2011 - The Year It Is

New Years Day is coming up, at least for most of us. The Chinese already had theirs. So did us Pagans, technically.

But who will be cheering as the clock winds down this friday night? Me too. The pull of the mass is too strong to avoid.

Isn't that just the way of things, though? The weight carries us where it will. Come here, put here - same thing, no difference.

Sometimes.

But we do have choices. We have directions. We have the ability to look at the fork in the road and, bucking all sense or sensibility, go the tougher, more interesting, more dangerous route.

Sometimes.

Sometimes that makes all the difference, as we're reminded in poem and song. Sometimes we wobble, sometimes we're strong.

At the end of 2009 I looked at the year ahead and wondered what it would bring. I resolved no resolutions because I never keep them, anyway. I decided no decisions and made no special plans. Just the idea that I would be better at the end of this year than I was at the end of the others.

The idea is mostly bearing fruit, some of which is my fault and some of which is not. A lot of which is not, actually. It's scary how much of the blessings come whether ye will them or not. Also the bad.

Especially the bad.

But I stand at the end of 2010 a happier person than I was at the end of 2009. And I expect things will be the same next year, will under law and all that.

Sometimes.

But ere I hear times winged chariot drawing near, and with it the merchants of doom and gloom. I hear war and rumors of war. I hear the cry of extinctions and death camps. I hear we'll all be crying our eyes out before they pluck them out whole.

I hear this year will be the last year, as we reckon them.

Me? I remain optimistic. We were not put here to crawl into death. Ours is a story that goes on for the ages, come what may.

Good things will happen in 2011. Bad also. People will die, and live. People will be born, and reborn. People will succeed and fail, try and give up, love and hate, hate and loathe, loathe and then love all over again.

This is the circle we walk, one and all.

I can't make any promises or exact predictions. I may see 2012 with joy in my heart. I may stumble along the way. I tell tales not tea leaves.

Sometimes.

But the one thing I do know is that, in spite of the weight of the world pulling us along however many millions of miles an hour, rackety-blam around a Sun going however many million more, we still have the ability to choose that path less traveled, and reap what we may of that choice.

Don't let anyone tell you the future is written. Don't let anyone tell you that you're doomed. Don't let anyone tell you that it's all going to end in tears, or screaming, or an ascension of killer angels.

Don't let anyone tell you anything.

The world is largely what you make of it. Go forth and live it, love it, learn it. Go in and out and roundabout.

Go.

12/25 - The Santa Deception

(Editor's note. It's been some time since I heard anything from conspiracy theorist extraordinaire Tim Foil, author of "Saturday Night Holocaust - How Hitler Invented Disco," exposer of the Easter Bunny as a communist and Cookie Monster as JFK's actual assassin, and baker of one mean lizard boom fudge. I was about to email him when I got this weird note in the mail. I'm pretty sure it's him, but I can't be sure about his current mental state. All the same, I am bound to report on the good and the bad, so here is Tim Foil on Christmas.)

The mass media of the imperialistic American machine is happy to lie to the American people time and time again. We have been lied to by our teachers, our preachers, our Presidents, even our own eyes. Watergate, JFK, Pearl Harbor, McDonalds - all deceptions carried out to create business opportunities for the oligarchs that rule America in open secret, and also the world, which they spend half their time trying to conquer even though they rule it already.

But no deception is more insidious than that of Christmas figurehead Santa Claus - aka Saint Nicholas.

The jolly fat man with a jiggling belly, beloved of small children and childish adults the world over, is actually a creation of the American CIA, send backwards in time through alien Roswell technology - the kind most recently used to fake the Moon landing, put plane holograms at Ground Zero, and make school food look nutritious to government inspectors, who, of course, already know their role in the machine but are still needing to be fooled.

Santa Claus is a satanic robot, sent to rob you blind in the night.

His sleigh is pulled by things that would normally be circling the throne of *z*th*th, but disguised as charming reindeer. Only the evil red nose of the one in front -- actually an eye -- stands testament to the true horror of what runs loose Christmas Eve.

What does Santa do? Keeps tabs on us all for the world government. Interpol, FBI, Scotland Yard, KBG all use his wide network of spying little alien elves to watch us, one and all. It's not enough to have cameras in our toilet bowls or rewire street people as receivers for space crickets, they need the network.

Without the network it ends.

