History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and its issuance.-- President James Madison

Money changers? Oh, I get it. In modern day terms they would be called Republicans and Big Business.

What did I say about all of the anti-war Bush bashers? Let 'em continue to spout off and give 'em enough rope to eventually hang themselves with. This is fun. A list of the folks that vehemently objected to a 'war for oil.' And there's no evidence of weapons of mass destruction? Really? Give 'em a little bit more rope. But what about David Kay's report? Come on, man. Bush is lying. Think about it. The hordes of venom spewing foreign policy experts and intelligence agency moles in Hollywood can't all be wrong. Who ya' gonna trust? President Bush, or President Sheen?

The Times Leader' David Iseman can defend the SAYSO column all he wants. If you want to read some quality anonymous calls, check out the Atlanta Journal-Constitution' "Vent" column. Almost daily, a pearl appears on those pages. Here's today's big winner:

If "illegal aliens" are "undocumented workers," then the 9/11 hijackers were "undocumented pilots."

Repeat after me: BANG!

From Iseman's column today:

Critics say the call-in line is dangerous, dastardly, damaging-a forum for cowards.

RIGHT! It is in most cases. I usually pay zero attention to calls about national or international issues, because most of them simply parrot what some nightly news anchor had to say. I focus on the calls concerning local issues. Not that very many of them offer anything useful, or constructive. The vast majority of those comments amount to little more than accusations or criticism and they tend to be mostly devoid of any factual base. And let's be honest. What's the point of printing some of the pussy-whipped comments in the first place? I see where the new Mayor is... (insert unsubstantiated charge).

Iseman claims in his column that Many callers raise good questions. And they vote. I don't know about the accuracy of that claim. How about a few of the callers raise good questions? And they vote? The great majority of the SAYSO callers don't sound intelligent enough to operate a two slice toaster without calling the manufacturer's 1-800 hotline, let alone one of our fossilized voting machines. I'm convinced that the reason that the SAYSO calls so completely rankle the feathers of our politicos is because the calls are anonymous. If ya' don't have what it takes to fill a jock strap, why should anyone bother to respond to your comments at all?

About 18 months ago, I received an e-mail from a city businessman and he basically ripped me three new poop shutes for daring to criticize one of his properties and one of his proposed projects. He ended that ass-ripping session by telling me that if I had so much to say I shouldn't be clinging to my anonymity. I'm assuming that someone else read my comments about him, steered him towards this site, and then he read that post and little else. I answered his e-mail and informed him that my name appears on the site, my picture, my kids pictures, etc., etc., etc. It seems that he must've taken a closer look at the site and with his next e-mail he invited me to lunch to discuss his properties and proposed project. At that time, due to work committments, the lunch date was next to impossible to schedule.

You get the point. When he thought I was just another anonymous cretin taking shots at him, he took my comments as fighting words. But when he learned that I had enough balls to attach my name to my comments, he was more than willing to respond to my comments even though he certainly didn't need to. To suggest that the folks being anonymously attacked should lighten up, respond to their cloaked attackers, and encourage further anonymous attacks is ridiculous at best. I've asked the folks using our forum to include their names and e-mail addresses when they post any comments. Some do. Some don't. Basically, we've separated the men from the 'anonymous' boys. The Times Leader should try doing the same.

I've f**king heard it all now. Garbage men are now known as "sanitation engineers" to those of us that don't realize how utterly silly they sound. Mailmen have become "mail carriers" which doesn't get my mail delivered any earlier. Janitors have mutated to the point where they have become "custodians" or "property managers." Normal, hard-working people are now evil "homophobes" and anyone with an opinion about anything, or anyone is "hateful," or "racist." Christians have been annoited as "extreme right-wingers." Stewardesses are "flight attendants" and anyone too lazy to earn a living are called "victims." Waitresses are "servers." The stock room is now the "commissary." And this just in: Dishwashers will now be known as "hydro-ceramic technicians." It's a wonder at all that anybody knows which freakin' end is up anymore.

And then there's this from Boortz.com:

In a press release this morning, Georgia School Superintendent Kathy Cox has announced that henceforth the word "sex" will no longer appear in any teaching materials in Georgia schools.

Cox says: "From now on the word "gender" will replace the word "sex" in identifying people as either male or female. In instances where the word "sex" is used to describe actual dirty, un-Godly fornication, the phrase "cooperative activities designed to insure the continuation of the human species" shall be used instead of that other ugly and controversial word."

Just swell.

Yeah! That'll work. Try that on one of those girls that are just starting to look good as the bartender announces last call. Hey Sugar Buns. Why don't we head back to my loft and engage in some cooperative activities designed to insure the continuation of the human species.

What do all politicians avoid like the Lewinsky plague? Tax increases, increased fees for services, and layoffs will just about cover it, heyna? When a local politico proposes all three of those as part of his city's new budget it provides a glimpse as to the severity of that city's bleak financial situation. It also suggests that that politico is willing to risk making unpopular decisions for the eventual betterment of all involved. He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. But if he doesn't, the city might just be damned for a couple of decades.

I haven't heard all of the details Mayor Leighton just announced. I saw the Voice story this morning and WILK just did a quick soundbite without offering any more detail than the Voice story did. All I know is, he did what needed to be done. The city badly needs revenue and in less than a month he has explored just about every funding option available to us. If we're looking forward to patched pot holes, new light standards, improved special events, and not reducing the city's work force-it's gonna cost money and the city is not authorized as of yet to print it's own. He's sure to hear plenty of criticism, but much of it will be undeserved.

Despite being the internet nutball, I behaved myself this week. I knew many of these details five days ago, but declined to pass them along. I figured that rather than get any of it wrong when people's jobs and people's incomes are involved, I'd just stifle myself until the official story came down. The one thing that stuck out in my mind was the increase in the price of our blue garbage bags. I thought to myself: "That ought to get the masses stirred up." In a city that has been systematically trained to obsess over something as mundane as curbside pick-ups, the blue bags have become to some more important than a vibrant downtown, increased policing, or even pride in one's city. Don't mess with our blue bags, boy! $7.25???

Services cost money, folks, and somebody inherited this financial mess. Give him some credit for doing what needs to be done, despite the obvious political pitfalls he's subjecting himself to. The adults have assumed control.

Finally. It only took 10 months, but we got Taylor Kate is sit still long enough to take a decent picture.

What does your father do?

Little David was in his 5th grade class when the teacher asked the children what their fathers did for a living. All the typical answers came up fireman, salesman, etc...

David was being uncharacteristically quiet and so the teacher asked him about his father. "My father's an exotic dancer in a gay cabaret and takes off all his clothes in front of other men. Sometimes, if the offer's really good, he'll go out to the alley with some guy and make love with him for money."

The teacher, obviously shaken by his statement, hurriedly set the children to work on some coloring, and took Little David aside to ask him, "Is that really true about your father?"

"No," said David, "He plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, but I was too embarrassed to say that in front of the other kids."

There's a big-assed fire going down at the Allegheney Building on S. Main Street right now. Three alarms, I believe. More overtime spent. Services cost money.

Talk to ya'