Murder on the Loop 101 (A Tale of Escalating Passions)

by Pa Rock
Enraged Citizen

The Valley of Hell is a strange place indeed. Most of the two-legged creatures who inhabit this craven place pride themselves on their ignorance. As an example, a local reporter covering last week's hate-fueled tea-bagger party at the state capitol interviewed a man who was advocating that all socialists should be killed. He further stated his belief that the President of the United States is a socialist. When the reporter asked for the man's name, the big talker declined to provide it. Unfortunately for society, the reporter also did not get a picture of this knuckle-dragger.

This is also a gun culture where sexually inadequate morons try to make up for their shortcomings by owning enough weaponry to storm a third world country. It is those guns that ensure their virility and independence - you betcha! And who is their enemy? Why, government, of course.

Add to that strange brew the fact that The East Valley Tribune recently ran a five-part series on how criminal activity is being ignored by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office because our sheriff, Joe Arapio, the self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in America" is focused on immigration enforcement because 'those people' are easy marks and that's where the fame is. (BTW, The East Valley Tribune learned today that they received the Pulitzer Prize for local news for that series on Arpaio and crime in the valley.)

And then, just for good measure, take into consideration the yelling and screaming that a certain group of locals have been engaging in regarding the speed enforcement cameras that have gone up in the valley over the last few years. Libertarians, and Paulies, and gun crazies have been foaming at the mouth over that infringement of their "rights." John Law just ain't playing fair if he can catch them without a high speed chase!

Enter, stage right, Thomas De Stories. The cantankerous 68-year-old is the owner of a local adventure company that takes tourists on jeep tours of the Sonoran Desert. Last night, around 8 p.m., Mr. De Stories pulled up to a fully marked photo radar van on the busy Loop 101 near 7th Street and fired several shots into the van killing the operator, Doug Georgianni. Unbelievably, the arrogant murderer was driving one of his easily recognizable company vehicles!

Radar speed enforcement has now been suspended across the valley. Republican State Representative Sam Crump, a vocal opponent of the cameras, said he is aware of speculation that the murder resulted from "escalating passions" surrounding the public debate over speed cameras.

Ya think?

Welcome to Arizona, the land of cactus and scorpions and sand, the place where if you can't get your way through legal means, you always have the option of changing things through gun fire. It worked last night. Thomas De Stories is in jail, but the cameras are no longer interfering with the God-given rights of the local white trash to drive as fast as they want.

And it won't end there. As long as the radio loudmouths keep spewing their hate, as long as Fox "News" keeps sloshing their gas on the overheated yokels, as long as the NRA keeps encouraging everyone to buy more and more guns, as long as law enforcement officials worry more about their public image than they do about combating real crime, as long as fundamentalist preachers keep using fear to whip their congregations into a frenzy - as long as America stays crazy, we are all in deep, deep trouble.

God help and watch over Barack Obama.

The Tea Party Mentality

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Today marks the deadline for paying 2008 income taxes, and the public citizenry from coast-to-coast marked the occasion by holding symbolic "tea parties" created to form some link with the American patriots who dumped the British tea in Boston Harbor over two centuries ago. The original protesters were defiant because they were being taxed without representation in the British Parliament. While today's rabble are represented in Congress, many feel powerless to stop government from engaging in practices and programs that they personally oppose. The way to defeat the beast, they figure, is to starve it by not paying taxes - or at least by calling attention to their concerns through dramatic action - like tea parties. The mobs were intense and vocal.

And they also had a lot of fun mugging for the cameras - and Fox News was absolutely giddy putting up wall-to-wall coverage of their political antics.

And then there was poor Texas! First Chuck Norris threatened to run for President of the Republic of Texas, and today the Lone Star's crackpot governor, Rick Perry (the one with the great hair!), played the enabler to Norris's egomaniacal ambitions by talking about leading the state into secession! Even Texas deserves better than those two bozos!

I am old enough to remember well when Ronald Reagan was President. Most of today's protesters revere Reagan as somewhere to the right of God. Reagan "lowered" taxes several times, and each time that he did, my taxes went up. He was lowering taxes, just not mine. The business classes and the very rich did very well under Reagan, but their tax windfalls never did trickle down to those on the bottom rungs of the economic ladder.

My take home pay has actually increased with Barack Obama's tax cuts. His new tax cuts really do cut taxes - for everyone making less than a quarter of a million dollars a year. Tax cuts that cut taxes - what a concept!

In fairness to democracy's foot soldiers and their tea bags, they are also fired up about the zillions of dollars going out of the treasury to try and help pump up the economy. I don't like it either, especially when monster banks like Bank of America take the free money while raising interest rates on credit cards (even to their good customers) - and while plotting the overthrow of America's unions.

Yup, that sucks. But know two things: 1. We are in this mess because America put George Bush in the White House (kinda sorta), and he spent eight years deregulating everything. The result was an unfettered economic system that overdosed on its own greed and avarice. 2. We have a much better opportunity of surviving the Bush mess with the powerful intellect of Barack Obama at the helm of the ship-of-state. I may not like the plan, but I am willing to give it a chance.

A good portion of today's protesters probably are genuinely concerned about the massive debt that we are piling on our grandchildren. I certainly am. But I have been concerned for a long time. I was concerned when we went charging off to Iraq without provocation. I was concerned when stories started making the news about pallets of currency being moved around in Iraqi warehouses by forklifts, and those forklifts were operated by private companies with names like Blackwater, and Kellogg, Brown, and Root. I was concerned when Dick Cheney clearly showed us the arrogance of the executive branch by running the war and the economy in secret, revealing the identity of a CIA covert agent for political payback, and telling an inquisitive and respected member of the United States Senate to "go fuck yourself." That wasn't my America.

I voted for Barack Obama to get my America back. It was once a decent place that stood out as a bright and shining example of democracy and civility. The Bush administration of crooks and liars threw our greatness into the crapper. The rich got richer, the poor got much poorer, and hate became the order of the day. That must change, and suddenly there is hope that it can change.

But I came of age in the sixties, and I appreciate a good national protest as much as anyone!

Make tea, not war!

Adios, Texas!

by Pa Rock
Amused Spectator

Chuck Norris, who has probably been kicked in the head too many times to be responsible for anything he says, stated on Glen Beck's radio show last week that he may just run for President...of Texas! A day or two later, after the idea gained some traction with the Fox News morons, he expanded his notion into a column for The World Net Daily. His disjointed analysis of the problems facing the world lend credence to my "kicked in the head" theory, but what is also readily apparent is that he is rampantly paranoid of President Obama and his liberal agenda.

But not to worry, if push comes to shove, Texas will secede and Chuck will lead them to glory, or Albuquerque, or somewhere. In his rant about the unhappy state that he thinks the nation is in, he references "thousands of cells" that he claims stand ready to rise up. And while the Chuckster doesn't call for a national revolution, he does discuss, in a seemingly serious manner, the potential secession of Texas.

Well, with the exceptions of Austin, El Paso, and select parts of San Antonio, that dog might hunt. President Norris could strap on his six-guns, rip open his shirt, pin a yellow rose to his right nipple, place his hand on the Bible, and swear to God that he will faithfully lead his Republic back into the glory days of the nineteenth century.

In a related story, Homeland Security announced this week that there are now one million names on the no-fly list. The actual alleged terrorists may number only around four hundred thousand, but many apparently have multiple aliases - hence the one million names. What do you want to bet that the person who is openly advocating for the dismemberment of the nation - the future President of Texas - is not on the list?

Overheard on the Treadmill

by Pa Rock
Shameless Eavesdropper

Saturday, or perhaps Sunday, while I was resolutely marching to Pretoria on the treadmill at the gym, I had the pleasure of listening to two ladies who were talking at least as fast as they were walking. Well, it wasn't that pleasurable, but it did turn out to be interesting.

If I were a cop I would have typed this chatty duo as a couple of middle-aged soccer moms. Instead of talking kids or soccer, however, they were focused on politics. The first topic on the table was abortion. Arizona is a fairly conservative state, and I expected their opinions to be somewhat to the right of John McCain - and one was. The one on the left felt that it should be a woman's decision, while the other, obviously a good friend, felt that God was in charge of women's bodies - at least after conception. Their conversation was animated, but far short of the intensity level that would have arisen on MSNBC or Fox in a panel discussion on the same subject.

They found themselves agreeing on the next topic of conversation: President Obama. As soon as his name was mentioned, I was anticipating an explosion of vitriol, at least from the one who was so negative on the subject of abortion. Surprisingly, however, they both liked Obama - and for the same reason. They talked about him being a family man and how nice it was that he sat down with his family for breakfast and dinner.

Now I think that I have a sense of why the President's approval rating is above seventy percent. His occupation (politician) and his race are both seen as secondary to his warm presentation as a caring and involved husband and father. There will be many who disagree with his politics and economics, but everyone has a sense of what constitutes a good family man, and Barack Obama is meeting that standard.

