police entered the house where four children under 7 were having a sleepover, and then went upstairs to Molde's bedroom.

The officers told Molde his garage door was open, the TV was on, the keys to his truck were left in the ignition and the door to his house was ajar.

A police spokesman says the intrusion was justified because the officers' initial door knocks went unanswered, and they wanted to make sure nothing was wrong.

He says the kids inside -- Molde's two sons and two nephews -- were afraid to wake their dad, so the officers went upstairs.

I think the punchline used to be: "...you can tell when (so-and-so) broke into your house because the dog was pregnant." That's all I remember.

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Speaking of jokes, this one reminds me of the Bush Administration:

While driving along the back roads of a small town, two truckers came to an overpass with a sign that read: CLEARANCE 11'3."
They got out and measured their rig, which was 12'4" .
"What do you think?" one asked the other.
The driver looked around carefully, then shifted into first. "Not a cop in sight. Let's take a chance!"

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Zen Moment Thereof

in the dream
the trees walked away
all that was left
soon followed

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Giant Galactic Vaginas Attack Christian Anuses

I just like that headline.

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A Fraction of an Instant

the world is blurry
when we move
it is silent
when we howl

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We're All Voting Republican!

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The Marriage of Heaven & Hell

"Here at Apostolic, you are blessed to worship in a house that has been founded on the rock of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior."

Barack Obama
June 15, 2008

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Barack was the featured speaker at Apostolic Church of God on Chicago's South Side on Father's Day.

When you're a preacher you can say any crazy thing you like. But Obama is a politician, so he can say any crazy thing he likes and if you don't want McCain in November you have to eat it like all the rest of the shit you've had to eat.

Fuck this.

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Mortaljive's Impression of the Catholic Church

This video is also an homage to Art Metrano, who invented/created the "magical fingers" act.

From wikipedia:

"In the early 1970s, he frequently appeared on The Tonight Show as a "magician" performing absurd tricks (such as making his fingers "jump" from one hand to another) while constantly humming an inane theme song (named "Fine and Dandy", an early 1930s composition by Kay Swift)."

So, mortaljive imitates Art!

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