Wednesday, December 27, 2006

ALBUM OF 2006 POLL

2006 is comming to an end. I recently made a poll on what was the best metal album of the year. Vote at Legions of the abyss. The results will be made into a list for the Legions of the Abyss website when the poll is done.

Gerald R. Ford

I woke up this morning to see that 93 year old Gerry Ford has shuffled off the mortal coil. Further, I also see that the whitewashing and revisionism has already begun. This is no surprise. After Nixon died, we saw the same kind of revisionism by drooling pundits and politicians trying to pretend that Dick was a decent sort of guy. He wasn't. And Ford was one of his enablers.

So, while the rest of the punditry is tripping all over itself trying to genuflect before this guy, allow me a little equal time. Rose colored glasses have never been my style.

Ford was one of the leading members of the Warren Commission, which concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone and endorsed the "Magic Bullet Theory." Riiiiiiiiiight.

While in Congress he opposed federal aid for education as well as health care, attempted to restrict minimum wage, voted down measures that provided loans and subsidies for farmers, and in general voted down any federal attempt to intervene with state politics (including, notoriously, fighting certain aspects of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.) He was instrumental in supporting the early foundations of what would later become the IMF. One of his most controversial activities was his unsuccessful attempt in 1970 to instigate impeachment proceedings against Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas


A few years later, Ford was rewarded for his loyalty by being handed the vice presidency in the most corrupt administration in US history (at least it was, until 2001). Why, because he was such a dynamic leader? Or because Dick knew the hammer was coming and he needed a compliant, obedient lapdog who would promise to keep him out of prison and protect his US government perks after being forced from office?

Within one month of assuming the presidency upon Nixon's retreat, Ford fulfills his end of the deal and hands Dick Caligula an unconditional pardon. I keep seeing these pundits and political hacks regurgitating the talking point that Ford pardoned Nixon "For the good of the country." Since when is letting a criminal thug who attempted to subvert the US Constitution to amass power get off scott free with generous taxpayer-funded perks "good for the country?" Aren't these the same group of jerk-offs who cheered as Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about a consensual affair during at a frivolous civil lawsuit?

Although only in office for 29 months, his administration continues to haunt us. It was in his administration that current death and deception merchants like Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and... George H.W. Bush as head of the CIA became national fixtures.

The new CIA director was prompted to authorize an alternative unit outside the CIA to challenge the agency's intelligence on Soviet intentions. Bush was more compliant in the political winds than his predecessor. Consisting of a host of conservatives, the unit was called Team B. A young aide from the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Paul Wolfowitz, was selected to represent Rumsfeld's interest and served as coauthor of Team B's report. The report was single-minded in its conclusion about the Soviet buildup and cleansed of contrary intelligence. It was fundamentally a political tool in the struggle for control of the Republican Party, intended to destroy détente and aimed particularly at Kissinger. Both Ford and Kissinger took pains to dismiss Team B and its effort. (Later, Team B's report was revealed to be wildly off the mark about the scope and capability of the Soviet military.)


During a debate with Jimmy Carter in 76 campaigns, Ford bewilderingly argued that Poland wasn’t really under Soviet control.

When Carter defeated Ford, he was handed the worse US economy since The Great Depression.

Dry your eyes people, unless you weep for James Brown. If there is a Hell, Gerald R. Ford is now enjoying a little catchup time with his buddy Tricky Dick Nixon.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Follow up to the War on Drugs posting

Who's getting rich off the War on Drugs and the War on Crime? "Free Market" Thugs like these are cashing in off your tax dollars while showering your elected "representatives" with gifts, trips, campaign funds, and propaganda ammo from their corporate funded think-tanks.

Wackenhut was founded in 1954 by former FBI agent George Wackenhut. From the beginning the company engaged in dubious activities such as assisting the McCarthy Witchhunt. By 1965 the company could boast that it maintained files on 2. 5 million US citizens, participants in the Civil Rights and Anti Vietnam War Movements were targets. The assistance of far right causes was, however, not confined to the US Homeland. In 1977 the company obtained permission to operate in Belgium. Wackenhut’s first local director was Jean-Francis Calmete who hired members of the Westland New Post a fascist group. Wackenhut left Belgium in the early 1980’s following allegations that their guards were luring immigrant children into basements and beating them.”

