Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if that happened in Venezuela?

It’s at times like this that I miss my blogging amigo BoRev. He’d know just what to do with stories like this:

An electoral scandal of great proportions involving the office of State Attorney General Katherine Fernández-Rundle is rocking the city of Miami after a woman was arrested for falsifying absentee ballots.

The office of Fernández-Rundle announced that the denunciations of fraud are under investigation and that a grand jury could be convened with the goal of approving legislation to avoid more such scandals.

The case of Deisy Pentón de Cabrera, a woman who was arrested a few days ago for forging absentee ballots, unleashed a wave of denunciations that involve the attorney general herself.

Media reports emphasize that Fernández-Rundle recused herself from the case against Pentón, since one of her political councillors is involved in the scandal, which originated in the city of Hialeah, in Miami-Dade County.

The use of absentee ballots in the electoral processes in Miami has come under harsh criticism, since the system, created to be used by voters who on election day are on vacation, sick or incapacitated, has become an efficient mechanism for electoral fraud.

At the end of the 1990s, changes to the state Electoral Law opened the way for indiscriminate use of absentee identification cards, and in 2004 all limitations to their use were eliminated.

In 2004, just 12 percent of the voters who participated in the presidential elections in Miami used these ballots, while in the voting for county mayor in 2011, they constituted more than 40 percent of the votes.

Raúl Martínez, former mayor of Hialeah, accused the state attorney general and the politicians of Miami-Dade of making a big business out of the fraudulent use of the absentee ballots.

Attorney-General Fernández-Rundle, with almost two decades’ experience in the state attorney general’s office in Miami-Dade County, is also known for her close ties to ultra-right-wing groups of Cuban origin in Miami.

In 1997 a great electoral-fraud scandal in that Florida city resulted in the annulment of the election of mayor Xavier Suárez, and the arrest and imprisonment of then-commissioner Humberto Hernández.

56 persons went on trial following an investigation which uncovered more than 300 fraudulent votes by absentee ballots, including one by a dead man.

Translation mine. Linkage added.

I can just hear BoRev asking the musical question: Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if that happened in Venezuela? Only it can’t, because the Venezuelan electoral process is clean as a whistle, and approved by no less than Jimmy Carter himself.

Of course, the crapaganda whore media up in Gringolandia is playing it as some kind of draconian scheme because fingerprint scanners are involved. This while voter disenfranchisement of blacks and non-Cuban, non-right-wing Latin@s is a going concern all over the US, and especially in crazy-ass Florida.

I don’t know about you, but I smell an almighty cover-up. And an electoral fraud scandal to rival Bush 2000 a-brewin’. Too bad for FUX Snooze and the right-wing scarebloggers that it’s not happening in Venezuela, but in their own backyard. And that the culprit is not Chavecito, but their own Repug candidates and office-holders.

I’d ask why no one is screaming about that, but I already know the answer.

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Posted in Crapagandarati, Cuba, Libre (de los Yanquis), Fascism Without Swastikas, Huguito Chavecito, Isn't It Ironic?, Isn't That Illegal?, Isn't That Racist?, The United States of Amnesia | 1 Comment

Sikhs after 9-11: Fighting prejudice and ignorance

Via Roger Ebert, this timely little documentary:

Hate crimes against North American Sikhs are nothing new, any more than is racist hatred against anyone who isn’t white (or, in the case of Latin@s and Jews, “white enough”). Yesterday’s neo-Nazi shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin immediately reminded me of the firebombing of another Indo-American religious institution, the Hindu Samaj Temple in Hamilton, Ontario, just four days after 9-11. It doesn’t really matter if you’re Sikh or Hindu or Muslim. It seems that anyone who’s brownish and of a non-Christian religion is automatically suspect, and therefore subject to attack. And it’s hard NOT to see racism in the assaults on these people.

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Posted in A Passage to India, Canadian Counterpunch, Isn't That Racist?, Not So Compassionate Conservatism, The United States of Amnesia | 1 Comment

Eat at Joe’s

No, this is not THAT chicken place. From the Toronto Star, a case of oopsy mistaken identity:

Chick-Felays and Chick-fil-A may sound similar and both serve chicken as their main dishes, but the similarities end there, something Chick-Felays founder and CEO Nabeel Khan has been trying in earnest to point out.

“We had one guy come into one of our restaurants, ordered his food, and then refused it, asking us how we could be so discriminating,” said Khan, recounting a string of such encounters between customers and employees at Chick-Felays’ four locations in southern Ontario. “We had no idea what he was talking about. He said, ‘This is garbage,’ and walked out.”

