Brutally Honest News - Holiday Break Announcement

Wow, it's December already! Where did the year go?

Well, as it has been tradition here at the Brutally Honest Command Center, it's just about time that yours truly takes a month or so off so I can enjoy the holidays, recharge my mental batteries, and decide how I want my website to look in 2007.

So here goes...

The LAST Brutally Honest audio rant for 2006 will take place on Wednesday, December 13th. I don't know how long it will be or what the subject will be for that night. I usually don't prepare these things until about a day or two beforehand, so I guess you'll just have to wait and see what I'll be talking about then.

The LAST Brutally Honest column for 2006 will be posted on Sunday night, December 17th. As has been tradition, this will be the 2006 Brutally Honest Awards, noting the best and the worst of the year.

After that, the Command Center gets shut down until sometime in mid-January.

Of course my blog site will still be going, and I'll be putting in a few quick rants. For those of you who haven't visited the website yet, by all means go to http://d2brutallyhonest.blogspot.com and check out what I have up. Every so often I toss in a few quick blurbs, some cartoons, and I'm really getting into the whole streaming video thing now, so I've been adding a few of those as well.

I hope you enjoy the last few rants and columns for 2006. If you have any suggestions on how to make my rants or columns better, please visit the blog site and look for this message, then add your ideas in the comments section.

I hope everyone has a great HOLIDAY season.

FCC FU videos

Hey folks... just wanted to spread a little love from the folks at FCCFU.com by throwing in a few videos.

I'm imbedding the first one for you to watch, but the second one... well the second one is just a little NSFW, so I'm just going to leave it as a link for you to watch.

And now here's the link to the video containing the full song (and with all appropriate images).

Now if you like that, you can show your support by visiting the FCCFU website, where you can download the actual song used in the second video, along with a heavy metal version of the same song, watch a special video by Carlos Mencia, get some really good merchandise, and get all of the latest news on censorship and our collective outrage over this theocratic-controlled branch of the government.

Oh, and spread the word! Tell folks about this blog, or tell your friends about the website, or even do what I did, which was go to some of these video sites like You Tube and do a search for "FCCFU" and help get the word out.

The First Amendment thanks you.

Brutally Honest Rant - 11/29/06

Brutally Honest Audio Rant: Imperium Issues
Audio Transcripts
11/29/06

[Start Program]

(Computer – Introduction)
(Music intro – "American Idiot Remix" – by Green Day and David Matthews 2)

Good evening, and welcome to this week’s Brutally Honest Rant. I’m David Matthews 2, writer of the weekly online column Brutally Honest.

Well we’re getting close to the end-of-year break here at the Brutally Honest Command Center. I’ve been doing these breaks for almost as long as I’ve been doing online columns, which is ten years now. I usually take about a month off from both the weekly column and the weekly audio rants or broadcasts so I can enjoy the holidays and get things geared up for next year.

The one thing that I do keep going during the holiday break is the weblog page, because I know that there are things that go on that happen during the break, and some of them just can’t wait until I get the column restarted in January. So by all means, if you haven’t done so, please keep checking in with the Brutally Honest weblog at d-2-brutally-honest-dot-blogspot-dot-com. For those of you know how to do it, there’s an RSS feed or "live bookmark" that you can set up so you’ll know that if there’s something new going on you’ll be the first to know about it.

But we aren’t at the break yet… so before that happens, I thought that I’d take some time to answer a few questions pertaining to my stances on the Bush Junior White House… otherwise known as the dreaded Bush Imperium!

Now for those of you who are new to the world of Brutally Honest, you need to understand that I’ve only been referring to the White House as under George W. Bush as the Bush Imperium for less than two years now. Before that I was calling it the Bush Administration… or the Bush Junior White House. I’m obviously not a supporter of "Da Big W"… never have been. I’m a libertarian through and through. I didn’t vote for him. I didn’t WANT him to be elected… but then again I also didn’t want his Democrat alternative to win. But I made the conscious effort back in 2001 to give Bush the benefit of the doubt. I gave him the opportunity to BE an effective president… to BE the kind of leader that we expect. And if he DID do those things and he and his people lived up to those basic expectations, then I wouldn’t have come up with the moniker to begin with.

So here’s a good question that I’m sure some of you are wondering about…

Now that the Democrats have taken over the Congress, does that end all of this talk about the Bush Imperium?

No. It doesn’t end it, because the forces behind it are still present.

Let’s get brutally honest here… there’s more to the whole talk about the "Bush Imperium" than just throwing names about. There’s an attitude behind it as well, and that attitude comes from those in the White House in how they carry themselves and how others see them.

