Politics suck, this should help!

willis is pretty much disgusted with everything political so I'm counting on the joy of the season to help my mood.....who better than muppets to bring cheer to anyone. Let me be the first to wish anyone that passes this way, Have a Very Merry One!

Invite Glenn Beck for Dinner? This would be the same and easier to stomach.

Shamelessly ripped off from The Chive.

Contradictions...

Obama's Nobel peace award may be a bit of a contradiction. Particularly right after announcing plans to add 30000 troops to the war in Afghanistan. Obama himself was very humble about the event although it gave those on the right some crap to feed on. My opinion is that while this may be a contradiction of sorts, it's not as bad as Bush (42) having a fuckin library.

Huckabee On The Daily Show Tonight

It'll be interesting to see what if anything, is said about Huckabee's commuting a 108 year sentence on Maurice Clemmons. Clemmons killed four police officers in Washington on 11/29 and was himself killed by police several days later. Huckabee caught a fair degree of grief from both the left and right for his actions while he was governor of Arkansas and has stood his ground.

I don't have much use for Huckabee. To me he is one example of what's wrong on the political right. I say "one example" as each of the republican nominees for the presidential election in 2008 brought their own slice of batshit crazy to the table (McCain = war is good, Rudy = everything is 9/11, Fred = senility, Tancredo = wholly crap!, etc). That and since then Bible-Huck got his own show on Fox to continue to show us why we should be thankful he didn't get close to being elected. That said, I'm backing Huckabee (just this once, dammit) sticking with his decision on Clemmons (one might say there's little else he can do and one would probably be right). However, living here in the Republic of East Texas and watching our Governor Perry repeatedly refuse to move on the death penalty against the recommendations of parole boards and others for several Texas inmates makes Huckabees's actions laudable by comparison....just sayin. It shows an unexpected degree of open-mindedness from a member of a crowd that views everything in black and white.

News.....

Apparent non-celebrities crash White House party, Tiger Woods wrecked his car, Oprah is gonna quit while Lou Dobbs did and Micheal Jackson is still dead. On less important matters, we are gonna send about 30000 (the population of Dorchester County, Maryland) more troops over to Afghanistan.........the most awesome war ever!

Palin, An Alternate Read

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Going Rouge! Looks like this has been out there for a few weeks but it's the first I saw it and certainly worthy of a willis post! Its full of contributions by writers like Jim Hightower, Juan Cole, Joe Conason, Chrstopher Hayes, etc. and can be purchased at the publishers ("Or Books") website. There is also an activity/coloring book out there by the same title. Either of these books I'll guess would be more entertaining and probably more honest than the book Palin quit her governor position to write for us.

Animation of US Airways Ditching

Additional related animations at the link. Presents a "real time" exchange of information with the visual of what's transpiring at the same time. Old news I know, but this enhanced version of the animation was just released......that and I think it's really cool!

A Fair Sunday

Live recoding of Bonnie Raitt doing "Too Long At The Fair". That's "Freebo" on bass behind her in the beginning of the song. Haunting melody that has stuck with me since I first heard it played by a solo guitarist at a coffee shop in Denver. Hard to find tunes in those days without Internet abilities. Bonnie did it in `72 on her "Give It Up" album which I believe is the only time it was recorded. I doubt anyone could have done it better.

Today is Bonnie Raitt's 60th birthday.

Death by "Numbers"

This is Khristian Oliver. He was executed last night in Texas at 32 years old. He committed a horrible crime when he was 20 when he shot and beat to death a man whose house he was burglarizing. The victim was shot 5 times and bludgeoned so badly he was unrecognizable. I'm not going to get into how I feel about the death penalty as we could be hear all night and you don't deserve that. The reason I bring up Mr Oliver is that his sentencing was determined by jurors who relied on bible passages to support their determination for execution. Specifically some sections of the Book of Numbers; "the murderer shall surely be put to death" and "the revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer". Mr Oliver was a bad guy and maybe deserved what he got, I don't know. But I wonder if the jury happened to be all Muslim and used the Koran to arrive at their decision, how it would fly for Mr Oliver or anyone.

Doubt We've Seen the Last of Her

Carrie Prejean and the Miss California USA organizers have apparently settled their legal battle with each other. They were suing her for not showing up and she was suing them for religious discrimination so she can say "god" as much as she wants. The settlement is confidential of course however, the folks over at TMZ.com say she "folded like a cheap suit" during settlement negotiations when confronted with a solo sex tape. "We're told it took about 15 seconds for Carrie to reduce her demand for more than one million dollars to.....just validate my parking please."