Khan says it was only several weeks later, after a few more visits from enraged customers, that he learned the president and COO of U.S. chain Chick-fil-A, Dan Cathy, had made public statements in June and July declaring his opposition to same-sex marriage, sparking a firestorm of controversy south of the border.

Khan then realized customers were mistakenly linking his two-year-old chain to the American company. He’s been in damage control mode ever since.

Yes, it’s easy to see how that could happen, eh? Both names rely on odd spellings of the word filet. In fact, I privately refer to the US bigot chain as Chickfilla, which rhymes with Godzilla and is full of filler.

This chain, however, sounds like it serves really delicious chicken filets, flame-broiled rather than brined, breaded and deep-fried (and horrible for your health) like those other guys. And apparently they specialize in hot spicy pepper sauces, too. Yum! I’d definitely eat that.

But you know what REALLY leaves a good taste in my mouth? THIS:

“It shocks me that people would ask ‘How can you discriminate?’ How could you think that? We’re brown people,” chuckled Khan, who has found humour in the angry customers’ outbursts.

Now, when patrons inquire on a possible relation between Chick-Felays and Chick-fil-A, Khan says his employees point out that the spelling, the menu and the logo are all different. But most importantly, the beliefs are different, he says.

“We welcome everyone, customers and employees, with our arms open and our hearts open,” he said, sitting in a booth at Chick-Felays’s newly opened Mississauga location on Latimer Dr. “Working in the service industry, it’s nonsense to publicly say what (Dan Cathy) said. It’s not good for business.”

And THIS:

Interestingly enough, no customers have come forward saying they support Chick-fil-A’s stance.

Well, of course not. This is CANADA. We have equal marriage rights here, and abortion rights too, and Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs are all welcome. And anyone who wants to oppose them is going to find himself very much alone.

And probably out of business before long, too.

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Posted in Canadian Counterpunch, Isn't It Ironic?, Socialism is Good for Capitalism!, Teh Ghey, The United States of Amnesia, The WTF? Files | Comments Off on Eat at Joe’s

Music for a Sunday: More than just a dash

This one’s for all the Olympians:

From first to last, the peak is never past.

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Wankers of the Week: The Summer of Hate

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Love this logo parody graphic by my good friend, Dave Ward.

Crappy weekend, everyone! So, how are you enjoying the August long weekend? Hope you’re not eating fried chicken from any place that deals in homophobia and misogyny. And whatever you’re eating, I hope you can hold it down as I share with you all the people who made my stomach queasy this week, in no particular order:

1. Charles Fucking Murray. Somehow, it doesn’t surprise me that a crapaganda rag like the Wall Street Urinal would hire a white supremacist to write crapologia for crapitalism. But what does surprise me is that they consider something that reads like a parody of a self-righteous sixth-grader’s class essay publishable. Obviously, the capitalist problem goes much deeper than mere image. But if its image sucks, just remember what Marshall McLuhan said: The medium is the message.

2. William Fucking Koberna. Threatening to shoot up any place is bad. Doing so in the wake of a gun rampage that killed 12 and injured dozens more is worse. Worst of all, though, is threatening to shoot up Kent State. Hasn’t that place seen quite enough shooting already?

3. Rob Fucking Ford. Is there ever a week when he doesn’t wank? Most of us would be jumping for joy if we got not only free tickets to the CNE, but free ride passes, AND free parking passes. The last thing we’d be doing is cutting them up to show off what cheap-asses we are.

4. Ann Fucking Romney. Why?

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That’s why. (I especially love that “you people” bit. I can just imagine the sneer with which she uttered it.) PS: But wait! There’s more!

5. Ikram Fucking Choudhury. Kiddies, take note: If you happen across an accident victim by the roadside and you happen to have a phone in your hand, you do NOT take pictures and upload them to Twitter with ridiculous descriptions; you either put that phone away and give first aid, or turn it on and call for help. Thanks to this dude’s stoopid, a man is dead, and he’s now the subject of a lot of head-shaking and face-palming. Don’t be this guy!

6. Michel Morganella. Talk about a Swiss miss! This Olympic soccer player and his mohawk got kicked off the team after intimating (via the tweeter) that the South Koreans all had Down Syndrome. This after the Koreans beat Switzerland 2-1. Whatever happened to that fabled Swiss neutrality? Or is that just a euphemism for “looking the other way while international high finance robs the common people blind”?

7. Courtney Fucking Stodden. I thought I told you to go away. What are you still doing in the public eye? Oh, I see…making an ass of yourself by taping a “reality” show, minus reality (and apparently, any takers). A foregone conclusion. The “go away” still stands! PS: Oops, I stand corrected. Sorta.

