Wednesday, December 27, 2006

From Hartsfield To The Moon

Given the season I thought I'd write this in the spirit of Christmas.

Back in 1994 a star appeared in the east and 2 wisemen came over the hill bearing gifts. Dan Reber and Jimmy Thomas of the Christian Heritage Foundation had won a bid to assume about half of fundamentalist Christian, Liberty University's $72 million debt load for a measly $2.5 million... a fraction of its face value. Liberty is Jerry Falwell's Religious Right crown jewel and the debt had gravitated to the University from Falwell's abandoned Moral Majority political organization of the 80's and early 90's.

On Jan 28, 1995 Falwell stood before his Old Time Gospel congregation in Lynchberg, Va (the irony in the name of that town in context of this piece is chilling) and introduced to them the 2 wisemen bearing gifts. “They had to borrow money, hock their houses, hock everything,” said Falwell. “Thank God for friends like Dan Reber and Jimmy Thomas.” Falwell’s congregation rose as one to applaud.

Now, here's the point. Not only did Falwell stand before God and his people and LIE, but the debt incurred by the Moral Majority was mostly backed by thousands of small religious investors who had bought church construction bonds through a Texas company. They were the big losers. Yet these are the same people who stood up in unison to applaud the wisemen who had bought the debt at deep, deep discount screwing them, the bond holders!

Falwell didn't tell them who the messiah was. He didn't tell them where the wisemen really got their gifts. The star in the east was none other than Sun Myung Moon. And another thing Falwell didn't tell them was that Moon, through the help of some prominent figures on the American Right who went to great lengths to conceal their financial connections to Moon, was able to launder this 3.5 million by passing it through several hands before it got to the pockets of the wisemen.

3.5M? But palooka, I thought U said 2.5?  Thats right, $3.5 million. 2.5 to meet the debt pledge and a another cool million for their trouble.

So who is this guy Sun Myung Moon?

Of all the things I could have written about back in August I was suddenly overwhelmed to post this with a link to Consortium On-line's archive of stories journaling the very dark life and influence of Sun Myung Moon. I had no idea why until today. Most of the stories are authored by Robert Parry who today published on CO a 3 part series titled "GOP'S $3 Billion Propaganda Organ".

When I fly its generally out of Hartsfield. Its not that many years ago when you went to the airport and you couldn't get to your plane without having to beat off the moonies. They worked in pairs and were everywhere and they glomerated onto you like stink on you know what. Didn't matter where you were flying to or from. They were there. Most of us just viewed them as a nuisance... mere pimps for an exotic cult leader. We were right. But we were wrong too. Oh so wrong. Today we know the whoring at the airports was a mere pimple on the ass of one of the most sinsiter characters of modern time.

I'm talking global proportion here. But what is most disturbing is the role Moon played and still plays right here. The Right has alot of 'splainin to do about why they crawled into bed with this scumbag.

Parry wrote...

By the mid-1980s, Moon’s Unification Church had carved out a niche as an acceptable part of the American Right. In one speech to his followers, Moon boasted that “without knowing it, even President Reagan is being guided by Father [Moon].”

Yet, Moon also made clear that his longer-range goal was destroying the U.S. Constitution and America’s democratic form of government.

“History will make the position of Reverend Moon clear, and his enemies, the American population and government will bow down to him,” Moon said, speaking of himself in the third person. “That is Father’s tactic, the natural subjugation of the American government and population.”

Moon mighta thought Reagan "didn't know". But Reagan knew. How could anyone in Reagan's position not know? What Reagan did was take wise advice that serves both good and evil...

TAKE WHAT YOU NEED AND LEAVE THE REST!

And Reagan was in need. His Iran-Contra escapades where in times of heavy scrutiny and it was Moon's minions, primarily at the Washington Times who put the opposition in its place.

The moonies pimping at the airport, the Falwell story. the Reagan story are as pimples on Moon's ass compared to the influence this psycho has had in the rise to power of the Conservative Right. They did as Ronnie mentored... take what you need and leave the rest.

Now even the rest is coming home to roost.

Lyndon Johnson said that his signing of the Civil Rights Act would give the south to the Republicans for the foreseeable future. He was right. But just as the moonies were a pimple on the ass of the airports, Johnson's prognostication is a pimple on the ass of history compared to the disgusting Right Wing in bed with Sun Moon and the role it is playing in today's politics.

The Parry article is long. I don't care if takes you a month to read it. Just READ IT! You will NEVER look at politics, indeed the world we are living in, the same.

