Gad-Dafi Duck -- Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-... That's all, folks.

DATELINE: CELEBRATING SPRING – Arab Spring, that is. Muammar Gaddafi is dead. This would be a good time to cue the oppressed munchkins into song as they all start to look for that yellow brick road. The house fell on that slimy bastard, and now the people of yet another country, have the opportunity to live a life free from tyranny and despotism. For the people of Libya, as for those of Egypt and Tunisia, it is truly a day to rejoice. 42 years hell at the hands of one man was more than enough. Finally the future for the people of that country is something to think about, dream about, plan for. I cannot imagine what it is like to live in a place so totally devoid of hope.

Sadly, the word here is ‘celebrate’. Do not for one minute think that I mourn the death of Gaddafi. Like Saddam, like Osama, or that I will when the time comes for the likes of Chavez and Bashar al-Assad. They were/are hideous heinous vile scum of the earth… and still I find myself pondering the notion of celebrating the death of another human. It’s not something new; it is something that on some level makes me feel a twinge of guilt… and I hate that. I was raised to believe in the sanctity of life. It’s a nice pipedream, one that should be straightforward enough but is muddied by politics, hatred, violence, war, greed, and despots. Adding to my anger is that this desire to see them dead was something they brought on themselves. They made us want them dead. The choices they made, the priority they gave their lives over absolutely everybody else, their unmitigated greed, ego, hubris…. It’s a long list of qualities, but I cannot manage to wrap my brain around how anyone can think so much of themselves and so little of the rest of the world, to believe that others are there simply for the convenience and comfort of the chosen few. It’s truly sad, something that should be researched to find a cure or a preventative vaccine. I want to celebrate Gaddafi’s death, but I can’t. Instead, I will rejoice in the success of the people of Libya, their strength, their determination, and now, their futures.

What I would like to ask, though, is that while we list the names of these absolutely heinous people, we remember other names. How about remembering the name Mohamed Bouazizi? I suspect many of you are asking why we need to remember this name. Why should the name of Bouazizi slip from our lips as easily as Bin Laden, Chavez, Kim, or Ahmadinejad?

Mohamed Bouazizi was a Tunisian street vendor. He was 26 years old when, on January 4, 2011, he set himself on fire to protest the horrendous treatment he received at the hands of government officials and to make a statement that the time had come for change. He had no idea what would happen, what he would start, the number of lives he would change. Oh that he could know. Perhaps he does. This one act, this act of a man who had decided death was better than the oppression he suffered for trying to make an honest living, was the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution. His death moved the people of Tunisia, made them rise up, lift their voices and demand change. Ten days later, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali stepped down after ruling with an iron fist for 23 years. Mohamed Bouazizi’s death gave birth to the Arab Spring, and because of his actions, on the day that Gaddafi died, the people of Tunisia voted in democratic elections for the first time. Yes, there is a sweet fucking irony in that fact.

Because of Bouazizi, Tunisia has elections, Hosni Mubarak was overthrown and stands trial, Muammar Gaddafi was been killed, Ali Abdullah Seleh agreed to step down, the governments of Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, and Morocco have implemented fundamental changes. Uprisings and protests continue in Syria, Bahrain, Algeria and Iraq, where more people are seeking changed, demanding change, fighting for change and, sadly, dying for change.

While you watch your news, while you vent about politics, debates, GOP leadership candidates who do not have the brains to blow their own noses, government officials who do not have the balls to do what they should be doing because they are too concerned about being re-elected so they can spend another four years doing nothing but worrying about winning the next election, think of Mohamed Bouazizi. The next time you shrug and say ‘it is what it is’ or ‘you can’t fight city hall’ or ‘what can one person do’, think about Mohamed Bouazizi