8. Lowell Fucking Turpin. It’s kind of hard to see anyone seriously feeling threatened by a picture of Mittens on his girlfriend’s Facebook page, but if you look at the picture of this dude on that news page, you might suddenly get the picture.

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9. Dick Fucking Cheney. Like #7, this one needs to go away. Just…go…the fuck…AWAY.

10. Rogelio Fucking Harris. I always secretly thought that all those sugary candy bars were laced with crack. I was wrong. It’s fucking METH!

11. Steve Fucking King. Poor oppressed dogfighters, what would they do without this assclown in their corner? Imagine not being able to practice wanton cruelty to animals for fun and profit. How unAmerican is THAT?

12. Carole Fucking Lokan-Moore. My best friend tipped me off on Monday about her bizarre and hateful Facebook activity. Looks like she’s been awfully busy with that hatemongering shit. Someone please tell Grandma that your mistakes live forever on the Internets!

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13. Mitt Fucking Romney. Can somebody please tell me why the hell he’s on a world tour? Shouldn’t he save that for AFTER the unlikely event that he becomes president? I mean, it’s been nothing but shambolic for Mittens so far. And in any event, the world’s not voting for him, and wouldn’t even if it could. Quit while you’re ahead, Willard, and save what’s left of your face!

13 1/2. Rick Fucking Gorka. He’s just one reason among the many that Mittens has had such a stellar week of wankitude. Give it up for him and kiss his holy fucking ass, folks!

14. Kevin Fucking Swanson. You know the Religious Reich is on the ropes when it starts picking on the Muppets, instead of any actual people, to further its homophobic agenda. They are now reduced to defending crappy fast food joints, kiddies. The End Is Nigh!

15. Jim Fucking Furmen. Why anyone would “stand with” a rival purveyor of greasy junk food is beyond me. But I guess homophobia and christofascism have their “reasons”, whereof reason knows nought.

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16. Michele Fucking Bachmann. So, she joined the Repugs because of the late, great Gore Vidal’s nasty, “snotty, mocking attitude”? Well, butter my butt and call me a fucking biscuit. And here I thought it was because she is just such a lying, stupid fucking idiot! Oh wait…it IS that, isn’t it? PS: Ha, ha. She goes with Chick-fil-Hate and garbage cans, just like their chicken sandwiches and waffle fries go with pickle chips.

17. Sarah Fucking Palin. The Courtney Fucking Stodden of politics, she just does not want to sit her ass down, shut the fuck up and go the hell away. Not even when it’s in her own best interests to do just that. But hey! Between her and The Big Dick, it’s one battle royal of wits, innit?

18. Mike Fucking Lee. What has abortion to do with online security? Not a fucking thing. But that’s never stopped a fanatical anti-choice asshat yet. If they can’t pass their shitty legislation one way, they just try to sneak it in the back door. Kind of like what people did in the olden days to avoid getting pregnant, only with considerably less finesse.

19. Mike Fucking Huckabee. While the dieting former governor of Alabama was out touchingly shilling his newly skinny ass off for fried chicken that would have caused him to gain it all back with interest, LGBTs and their equal-marriage allies were out same-sex kissing in front of every Chick-fil-Hate that they could find. Half a million supporters for an unpopular idea is still half a million fucking losers, Hucky Fudd. PS: Ha, ha.

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20. Mike Fucking Kelly. What does free birth control have to do with terror attacks and acts of war? Not a fucking thing. Unless, of course, you’re a gross old git who’s obviously not gettin’ any.

21. Pat Fucking Robertson. So, gays are making bigots “feel unwelcome”? Poor widdle bigots. Boo fucking hoo. It’s about time they got an idea of what it’s like, eh? And yeah, I’m glad Patwa feels uncomfortable for a change. I hope it never ends. May he die of his discomfiture!

22. Brandon Fucking Wade. Yes, the Godfather of Mercenary Cyberdating is at it again. This time, trying to capitalize on the Aurora theatre shooting to promote a “dating” website on which women are literally for sale, priced out like human merchandise. Only, of course, it makes the buying men out to be “generous” and “chivalrous”. If this is anyone’s actual idea of chivalry, give me fucking barbarism. Or better still, a fate worse than death.

23. Avi Fucking Benlolo. So, a walk for Palestinian freedom will automatically give rise to antisemitism and hate? Um, the Palestinians are Semites. And there is plenty of antisemitic hate at pro-Israel rallies, too — not that the media will ever pick up on THAT. Just as they can’t admit that the Simon Wiesenthalers have outlived their original purpose and are now grasping at straws to remain somehow relevant. And oh, let us never mention how many actual old Nazis have slipped rather blatantly through their fingers. That is fucking taboo.