In over the five years that the Bush Junior people have controlled the White House, they have developed this attitude that they can do whatever the hell they want to. Whatever they want, they’ll get it. They can re-write the laws that Congress passes. They can ignore any laws made to limit the scope of their powers, even the restrictions set down in the US Constitution, which are supposed to BE the law of the land. You would think that "law and order" people would RESPECT such limitations, but they don’t. Instead, they consider these to be minor details that can be avoided, ignored, or outright VIOLATED just by uttering a certain mantra. And you know which mantra I’m talking about, don’t you?

If it looks like the Bush Imperium has been doing a half-assed job in Iraq, it’s partly because we all got goaded into it before we were finished with Afghanistan! Oh yeah, we still have troops in Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for Osama, but so far we’ve had better luck finding what few weapons of mass destruction still exist in Iraq than we are in finding the leader behind that unnamed aforementioned mantra. And then on top of that, we have a president that demagogued last year’s gas crisis to push for an energy bill that was a complete and unmitigated JOKE. Then he decided that it was more important to take guitar lessons from Esteban and then fly off to a GOP fundraiser in San Diego than to deal with a Category 5 hurricane that was about to hit New Orleans and the hub of America’s oil supply for the East Coast. That’s not leadership. That’s negligence.

So yeah, the Bush Junior White House EARNED the title "Bush Imperium". But you know what? They weren’t the only ones who earned such a moniker.

Ten years ago I was railing on against the White House, only back then it was under the firm control of a Democrat… and her husband. Just kidding. Seriously, though, back then I refused to call the White House under President Bill Clinton as an "Administration" either. I called it the "Clinton Regime" because they ACTED more like a regime than a legitimate government. They were more interested in covering their asses than in doing their jobs! And they were pretty good at doing that. They managed to get away with a LOT of stuff because they knew how to manipulate the system. The only thing they weren’t able to get away with was something really petty and stupid… a blowjob. And that was Bill Clinton’s own damn fault.

And bear in mind that the Clinton Regime had to deal with SIX of its eight years under Republican control of the Congress, and yet they still managed to carry themselves around like pompous asses. The Bush Imperium, on the other hand, only has to deal with TWO years under Congressional Democratic control. So if you think that I’m being TOO HARD on Junior, then you need to go over both history AND my track record. I may call Junior a dufus, but at least I’m not calling him a slimy smooth-talking narcissistic despot.

So when WILL the imperial references end? When WILL I be willing to call the Bush Junior White House the "Bush Administration" again?

Well that’s entirely up to the folks in the White House. There are a whole lot of "ifs" involved:

… if they want to demonstrate that they can go through the last two years without acting like a bunch of Romans drunk on power…

… if they can demonstrate that they know that catering to Christian theocrats is just as bad as catering to Islamic theocrats, and that the only difference between the two theocrats are a bomb and a gun…

… if they can recognize and respect the rule of law instead of trying to subvert it with executive orders and signing statements…

… if they can abandon their use of fear-mongering for political gain…

… if they can actually SELL the rest of the world on what freedom is instead of just throwing the word about and saying that it will magically appear through democracy…

… if they can remember that there is a difference between criticism and treason, and that this difference is spelled out in plain English in a document that they took an OATH to protect, preserve, and defend…

… if they can remember that the devastation caused by a hurricane – even a Category 3 storm - is FAR MORE IMPORTANT that some stupid political fundraiser on the other side of the country…

… if they can remember that they serve the American people and not a bunch of foreign oil barons…

… if they can accept the fact that the only reason why the leaders of Iran and Venezuela can act like complete dickheads and get away with it is because we’re still having to buy their oil, and that the only way to shut them up and put them in their place is for us to be able to go through our normal day WITHOUT their oil…

… if they can understand that if they want our continued support in Iraq that we need to know what "victory" REALLY means and what it will take for our soldiers to come home, and that saying "trust me" is NOT an acceptable substitution…

… and lastly… if they can actually behave like the LEADERS they claim to be…

… if they can do all that, then MAYBE they would be worthy of being referring to as an "administration" again.

Sadly, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Junior still has his inner circle – minus Rumsfield of course – and they seem to think that the only reason why the Republicans lost power is because they weren’t CONSERVATIVE enough. That’s not good for them, or for us. Right now we can only HOPE that they will be willing to work with the new Democrat leaders in January and not try to subvert them at every opportunity.

It is one thing to lead… it’s another thing entirely to lead and actually have others willing to FOLLOW. A good leader knows the difference.