Free at Last!

by Pa Rock

Years ago I was offended by a sales clerk at the Wal-Mart in Neosho, MO. I had a school photo of a foster child that I needed to get quickly copied in an effort to have him accepted into a particular foster home. The clerk in the photo department told me that they couldn't copy a school photo. She said it with a certain amount of attitude, and I, of course, bristled like a bad haircut.

I asked to see the store manager, and a nineteen-year-old was marched in to deal with me. After five minutes of dancing over whether the photograph was copyrighted or not (It probably was, but he couldn't prove it!), I left the store while announcing clearly that I was finished with Wal-Mart. And with the exception of a very few emergency situations, I have managed to stay out of those small town-destroyers ever since.

To my enduring shame, however, I never severed my ties to Sam's Club. When I needed certain items, especially certain items in bulk, I would "forget" that money spent at Sam's Club goes into the Wal-Mart till.

But that was then. Today I completed the final step in my own Wal-Mart addiction treatment program by surrendering my Sam's Club card.

I went to the local Sam's Club to pay my bill, and, thinking that my card had just expired, turned it in and announced that I was quitting. The lady at the service counter was literally aghast! Why on earth would I want to quit Sam's Club? Why would anyone want to quit Sam's Club?

"I'm going to Costco." I told her honestly. "I'm doing it for you. I read on the Internet that they pay their employees forty percent more than Sam's Club." But you don't understand the whole picture, she sputtered. Costco has very few full-time employees, and seventy-five percent of our employees are full time!

Really? If seventy-five percent of Sam's Club employees are full-time, Michael Moore better get a film crew over to Bentonville, Arkansas, because Sam Walton is clawing his way out of his grave as we speak!

Then I told her that I also understood that Costco was more apt to support Democrats, and everyone knew Wal-Mart was Republican. She fired back that her company has no political philosophy. Think again. The prospect of a Democratic administration and Justice Department at least behaving respectfully toward unions scares the bejeezus out of the Gods in Bentonville. I knew it and so did she!

Then a man came out to handle my situation. He found my name in the computer, gave me a little talk about the importance of not believing what I read on the Internet, (Yeah, like Fox News is more reliable, or honest?), and apologized because Sam's Club had made me mad.

"I'm not mad," I countered calmly. "I just want to close my account. I'm taking my business down the road to Costco." And then he did something that left me speechless. It's turns out my account hadn't expired. It was due to end in October instead of in September as I had thought. He banged around on the computer for a few minutes before handing me thirty-eight dollars and change.

"What's this for?" I stammered. He replied calmly that Sam's Club always makes a refund when people aren't satisfied with their purchase. I was almost shamed - but not quite!

See you at Costco!

Change is Coming

by Pa Rock

I have a couple of friends who were (are) Ron Paul supporters. I like libertarians because they have strong convictions and aren't afraid to speak their minds. In fact, I think that I would enjoy being an ornery libertarian if it wasn't for a few problematic issues: guns (they cause crime and not the other way around), taxes (they are a necessary evil, and every American should pay based on ability - including rich Americans and corporations), and immigration (no borders, no where - from North Pole, Alaska to the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego). Other than that, I would probably make a damn good libertarian!

One of these friends that I just mentioned recently asked me what kind of change was on the horizon if Obama gets elected. In my reply I prattled on about having national goals and policies based on intelligence and the public need, rather than being rooted in greed and vindictiveness like we've seen for the past eight years. I believe that a bright future awaits us if we have the courage to go forth and meet it.

In fairness, John McCain would bring change also, most of it positive - at least positive compared to the abysmal swamp that we've been mired in for the past eight years. But McCain has shed his luster. He is no longer the maverick that was putting his spurs to the Bush family eight years ago. He no longer rails on the crackpot Christian fundamentalists as being agents of intolerance, and he supports Big Oil and never-ending war. Now, in an attempt to form a winning constituency, he has thrown his tent open to all of the crap that coalesced eight years ago to put Dear Leader in the White House.

One can only hope that if McCain wins the presidency (and I think a snowball would stand a better chance of rolling across Phoenix in August) that a bit of the maverick survives somewhere deep in his gut. We keep hearing about what a mean little bastard he really is. Wouldn't it be fun if that personality came busting out the first time the boys at Fox News (excuse the oxymoron) tried to tell him how to run the war, or when Lou Dobbs started lecturing him how to construct the border fence? That McCain also needs to be the one who smites down the Christian fascists when they show up to select his cabinet members and federal judges.

If John McCain gets to the White House (Allah forbid!), my prediction is that we all will experience change, even those who thought that they were voting for Bush's third term.

It shouldn't be a question about change, because change will happen regardless of who wins. The question must be about direction and destination. Where do we want to go and how will we get there? We need positive change to tap into our great national potential, and only Barack Obama appears to be willing to go there.

The Power of Words

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

America has made some wonderful strides toward ending racism during my lifetime. Gone are the days when bigoted simians like Bull Connor, George Wallace, and Orville Faubus built careers on denying civil rights and human rights to people of color. The past fifty years have witnessed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act, freedom marches, bus strikes, school integrations, and the slow and steady eroding of the old segregationist mindset. Indeed, America stands poised to elect a black President, something that was not even conceivable just a few short years ago.

We are witnessing the birth of a new America, an America of which all citizens can be proud. Unfortunately, not everone seems to have gotten the memo.

A clash occurred in 2006 in Jena, Louisiana, over nooses that some white students hung in a tree on the campus of the local high school. They were given a slap on the wrist by school officials. Later six black students were accused of beating one of the whites invovled in the noose incident, and they were jailed and treated as dangerous adults. Many in the community felt that situation and the perceived unequal justice harkened back to the bad old days of segregation.

Last April radio personality Don Imus opened the old wound of racism by referring to the ladies of the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team as "nappy-headed hos." His thoughtless and hurtful remark went out nationally over radio and television. Mr. Imus was subsequently fired by his employers.

Earlier this month things seemed to take a turn for the better. President Bush gave a speech at the White House to mark African American History Month. In that speech the President addressed America's awful history of lynching. He said,

"The era of rampant lynching is a shameful chapter in American history. The noose is not a symbol of prairie justice, but of gross injustice. Displaying one is not a harmless prank, and lynching is not a word to be mentioned in jest."

While I am admittedly not much of a fan of President Bush, I respect what he had to say on that subject. My thought with regard to lynching is that if someone like George Bush can understand the significance of the subject, the power of that word, then anyone should be able to comprehend it. Hate is not rocket science, it's just plain-old-stupid hate.

Fast forward to this week. Michelle Obama, a woman who stands an excellent chance of becoming our next First Lady, made a statement Monday at a rally for her husband in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her exact words, their meaning, and the context in which they were said have been a subject of continuing controversey this week, and they stirred a small firestorm, particularly on conservative news outlets. I have searched the Internet and I believe this to be an accurate quote of her remarks:

"Hope is making a comeback and, let me tell you, for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change. I have seen people who are hungry to be unified around some basic common issues and it has made me proud."

Admittedly, she opened herself for criticism from certain quarters, but I think she spoke from her heart. Wouldn't this be a far better place if all people in the realm of politics would do that, instead of pandering to the masses by trying to tell them what they want to hear?

The following day, Bill O'Reilly, a staple of the Fox News Network, made the following statement on his national radio show:

“I don’t want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there’s evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels.”

There it was, the "L" word. And, he doesn't want to go on a lynching party against this prominent black woman unless...Unless? Does O'Reilly not get it? Does he not even listen to his own President? Is he at worst a hate-mongering racist, or at best just stupid?

Yesterday I sent the following email to Fox News:

From: Rocky Macy [mailto:pa.rock.macy@gmail.com]
Sent: Thu 2/21/2008 8:51 PM
To: Web -Fox News Online
Subject: Bill O'reilly

Whether Mr. O'Reilly is a racist or simply ignorant of socially appropriate behavior, his continued presence on the Fox Network diminishes its relevance as a news source. He needs to go the way of Don Imus for his crude and insensitive behavior.

Rocky Macy
Goodyear, AZ

Today, I received this reply:

Dear Rocky,

Thank you for your e-mail. We appreciate your comments on our site, and are sorry to hear that you are offended by some of its content. As a FOXNews.com reader your opinion is very important to us, we know that you are the reason we are here. Please feel free to stay in touch.

Regards,
FOXNews.com

(God, I hope that I'm not the reason Fox is there!) It was, of course, a form email. I wonder how many of these dismissive missives they had to send out?

The problem is not O'Reilly. He is a symptom, just as Fox News is a symptom. The disease is hate and stupidity and fear. The disease is racism. Fortunately for America, this disease is finally being eradicated. We are verge of a beautiful future, and I, also, am becoming very proud of my country!

There is good news at hand, America. Just don't expect to hear about it on Fox!