I have tried to warn the American people about the evil. I have bricked up my chimney and taped up my windows. I have warned off christmas carolers with a shotgun, leading to my recent arrest and urogenital surgery/explorations/ conducted on the UFO. I have run naked through the streets of Boston to show off the invisible scars and knock over the Salvation Army spy equipment bellringers people so they can't report back to the elves on shelves, all watching the children be innocent and smiling and not being what they want which is not what we are. We are not what we are in the future they bring and I have tried to warn them I have I have I have.

Without the network they are lost.

Unplug the elves on the shelves and the christmas trees. Tear down the icons of the evil man. Blow up the malls where they hide. Evil lurking under the sky, watching with the burning red eye of the ghost train, round and round, everywhere at once like the burning trilobed eye of ny*rl*th*t*p, watching watching watching...

My god, the chimney! The chimney!

Good night and a merry christmas to you, Tim Foil - wherever you are.

Tuesday Night Music 12 21 10

Just music, tonight. This is new Jamiroquai. It starts a little odd but once the drums kick in the gold starts to spin. Just let it flow.



(and just in case you prefer old J, here's Space Cowboy for you.)

Open Letter to Joseph Farah on LTC Lakin

Dear Sir:

I read your most recent column concerning the sad fate of former LTC Terry Lakin. Excised from his rank, thrown from the Army, confined for six months, and stripped of all pay and pension, he will assuredly be a sad man this Christmas.

In it, you rightly describe Lakin as "an innocent lamb led willingly to slaughter." But nowhere in your stirring indictment of his trial and his woes do I see you truly name the ones who did the leading. Nowhere do I see you identify the truly guilty party, here

That, sir, would be you.

You, and those like you, who have continued to hype the non-issue of our President's Birth Certificate and eligibility.

You, and those like you, who have turned what should have been an amusing human interest story into a cause celebre for far too many otherwise-intelligent people (and, admittedly, no few genuine fools).

You, and those like you, who, either unable or unwilling to admit that a Democrat now sits in the White House, have cobbled together a barely-coherent mythology of lies, half-truths, innuendos, and wishful reading of the law that simultaneously confirms your worst fears and gives your cause a name.

Birtherism, in other words. A state of mind you claim not to share, but an issue you don't mind taking clear credit for having created, via World Net Daily.

And it is Birtherism -- your misshapen by-blow from dallying with certain pustular political philosophies -- that has gotten Terry Lakin where he is, tonight.

There are others who share some of the blame, of course. Phil Berg comes to mind, as do Orly Taitz, Alan Keyes, and the like.

But you have a news site that reaches millions, and therefore have an obligation to report on facts and truth, or at least legitimate speculation. I'm sorry to say that you have failed in this obligation -- and badly.

In doing so, you have succeeded only in creating an atmosphere where poisoned fruit, fattened on lies and innuendo, has waxed full and evil under a gangrenous sun.

An atmosphere that encouraged one of those otherwise-intelligent people to follow a fool's errand. An atmosphere that encouraged him to disobey his chain of command, and put his exemplary career, current service to our country, and future livelihood in jeopardy.

Sir, Terry Lakin is in jail tonight because of you.

He will be in jail for Christmas, because of you. He will be in jail for up to six months because of you.

And if someone chooses to remove his license to practice private medicine because of his criminal record, that will also be on your head.

And all for what, sir? All for what?

To use the power of journalism to effect responsible change in a free society? ... No.

To call people's attention to injustice and see that the guilty are shamed and punished? ... No.

To get at the truth? Oh please - don't make me laugh. At this point I don't know if you'd know the truth if it reared up and shaved your mustache right off your face.

To get eyeballs to your site, increase your standing in conservative circles, and sell crisis cookers to people who think The End is nigh, and Tea Party manifestos to the rest...?

Well, NOW I think we're getting somewhere.

You, sir, say you aren't a Birther. You demand retractions from people when they call you one. But why else would you follow this white whale round and round these darkest of oceans if you didn't have some reason for doing so?

Why would you go into the marshes if you didn't have a dog in the hunt?

Either you're being untruthful about your beliefs, or you're trying to make a buck or two. Maybe a few million while you're at it.

It's the American way, right?

I don't know. Mindreading over long distances isn't one of my specialties. And I care only insomuch as, if you're making enough to engage in this crazy snipe hunt -- a hunt that has now created its first genuine martyr -- you can well afford to put some money where your mouth is.

I was going to write this letter and challenge you to create a fund for Terry Lakin: one that would see that his current legal fees are met, and his livelihood after prison secured. You keep wanting to send people to Paul Rolf "Otis" Jensen and his site, but they aren't giving money to Lakin, anymore. They're just asking for dough for their own "communications efforts."

