Monday, June 15, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Where I'm at These Days
AGEListas!
Here is information you need to know in order to successfully have a successful time at the little AGEL conference we are putting on here in Eugene. First, thanks for agreeing to attend. Our planning committee has being doing its best to make the conference as kick-ass as possible, but that will largely depend on you. We have 51 registered attendees, making this a huge AGEL conference. Naturally, having such a large group of out-of-towners presents some challenges; we hope you will be patient with us. Also, AFT has a set amount of corn to kick down for these type functions, so we've been forced to stretch every dollar. We think we've come up with some creative ways to make each dollar last. You may come to think that creative equals suck, but you can cut us some slack.
And on that positive note!
1. Here's my cell phone number. It is the number to call in most "emergency" situations. 541-543-****. Program it in your phone now.
If I don't answer my phone, it is because I am already on it or I tried to answer your call, but my touch-screen has decided that I was trying to open Phil Helmuth poker and I will be trying to close that program while you leave a message. In that case you can call AFT guy C- G-. 541-521-****. There's a good chance he will be standing next to me.
If it is during business hours, you can try the GTFF office, 541-344-0832.
2. Thursday there is a Meet and Greet at the Villard Street Pub. This is where you should be able to hook up with your host, get keys, directions, etc. We're going to officially meet there at 6 pm, but feel free to show up sooner or later (although later might mean your host will get tired of waiting for you). If we haven't seen you by then, we'll see you there.
Villard Street is at 1417 Villard St., Eugene
Around 8:30 or so, we are going to play some pub trivia. There is a regular game at Villard St. that many members of the GTFF play in, so we thought it might be fun to have the AGEListas go head-to-head. Really though, there is more drinking than triviaing going on.
3. We have your housing assignments, which we will share with you when we see you. We think we have beds, air mattresses, or couches for everyone. We are, however, stashing a bunch of you at a local co-op and in an unused apartment across from the GTFF office. These places may not have towels for you, so bring one. You should all bring one.
If you are from GEO-Michigan or TAA, especially, bring a towel.
Did I mention the towel situation?
4. In an effort to give you the full Oregon experience, we have arranged a weather forecast that calls for rain. Thank goodness we didn't have the conference this weekend, it was all sun and low 80s. You can, of course, track the weather at weather.com. Come prepared.
5. Lastly, I am working on the assumption that most of you have cellular phones and that many of these phones are fully capable of hitting the internet and helping you get directions to various places you will be staying, visiting, getting drunk at. If this is not the case and you need/want maps, then there are several computers in the GTFF office hooked up to the internets and a printer you can use to print out whatever you think you may need.
Alright? I am very much looking forward this conference. I hope you are as well. As the kids say, lets "do" this thing!
Dave3544
Here is information you need to know in order to successfully have a successful time at the little AGEL conference we are putting on here in Eugene. First, thanks for agreeing to attend. Our planning committee has being doing its best to make the conference as kick-ass as possible, but that will largely depend on you. We have 51 registered attendees, making this a huge AGEL conference. Naturally, having such a large group of out-of-towners presents some challenges; we hope you will be patient with us. Also, AFT has a set amount of corn to kick down for these type functions, so we've been forced to stretch every dollar. We think we've come up with some creative ways to make each dollar last. You may come to think that creative equals suck, but you can cut us some slack.
And on that positive note!
1. Here's my cell phone number. It is the number to call in most "emergency" situations. 541-543-****. Program it in your phone now.
If I don't answer my phone, it is because I am already on it or I tried to answer your call, but my touch-screen has decided that I was trying to open Phil Helmuth poker and I will be trying to close that program while you leave a message. In that case you can call AFT guy C- G-. 541-521-****. There's a good chance he will be standing next to me.
If it is during business hours, you can try the GTFF office, 541-344-0832.
2. Thursday there is a Meet and Greet at the Villard Street Pub. This is where you should be able to hook up with your host, get keys, directions, etc. We're going to officially meet there at 6 pm, but feel free to show up sooner or later (although later might mean your host will get tired of waiting for you). If we haven't seen you by then, we'll see you there.