(Computer – a few timely things that you’ll have to listen to appreciate)
(Fade Music In – "Mythodea" by Vangelis)

There is a fine line between leadership and tyranny… but it is a line nonetheless. And the more power you have over others, the harder it is to see that line, and the easier it is to cross it.

Maybe that explains why every second presidential term since World War II has always ended worse than their first term. Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, and now Bush Junior have all started their terms with idealism and hope, and have ended – or in Junior’s case NOW ending – covering their asses and having to explain themselves for their earlier decisions.

It sometimes makes me wonder if we either should just get rid of the term limits or just go ahead and limit the job of President to just one five-year term and then that’s it. I’m starting to lean towards the single-term option. At least then the White House wouldn’t obsessed with so-called "legacies" and actually be committed to doing their jobs.

(Pause)

Brutally Honest is a Get Brutal production, all opinions expressed are those of the commentator, and may or may not be shared by the online provider. This is David Matthews 2 saying good night, and I’ll speak with you soon!

(Fade out)

(Computer – Ending/"End of Recording")

[End of program]
------------------------------

Something to think about...

Been listening to some Internet broadcasts and I've come across some commercials promoting the sale of "confirmed leads" for other businesses to use.

So every time I keep on hearing this commercial I cannot help but wonder if these are where the telemarketing people and the spam-senders and the junk fax senders get their information from. These parasites needed to get their information from somewhere.

How many of these "confirmed leads" come from those stupid "you could win a car" contests in the mall? How many are from the store clerk asking you for your phone number? How many are from the banks you have credit card accounts with? How many are from the store "value membership" cards you fill out? How many come from "pretexting"? How many come from spammers and telemarketers?

The point I'm making is this... there is so much information about us out there today, and it's used by companies without our knowledge and without our approval, and they're making big bucks off that knowledge about us. And the reason why these parasites and the companies that employ them are able to sleep at night is because they see harassing us as securing a "sales lead". THAT is why businesses are so willing to work with spammers and telemarketers and why they will fight any attempt to keep their prying eyes off our lives.

You Lying Sacks of Crap!

Okay boys and girls, I've got a BIG beef with Comedy Central!

For the past few months, these guys have been claiming to run "unedited" movies on their "Secret Stash" show. Now these are done at 1am, well past the 10pm "indecency" restrictions set down by the dictatorial Federalist Christian Censors.

Comedy Central CLAIMS that these movies are all aired UNEDITED, UNCUT, and UNCENSORED. Remember those three words. Remember them well.

Up until now, the only movies that Comedy Central have been running in their "Secret Stash" comprised on Eddie Murphy's movie "Raw", "South Park: The Movie" (for obvious reasons), and the unedited ramblings of every celebrity roast that the channel normally broadcasts and censors the crap out of. Okay, so dropping the F-bomb, S-bomb, and using every bigoted slang and stereotype possible is fine by Comedy Central at 1am.

So now last night, just jumping channels while preparing to go to sleep, I see that Comedy Central is preparing to air "Fast Times At Ridgemont High". Now I thought that THIS would be a good test of the censors and a good test for Comedy Central, so just out of laughs and giggles, I programmed my DVD recorder to tape it.

So the start of the movie start off well. I see the claims about this being "unedited", "uncut", and "uncensored". I see the "this movie contains strong language and adult situations" disclaimer. I see the "TV MA" rating with the "L" (language) and "S" (sex) qualifications underneath it. Then THIS little disclaimer gets thrown in: "this movie has been edited for time restraints and content."

WHAT?

"Unedited", "Uncut", and "Uncensored" MEANS just that! This is a 92-minute movie. When scheduled for a 2-hour timeslot, that leaves you with 28 minutes of commercial time. That's almost 1/4 of the timeslot! That's MORE than enough time to keep the sponsors happy. And even if it goes over, then it frigging GOES OVER! That is what UNCUT means!

Okay, fine. A minor screw-up.

So now I'm scrolling through the scenes. I know that there are THREE instances of R-rated nudity in this movie, including the famous "Pool Fantasy" scene, which was recreated in the Fountains of Wayne video "Stacy's Mom". (Caution: link is NSFW.) I've seen the original movie before, so there's nothing about it that shocks me. In fact it's rather tame in my opinion. (Hey, when you have Playmates as your friends, the excitement bar gets set pretty high.) But it's a good test to see just how far the censors go.

The first test: the feel-up dugout scene. Hacked to pieces. EDITED! CENSORED! I know that Jennifer Jason Leigh doesn't have much to begin with, but come on! FAILED!

The second test: the infamous "Pool Fantasy" with Phoebe Cates. EDITED! CENSORED! We see the lame "Made-For-TV" hack instead! FAILED!

The third test: the pool house sex scene. THIS should have been the big test right here. Ms. Leigh pretty much shows what she has during this "quickie" segment. EDITED! CENSORED! FAILED!

WHAT THE HELL???

Remember those three words? UNEDITED, UNCUT, and UNCENSORED??? Which part of those three words do the folks at Comedy Central not understand? Seriously, I want to know!

Here's a pop quiz worthy of Mr. Hand: if you promote the airing of a movie as UNEDITED, UNCUT, and UNCENSORED, and then you discover that segments of the movie have been hacked to pieces... what do you call that?

Come on Stoner Spicoli, this should be a simple one for you... you promote something being one thing and then don't deliver on it... what do you call that?

You could have said LYING, dude, that would have worked, but the correct answer is FALSE ADVERTISING! No pizza slice for you.

That is what Comedy Central is guilty of. They are guilty of FALSE ADVERTISING!

What bothers me is that it's not just Comedy Central. There are other cable channels that make similar promises and then hack the crap out of their programming. And then these cable executives wonder why we the viewing public are not watching their channels as frequently!

I'll make it really simple... so simple a redneck from Alabama or a Geiko caveman can understand it. It's 1am. It's way past the "decency time" as mandated by the Federalist Christian Censors. If you can say the F-word, then you can show it. If you can say the word "tits", then you can show them. If you can show cartoon characters flinging crap at each other, then you can show a bare breast or two! If you promise something to be UNCENSORED and UNEDITED and UNCUT, then, dammit, YOU SHOW IT LIKE THAT!

And if you CANNOT do that, then do us all a favor and don't air the program at all! Don't promise something that YOU KNOW you can never deliver!

And as an extra homework assignment, I want you to watch this video clip from my friends over at FCCFU.com. This is from Carlos Mencia... host of "Mind of Mencia"... which airs on WHICH channel? Yes, Comedy Central.

Brutally Honest Rant - 11/22/06

Brutally Honest Audio Rant: Tale Of Two Builders
Audio Transcripts
11/22/06

[Start Program]

(Computer – Introduction)
(Music intro – "American Idiot Remix" – by Green Day and David Matthews 2)

Good evening, and welcome to this week’s Brutally Honest Rant. I’m David Matthews 2, writer of the weekly online column Brutally Honest.

I have a little story for you this week… one that I’m sure you’ll understand quite well given recent events.

Once upon a time there was a real estate developer who died. This developer had several construction projects up in the air for the local community, and, as it turned out, he had inadvertently given the same project to two very competitive builders. Both builders consider themselves to be the best that there is at what they do. They don’t work with anyone else, and they believe that they should have the EXCLUSIVE rights to carry out the project as originally contracted. They absolutely refuse to work together, because they really hate each other, and they have vowed that if they aren’t allowed to develop the project, that they would tie the whole thing up in the courts for YEARS.

Well the town officials sat down with both builders, and they decided that the only way to settle this dispute is to have a contest between the two of them. They would each be given an identical plot of land , with identical supplies and a GENEROUS amount of funds, and in eleven months they had to build their ideal house and actually live in it. Whoever had the better house would win the project.

Now eleven months is MORE than enough time for a builder to build one house, so the town officials expect these houses to be mind-blowing!

Three months go by and the town officials go to check in with the two builders. They both show off what kind of ideal house they’re trying to build. Hi-tech wonders full of amenities, with plenty of room for living and storage. So then the officials go to the two plots to see how these plans are being implemented.

The first builder, a guy by the name of Gus, has the foundation blocked off and is still pouring concrete. Gus explains that the foundation is the most important part of the whole building, so he wants to make sure that he has a SOLID foundation before he can put anything else up. Meanwhile, the second builder, a guy by the name of Dan, has the basic frame up and is already working on the wiring and the plumbing, but there’s something missing. Something’s not quite right with the building. Gus knows, of course, but he isn’t saying what it is. Dan assures the officials that he should have his house done by the six-month check-in and that he will be moving in right afterwards.

Six months go by since the start of the contest and the town officials go back to check on the two builders. Both builders have spent an extraordinary amount of money on their respective projects, so they’re hoping that it’ll all come out in the results.