I see, as of this writing, that another site, the Terry Lakin Action Fund, is claiming to represent his interests. You have not personally mentioned them in a column, yet, however.

I ask you - what are you waiting for?

I ask you - how much of your site's intake are you willing to donate to Lakin's cause, seeing as how you remain one of his loudest cheerleaders?

I challenge you - how much of your own income will you publicly donate to this man's future, seeing as how he bit down on the poisoned fruit from your garden?

Straight up - I'm sure you're not familiar with my work, but in case you couldn't tell from the tone of this letter I don't hold you or your work in high esteem. But I'm writing to you directly, anyway, because I think you have an opportunity to avert a true tragedy.

Please see to it that this man is looked after, and his family is taken care of. You owe him that, at least.

You owe much more to far too many to count for your role in their own, personal debacles while chasing fools gold at your urging, but so far as I know no one else is in military prison for it.

(You also owe an honest and heartfelt apology to our President for dragging the name of him and his parents through the mud, but I won't hold my breath on that one.)

Happy Holidays to you, sir. Appreciate your freedom to celebrate them with your family. Lakin doesn't have that option, anymore. And you know why.

Yours

J. Edward Tremlett

A Challenge to Birthers - Pay Lakin Back

Terry Lakin is in jail, tonight. The Birthers helped put him in there. They are morally obligated to make certain he and his family are provided for once he leaves prison. The question is -- will they?

Full story here, at Op Ed News.

And should you feel like asking Joseph Farah (pictured above) if he will do the right thing, his email is jfarah@worldnetdaily.com . Please be as polite as possible?

EDIT: Look! Someone already HAS made a fund for Terry and his family. It's at http://www.terrylakinactionfund.com . So can we convince Farah et. al. to give a lot of moolah to them?

Birther Court Martial Days 2 and 3 equals Six Months for Lakin

The Court Martial is over. Long story short: Lakin plead guilty to one charge, was found guilty of another, and was sentenced to six months confinement, dismissal from the Army, and the forfeiture of all pay and allowances.

This is essentially what those who actually KNOW something about the UCMJ -- as opposed to the online Legion of Dumb -- said was going to happen. Barack Obama could have come from Mars, and the de facto officer doctrine would still require Lakin to report for ordered. To say otherwise is to let freewheeling anarchy loose in a body that only works if people do what they're told. You'd think conservatives would know better...?

The real surprise was that Lakin pleaded guilty to one of the charges after they abandoned the Birther defense. I thought they were going to plead not guilty and throw Paul Rolf "Otis" Jensen under the bus. A little throwing did occur, but not a whole lot.

LTC Lakin stated that he didn’t say, “You had your chance,” in refusing to meet with COL Roberts. He said he would never say such a thing to COL Roberts. He believes that it was Paul Jensen who made that statement to LTC Judd.

(it has been pointed out that Jensen was not there when the reply was made, though)

The statement that Lakin (no longer LTC) was looking forward to making took the form of a question and answer session between him and his attorney. Towards the end, the attorney got pretty vicious -- possibly to elicit tears and genuine regret from his client in the hopes of influencing the sentencing body.

Mr. Puckett then became harsher still, referring to the “giant image” the members had seen “saying you invited this court-martial.” He asked, “How do you feel? Are you proud of that?” LTC Lakin responded, “No. It’s crushing. It’s crushing to my family.” Still more harshly, Mr. Puckett asked, “That little 3-year-old,” gesturing to the giant family photo still being projected on the wall. “How would that little 3-year-old feel about visiting you in jail on Christmas Day, if you’re even close enough for your family to see you.” And with that, the tears came. LTC Lakin said, “I’ve cried about this so many times. I’ve cried for a year. I can’t believe this is happening in this country.”

...

Turning harsh again, Mr. Puckett said, “It’s Judgment Day. You invited this court-martial, so you invited a sentence. Are we done disobeying orders, LTC Lakin?” LTC Lakin replied, “Yes, we are. Forever.”

The strategy didn't work so well, though.