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24. Richard Fucking Land. Finally, after 25 years of bigotry, backwardness and bringin’-disgrace-upon-the-church, the head of the Southern Baptist convention has seen the light and announced his resignation. Why is this a wank? Because it took him 25 fucking years, duh.

25. Jeff Fucking Duncan. Wow. Who knew that hate could make chicken taste better?

26. Todd Fucking Starnes. Hey, FUX Snooze asswipe, ever consider how may of those “heterophobic bigots” you’re slamming for their refusal to buy crappy chicken sandwiches are actually, you know, STRAIGHT? No, of course not. Because if you actually dealt in facts, you wouldn’t be on FUX.

27. Cameron Fucking Jankowski. While Taco Bell food is undeniably crappy, pissing on it to make yourself seem badass just makes you seem, well, ass-bad. Good luck finding another job, pissboy.

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28. and 29. Renée and Scott Fucking Baio. So, they like grody fried chicken with a side order of nauseating bigotry. Given that they once referred to lesbians as “shitasses”, this comes as a surprise to precisely no one.

30. Walton Henry Fucking Butler. It’s okay, everybody, he didn’t shoot a man in the head. Just 3/5 of a man! And he used the n-word to describe said three-fifths-man, too. That means he should totally get off being charged with attempted murder and hate crimes, right?

31. Jenna Fucking Jameson. While I appreciate her bluntness about Repugs being the party of the rich and tax-avoidant, I find it hilariously ironic that thanks to her, they’re now also, quite frankly, the party of the fake and sleazy. I’m sure the Religious Reich loves her, too…albeit secretly, and only while they fap!

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32. Ann Fucking Coulter. John Kerry isn’t running for president this time around, but that doesn’t stop the Coultergeist from (a) breaking out the ridiculous insults (oh, like Repug women don’t prostitute themselves in marriage — or in her case, the media?) and (b) being eight whole fucking years behind the times. Really, folks, that’s how long it’s been since she last updated her stand-up comedy material. No wonder she bombs!

33. John Fucking Ellis. And while we’re on the subject of blasts from the past, how about Dubya’s cousin who works for FUX Snooze, and who helped him fix the Florida elections, in which black voters were disenfranchised? And who helped talk up his cousin’s disastrous oil wars, too? What better person, in other words, to claim Obama is waging chemical warfare against WHITE voters?

34. Antonin Fucking Scalia. And while we’re on the subject of BushCo enablers, how about him? He thinks women have no constitutional right to birth control, abortion, or bodily privacy. Funny, but I do believe that’s covered under “Liberty”, and also “Pursuit of Happiness”. And “Life”, too, if a woman’s well-being depends on the availability of safe, legal abortions. And that it’s high time this judicial mafioso recused himself for good.

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35. Steven Fucking Crowder. I never heard of this so-called comedian until now, but he made me laugh by saying that liberals in the Occupy movement “maim and rape”. O RLY? And what were BushCo’s wars all about, Stevie? Liberalism? Not even hardly. But hey, let’s give him some credit; he also told an ugly truth when he said that conservatards vote with their dollars. Yeah, and you know what? That’s called PLUTOCRACY, and it’s the furthest thing from democracy there is. If you think money = speech, then you don’t know jack shit about freedom. But you can be bought and mentally enslaved, and apparently, Stevie already has. How else to explain how he became such a rancid apologist for plutocratic christofascism?

36. Al Fucking Monaco. Oh goodie gumdrops, finally a homegrown wanker for this Yank-heavy list. Yeah, how about that nice, safe Enbridge pipeline that gunked up the Kalamazoo River? I guess the Michiganders are relieved to find out that this sort of thing never happens. Only, of course, when it happens all the fucking time.

37. Justiin Fucking Bieber. No, Natives do NOT get free gas for their cars. But thanks for spreading yet another stupid, racist myth, Biebs. Whatever tiny percentage of you is aboriginal, it’s obviously not enough to free you from that. Also, facepalm. Coming from someone whose hairstyle looks like the fucking Nike Swoosh, that’s REALLY not cricket.