What better way to ring in the New Year than to do yourself a great big favor with a clearer understanding of the ugly, naked, oozing, pimply assed TRUTH!!

Thursday, December 07, 2006

The Man Who Couldn't Cry

A friend sent me a collection of cd's. 5 of em. On number 4 is a cut of Johnny Cash's The Man Who Couldn't Cry. (thanks Laurell).

As if resurected so he could leave us with a collage of his life's accumulated wisdom, the man in black sat down with his guitar and struck a final chord. (thanks rubin).

There's a place inside of me that understands EXACTLY the saga of the man who couldn't cry. I
think it was George Carlin who said, "scratch a cynic and underneath is a disgruntled idealist".

And with good reason in my mind.

There once was a man who just couldn't cry
He hadn't cried for years and for years
Napalmed babies and the movie love story
For instance could not produce tears
As a child he had cried as all children will
Then at some point his tear ducts ran dry
He grew to be a man, the feces hit the fan
Things got bad, but he couldn't cry


You find yourself thrown into a world that shows no real compassion for the human condition. That seems to not be able to do anything but add to it. And for awhile, you cry. But sooner or later, usually sooner, heartbroken, you cry no more. You haven't got the balls to blow your brains out so you resign yourself to life's tragic plot.

His dog was run over, his wife up and left him
And after that he got sacked from his job
Lost his arm in the war, was laughed at by a whore
Ah, but sill not a sniffle or sob
His novel was refused, his movie was panned
And his big Broadway show was a flop

But you cry no more. What's the use anyway? And then, you become jaded.

He got sent off to jail; you guessed it, no bail
Oh, but still not a dribble or drop
In jail he was beaten, bullied and buggered
And made to make license plates
Water and bread was all he was fed
But not once did a tear stain his face


The theologians cry out, God is good, God is merciful. But you can't help but wonder, how is it possible that a loving God could invent so much suffering and misery? Where's the justice? Your cry for it and it never comes. Worse, nobody seems to understand just what your problem is. You find yourself alone. Oh, so alone.

Doctors were called in, scientists, too
Theologians were last and practically least
They all agreed sure enough; this was sure no cream puff
But in fact an insensitive beast

And, in your aloneness, you look around and you see others alone too. Hidden in plain site behind some damn invisible wall. Untouchable.

But, tragic though it is, life has an ironic way of turning shit into... well, something of some kind of weird value.

He was removed from jail and placed in a place
For the insensitive and the insane
He played lots of chess and made lots of friends
And he wept every time it would rain

And, despite that its unexplainable, you recognize the value. You just can't help yourself because it triggered some mysterious, hidden wisdom. The kind you've been running from all your life. Or was it toward?

And you begin to cry. Finally. And then you begin to remember.

Once it rained forty days and it rained forty nights/
And he cried and he cried and he cried and he cried

On the forty-first day, he passed away
He just dehydrated and died

Well, he went up to heaven, located his dog
Not only that, but he rejoined his arm
Down below, all the critics, they loot it all back
Cancer robbed the whore of her charm

His ex-wife died of stretch marks, his ex-employer went broke
The theologians were finally found out
Right down to the ground, that old jail house burned down
The earth suffered perpetual drought

Justice prevails!

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Its The Stupid Economy

I was hungry. I'd spent hours researching. Finally made a decision and bought $10 worth of stock.

Pheew!

Now I'm really nervous. I've procrastinated for years in deference to the monkey. The one sitting on my shoulder and telling me the whole damn thing is a dangerous conspiracy.

Conspiracy? How's that?

"Well, just plunk some money down and see what happens," said the monkey.

Thus the hours of exhausting research ending in the $10 buy and afterwards I was so famished I called up and ordered a double sausage and cheese.

"That'll be $10 and it'll be ready in 20 minutes," the voice on the other end said.

The only reason you'd ever want to invest your money in the stock market is to get more money back right? Made sense to me and I wanted more money.

Lo and behold... when I sold my stock I got $15. What a system! What took me so long to figure out something so elementary? And where's that damn monkey? My money just increased by 50%.

Called for a celebration so I called up and ordered a double sausage and cheese. "That'll be $20 and it'll be ready in 20 minutes."

What? $20? It was 10 last time I ordered. How come 20 now?

Ever hear of inflation you nit wit? Do you want the pizza or not?

Uh, I only have $15. Maybe you better cancel.

Damn I'm hungry.

So I call up the bank. You got any money I can borrow?

"Ya, we got lots of it. C'mon down."

"Told ya so," said the monkey.