Villard Street is at 1417 Villard St., Eugene
Around 8:30 or so, we are going to play some pub trivia. There is a regular game at Villard St. that many members of the GTFF play in, so we thought it might be fun to have the AGEListas go head-to-head. Really though, there is more drinking than triviaing going on.
3. We have your housing assignments, which we will share with you when we see you. We think we have beds, air mattresses, or couches for everyone. We are, however, stashing a bunch of you at a local co-op and in an unused apartment across from the GTFF office. These places may not have towels for you, so bring one. You should all bring one.
If you are from GEO-Michigan or TAA, especially, bring a towel.
Did I mention the towel situation?
4. In an effort to give you the full Oregon experience, we have arranged a weather forecast that calls for rain. Thank goodness we didn't have the conference this weekend, it was all sun and low 80s. You can, of course, track the weather at weather.com. Come prepared.
5. Lastly, I am working on the assumption that most of you have cellular phones and that many of these phones are fully capable of hitting the internet and helping you get directions to various places you will be staying, visiting, getting drunk at. If this is not the case and you need/want maps, then there are several computers in the GTFF office hooked up to the internets and a printer you can use to print out whatever you think you may need.
Alright? I am very much looking forward this conference. I hope you are as well. As the kids say, lets "do" this thing!
Dave3544
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Dreaming the Dream
Some days I wish I had a real boss, just so I could share with him or her my bathrooming needs.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Electric Twanger
As I mentioned earlier, I've spent a decent portion of the weekend watching '80s videos in alphabetical order, so I think I speak from a position of some authority when I say the '80s produced little that was absurdly awesome as this:
Of course, I still identify with the kid, especially with my overt distaste of all things Boomer, but as the father of a thirteen year old, I can also sympathize to a certain degree with father. Lord knows the possibility of having your son turn into Dee Snider would be pretty terrifying and could drive a man to all sorts of tantrum throwing. The lesson here, of course, that when we act based on our fears, we can sometimes make those very apprehensions come true. Is there nothing Twisted Sister can't teach us?
Of course, I still identify with the kid, especially with my overt distaste of all things Boomer, but as the father of a thirteen year old, I can also sympathize to a certain degree with father. Lord knows the possibility of having your son turn into Dee Snider would be pretty terrifying and could drive a man to all sorts of tantrum throwing. The lesson here, of course, that when we act based on our fears, we can sometimes make those very apprehensions come true. Is there nothing Twisted Sister can't teach us?
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Long Weekend
VH1 Classic is showing every video from the '80s in alphabetical order. Well, maybe not every video, but it's pretty thorough.
We're on Love Stinks, you should grab a slice.
We're on Love Stinks, you should grab a slice.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
I Swear to G*d
Good times in the R-G mailbag this week.
On May 15th, the R-G ran a story about Jimmy Marr, a Springfield man having his personalize license plate recalled by the state because someone complained it had an anti-Semitic message. His license plate read "NO ZOG" a reference to the belief that the Zionist Occupation Government runs, not so much Israel, but the world, through their control of the banks, media, and most fast food franchises. His truck was spotted at a Phoenix, Oregon gathering of neo-Nazis*, and a Medford teacher complained, so the state recalled the plate.
The first letter to the editor in support of Jimmy Marr was a classic. Not in the sense that it was great, but that it was a favorite argument of mine from way back. Some of you may know that I spent some time in grad school studying the Mother's Movement, a group of pro-fascist women opposed to US involvement in WWII. Most of the group was deeply anti-Semitic and I spent several Saturday afternoons in Portland reading obscure anti-Semitic newsletters. After the war, as the Birchers got rolling, it was easy for these women to transition into the anti-UN, anti-Israel movement. When accused of being anti-Semites, they often countered that since Palestinians were Semitic, they couldn't possibly be anti-Semitic, but it was, rather, Israel that was anti-Semitic what with their policy of killing Palestinians. Much like the blacks are racist because they voted for Obama thinking of today.
Justin Harris comes oh-so-close to making the "Jews are the real anti-Semites" argument, but since he seems to think Palestinians are Arab, he kind of fumbles it:
Jewish Zionists and that, through their control of the Google, they have fixed it so that a Google search of the perfectly innocent acronym ZOG** reveals that it is some kind of anti-Semitic slur, rather than the good wholesome - American - decrying of Zionists controlling Palestine and/or the world. Once I have agreed with Jimmy that this is the most likely explanation, I am now outraged, shocked, and appalled that someone would imply that this obvious conclusion would lead someone to label me, me!, an anti-Semite, neo-Nazi, and/or a white supremacist. How dare they!