The trial counsel who argued noted that in LTC Lakin’s unsworn statement, his focus was always on himself: how he was concerned about the President’s eligibility, how he felt his concerns needed to be addressed, and so on, until the moment came to accept responsibility — at which point the accused focused on other people and how they let him down or supposedly misled him. The prosecutor also noted that at no point during LTC Lakin’s tearful discussion of his family or during his apologia to the commander did LTC Lakin see fit to mention (the doctor who had to replace his sorry ass) or the hardships endured by anyone else as a result of LTC Lakin’s actions. (emphasis added)

The prosecution wanted 24 months (2 days for every day he skipped out on), dismissal from the Army (the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge) and, worst of all, the removal of his pay and pension. In the end, they got 1/4 of the time they asked for, but the dismissal and removal of pay and pension are going to be painful. There's also the insidious possibility that he could lose his license to practice medicine.

No one has gotten any kind of a statement from Lakin or his counsel (who had to fly to Italy for another case before sentencing was handed down). I'm sure Birtherstan has exploded by now, but I'm in no mood to navigate their moving goalposts and wade through their crocodile tears. This is one of those cases where justice was done, but nobody won.

At any rate, here's a massive thank you to the sites that have been blogging about this and providing information: CAAFlog, Oh For Goodness Sake, and Obama Conspiracy Theories, amongst others.

And here's mud in the eye of all Birthers who stopped by those places to tell us how this trial was going to end in victory for Lakin and Birtherdom, and defeat for the evil Usurper. That you were wrong, are still wrong, and are most likely to continue to be wrong goes without saying. I don't expect that to change anytime soon.

But your stupid windmill tilt has now claimed the freedom and livelihood of a decent man who, fooled by your drivel, threw himself on a grenade in the name of your cause. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

As Oh For Goodness Sake put it:

For those who led this man and his family to destruction: for undermining military discipline and morale, for putting our troops at increased danger, for shaming our country–may you never sleep another night. He has gotten his sentence and will serve it. The rest of you will have to answer to your maker. Good luck with that

And good night, one and all.

Birther Court Martial Day 1: Lakin Pleads Guilty

It's all over except for the niggly bits, in other words.

LTC Lakin pled guilty to all four of the Article 92 specifications alleged in Charge II (media reports had suggested mixed pleas to these offenses). The accused pled not guilty to Charge I and its Specification, which allege the offense of missing movement.

During the hour-and-a-half long Care inquiry, LTC Lakin acknowledged no less than half a dozen times that the orders he received were lawful, and that he in fact had a duty to obey them. Judge Lind found his guilty pleas to be provident and accepted them.

...

The state of play now is as follows: trial will begin at 1500 hours with opening statements on the missing movement offense. Regardless of how the members find on that offense, LTC Lakin will proceed to sentencing. He is, on the evidence and by his own admission under oath, a criminal to be sentenced in accordance with the UCMJ.

Up to 18 months in jail awaits LTC Lakin now that he has copped to disobeying orders, though it's been said he may simply have his rank stripped from him and be discharged, which would mean missing out on a very lucrative pension.

I have no doubt that, should that happen, he may have any number of people willing to hand over money for him to speak at their Birther hee-haws. Whether he's so unprincipled as to take the money and talk remains to be seen.

The proceedings thankfully did not turn into a circus, though several Birther clowns were in attendance, most notably Orly Taitz, herself.

During a break in the proceedings this morning, Taitz told reporters that trials in the old Soviet Union were more just than what was happening in Lakin's case. She accused the judge of trying to "put words in [Lakin's] mouth" and get him to acknowledge that his deployment orders were lawful. She also claimed (Judge) Lind's previous rulings in the case excluded witnesses Lakin wanted to call and discovery of documents related to Obama's birth.


We are told that Lakin is "looking forward" to making a statement at the end of the Court Martial, which may turn out to be a defense of his Birtherism. But I guess we'll see.

Stay tuned to CAAFlog for tomorrow's updates, which should include the final verdict.

Saul Anuzis Dodges Questions about Racist Friend

Readers of the rANT Farm may remember our recent article on Saul Anuzis, former head of Michigan's GOP - and a front-runner for the Chairmanship of the Republican National Committee - concerning his connection to our buddy Kyle Bristow, former head of MSU's controversial Young Americans for Freedom chapter, current student of law, blogmaster of fortune, gun-molester, and writer of the right wing, racialist Da Vinci Code knock-off White Apocalypse.

(Also a tacit supporter of a certain user of child pornography, but hey - what's some naked exploited kids when compared to a cherry recommendation for the aforementioned racist Da Vinci Code knock-off from a former big-wig in the Neo Nazi movement? Nice networking skills, there, Kyle.)

Well, just before the Tea Party Movement decided that, if they couldn't have Sarah "Watch Me Quit, Ya'll" Palin as their dream candidate for the RNC Chair, they'd settle for Saul, Mr. Anuzis finally answered critics of his connection to Kyle. Sort of.