So lets see..... fake boobs, hates gays, loves god and porn, zero contribution to society (except for maybe the porn, I'll have to see it first), and rivals "Joe the Plumber" for milking her notoriety for every thing it'll get her....yep, she's a republican. She'll be writing a book, running for office, or providing insightful analysis on Fox any day now.

Washing Machines to be as Safe as Airliners?

Electrolux announced Friday that it is going to close down its production facilities in Iowa and move the operation to Mexico. It represents about 850 workers in two small towns (Webster City and Jefferson). While moving jobs from Americans that bother companies with stuff like healthcare, vacations, living wages, sick pay, maternity leaves, etc. to locations that don't have to screw around with these distractions is nothing new, it deserves to be mentioned when ever it happens. On a side note, my brother tipped me off to the following NPR radio article that seems to match well with the Electrolux story.

Something A Little Different

Nice A Capella medley of Michael Jackson's stuff I ran across. I've always liked his music all the way from "1-2-3" days to his new stuff. Yep, he was a little strange but that's not what this post is about.




Speaking of MJ. Do ya think he invented the "moonwalk". I did, but it ain't so......

Geesh willis, almost a month without a post and this is all ya got!?! .....Yep!

An Award, Really, An Award for willis!

.....From my good blogging friend Annette. What can I say, the lady obviously knows scrap when she sees it. She has a wonderful blog, is a very talented writer, posts frequently and if she isn't one of your "favorites", she should be. I'm flattered by this award and her recognition of me and this little blog. The first thing I did was go to the other sites awarded by Annette and I'm also more than a little flattered to be named amongst them! Great blogs all (no surprise from Annette's "Just My Little Piece Of The World") and I'm ashamed to admit 5 out 6 were not on my blog roll...but they are now! Being lazy and an infrequent poster it took me a while to get to this post accepting this fine award. It is a pretty high honor for willis and I don't take it lightly!

Honest Scrap Award Rules (yep, there are some!):

1. You must brag about the award.

2. You must include the name of the blogger who gave you the award and link back to that blogger.

3. You must choose a minimum of seven blogs that you find brilliant in content or design (not sure how I fell through the cracks on this one!)

4. Show their names and links and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with this award.

5. List at least ten honest things about yourself.

.........then pass it on with the instructions!

I'll claim 1 & 2 done with the first paragraph of this post and will now list seven blogs to pass the award to. Difficult to do for several reasons. I have a set of blogs I visit pretty regularly and I link to their blogrolls as well as items in their post that expose me to more blogs than I can remember or stuff into one bag called "favorites"...so I don't. But from this I know there are good blogs out there far beyond the ones I know and to pull seven blogs out of my hat for recognition (willis' "recognition".....yea, well I'll get to that in a minute) is difficult. If you want to know which blogs I think deserve any award from me, just look at my blog roll and whom I follow! These certainly aren't in any order of preference as each of these blogs are unique and terrific in their own right (willis' clever disclaimer). Okay, an award from willis.....one might say who cares and that's okay and probably appropriate. None of these blogs need any recognition from me to be the great sites they are. This is really only the "willis edition" of this award and If I could add a rule to those listed above, I would say that none should feel obligated to do anything and willis is down with that.....word up!

First is "Field" at The Field Negro. Field's blog holds a bunch of blog awards and for good reason. He stirs it up just fine on issues of life, sports, politics and people in general and he does it with honesty, wit, humor and just plain talented writing ability. I really can't say enough about this blog, there's is just so much there you have to look and its very worthwhile. The Field Negro is a very powerful blog with frequent well researched post and has always been one of my favorite stops.

Second is Bill at Tome Of The Unknown Writer. I linked to the Tome Of The Unknown Writer from one of the other sites I frequent and once there, I never left. Bill can write, and like any of the other sites I'm "honoring" here, he could be paid columnist at any venue. Bill is different in that he should be. Bill does some wonderful stuff on his blog and is definitely worth the read.

Third is Madam Miaow at Madam Miaow Says... Madam Miaow hails from across the pond and keeps my love of all things English (Fawlty Towers, the irreverent decorum of the House of Commons, The Beatles, Eddie Izzard, etc) intact. She post with a beautiful blend of wisdom, wit, humor and honesty that you will enjoy immensely. She's bloody awesome!

Fourth is Doug at When Will I Use This?. Doug is a math teacher dealing with adolescents which should carry an award all by itself. I know he's not in it for the money. "mathman6293" (Doug's handle) writes about education, family, history, politics,the sciences and baseball. He's honest above all, the man pulls no punches and I love his post and displays of dry humor that show up in his and his lovely wife's blog. I have yet to be able to answer the question his blog title ask but a new question with every post works for me!

Fifth is Rachel at Art Of The Possible.....now with cupcakes! Rachel writes about her life experiences, her Mary Kay goodies, politics and feminist issues. She does it very well and is a joy to read. She always seem to provide me with a new perspective on something I thought I knew everything about.

Sixth is Tengrain's blog Mock Paper Scissors. Shouldn't be much intro required here. Tengrain along with several others are part of the reason I started blogging. Yes, you have him to partially blame for Old & N The Way. Tengrain is a master of "snark" and a true artist of display on a webpage. And lest I forget, he can write as well. One of the masters!

Seventh is John Coby at Bay Area Houston. There is so much stupidity down here in The Republic of East Texas that "Bay Area" never lacks for material. If ya think Texas politicians are only about the national stage, visit here for all the insanity on a local level. If you can't find it here, you can find a link to it. Every state should have a site like this one!

Ten honest things about willis.......you are allowed to go to any of the above sites at this time as I'm about to bore the pants off you ( me, I'd rather go with you but I have to do this instead):

1. I was in the Navy between `68-72 and I enlisted to keep from hiking around in rice paddies in Viet Nam. Another wonderful war that solved nothing.

2. I was stationed on a troop carrier ship (USS Duluth) and the first place I went after enlistment was Viet Nam. I spent all 4 years on this ship and while Navy duty did keep me away from rice paddies we did get some mortar rounds lobbed at us from the beach occasionally.

3. I taught myself to play guitar, bass and keyboard while on the Duluth generally out of boredom. The option was playing cards. While on the ship, I and others formed a band that played on the ships flight deck for the crew from time to time and when visiting ports in various countries we would "sit in" and play. As a result, I've played clubs in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, The Philippines, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. That was a blast!

4. I call this lovely lady my "first wife" and you may see her comments here from time to time but know that she is my first and only as well. She's a character and keeps willis honest about himself which has always been a problem for some reason!

5. I have one child; a wonderful, beautiful daughter who is an adult now and still lives with the first wife and I....and we love it. She's is just a beautiful person regardless how much I did to screw her up!

6. We have one dog and a parrot for pets although we had three cats, two birds, and a dog at one time. The current pooch is "Buddy", a black russian terrier which translates to about 150 pounds of black fuzzy dog. The Parrot is "Tiffin" (named for Merlin's owl.... she is so wise!?) and she's a goffin cockatoo. I used to think it was a male bird as it always humped the mirror (mine's mounted very high for a reason it seems....who knew?) but the color of the eye iris is the determinate.....they can live 65 years!

7. I current play bass guitar in three music groups. Two church venues and a regular band.

8. I have mostly republican friends. It is east Texas ya know. Over all I find them very good folks and otherwise very intelligent people. I'm not sure what happened along the way but I know I can't correct it by arguing with them and they are sure aren't gonna change me! I don't hide my opinions and I let them think of me what they will.

9. I drive a 2007 VolksWagon GTI. It can handle anything I need to play a gig or golf!

10. I've thought some about giving this blogging thing up. It turned out to be more effort than I thought although I do enjoy it! This award is an inspiration and I feel I do have some people to offend yet so I'm in!

My apologies to each of these folks I've blessed!

willis

Crackin That "Acorn" Nut.

I'm completely on board shutting down "Acorn's" public funding for the actions of some of their employees. This should mean that "Blackwater" (Xe, as it is now called) will finally be on the ropes for federal dollars as well for the actions of some of their employees getting a little out of hand by killing 17 civilians in Iraq. If nothing else, "Acorn" should at least be forced to change its name.

Willis Has $.02 and He's Blowing it Here...

Kinda looks like my checkbook.... This whole thing about Joe Wilson (R, Scumbag) being dragged through the streets to apologize before Congress pisses me off. I know, the guy is a miserable right wing tool and he's proved he's dumber than a warm box of sand by the content of his comment during Obama's speech more so than its timing, but that's not the point. He apologized (half-assed, under duress, etc.) to Obama, the President accepted it and now it's over. For Congress to waste time on a display of indignation for an idiot's fuck up by a body whose members are famous for fuckin up accomplishes nothing...NOTHING! People need health care, wars to end, jobs, etc. .........Get after it dammit!