I guess it's possible that Jimmy is just straight up trying to recruit anti-Semites into the white supremacist movement. But, while that makes more sense, it is much less likely.
Anyway, next up will be the expected round of letters bemoaning the anti-Semitism that flourishes in our society. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but somewhere along the way someone will advocate that anti-anti-Semitism should be a mandatory course of study in the schools which will just give the Springfield Jimmys more ammo. I also look forward to George Beres' straight up anti-Semitism, which will no doubt include a rant about the Register Guard being anti-Palestinian because they published the anti-anti-Semitism letters.
Will the R-G go so far as to publish the Holocaust denial letter that someone is undoubtedly writing right now? Oh, the fun we'll have. And, yes, it appears that Jimmy Marr was a member of the Pacifica Forum, so we got that in there too.
All of which is, unfortunately, more mileage for Jimmy's asinine beliefs than a stupid obscure license plate could ever have gotten him. Thanks again, Register-Guard, for being a fine citizen of the community.
*The original newspaper article claimed this was a gathering of neo-Nazis, so the claim is suspect of course, but let me assure you that in my attempt to find a link to this article I came across many "white pride" sites and I did not see a-one disputing the "neo-Nazi" assertion.
**The ZOG seems to be slipping, as a Google seach for the term brings up, in order, 1. The wikipedia page linked above. 2. ZogSports - The NYC sports league for young professionals. 3. A neo-Nazi site. 4. Dr. Zog - an original, high energy, Austin, Texas band that combines Lousiana Zydeco, New Orleans funk, Texas Blues and Southern jamband grooves. 5. The Zionist dictionary which (finally) reveals that ZOG is an anti-Semitic slur.
On May 15th, the R-G ran a story about Jimmy Marr, a Springfield man having his personalize license plate recalled by the state because someone complained it had an anti-Semitic message. His license plate read "NO ZOG" a reference to the belief that the Zionist Occupation Government runs, not so much Israel, but the world, through their control of the banks, media, and most fast food franchises. His truck was spotted at a Phoenix, Oregon gathering of neo-Nazis*, and a Medford teacher complained, so the state recalled the plate.
“This got by us the first time and didn’t trigger any” controversy, DMV spokesman David House said. “But we got a complaint about it and discovered that it is an anti-Jewish message.”I read the article at the time, but didn't think much of it. Idiot has his plate recalled for being an asshole.
...
House said a nine-member panel of state officials reviewed the matter and decided — after doing a bit of Internet research — to recall Marr’s plate.They sent Marr a letter last week informing him of the ruling.
“It was a pretty easy call,” House said. “All you have to do is Google it to see what it means. And members of the targeted group know what it means.”
The first letter to the editor in support of Jimmy Marr was a classic. Not in the sense that it was great, but that it was a favorite argument of mine from way back. Some of you may know that I spent some time in grad school studying the Mother's Movement, a group of pro-fascist women opposed to US involvement in WWII. Most of the group was deeply anti-Semitic and I spent several Saturday afternoons in Portland reading obscure anti-Semitic newsletters. After the war, as the Birchers got rolling, it was easy for these women to transition into the anti-UN, anti-Israel movement. When accused of being anti-Semites, they often countered that since Palestinians were Semitic, they couldn't possibly be anti-Semitic, but it was, rather, Israel that was anti-Semitic what with their policy of killing Palestinians. Much like the blacks are racist because they voted for Obama thinking of today.
Justin Harris comes oh-so-close to making the "Jews are the real anti-Semites" argument, but since he seems to think Palestinians are Arab, he kind of fumbles it:
Anti-Zionism is not anti-JewishIt was good, but Justin and Jimmy must have not thought it went far enough, because today Jimmy hit the back pages with his own stirring defense of himself and the purity of his beliefs with this gem, which I am sure will be memorized and recited by school children all across this great land long after the ZOG is dead:
The “No Zog” license plate is not anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish; it is anti-Zionist (Register-Guard, May 15). The Zionists are a group, not the entire Jewish people.