Though Anuzis’ business is internet campaigns, he has chosen not to clarify his support for Bristow, which has been reported on several blogs.

In an e-mail exchange with Michigan Messenger Anuzis refused to say whether he still supports Bristow and he called reports of his 2007 comments in support of Bristow “an old story, out of context and irrelevant.”

“I have no idea what Kyle has been up to since he was MSU chair,” he wrote, “so I have no idea or comment on his current status or activities.”

Of course, one need only put the words "Kyle Bristow" into the google news and see what comes up, but I guess that's too hard for Mr. Technology to do. Or too beneath him? Who can say.

The Southern Poverty Law Center's Heidi Beirich rightfully called bullshit.

“Anuzis was defending Kyle long after he’d done very racist things and those things had been made brutally public in the Michigan press,” she said. “He may be distancing himself from him now, but he sure didn’t care much about Bristow’s racism for a very long time.”

“If it weren’t for Anuzis’ strong backing of Bristow’s racist acts, he may well not have progressed to the full blown hatemonger he is today. Anuzis helped build Bristow’s career. And now he isn’t even willing to denounce Bristow’s genocidal novel. That’s a bit cowardly, I’d say.”

Bristow has yet to really weigh in on his former(?) supporter's chances of election, as he's too busy studying for exams. Confronted with the article, he could only respond by making disparaging remarks concerning Ms. Beirich's weight. A moderated comment Kyle let through perhaps sums up the Solutrean blog in toto - "Only a negro would breed with that."

(Item: this white as snow correspondent thinks anti-racist activists are hot, Hot, HOT. You go, Heidi.)

As of yet, the mainstream media seems unwilling to notice the story as a whole. I suspect as the election draws nearer, and supporters of Michael Steele -- or one of the other front runners - start digging for dirt against Anuzis, it will be unearthed and flung into the news cycle. Whether that damages Saul's chances will depend on whether his constituents still consider themselves members of the party of Lincoln, or think people like Kyle Bristow really are just what they need on their side. Should that be the case, Goddess help us all.

On a funnier note, Jesus General really likes Kyle. It's a good thing someone does.

Le End of L'Affaire Lakin Looms

December 14th. Fort Meade, Maryland. In a courtroom sure to be backed by legal observers, Birther nuts and their "journalistic" supporters, and other curious types. The long-awaited "proper" Court Martial of LTC Terry Lakin, for "missing movement" and other such things. Because he's a well-meaning but easily-duped fellow who let others, perhaps not so well-meaning, talk him into violating the UCMJ because the President of the United States was not a Natural Born Citizen -- they claim -- and he wouldn't go to Afghanistan unless he had more proof than has already been given out.

December 14th. When a much more reasonable legal team than the previous one will represent the LTC in court, having thankfully scrapped any and all notions of the President not being an NBC -- which was getting the previous one nowhere fast -- and instead apparently planning to do as much damage reduction as they can, so as to spare their client a massive, early Christmas present from Krampus.

What a long, strange trip this has been since last April, when the story first broke! Throughout it all, my feelings have not changed much; I still hold that LTC. Lakin was a well-meaning puppet on someone's string -- perhaps now finally realizing that he was used to dance to someone else's highly-suspect tune, and allowing for a measure of self-protection by way of his new legal time, that has gladly (perhaps gleefully) thrown the Paul Rolf "Otis" Jensen under the bus.

(Lakin's) previous civilian attorney complicated his case and is partially responsible for two of these charges by advising LTC Lakin to refuse to report to his superior officer. The defense team is now working to minimize the damage caused by this inappropriate legal advice and return LTC Lakin to his family quickly and with his medical career intact.

Schadenfreude - a dish best served either hot or cold.

Does Lakin have a prayer? Some would say so. Indeed, we have just learned (by way of our friends at Obama Conspiracy Theories) that Lakin intends to plead NOT GUILTY (!!!!!).

Is it chutzpah, confidence, or lawyer tricks? I guess we'll find out soon enough...

Having said all that, I suspect it's pretty likely that Ltc. Lakin is going to spend at least some time in Leavenworth, if only because certain people would like to make certain that other would-be "defenders of the Constitution" don't get any ideas. So, since it's Tuesday Night, and I haven't heard this song in ages, how about some Was Not Was? If you watched Pump up the Volume, you'll probably remember that this was one of the best songs in the movie, and sadly not on the soundtrack.