They show up at the first plot and Gus is STILL working on the foundation. He is OBSESSED with making sure that everything is JUST RIGHT with the foundation. He’s smoothing the concrete, making sure everything is nice and balanced and secure. He’s also put up some security around the house. A couple of armed guards and a few watchdogs. You see, Gus is afraid that once the house is completed, people may want to break in and rob the place. So he’s got the security force looking after the area. Plus he just doesn’t trust Dan… especially after what happened to Dan’s house.

They go to the second plot and Dan is back to square one… putting up the frame. You see, Dan never bothered to put in a foundation the first time around. He doesn’t feel that the house needs one. The Native Americans never needed one, the early American Colonists never needed one, and so Dan feels that he doesn’t need one either. Well, it turns out not too long after the three-month check-in, there was a nasty rainstorm that came through… and it knocked the whole frame down. So he was back to square one. And then a month later, it happened again… and then just a few weeks previous to this visit, it happened again. So he’s back to square one… for the fourth time.

Nine months go by… they’re almost at the November deadline. The town officials go back to check on the builders. Again, they noticed an extraordinary amount of money being spent on these projects and they want to see some results. This time around, a lot of time is spent talking with the builders separately about their spending instead of actually going out to the site.

Gus explains how recent concerns about security have forced him to make some changes to his overall plan. But they’re minor changes, he said… the town officials supposedly wouldn’t notice a thing! And he was pleased to announce that he IS finished with the foundation… it is rock-solid… and he’s already started on the framework, and that the rest of the building would be up in no time! And the additional costs? Well that’s for the additional security for the property and the new security systems that he’s ordered. These are all state-of-the-art systems, and they’re not cheap… but, then again, security isn’t cheap.

Dan explained that he’s also had to make some minor changes to his overall plan, due to the fact that all of his previous attempts were knocked down by storms. But he assures the town officials that he’s come up with a new method of security the building that doesn’t use traditional foundation methods, and he claims that the current frame has already weathered one windstorm, so he should also be ready and living in the new house by the November deadline.

And the additional costs? Well in addition to having to start back at square one… numerous times… he’s also done some research into better construction methods. He had to hire some researchers and advisors. That’s how he came across the new foundation-free method he’s using. Plus… well, he figured that he’s going to win this contest anyway, so he set aside some money for a little celebration. The town officials were a little miffed at the idea, until it was brought up that they were guilty of doing that as well.

So here it is… November… time to find out who built the better home.

The town officials show up at the first plot. The original design called for a two-story colonial-style house with full amenities. The house the Gus built, though, was a one-story enclosure comprised of clear Plexiglas surrounded by a cast-iron framework. There are no rooms inside this house, and no amount of privacy whatsoever other a small area next to the shower for the sake of "modesty". And every corner of the house, as well as the surrounding yard, are bathed in glaring white lights.

Gus has been living in this house for over a week, although not too comfortably. Most of the amenities are jury-rigged because they are designed for walls that were never built. The high-tech security systems are also jury-rigged into place, although they are about as useful as the fifteen elderly armed guards and five burned-out watchdogs patrolling the area.

But Gus points out that the house is ROCK SOLID thanks to its superior foundation. The cast-iron framework will never bend or warp and the Plexiglas walls will never shatter. Well… unless there’s hail. The town officials note, though, that the foundation does have some serious ugly cracks as it settled, even though Gus claims that there’s nothing wrong with it at all.

The town officials go over to the other plot to see what kind of "ideal home" Dan has built. Dan originally came up with plans for a one-story ranch house. While the house they saw was one-story, they could hardly call it "ranch-style". It was more like "funhouse-style". Nothing was straight. Oh the "non-foundation" kept the frame from being knocked down from storms, but there were also very visible areas where the floors and walls were warped. The amenities were there, and they did work, although some of them had to be jury-rigged because of the structural distortions. Some of the pipes leaked and there were a few exposed outlets. BUT Dan said that IT IS livable, and he had been actually living there for all of two days. The real question would be if anyone else would want to live there.

So there you have it, folks… two houses that were FAR LESS than the "ideal homes" that they were sold to be. Made by people who CLAIMED to be the best at what they do, and who believe that THEY should be the EXCLUSIVE builders of the project.

So now let’s suppose that you’re one of the town officials being asked to make a choice. What kind of house would you want to live in? Which builder would you rather give the project to? I’m sure that most of you would be thinking "none of the above" but you really don’t have that option in this case. If you choose to go with a third option, then BOTH of the builders will be taking you to court… and it would really be the only thing that the two of them would be willing to do together.