Town Hall Meetings

Rick Casey (columnist for the Houston Chronicle) wrote a piece today titled "How to Hold a Civil Town Hall Meeting" that I had to read at least three times to appreciate. I hope you'll look at least once. What I find telling is that in congressional districts that are staunch anti-Obama on any level and have a republican representative (redundant in Montgomery County, Texas but I hold hope for all others), the representatives need to put forth no effort to hold a town hall meeting. Just show up (late, drunk, hungover, in golf attire from an outing with the Pharm-guys,......it doesn't matter) and parrot Limbaugh lines. Otherwise, you have to work at it and this is how you do it.

Something About This Idiot....

Makes me miss the quiet, reasoned, intelligence of Katherine Harris.

Here's a tune that may explain it, but I could be wrong....

The Montgomery County Texas Watch!

There's a new blog started here in the Republic of East Texas and from what I've read, It's a very good one. I've welcomed it to my blog roll, give it a look!

Considering SCOTUS Nominee? 1st Consideration, The Very 1st Thing to Weigh is Protect the Guns!

Of our two Texas senators, Kay sucks slightly less than the other one. However, the other one being John Cornyn doesn't leave much for Kay as Big John pegs out the suck-o-meter on the vacuum side of zero. Trying to push the envelope for worse, Kay vows to vote against the confirmation of Judge Sotomayer due to Kay's perception of how the judge will handle gun ownership rulings should one come up.

Sixteen years ago, Hutchinson took the stand that she "would only vote against a Supreme Court nominee if there was a question of character, if the person was unfit for office, or unqualified for office". Sorry, gotta ditch that stand now, gun ownership is at risk!

For the record, willis doesn't own a gun but I'm not against the rights others to do so. The 2nd Amendment isn't at issue here. My problem is that one of my senator's is about to vote against a SCOTUS nominee over one issue for a perceived notion. My opinion of Kay's vote is that she is throwing up a 2nd amendment scare to pander to the flock of idiots that keep voting for her so she won't have to own up to the real reason which she can't support, i.e.; Sotomayor is too liberal.

Miserable hack!

Update: I guess George Sodini's 2nd amendment rights trumps the right to life for the three people he murdered. Heidi Obermier (46), Elizabeth Gannon (49), and Jody Billingsley (39), their families and friends, and the rest of us lose. Look, I don't know if this guy broke any laws to get his weapons but at the very least he was legal as hell but a lunatic and the NRA fundamentalist will fight ANY additional controls on gun ownership anywhere which makes them stupid, in my opinion, if not compliant when events like this occur. They own a piece of this, you judge the size but any is too much. Nice to see Kay use guns as her reason to take a stand....idiot.

Hannity's Hate Show is Coming to Houston!

Yep, this Saturday, August 1st Sean himself will open the floodgates to shower hate and discontent among thousands that I'm sure will make it to The Woodlands Pavilion. Texas is still reeling from the election of a black president and the local purveyors of hate and stupidity must need the reinforcements. I wonder how many people of the non-Caucasian persuasion or those afflicted with "teh gay" will be there?

"Africa", Humpday Music

Something we could use a little of here in Texas. Never thought I'd say that from the Houston Metro area. The folks out west of us are even worse off as their drought is labeled "extreme" by the NWS. Anyway, this is great tune. This is Toto recorded line in Amsterdam in 2003 in support of their album "Through the Looking Glass". I think this was their last album and tour together. "Africa" was a number 1 hit back in `82/83. These are the same guys except the drummer, Jeff Porcaro who died at 38 in 1992 due to an allergic reaction to some pesticides he was using at home. Simon Phillips took his place as they were fans of each other as drummers.

Govenor Race Where Nobody Wins

Sea hag, former prom date of Karl Rove, and part time Senator for us poor slobs in Texas, Kay Bailey Hutchinson (She's the one on the left, next to the ethically void, feckless flaming pustule) announces she'll resign her senate seat this fall to run for Texas Governor. She vows to stay in the senate until this fall so she can fuck up any one's chance of getting decent health care unless you're rich enough to deserve it. Her main adversary in the gubernatorial (where the hell did that term come from anyway?) race is secessionist and current "goberist", Rick Perry.

I only hope that Perry will be able to find another reptile to replace her that will continue maintaining Texas' trend of being just about last in anything except importing cheap labor from Mexico. At least Oklahoma still likes us. Mark my words here, you haven't seen the last of Kay on the national stage....be very afraid.

Rain, Too Cool

I'm Gonna Miss Her

Bah Bye, Ya useless twit. As much as I'd like to see you disappear, I hope you remain a mainstay in the republican plans for years to come. Stupidity like yours, when coupled with the hair brained logic that allowed you to think you were wonderful without having any facts to support you is more rare than the recent solar eclipse (Newt Gingrinch, not withstanding). The beauty of your irrationality will stand the test of time.....not really, but who cares.

I Got Your "End Pin" Right Here!

Willis has a new project. Beyond my current endeavours of solving my unemployment, C-Span, Maury, employment websites, learning church and secular music, maintaining a daytime neighborhood watch (I'm on it if anyone breaks into her house), golf, etc. and I still find time for the arts. Yes, willis acquired a cello. Pronounced "chello" (not "sello", dammit...I figured it out the hard way...don't ask, he's a liar if you already heard about it).

I figured since I've already excelled beyond belief on bass, I can't get into much trouble with another 4 stringed instrument. This is the way willis thinks and years of therapy after parole have confirmed it, so here I am, and you could too!

The 1st pic is my bass next to the cello (that's me in the background with the fedora..kinda pale). The second shot are those from a cello instruction site that I found for you folks....willis doesn't need no stinkin' instructions after all its just a fuckin bass without frets, rotated 90 degrees, tuned completely different that you play with a bow........what could be easier?!

I'll let you know how well the sello floats, burns or plays.

Republican Roy Blunt on Health Care, Idiot!

Annette has a great post up on Republican Roy Blunt's history, his valued contributions for the bettering of society and his efforts toward health care. She has a wonderful blog (much better than the one you're reading) and nails this one......go read!

Lovely Display of Wingnut Hate over at Tengrain's

Egads!

Fighting The Good Fight, Awesome!

Continuing the fight to control who is allowed to marry, the city of Ft Myers florida voted to fire their city manager because his wife is in the adult entertainment industry. Guess he should have just lived with her instead of degrading everyone elses marraige by tying the knot. "Don't ask, don't tell" aparently needs to be expanded to civilians and their spouses incase someone is working at something that isn't "acceptable". So much for my thriving dildo business (I was just about to go "green" with a solar powered unit too)!

willis, On Stage

I've always loved how my blog-friend Lisa (whom I've never met but totally adore) does personal pictures on her blog (I just like her blog, period). With that inspiration, I'll add some of my own pics here (taken by my "first wife"(and recent follower), and lovely daughter). I play bass guitar in three different groups. These shots are from one of these groups when we played at a local community 4th of July fest just before the fireworks this year. This group is a pops/jazz ensemble that gigs about once a month in local establishments (that don't have "drive thrus" or do massages), private parties and anywhere else that pays us (particularly if they have "drive thrus" or do massages)! We do some pretty diverse stuff from the likes of Van Morrison, Sinatra, Queen, Billy Holiday, Bacharach, etc...all the way from the 30's to recent (currently working on waltzes on accordion and polkas but ya gotta build first donchakno). The band includes Me, guitar, drums, trumpet, sax, percussionist, keyboards, and two vocalist. I love to play live which is why I'm involved in three groups...it is addicting. I'll likely never have pics of the other two as they are church venues....we'll see. I don't have (and didn't ask for) the permission of the other players in this gig and feel like I should before I post their pictures so all ya get is "willis". What, willis ain't enough for ya!? Who else do ya know that has his own tower?

Anyway, this post is not near as prolific as Lisa's in either prose or photos, but it's a start. How about that shirt, eh? Somewhere there's a house without a shower curtain!

Cardinals

A friend of mine has a nest of cardinals right outside his bedroom window which provided a very cool opportunity to watch Mom feed her single hatchling. The little bastard is still hungry after having that fat worm shoved down its throat! Cardinals mate for life and have two broods per year. Dad must be out with the boys...

Palin's Out!?

Came back from band rehearsal tonight and saw that Sarah has resigned her Governorship...OMG! I mean my first thought was who the hell is gonna watch Russia now? Once my panic subsided (and after a few adult beverages) I had time to actually think this thing through (willis needs time to react and recover from such traumatic events). While Sarah being on watch in Alaska was good, it never occurred to me that the people she is watching can see us (well, her anyway) as well (sneaky bastards). I'm sure the trade off for this arrangement was acceptable to our intel folks (the same ones that think bombing Pakistani civilians has to net at least a few Taliban types) but losing Sarahs looky-looky would change everything. We are having a tough time here in Texas trying to cram a border fence down the throats of some property owners on our border with Mexico so I suggest that the Texas fence be donated to be used on the Alaska border to fix this mess...problem solved.

Seems I have to think of everything.

Senator Cornyn's Battle Against Franken

Big Bad John setting the stage on December 31st, 2008:

“Minnesotans will not accept a recount in which some votes are counted twice, and I expect the Senate would have a problem seating a candidate who has not duly won an election.”

Johnny's getting upset on January 5th, 2009:

“There are a lot of questions about double-counted ballots, about absentee ballots that likely favor Norm Coleman that were refused to be counted by the canvassing board,Cornyn said. I do not think Al Franken will have a legal right to claim that Senate seat until all the votes are properly counted.”

From the same post, John wants to show his concern for the voters. Touching, I know:

“It is a matter of equal justice,” he added. “Everybody's vote ought to count equally. None should be discounted in favor of others.”

Cornyn takes a stance on March 30th, 2009:

"Texas Sen. John Cornyn is threatening “World War III” if Democrats try to seat Al Franken in the Senate before Norm Coleman can pursue his case through the federal courts. Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, acknowledges that a federal challenge to November’s elections could take “years” to resolve. But he’s adamant that Coleman deserves that chance — even if it means Minnesota is short a senator for the duration."

Jump ahead to now..........The Minnesota Senate Race Is Over -- Coleman Has Conceded Defeat To Franken.

I really want to maintain the spirit of fair play and all but now that WWIII has been avoided I do feel the ability to release a little. You know, it being a "WW" and all, nothing like Iraq. So to Our Senator Cornyn, I offer the following:

HEY JOHNNY, SUCK ON IT!!

How'd She Get Out?

I thought we had all the most severely afflicted batshit crazy people gathered in Texas. Seems one of them may have oozed accross the border into Oklahoma. Either that or they have their own supply. From DU.

Insured or Not, it's a Crap Shoot.

This is just about as good an explanation as I've seen about why we need health care reform and why the government needs to be involved. I know at least one family where bankruptcy was the only alternative after a serious illness while they were "covered" under an employers health plan. I had a bout with melanoma late last year where a large patch of skin was removed from my arm along with some lymph nodes in my shoulder. The cost deductible had to be met for each discipline of the medical procedure instead of what one (a non medical type person like myself) would expect. The bottom line was thousands out of pocket.

Almost everyone I know is one major medical event from being bankrupted regardless of their "coverage". This is not a good system.

More hate from the local folks

Continuing with my obsession ( stole the idea from "first draft", a much better blog than this one) with the local pitchfork crowd here in the republic of SE Texas. The following article appeared in the local paper today and even something as benign as this drags this bunch out from under their rocks to spew intolerance and hate. My comments in bold type.

Live music, community part of Juneteenth
By Lucretia Cardenas
Updated: 06.09.09
Bring a lawn chair and an empty stomach next week to spend the afternoon enjoying what’s expected to be the largest Juneteenth celebration hosted in downtown Conroe.“A Dream Achieved” will be from 1-9 p.m. on June 19 at Heritage Place Park, located at 500 Collins St., to celebrate anniversary of the day in 1865 when slaves in Texas learned they had been freed, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect.

Article comtinues at site..... Now for the fun stuff. The following are the comments attached to the news article:

Bass1511 wrote on Jun 10, 2009 7:51 AM:
" Another ridiculous holiday that would be racist but for the race that is celebrating it. "

smokinjoe wrote on Jun 10, 2009 8:36 AM:
" Bass1511Well said. "

perse wrote on Jun 10, 2009 8:56 AM:
" On the other hand, if you stopped trying to be such bigots about other races and cultures, you could join in an absolute multitude of ethnic and religious holidays and festivals around here and begin to celebrate the diversity that actually makes this such a terrific place to live -- well, except for a few too many redneck throwbacks still trying to live in the general ignorance of the 18th and 19th centuries.You shouldn't have to be Black to celebrate the joy of Juneteenth in Texas when our neighbors actually became our neighbors instead of our livestock. Nor should you have to be Hispanic to appreciate the overwhelming victory celebrated in the state as Cinco de Mayo. How about March 2 -- the holiday we all should celebrate but no longer do because too many of us like you two no longer recall our own cultural history and apparently feel threatened by those who do? "

Bass1511 wrote on Jun 10, 2009 9:16 AM:
" perse, I am not a bigot - I am an American who is tired of Black College Funds, Black History Month, Black only Unions, Juneteenth, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Museums of Black History...I could go ON AND ON, but you get the gist of it - now when it becomes okay to have White College Funds, White History Month, White only unions, Museums of White History, etc. etc. etc., without hearing the screams of RACISM, come on back and talk to me. Seems to me that EVERY race except the WHITE race has their "multitude of ethnic and religious holidays and festivals" - and THOSE, my little friend, are the bigots. The white race continues to stumble around trying to be politically correct to keep from hurting your little feelings. "


woodlands64 wrote on Jun 10, 2009 10:12 AM:
" perse, what an opportunist "

pprwrtr wrote on Jun 10, 2009 10:24 AM:
" We celebrate and even re-enact the Civil War in Texas. The Civil War is a low point in our history, no matter what side you were on. It devastated the country (deaths and destruction), but it was worth is to free the slaves, if that's what it took! We celebrate a lot of ethnic and racial cultures during the year and this is another way for people to get together and celebrate. The African-American (Negro) race is one of the many races and ethnic groups that came to America (mostly against their wills). We all came from some other country (except the American Indian--and we took care of that when we got here!) and we all have our celebrations. Some of the bigoted rednecks (who never consider themselves bigots), who don't want any diversity in America, try to hold down certain groups (different ones at different times, whoever is most unpopular with them at the time). The attitude is that if they "allow" others to have less rights, they will have more--but greed/denial of rights for some Americans never really accomplishes anything. Another example of this ignorance of cultures is 9/11, which took cultural and redneck ignorance to a new high--a few Muslim extremists committed crimes and some were so ignorant that they couldn't or wouldn't understand the difference between the thousands of good Muslims everywhere and the few criminals! This also brought cultural ignorance to a new high and is very hard on Muslims in America. The majority of Americans just have to accept the unwillingness of a few to keep up with modern civilization. We are all Americans now and have to live together, even if some don't like it. "

Bass1511 wrote on Jun 10, 2009 10:41 AM:
" Per pprwrtr, "The attitude is that if they "allow" others to have less rights, they will have more". I agree 100%, but probably not for the way you meant it. By the way "negro" is now politically incorrect - shame on you for saying the "n" word. I'm surprised they haven't changed the name of the NAACP - after all, saying someone is "colored" is also a no no. Boo hoo hoo. I agree wholly, unconditionally, and 100% in equal rights - so when do we all start being equal? When ANY race can decide to have its own holiday, its own Miss America pagent, its own history month, its own civil liberty unions, its own civil rights activists, its own award for someone who has accomplished something special each year, its own police/fireman's union, its own heritage societies, its own holiday, its own Association for the Study of [Afro-American Life and History], its own [Black] Caucus of the American Library Association, its own National Association of [Black] Journalists its own National [Black] Bar Association, its own National Conference of [Black] Mayors, its own National Council of [Negro] Women, its own National [Minority], its own National Society of [Black] Engineers, its own National Urban League - do I need to go on for you?* Rainbow/PUSH Coalitionfor then I will certain agree that we have finally reached that point. "

pprwrtr wrote on Jun 10, 2009 11:09 AM:
" Bass1511--We (white people/Causasians) still segregate ourselves all the time socially and even a lot of work places. Why can't the blacks/Negro race do that? There are three races on earth--Caucasian, Negro, and Oriental. This is fact and is not degrading, etc. to call a race the official name, nor would I have done that. I do not agree that Caucasians have more rights than Negroes. I think it is starting to become more equal and I think we have a long way to go. The only way to be kind and live together is to have equality. When people form groups, it is usually to have camaraderie among them--usually a social group. A Negro college encourages youth, who are still white/shy to get an education. All history is white history until recently. Associations for studying black history are to learn black history, which isn't taught in public schools. The winners write history the way they want it. I could go on about these awful organizations, but you get the point. Some people object to equality--period--and get upset if any group that hasn't had it before is obtaining it. I hope you aren't prejudice and bigoted, but sometimes when you don't know people, it sounds like it. If you have ever personally known middle class black people and have enjoyed or admired them, it changes all your outdated beliefs you have been brought up with. "

smokinjoe wrote on Jun 10, 2009 11:42 AM:
" You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King Day. You have Black History Month. You have Cesar Chavez Day. You have Yom Hashoah.You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi. You have the NAACP. You have BET... If we had WET (White Entertainment Television), we'd be racists. If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists. If we had White History Month, we'd be racists. If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance' OUR lives, we'd be racists. We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce , and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce. Wonder who pays for that??A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any color can be in the Miss America pageant.If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships... You know we'd be racists.There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US . Yet if there were 'White colleges', that would be a racist college.In the Million Man March, y ou believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.Why is it that only whites can be racists?? "

Bass1511 wrote on Jun 10, 2009 11:46 AM:
" Thank you, Smokin Joe. "

Bass1511 wrote on Jun 10, 2009 11:59 AM:
" pprwrtr - I haven't seen in "white/shy negro youth" lately. That is a very interesting term. So, what you are saying is that these poor shy black youth just never would be brave enough to attend a college unless it was all black? And I certainly agree that Caucasians don't have more rights than Negroes. That is the only statement in your post that I actually did agree with.By the way, I have a lot of black (is that okay?) friends - very good friends, in fact. And none of them slander me for my opinion for the simple reason that my opinion does not attack the race, it attacks the racism. My thought is, if the word racism is going to be thrown out, then it should apply in every situation for every race, not just the convenient ones. "

htfno316 wrote on Jun 10, 2009 12:29 PM:
" so what is it pprwrtr...you don't think if we were to come to know a poor or rich blacke person it wouldn't change all our outdated beliefs...you think 600,000 american lives was worth it to free the slaves.I have many friends you would call negro pprwrtr that own businesses and have jobs, work hard each day, own homes, the american dream, and they are just as fed up with all this race card cra* that you and your like throw around...they did what it takes in this country to succeed and haven't spent their lifetime standing around leaning on the racism crutch. stop being bitter and take a hard look at yourself... "

woodlands64 wrote on Jun 10, 2009 1:01 PM:
" Wow, if I hated my country as much as some, I think I would go to Russia where you belong "

pprwrtr wrote on Jun 10, 2009 1:20 PM:
" Bass1511--I did not mean to write "I do not agree that whites have more rights than blacks." Whites have always had more rights than blacks, but it is getting more equal. Thank goodness those who resent Juneteenth celebration are few and far between! "

pprwrtr wrote on Jun 10, 2009 1:24 PM:
" htfno316--YES, I definitely think all the lives lost is worth not treating human beings like animals! You wouldn't think that unless it involved you and yours, but some have a bigger picture of reality. This made the blacks free of being slaves in America forever. It was worth whatever it took. At least now, we aren't as barbaric and/or uncivilized. "

devilmaytell wrote on Jun 10, 2009 2:15 PM:
" And the racist rednecks post on and on and on.........ad nauseum. "

perse wrote on Jun 10, 2009 2:57 PM:
" Don't they ever.... "

mls123 wrote on Jun 10, 2009 2:58 PM:
" Bass1511 is just staing a fact and we should not have all this racism. If David Duke decided to start up the NAAWP people would start crying RACISM but it is ok to have the naacp. We should not have a black history month, we should have an American history month and talk about all of our history.Devil has said in the past that when WHITE people gather at Heritage Park it is just a bunch of redneck racist so I guess this juneteenth is just a bunch of black panthers and lazy democrats eatting bbq and watermelon. "

smokinjoe wrote on Jun 10, 2009 3:10 PM:
" mls123 LOL!!! Good memory! LOL!!! "

woodlands64 wrote on Jun 10, 2009 3:46 PM:
" All of Rev Sharptons followers are coming out. "

cottonpicker wrote on Jun 10, 2009 5:32 PM:
" Can't wait! "

pprwrtr wrote on Jun 10, 2009 6:22 PM:
" mls123--You are right about one thing--we should have an American History month and talk about ALL history, but we never did. Through the years, it's been all about white history. I, nor the next generation, did not learn about black heroes in school or anywhere except through post-school study, we persisted with our education. We should never have had to have a black history and a white history. We should never have had to have a Civil War to stop treating blacks like livestock either, but some things need to be said and need to be done to get things straight. My ancestors died in the Civil War (on the Rebel side) and the least I can do is try to get people to be tolerant, promote equality, and think about these things. It is just total ignorance to resent Juneteenth and not want people to celebrate. What they are celebrating is quite a big deal! "

woodlands64 wrote on Jun 10, 2009 9:07 PM:
" The true issues are with the liberals and race pimps who continue to keep the chains on the poor and the minorities through social programs. They tell them they are underprivledged, not good enough. They place the bonds of economic slavery of welfare on these people, and then profess to be the savior of the lower classs.In the mean time, orientals and hispanics come to this country, speaking little or no english, and work themselves up to be very successful and proud........and at the same time the distungisting liberals keep the economic bonds of slavery on other classes. What a group of hypocrites and ignorant. "

Hard to believe, aargh!