Some more interesting reading:
INSIDE THE SHADOW CIA
Private Security Revelations On Group4 and Wackenhut
Abuse and Profiteering

Let’s face it, there's a hell of a lot of money to be made in "Crime," and not just by those who commit it, but by those entrusted with "fighting" it as well. It is in the financial interest of corporations like Wackenhut to have a frightened populace demanding that someone "save them" from the scourge of drugs, terrorism, crime, communism or whatever the Boogieman-of-the-Week happens to be.

When the government runs the Corrections Facilities, it is in their interest to keep prison populations as low as possible. However, with Privatization of the Prison System, “Industry experts state a 90-95% capacity rate is necessary to attract investors, ensuring a vested interest in a growing prison population for the future.” That’s what Greg Palast refers to as a Free Market in Human Misery.

You want to see any kind of real reform regarding the drug war or any other meaningful issues? Then we need to address campaign and lobbying reform FIRST. You need to take away the ability of corporations and well funded special interests to purchase our politicians outright. Clean up K-Street. When CEO's have no more access to our elected representatives than the average schmoe, only then you will see real representation and real change.

Until then, it really won't matter much if the bums you elect come with a D or an R after their names. They'll still be serving their real masters, who all have an Inc. after their names.

William Blake on wrote, "Prisons are built with stones of Law. Brothels with the bricks of religion."

What Blake fails to mention, perhaps because he didn't live in our modern, gilded age, is that both law and religion are the servants of the moneyed class. A man much smarter than me once said, "The function of law and theology are the same: to keep the poor from taking back by violence what the rich have stolen by cunning."

The idea that the owner class and the politician class are somehow at odds with each other is the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on mankind.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Quick Rant

We have a major war going on right now. We are in the midst of several Congressional scandals. We have families starving and living on the streets. So what is the major news story that has everybody glued to their T.V.s?

The fued between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump over the Miss America lesbian alcoholic druggie!

WHO GIVES A SHIT!!!!!

FUCK ROSIE
FUCK TRUMP
(and let me)
FUCK MISS AMERICA

With all the death, destruction, and poverty in this world, it completely baffles me why anyone would give two shits about any of these assholes!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

The Precedent for Failure: The War on Drugs

The War on Terror has an impossible scope, but it is not the first of its kind. The War on Drugs has been going on for much of the 20th century, and has much farther-reaching impact that terrorism will ever have. Both wars are being fought ineffectively under the leadership of politically correct assholes.

The war on drugs has devastated Mexico and Columbia most prominently. With genetic engineering in the arsenal, drug cultivators have now created a pot plant that grows year-round and cannot be killed by pesticides, making law enforcement nearly impossible.

The new Mexican president is fighting the drug industry with all his might, and leaving death and destruction in his wake. The American Department of State has commended this effort.

I've got a better idea for fixing Mexico's drug problem: Legalize it! Instead of cops unloading in trucks and destroying everything, why not encourage legal companies to invest in infrastructure and security?

It's the classic scenario: When government dictates, men with guns show up and destroy your life and kill you if you disagree. When consumers dictate, fair competition drives innovation and promotes stability and job growth.

I personally have never chosen to consume that product, but I have a serious problem with some asshole telling me that I can't if I wanted to. Nomatter how illegal drug use is, people are still going to do it. Law enforcement becomes an unsustainable burden on society when they attempt to regulate something that cannot be regulated.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Henry Rollins "America is under attack."



Did you watch the video posted below of the kid going off on a rant about OLielly and the conservatard religious fanatics?

O'Lielly of course had to resond on his show in the most over the top way "This is child abuse!" WAAAAAAAA!!!

Watch just the first couple minutes of this, you can't take the whole thing without wanting to punch your monitor



But then watch the brilliant response that a well known blogger did using O'Losers own words against him.



Gotta love "The internets"

RIP Chuck

Today is the five-year anniversary of the passing of a great talent. On December 13, 2001, Chuck Shuldiner of the band Death lost his battle with brain cancer.