Jimmy Marr obviously takes exception to the Zionist platform to remove all Arab Palestinians from all Israel territory, including the Gaza Strip and West Bank. He believes the continuous police state that the Palestinian people live under is equivalent to occupation. He is exercising his free speech. In Oregon we don’t call it bashing, we call it thinking.
Mark Pitcavage of the Anti-Defamation League also confuses the issues by inferring that anyone who uses the acronym in support of the Palestinian people is of the extreme right, whereas it is the fundamental Zionist approach that all lands written of in the Bible belong to Israel; only that is an extreme right position. Thomas Aquinas famously said, “Beware the man of one book.”
Citing sources that disparage a free-Palestine supporter while also presuming the blamelessness of the Zionist movement (all Jewish persons are not all Zionists) is like the pot calling the kettle black.
Maybe the Anti-Defamation League is a hate group.
Using the term anti-Semitic in a bold headline, like terrorists and terrorism, becomes ineffectual when used in a deceptive manner. The tone of the article suggests that Marr is guilty of something criminal in the forum of public opinion. I believe the article borders on abuse of journalism’s standard of ethics.
Justin Harris
Springfield
Who elected Google?Now, I guess there is always the possibility that one can misread the written word, reading the wrong tones, miss the proper shading, whathaveyou, but I read the second sentence of that next-to-last paragraph sarcastically. Did you? I mean, I think Jimmy wants me to agree with him that investors in the New York Stock Exchange are
My “NO ZOG” license plates have been recalled (Register-Guard, May 15). I’d like my fellow Oregonians to help me figure out who is responsible for this. David House, spokesman for the state Driver and Motor Vehicle Services division, said, “It was a pretty easy call. All you have to do is Google it to see what it means.”
Who elected Google Corp. to define meaning for Oregonians? Do Oregonians lack the capacity for critical thinking? Do Oregonians need a multinational corporation to identify “hate” for them in their own backyards? Where and who is this omniscient oracle? Let’s follow the “yellow brick road” of money and see what Oz looks like when we peel back his curtain of anonymity.
Google Corp. is owned by investors in the New York Stock Exchange. Does the demographic composition of investors in the New York Stock Exchange mirror the demographic composition of taxpayers in Oregon? Or does it more nearly resemble the demographic composition of Zion?
If you answered yes to the last question, you have identified one aspect of the Zionist Occupation Government. By doing so, you have become a neo-Nazi, an anti-Semite, a white supremacist.
If you don’t believe me, Google it. That’s what your government does.
Jimmy Marr
Springfield
I guess it's possible that Jimmy is just straight up trying to recruit anti-Semites into the white supremacist movement. But, while that makes more sense, it is much less likely.
Anyway, next up will be the expected round of letters bemoaning the anti-Semitism that flourishes in our society. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but somewhere along the way someone will advocate that anti-anti-Semitism should be a mandatory course of study in the schools which will just give the Springfield Jimmys more ammo. I also look forward to George Beres' straight up anti-Semitism, which will no doubt include a rant about the Register Guard being anti-Palestinian because they published the anti-anti-Semitism letters.
Will the R-G go so far as to publish the Holocaust denial letter that someone is undoubtedly writing right now? Oh, the fun we'll have. And, yes, it appears that Jimmy Marr was a member of the Pacifica Forum, so we got that in there too.
All of which is, unfortunately, more mileage for Jimmy's asinine beliefs than a stupid obscure license plate could ever have gotten him. Thanks again, Register-Guard, for being a fine citizen of the community.
*The original newspaper article claimed this was a gathering of neo-Nazis, so the claim is suspect of course, but let me assure you that in my attempt to find a link to this article I came across many "white pride" sites and I did not see a-one disputing the "neo-Nazi" assertion.
**The ZOG seems to be slipping, as a Google seach for the term brings up, in order, 1. The wikipedia page linked above. 2. ZogSports - The NYC sports league for young professionals. 3. A neo-Nazi site. 4. Dr. Zog - an original, high energy, Austin, Texas band that combines Lousiana Zydeco, New Orleans funk, Texas Blues and Southern jamband grooves. 5. The Zionist dictionary which (finally) reveals that ZOG is an anti-Semitic slur.
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