DAILY NEWS, JANUARY 4th, 2011

DAILY NEWS, JANUARY 4th, 2011

DATELINE: HIDING IN HIS PALACE, EATING CAKE – I watched with pride in humanity when the people of Egypt assembled peacefully, made their desperation known to their government and to the world. Yes, they got off to a bumpy start, but they turned it around and did their country proud. They sang, they marched, they were effecting change in an absolutely wonderful democratic manner. The Egyptian military took a surprising, incredibly admirable position, letting them know that they would let the people speak, would not interfere, but would not allow chaos. Then, enter Mubarak’s police and ‘supporters’, some on horses, some on camels, instigating fights, injuries and deaths, detaining and harassing people, including international media. Way to go Asshole Mubarak! If there was any need for further proof that you need to go, this was it. Before some world leaders tiptoed around…. There was no ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!’ moment. – like him or not, (and I wasn’t particularly a fan) but leaders like Rocket Ronnie had balls. He may not have been always right, but he had balls and his decisions were NOT based only on what would get him elected. The days of those politicians, I fear are gone… there weren’t many of them, but particularly in times of crisis, some managed to rise to the occasion. Now comes the question of how to get that bug-ass-crazy fucking asshole out of Cairo, because you know he has to go. He says he wants to go now, but if he does, there will be chaos in his country. ‘Duh, Idiot! Look out your fucking window at the chaos that is directly attributed to you and your fucking games. My prediction now – sorry, my friends to the south, but you might not like this – the president of the US is going to have to send in someone to get him the hell out of there – di-di mau. This is going to happen because the US is the one place that has the ability to go in and get him out of there alive. Obama will negotiate a place for Mubarak to live in exile, where he will not be held to account for the billions he has stolen from the people of Egypt, and regardless of what happens afterwards, the US will bear the blame for either creating a position for a new despot, or for inserting a US puppet regime. It sucks being a world power… it will suck more as other countries follow the lead set by Tunisia and Egypt, and more despot leaders fall. Empty stomachs are crying ‘enough of the fat cats’ and how the situation with Egypt is now handled will set the precedent for the ones to follow. I have to ask though, of our international leaders – what is the logic of publicly supporting despots? You knew what he was, what he was doing, and yet, because of the Suez Canal, you kissed his ass and did a whitewash job worthy of Tom Sawyer. When do we actually start to learn there is a cost for dealing with the devil, and when the bill comes due, there is never a political upside to it?

DATELINE: IN BOSTON, USING CHOWDER FOR BRAINS – Last month, Melissa Moorhouse (30) decided to take her fucking pet snake for a ride on the subway… this would be the chowder for brains part! Who the fuck takes a boa constrictor on a train ride? You think the fucking snake needs to go for a train ride? You think the people on the train with you really want to have a fucking snake slithering around their faces? I can fucking guarantee you there is NO WAY I would be on a train car with a large loose snake! I would be screaming my fucking lungs out. Somehow, though, this rocket scientist managed to ‘lose’ Penelope… she just disappeared from her perch wrapped around Moorhouse’s shoulders. How the fuck does THAT happen? The snake was gone… until yesterday when a commuter got onto the train, minding their own business, tooling around Boston when they found the fucking snake on their train car. I would have ripped through the glass window with my fingernails and been out of there in about two fucking minutes, but this rider instead contacted a train attendant, the car was taken out of service and Penelope was recovered. What I want to know is this – why the fuck was the snake not totally fucking frozen like a damned snakecicle like everything else in Boston right now? A subway ride through Boston is now off my list of ‘things I must do before I die’.

DATELINE: HIGHWAY TO HELL – A report released this week showed that, to the surprise of the British Parliamentary members, almost two million pounds ($3M USD) that was earmarked in a very well specified and dedicated portfolio for international aide, was used to help pay the costs of having the pope visit last year. Yes, they robbed from the poor to pay for the pontiff’s royal gala. According to a Dfid (Department for International Development) ‘Our contribution recognizes the Catholic Church’s role as a major provider of health and education services in developing countries’. How about asking all those millions of people in Africa about the health care thing… the ones who are dying from AIDS because of the Catholic Church’s stupid fucking rulings and condemnations regarding the use of condoms? How about asking all those students who were abused, beaten, raped by Catholic educators? There are credible, responsible groups that provide health care and education globally… so why the fuck is the church doing this? More to the point, why the hell would the richest church in the world need this money, the money meant to help poverty-stricken, starving people around the world? Maybe it’s time to tell the Pope and his Merry Men that the free fucking ride is over… at least until they clean up their own back yards and stand accountable. Otherwise, their brand of help should NOT be inflicted on those already suffering.