Now… let’s get brutally honest here… this story is obviously a metaphor for today’s zero-sum political thinking. Gus represents the GOP, and Dan represents the Democrats. They both make lofty promises, but in principle they come up short. Not to mention the fact that they gobble up an incredible amount of money and then try to excuse it afterwards. The question that we continually have to ask every November is which one we would rather work with. Whose house would YOU rather live in?

And you’re probably wondering… if these two builders were "the best that there is", then WHY would they do such a crappy job at these dream houses? Why deviate so badly off their original designs? Well the answer to that is simple: if you only have two choices, and you’re one of those two choices, then you don’t have to give it your best… you only have to be just slightly better than the alternative. That, too, is the message that we’re constantly getting from our current political parties.

(Computer – some stuff… but you’ll have to hear the rant to know what they are)
(Fade Music In – "Who Am I" by Peace Orchestra)

And now I have a challenge to you. I want you to go to my weblog site… the address is d2brutallyhonest-dot-blogspot-dot-com… and look for the transcripts to tonight’s show. It’ll be clearly marked "Brutally Honest Rant – 11/22/06". Go over those two options in the story I just gave you, and in the comment section let me know which one of the two houses that YOU would rather live in. There’s no login needed. You can post your choices anonymously if you so wish.

I’d really like to know what everyone thinks about the story, and of course, which kind of house that you would rather live in. Remember, you only have those two choices, so be sure to choose wisely. And to borrow from a certain recently laid-off government official… you make your choices with the options you HAVE, not the options that YOU WISH you had.

(Pause)

Brutally Honest is a Get Brutal production, all opinions expressed are those of the commentator, and may or may not be shared by the online provider. This is David Matthews 2 saying good night, and I’ll speak with you soon!

(Fade out)
(Computer – Ending/"End of Recording")

[End of program]
------------------------------

Have you noticed...?

The elections are over with... and has anyone caught on to the fact that the price of gasoline is starting to creep back up?

It's not supposed to do that, is it? I mean, that might give credence to those who accuse "big oil" of keeping the prices low to benefit the Bush Imperium and the GOP!

Oh, sure, there are some excuses being floated about... unrest in Nigeria again, OPEC is cutting production, holiday season is just about here... but isn't it strange that the troubles just MAGICALLY disappeared for a month as price slid down, and then suddenly just reappeared?

Yeah, it could just be a coincidence. Right. Just like I could have a shot with a Playboy Playmate in the grotto of the Playboy Mansion.

(And now of course my real-life Playmate friends will be emailing me with "oh David don't sell yourself short like that!")

When did "no" become "yes"?

Was taking a brief glance through the matter of Jack Murtha in the past few days. This is a decorated veteran who put his name and his reputation on the line by standing up to the Bush Imperium. He tried to run for House Majority Leader (otherwise known on Fox News as the House Democratic Leader) and even had the endorsement of Speaker-Elect Nancy Pelosi (who can still scare small children).

But then certain factions started cranking out some old news about Murtha. You can guess which factions right? GOP factions... conservative factions... "Swift Boat" factions... and they bring up the fact that Murtha escaped the ABSCAM trap of twenty years ago.

ABSCAM was this sting operation run by the FBI. A federal agent poses as an Arab sheik and offers lavish amounts of money for some favors. The whole thing is videotaped, so the participants can't try to lie about the whole thing. It was a pretty good operation... nailed quite a few members of Congress. And this was BEFORE they could blame everything on alcohol and run off to rehab like today's bunch of corrupt grifters and shysters.

So Murtha is seen in the ABSCAM videos being offered the bribe. Does he take the money? Nope! Does he agree to the offer? Nope! He says that he cannot do it... at this time. That's still supposedly enough to get a little investigation, but he's still cleared.

But NOW the same "Swift Boat" factions are claiming that Murtha REALLY is guilty of the whole thing because he said "not at this time"!

Folks, when I'm at the local store and the clerk is looking to sign me up for some privacy-killing "bonus program" or some "free magazine subscription", I don't jump down their throats saying "HELL NO! I WON'T TAKE PART IN YOUR SCAMS!" Guess what I tell them? I tell them "not at this time."

It's called being POLITE! Sure I'm brutally honest, but that doesn't mean I'm that way 24/7 for everything I do! I don't try to burn bridges if I don't have to, especially with people that I have to continue to work with.

I know, I know, politeness is not exactly a conservative and neo-conservative thing, especially in recent years. That's a big part of the reason why they come across as smug and arrogant. But that doesn't mean that the rest of the thinking humans have to abandon politeness either.