R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner

















Best YouTube EVER

If I had a kid, it would turn out something like this...

Sunday, December 10, 2006

LEGIONS OF THE ABYSS

Legions of the Abyss (the site formely known as Metal Pwns All) now has a website. http://www.legionsoftheabyss.com/

Don't forget to sign up for the forum.

Update BND:

Don't miss my exclusive interview with Tommy Stewart from the legendary thrash metal band, HALLOWS EVE.

Tommy Stewart Interview

Also, continue to check in on Lords of Classic Rock. I have made several updates and will continue to make updates in the coming weeks.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Target: Gullible Idiots (The Marketing Rant)

I throw away at least 3/4 of the mail I receive every day. Credit cards, auto insurance, and the newest product of the bunch- voice-over-IP long distance telephone service are the kind of offers that fill my mailbox, and I've been too cool about it for too long.

Credit cards are proven to be effective at preventing people from achieving real financial health. They promote the "I want it NOW" patience of a 5-year-old in a toy store rather than the prudence of a wise investor. I don't have as much to say to them now that they aren't allowed to call me on the telephone. It's much more convenient to just throw away the piles of pointless mail they send me every day. For those of you who don't think President Bush has done anything useful, please remember that he signed into law the legislation that banned telemarketing.

Now on to auto insurance. I get flyers advertising "$425 in annual savings over Allstate, State Farm, etc.". This is entertaining to me, because my annual auto insurance premiums barely cost that much. Not to mention the multiple-policy discount I have from insuring home and auto with the same provider. You'd think that with the information they can legally collect about us, they'd somehow realize that there's not enough margin in my premiums to cover the hassle of a provider switch, or the postage for the 5-7 letters they send me each week.

Voice-over IP long distance telephone is a new product that I enjoy throwing offers in the trash for every other day. It might be a decent product, but how can they make enough money from $20-$30 per month to afford the marketing costs of sending out millions of full-color ads and TV spots that we're all inundated with? If I'm interested in this product, I'm going to do some homework on them. Advertising is not a reliable source of information. I'm choosing the provider that advertises the least, because my price will be lower and the company's profits higher without all the titanic marketing expenses.

If you're as sick of mail-marketing as I am, there's two things you can do about it: To stop credit card offers, call (888) 567-8688 and let them know to stop selling your credit report information with the army of marketing zombies that clog our mailboxes every week.

To declare all-out war, read what King Maddox has to say: "How to piss off credit card companies and get away with it!"

Friday, December 08, 2006

12/8 is quickly approaching

Repost from 11/18/2005


December 8 will forever be known as one of the most fucked up days in music history. On this date two assholes took from us two of the greatest musical minds in history. On December 8, 1980, Mark David Chapman could no longer fight the demons in his head. He waited all day for his prey, and even took time to shake the hand of his baby boy. Later that evening, as Chapman waited and became more and more furious, John Lennon's Limo pulls up and the rest is history.

Twenty-four years later, in a small club in Columbus, OH, another sick fuck decides to strike. It has almost been a year now since that sorry son of a bitch took Dime from us. People may think what they want of Dime, Pantera, or Damageplan, but take it from someone who grew up in the same town as the Abbott brothers; this man didn't deserve this shit.

I remember back in the early to mid eighties, when Pantera was first starting out here in Arlington. They would play little shithole clubs but would always pack them in. I was not a fan of Pantera at all growing up. I considered their music cheesier than Def Leppard's music, who at the time pretty much ruled the cheesy music scene. I remember days of going to school depressed for some reason or another, but always being cheered up when I saw how ridiculous Darrell (who went by the name Diamond Darrell Lance back in those days) looked. You could see him about 75 yards down a packed hallway because his hair towered about two feet over his head (that may be a slight exaggeration but you get the point.) And as I would get closer, I would generally have to fight the laughter. This dude would be wearing your standard leopard print sleeveless t-shirt, spandex with bandanas tied all the way up them, and a bullet belt, but what always seemed to get me was the big furry Eskimo boots. Even though at the time I had no respect for this dude, I knew deep inside that he was bound for greatness.