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38. Ron Fucking Williams. So, mayors who think their cities should be free from Chick-fil-Hate should be removed by military coup and/or shot? There is no other way to interpret his incredibly stupid fascist ramblings about the First Amendment (which does not cover the right to open crappy chicken sandwich franchises; that is merely a privilege) and the Second (guns as the answer to all speech you don’t like, including “No fucking Chick-fil-A in our town”). Just one more example of how Libertarians don’t care about real freedom, only the “right” to hate and kill whomever they wish. (And no, I don’t for one instant believe his “reminder” excuses, either. What the fuck is a “reminder” of the Second Amendment, other than an assassination threat?)

39. Louie Fucking Gohmert. Another week, another quasi-religious wank from Gomer. I fail to see how forcing insurance companies to actually give their female clients some bang for the buck, in the form of birth control without co-pays, is getting in the way of anyone taking a wafer on his tongue and pretending it’s the actual flesh of Jeebus. There are plenty of good Catholic women on the Pill, and plenty of equally good Catholic priests who know it and won’t excommunicate them. Also, Ben Franklin was a Deist, and they were NOT big on the “power of prayer”. And if he were alive, he’d bitch-slap Louie straight into the next damn century for that.

40. Foster Fucking Friess. Ol’ Foot-in-the-Mouth has just kicked himself in the teeth again. I realize that deer and swans are lovely, but is it really a contest between them and us ladies? Jeezus.

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And finally, to all those who like to support hate when they buy crappy chicken sandwiches. There really isn’t much to say to you except that history is gonna fuck your collective ass SO HARD. As it stands, you all look like fucking idiots already.

Goodnight, and get fucked!

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Festive Left Friday Blogging: Happy Birthday to me…

Awww, Bina…you shouldn’t have!

Isn’t that a great shirt on El Ecuadorable, with those strips of aguayo trim in the yoke? Someone please inform my fellow birthday brat Ryan Lochte. His dress sense could use some work…although I have to say, he DOES look better the less he wears, unlike most guys. Come to think of it, scrap that — let’s just petition Playgirl to staple Ryan’s navel, as it was destined to be.

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Clip ‘n’ Save: A brutally honest record review

Except for the juvenile use of white-out on the words fuck and shit (what is this, middle school?), I agree with every word of this. No stars for Chris Fucking Brown; a full five for the outstanding reviewer.

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Quotable: Gore Vidal’s best words

And that’s why he will be missed, while the plutocrats he talks about…NEVER.

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Posted in Economics for Dummies, Filthy Stinking Rich, Quotable Notables, The United States of Amnesia | Comments Off on Quotable: Gore Vidal’s best words

Stupid Sex Tricks: How NOT to say “I love you”

Courtesy of Karina Bolaños, the former Costa Rican vice-minister of culture and youth, a classic boner for the ages:

In case this gets taken down by YouTube, here’s a rundown: She comes out in a white push-up bra and matching panties, she addresses an unknown man (not her husband, from whom she was temporarily separated when this was made) as “Pequis”, she says she’s not used to doing this sort of thing, and proceeds to drone on for nearly a full minute about how much she loves him, while clutching a pillow to her cleavage-y chest. It’s not much of a sexy tape (except for the underwear, maybe; she’s quite shapely), but it’s enough to prove one hell of an embarrassment.

It should go without saying that if you’re in a position of prominence, as she was, this is a really, incredibly stupid thing to do. Not only because of the affair, but because this tape ended up in the hands of a third party who blackmailed her. And because she failed to pay up, it’s now on the Internet, where nothing ever dies. And while she has her supporters, she still hasn’t got her job back.

Moral of the story: If you’re looking to declare your total, undying devotion to that special someone, don’t do it like this. Especially if he’s not who you married, and you, like Anthony Weiner, have a lot to lose should it ever become public. And in the age of the Internet, it will. Anything even remotely suggestive is gonna end up in hands other than those for whom you intended it.

And even if you don’t mind the whole world knowing about your love, you’ll be sure to mind the snickering that goes with surprisingly unsexy missteps like this.

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Posted in Stupid Sex Tricks, Teh Heterostoopid, The WTF? Files | Comments Off on Stupid Sex Tricks: How NOT to say “I love you”

Venezuela enters Mercosur

It’s now official, and here’s the group photo to prove it:

Chavecito joins presidents Dilma Rousseff (Brazil), Pepe Mujica (Uruguay), and Cristina Fernández (Argentina).

And in case you’re wondering how the biggest country in that market bloc feels about this, here you go:

This poster called for a big, huge demo saluting Chávez in front of the Brazilian government palace, the Itamaraty, today. There is no doubt he got it.

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Posted in Brazil is the Bomb!, Don't Cry For Argentina, Huguito Chavecito, Paraguay, Uruguay, Socialism is Good for Capitalism! | 3 Comments