And by the way, Swifties, since WHEN did "no" become code for "yes"? Remember that old adage of "no means NO"? Well "not at this time" still means NO! Have you guys been busy hiding corrupt criminals and predators for so long that you forget that little tidbit?

Brutally Honest Rant - 11/15/06

Brutally Honest Audio Rant: Sartre Was Wrong
Audio Transcripts
11/15/06

[Start Program]

(Computer – Introduction)
(Music intro – "American Idiot Remix" – by Green Day and David Matthews 2)

Good evening, and welcome to this week’s Brutally Honest Rant. I’m David Matthews 2, writer of the weekly online column Brutally Honest.

I guess it’s a good thing that the elections are now over with. No more barrages of lies, hysteria, and outright phoniness for another two years. The signs and the negative attack ads have been put away. The people have chosen, either through their vote or through their non-vote, and now the people have to live with their respective decisions until the next election.

With no real issue to dive into right at the moment, I thought I’d get something off my chest for a nice quick rant this week.

I’ll be turning 40 this coming Tuesday. I don’t normally advertise my birthdays, much less talk about milestone birthdays like turning 40. I hate the fact that I’ll be turning another decade older.

It’s one thing to do so with a solid and healthy past to look back on. To reach that milestone and look at yourself and the things that you’ve done and say that you’ve done good so far.

I can’t say those things. I’m turning 40 with regret, not with hope. I’m looking back at the things that I haven’t been able to do… things that I’ve wanted to do… and things that I no longer can do…

And of those almost 40 years, I can say with certainty that Jean-Paul Sartre was WRONG! Hell really isn’t other people!

For those of you who do not know what I’m talking about, the French existentialist playwright Jean-Paul Sartre once penned a classic play called "Closed Door", although you may have heard of it as "No Exit". It’s a play consisting of three main characters and one valet whose only role is to bring the trio into the room one at a time. The three are brought together to be tortured for the crimes that they committed, not knowing until the very end that their respective torturers were in the room the whole time… the real torturers were each other and their own sordid pasts. This leads, of course, to the infamous quote that sums up the entire play: "hell is other people".

But the truth is that hell is only other people when you can’t stand to be with them. When the sins of your own past are laid out bare, stripped of any pretenses and excuses and easily accessible for others to use for their own purposes, it is easy to say that hell is other people because they are using your own weaknesses against you. In truth, though, it is not others that make it hell… but rather hell is of our own creation.

There is a far worse hell than just other people; a fate much more dreaded than anything that other people could invent. That fate is isolation.

Imagine, if you will, the plight of a very visible ghost… one that is seen but not acknowledged. One that can affect the things around them but does not seem to affect others. One that doesn’t scare people, but is instead ignored.

Welcome to my so-called life.

Humans are, by nature, a social creature. Biology requires us to have more than one person in order to keep the species going, and obviously that other person has to be of a different gender. Even if you hate that other-gendered person, you know that if you’re trapped for all eternity in the same area with that person, at some point biology will kick in. The three participants in "No Exit" certainly have plenty of opportunity to demonstrate that much and, at least in their words, they do.

But there are other stories that demonstrate that a far worse fate would be to have those participants sitting in three separate rooms all by themselves, with nobody to talk to but themselves.

We’d like to think that we could find some way of surviving isolation. In the classic Twilight Zone episode "Time Enough At Last", a henpecked bank official is not allowed to escape his dreary existence through books. But then he sneaks a few minutes in the bank vault to read, and after he wakes up from an impromptu nap, he realizes that the world has been blown up. Everyone he ever knew was gone. But he finds the library is still intact… a place full of books. He thinks that he can escape his isolation through reading… which is what he loves to do anyway… only to break his glasses.

In the movie "Cast Away", Tom Hank’s character is surrounded by nothing but other people, and he doesn’t seem to have any time for the things that matter, until he ends up on a plane that goes down in the Pacific. He survives, but eventually that isn’t enough. When he does get back, his life is pretty much over. Everyone that he knew moved on without him. He pretty much has to start things all over again… and by himself, which is what he is now accustomed to anyway.

Isolation is not a pretty sight. Isolation pretty much sucks. That’s why it makes for good punishment. That’s why shunning still works today. Oh you can try to escape it. You can come up with ways to get around it. But it doesn’t work. You’re still reminded that there is a gap between you and the rest of the world. And no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to bridge that gap by yourself.

Did you know that the original architects for today’s correctional facilities had a totally different idea of how to rehabilitate criminals? These were Quakers, very religious people, and they believed that complete isolation with nothing but a bible would reform a criminal. I don’t know about the reform part, but complete isolation is certainly a worse punishment than the current warehousing process.

I can go on and on about this, but you pretty much get the picture.

Now I want you to think about the number of people who are shy, quiet, introverted… keep to themselves… don’t really do too much. Don’t really care too much about them, do you? Why should you? They’re not a part of your life.

We hear about the people who just snap… go crazy… do something completely horrific… and when the police and the media interview the neighbors or coworkers, how are they described? Oh, they’re shy… quiet… keep to themselves…

Are you noticing a pattern here?

Let’s get brutally honest here… isolation is a learned behavior. If you isolate a person long enough, they may become used to it, but that doesn’t mean that they like it. They’ll do things by themselves out of habit, but that doesn’t mean that they WANT to. And being surrounded by people who are able to enjoy life is as torturous for the isolated person as an anorexic surrounded by obese people at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

And you cannot tell them to simply go rejoin the rest of the human race! That’s like telling that anorexic person to simply start eating and everything will be fine. Well the same thing with people who are shy, quiet, and keep to themselves out of habit. They need to be brought in… welcomed in… to get used to the fact that they don’t need to be isolated. And it’s not going to happen overnight either! You can’t just bring a lonely person to a party and expect it to wipe away decades of isolation. And yes, in my case IT IS measured in the decades.

I look back at my almost-40 years, and while the reasons why I have more regrets than achievements are numerous, there is but one common theme in them all: marginalization. Feeling left out. Feeling like I don’t belong there or anywhere. It’s not something that you can get over quickly, easily, or all by yourself in cold turkey fashion.

Being isolated is a learned process. It comes from years and years of being isolated. Bringing that person back into the mix requires pretty much the same amount of time and effort. But if you look at the alternative… it’s a pretty good endeavor.

(Computer – some appropriate audio clips for this kind of rant)
(Fade Music In – "Mythodea" by Vangelis)

In a way, it’s good that I bring this subject up right now. We’re just a few weeks away from the official start of the holiday season. A time for families and friends. A time for togetherness. And for someone like me, it’s nothing more than a constant reminder of that gap between myself and the rest of the world.

So my word of advice as I approach my 40th is this: if during your travels this holiday season you know someone who seems to spend more time apart from others, don’t be afraid to engage in a little conversation with them. Don’t be afraid to ask a lonely coworker to join your little lunch group, or drop off a little holiday note to your next-door neighbor. You don’t have to marry them or adopt them or live with them or even invite them to dinner, but just let them know that they aren’t invisible to you.

Trust me… even something that little can go a long ways.

(Quick pause)

Oh by the way, folks, for those of you on the transcript list or who are reading these out on the Brutally Honest weblog, if there’s something about tonight’s rant that touches a nerve or sounds like someone you know, please feel free to pass it on to your friends. And be sure to let me know as well.

(Pause)

Brutally Honest is a Get Brutal production, all opinions expressed are those of the commentator, and may or may not be shared by the online provider. This is David Matthews 2 saying good night, and I’ll speak with you soon!

(Fade out)
(Computer – Ending/"End of Recording")

[End of program]
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Quick update on Election: Virginia blues

Looks like the party of the braying jackass now has the US Senate as well as the House.

George Allen, the Senator from "Macaca" with the goon squad assault team, lost his job by the narrowest of margins. The "unofficial" count (because it won’t be "certified" for two more weeks) has Allen losing by less than 8000 votes. That gives the Senate seat to Democrat Jim Webb, and it gives the Democrats a 51-49 majority in the US Senate.

The blue state won back the Congress.

Oh, btw, here’s the video if you don’t know what I’m talking about.

Here’s Allen making the "Macaca" statement. He claims he didn’t even know what the word was, that he just made it up. Turns out, though, he knew quite well what it meant, and it was "made-up" LONG before he was even born.

And here’s the goon squad in action. The victim of the attack was a blogger whose only action was to approach the Senator with a simple question.

My take on the matter is this… the goon squad assault was a criminal act. That goon thug needs to go to jail. For that reason alone I was hoping that Allen would lose the election. He DESERVED to lose that election if he has goons on his payroll.

This is not Iraq! This is not pre-9/11 Taliban-run Afghanistan! This is AMERICA! That constituent had every right to approach his elected representative and ask that person a question, and ANY politician that doesn’t get that NEEDS to be removed from office! PERIOD!

Meanwhile, of course, this was pretty much the icing on the cake for Democrats. Not only do they get their hold of Congress back, but they do it in spite all of the nastiness and vindictive attitudes being thrown about by conservatives.