To be continued...

A HOMETOWN HERO

Repost from 12/8/2005




I can’t believe it has already been a year. A year since that day; that awful day when our friend, brother was taken from us so senselessly. Growing up in Arlington, seeing Dime around was so commonplace, that I never really paid much attention to it. I would see him at the smallest of gigs to the largest arena concerts in town. I remember seeing Pantera play at Rascals down in the river-bottoms back in the mid-eighties, and then play at Reunion Arena opening up for Black Sabbath in the late nineties. In between, I can’t even count how many times I’ve seen them play. Metalworks, Joe’s Garage, The Basement, The Backroom in Austin, HardRocks in Lawton, or even at the Tattoo Bar with his side-band Gasoline. When Dime was alive and kicking much ass, I guess I failed to appreciate him as much I should have, because now it is fucked knowing I’ll never get to see him slay audiences with his guitar again.

Please share your thoughts and memories with us as we remember Dime and all the great music he gave us.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

December 7, 1941

It's been 65 years since the Japanese Empire comitted the first act of war against us at Pearl Harbor. The 18-year-old recruits who fought back are now 83 years old, and have decided that is will be their last reunion. It's with great pride that we salute those veterans one last time as the passing of the "Greatest Generation".

On to matters of historical debate: Col. Oliver North did a show recently exploring the possibility that FDR was aware of the Japanese plan to attack Pearl Harbor, but allowed it happen for the benefit of the run-to-the-flag reaction it generated. Although there were many clues in the few hours preceeding the attack, information leaks to anyone outside the Imperial Navy are extremely unlikely. The US Navy simply had no idea this could have happened.

I'm all about investigating possible conspiracies, but this one happened in a time where communication was anything but instant, and even further from reliable. In fact, the Emperor had intended to deliver their declaration of war to the US Department of State as early as 4 hours prior to the attack, but the transmission was delayed, and was not recieved until after the damage reports were being processed.

According to interviews with Japanese veterans, they had no idea the Americans weren't suspecting acts of war. A Samurai proverb states that one should always wake one's enemy before killing. A Japanese submarine was depth-charged in the wee hours, but the Navy didn't think enough about that to place the force at general quarters. The first wave of attack aircraft was spotted on radar, but the radar officer mistook the gigantic wave to be a scheduled flight of B-17's from the mainland. Remember that radar technology was in its infancy in those days.

The 2,000+ Americans that were killed that day were ultimately avenged, but it cost hundreds of thousands more. The concept of Boshido engrained a stubborness to fight that so emboldened the War Party of Japan that only a pair of nuclear bombs dissuaded further fighting. With this 65th anniversary, I think we should all close the case on the rumors of FDR's prior knowledge, and celebrate the heros that beat brutal oppression into submission all over the Asian continent and the Pacific Ocean.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

KARMA

Gullible is as Gullible does.

Maybe the "Nigerians" convinced them they were born of a virgin, could walk on water and rise from the dead.

Friday, December 01, 2006

We don't call them Wing NUTS for nothing

No wonder most of the Reichwingers hate science:

A recent psychological study shows:

The more psychotic the voter, the more likely they were to vote for Bush.

“Our study shows that psychotic patients prefer an authoritative leader,” Lohse says. “If your world is very mixed up, there’s something very comforting about someone telling you, ‘This is how it’s going to be.’

“Bush supporters had significantly less knowledge about current issues, government and politics than those who supported Kerry,” the study says.

Grand Old Pedophiles: Post-Election Edition

And The Hits Just Keep On Coming!!!!

Seriously, tell me this isn't a pattern and there isn't some kind of connection between Republicanism and Pederasty.

I understand why Repugs are so obsessed with protecting embryos. They're trying to figure out a way to HAVE SEX with them.

How Democracy Dies

According to the Congressional Budget Office:

Between 1979 and 1997, income for families in the middle rose 9% from $41,000 to $45,1000.
Meanwhile, income for families in the top 1% rose from $420,000 to $1,016,000, a 140% increase.
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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED