Amazing but true. The town of Hayden used to require 40 signatures to get on the ballot, but reduced it to 5 and the crackpots are coming out of the walls.

This, from Yahoo news service:

Elderly Neo-Nazi Makes Last Stand in U.S. Town
Tue Oct 28, 2:39 PM ET

By Martin Johncox

BOISE, Idaho (Reuters) - At age 85, white supremacist Richard Butler is making what might be one last stand -- he is running for mayor of Hayden, the 9,000-population town where he has long been a flashpoint of controversy.

Butler, the former head of the neo-Nazi Aryan Nations, a group whose membership has dwindled to a handful, says now is the time for him to run but his opponents say he will only win a few votes in next Tuesday's election. They say that his anti-Semitic and anti-black views have brought disgrace to the town.

But Butler says, "This is the right time, because a lot of the people moving here are trying to leave the so-called racial diversity of California. We have to return back what made this nation great, and racial separation is one of those things. We're going to try for governor next time."

Butler moved to northern Idaho from California in the early 1970s because Idaho is mostly white and he thought it would make a good place from which to launch a race struggle.

Butler's home, marked by a "Whites Only" sign, barbed wire and occasional cross burnings, drew racist and neo-Nazi pilgrims from around the world, and the town of Hayden became synonymous with the Aryan Nations.

For the many who did not share his philosophy, Butler was a local disgrace. "There's only a few of them in town and they live in the same house, but this one person has brought such a bad reputation to Idaho and northern Idaho. It's a sad thing," said Mayor Ron McIntire, a grocery store owner and Butler's political opponent in the mayoral election.

"I don't think he has any hopes of winning anything. It's just a forum to get all his garbage out again."

Butler handed over the leadership of the Aryan Nations in 2001, a year after he sold his 20-acre (8-hectare) compound to pay a $6.3 million court verdict in favor of a woman and her son attacked by Aryan Nations guards.

White supremacists have had little luck running for office. Several years ago, a Butler supporter ran for mayor of the nearby resort town of Sandpoint. He got just 30 votes.

"There isn't a story here about Butler being competitive in a city election; it just provides another forum and gives him national and international attention," said Jim Weatherby, chairman of the Department of Public Policy and Administration at Boise State University.

"People in elections cast protest votes for a variety of reasons and votes for Butler could be misconstrued as supporting his ideology."

Far-right candidates have had little success nationally. Former Ku Klux Klansman David Duke was elected to the Louisiana legislature in 1989, but lost bids for governor, U.S. Senate and president.

While no one expects Butler to win, human rights groups are urging voters to turn out to reject Butler and his two city council runningmates, each of whom needed five signatures to be eligible candidates.

"You used to need 40 signatures, but state law was changed to only require five, so they signed each other's petitions and found a couple in town who supports them," Mayor McIntire said. "If it weren't for that, they wouldn't even be candidates."

No resemblence to the recall-election of the new governor of California, where celebrity, Republican money and (why has no-one mentioned this) being a Kennedy by injection achieved a bizzare victory for the Terminator, now governor of the oddball state.

In planetary contemplation of Uranus, Brits finally fed up with innuendo. This from Ananova.com

A South Yorkshire family have moved home because they are fed up with their address - Butt Hole Road.

Paul and Lisa Allot, who lived in the £150,000 bungalow with their two children for 15 months, got sick of people pulling their leg.

They say people posed for pictures outside their house in Conisbrough, many of them with their trousers dropped, reports The Sun.

And pizza deliverymen and taxi drivers refused to call at their home thinking the address was a joke.

Paul, 30, a lighting installer, said: "I like a laugh but it was beyond a joke. We've had people steal the street sign and it got to the point where I dreaded reciting our address.

"I thought it would be nice to rename it Button Hole Road. But it's easier to move than go through all the hassle of a new name with the local council."

However, new owner Peter Sutton says he's happy to live on Butt Hole Road: "I think it'll be fun and I know what to expect."

Er, did they not anticipate this before they moved there?

OK, so the Cubbies didn't come through. Well, you have to admit, they didn't break a near perfect record. So it's the Yanks and the Marlins. Go Yankees, my original home team. That Matsui is something else. And it's thanks to him that I get to see the World Series from Beijing! The Japanese station here, natch, broadcasts his games. I don't care that the play-by-play is all in Japanese, who needs it --- my beloved spouse is a live-in baseballaratus. Don't some girls get all the luck.

Cynacism and sarcasm aside (no, really) I congratulate the great nation of China and her 1.28 billion citizens on the successful flight of Shenzhou V, which concluded with great celebration today. The Dragon has joined the Bear and the Eagle in the heavens. May the stars in these constellations burn together and burn bright as the wings of the 21st Century turn the unknown into treasure.

Once the world is seen from outside, I've always believed, there is no escaping the wholistic entirety of life. The reason I've turned into such a pain in the butt is that all evidence defies that notion.

Thursday, October 16, 2003 Posted: 0832 GMT ( 4:32 PM HKT)

And the crackpot of the day prize goes to...

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (CNN) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has urged Muslims to unite against Jews who, he says, rule the world by "proxy."

Opening the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Malaysia Thursday, the veteran leader also took aim at Islam, blaming a shift towards theological interpretations of the Koran that shunned science and development.
...

the story goes on to say:

Mahathir called on Muslims to emulate the Jewish response to oppression, arguing the Jewish people had "survived 2,000 years of pogroms not by hitting back, but by thinking."

"They invented Socialism, Communism, human rights and democracy, so that persecuting them would appear to be wrong, so that they can enjoy equal rights with others," he said.

"With these they have gained control of the most powerful countries and they, this tiny community, have become a world power."


"We cannot fight them through brawn alone, we must use our brains also."

Yeah, well I'd be amused to see some evidence of these alleged brains.

For as long as CNN leaves the link live, the rest of this screed is here

I "hope and believe," as the Republicans said on election night Y2K, that this is your year, Chicago.

Of all the crackpot policies implemented in the post 9-11 era of paranoia and security retrofits, the USA Patriot Act is probably the most draconian. And maybe the most irreversable, as the selective encroachment on constitutional rights is legitimized on the backs of shocked, grieving, angry Americans. Americans can take it though, it only coalesces the dissent and outrage. And brings the crackpots out of the woodwork.

Bob Dole, there's a crackpot for ya, used to say "where's the outrage?" (And then he went and made a TV commercial for Viagra, after he lost the election.)

September 08, 2003

Dear Federal Agents:

As soon as I finish this note I’m going to tape it on wall in the front hallway of my home. The following information will hopefully save you some time when you break into my place when I’m not there, to snoop through my possessions. I understand that because of the USA Patriot Act, federal agents now have the right to snoop through my home and belongings without a search warrant and without notifying me before or after. This includes you agents searching my books, my computer, and even my underwear, and taking whatever you want, even though I’m not suspected of having done anything wrong.

As a patriotic American, I certainly support this law (especially because our arch-enemies Osama B. and Saddam H. are still on the loose and so could conceivably be hiding in my home, along with some weapons of mass destruction). Therefore I’ve decided I’d better tell you agents right upfront about what you may find incriminating in my home and my defense for it. Otherwise I might have (as Ricky Ricardo used to say to Lucy) “some ‘splainin’ to do.”
[read the rest]

Spare Change is a "Street" Newspaper, one distributed by homeless and low income people. Alternet syndicates these "street papers" which are often an amazingly entertaining and enlightening read. Articles typically focus on poverty, homelessness and the perspective of those abandoned by the world's richest nation. Holly Hand, who doesn't seem that disadvantaged from the description of her home, lands a good shot in this article.

Pass the envelope, please. Governor Davis has been recalled from office in an historic election. The new Governor of California is now the terminator himself, Arnold Schwartzenegger. True to form, the crackpot state has implemented voodoo politics in the most socially significant statement since the anti-war movement woke up last year. One wag called it the "off with your head" attitude many Americans are expressing in the wake of the revelations about the reasons for invading Iraq.

When I lived in Venice, where Arnold and Maria own a major gym, a restaurant and several business properties, I used to see Arnold tooling around in his Hum-V and once I saw both of them with their young daughters when I had brunch in the restaurant, Shatzi, that they own. In the loo at Shatzi, you'd hear taped Austrian language lessons as you tinkled.

Fasten your seatbelts and keep your hands and arms inside the car as we enter a year of a wild political ride.

And as for Arnold, as a friend and Californian expressed to me today, "What's the difference, one clown or another?"

I guess we're about to find out.

Well if you ever listened to Limbaugh, you had to wonder...is he on drugs? I mean he was more incoherent than the Wolfman! Busted, Rush!

I really like these last two paragraph's of Bill Berkowitz's article on WorkingFor
Change.com, which I purloined from Alternet.

I'm not a certified television gas bag, but I'm expecting the following things to happen: Regarding his racist comments, Limbaugh will claim he was only exercising his First Amendment rights and he will use his radio pulpit to launch a crusade around free speech issues; right-wing Republicans will close ranks around Limbaugh, beginning with discrediting the messenger – the National Enquirer – and then claiming that Bill and Hillary Clinton are behind the revelations; and the Rev. Jerry Falwell, Dr. James Dobson and Pat Robertson will spring to Limbaugh's defense and offer 'round-the-clock prayers on his behalf.

Years ago, popular televangelist Jimmy Swaggart was brought down when he was found to have been cavorting for years with prostitutes; Jim Bakker served time in the pen, lost his multi-million dollar religious empire, and his wife Tammy Faye, as a result of a series of sex scandals and fraudulent business activities; William Bennett, the self-appointed maven of morality, has thankfully been silenced after it was revealed that he had/has a major gambling jones. Now we find that Limbaugh has been hopped up on pills for several years. What's next? There never were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?

Bill Berkowitz is a WorkingForChange.com columnist.

Canadian PM Mulls Smoking Marijuana When He Retires

Reuters
Friday, October 3, 2003; 10:26 AM

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Now Canada can understand why Prime Minister Jean Chretien seems to be in such a hurry to push through a law decriminalizing marijuana.

Chretien, 69, said in an interview published on Friday that he might give pot a try once it is no longer a criminal offense -- presumably after he retires in February. Under the new law, pot users would only pay a fine if caught with small amounts.

"I don't know what is marijuana. Perhaps I will try it when it will no longer be criminal. I will have my money for my fine and a joint in the other hand," he said in an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press.

Over the objections of the U.S. administration, Chretien's government has introduced a bill which would end criminal penalties for possession of 15 grams (half an ounce, or 15 to 30 joints) of marijuana. It would remain illegal, however, but only tickets would be handed out.

Some members of Chretien's Liberal Party oppose the bill, however, and it was uncertain whether it would pass in time for his retirement.

Or maybe he won't pass until then. Canadian crackpots are the best.

Some people, possibly for lack of anything else to say, persist in bloating bandwidth by broadcasting jokes and filling up their friends' email boxes. Most are pretty lame, but this I like.

Cows & Politics Explained

A CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT: You have two cows. You keep one and give one to your neighbor.

A SOCIALIST: You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.

AN AMERICAN REPUBLICAN: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So what?

AN AMERICAN DEMOCRAT: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. You vote people into office who tax your cows, forcing you to sell one to raise money to pay the tax. The people you voted for then take the tax money and buy a cow and give it to your neighbor. You feel righteous.

A COMMUNIST: You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk.

A FASCIST: You have two cows. The government seizes both and sells you the milk. You join the underground and start a campaign of sabotage.

DEMOCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government taxes you to the point you have to sell both to support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow, which was a gift from your government.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government takes them both, shoots one, milks the other, pays you for the milk, then pours the milk down the drain.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when the cow drops dead.

A FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cow cartoon images called Cowkimon and market them World-Wide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You reengineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

A BRITISH CORPORATION: You have two cows. They are mad. They die. Pass the shepherd's pie, please.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 12 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION: You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.

A BRAZILIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You enter into a partnership with an American corporation. Soon you have 1000 cows and the American corporation declares bankruptcy.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You worship both of them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported on them.

AN ISRAELI CORPORATION: There are these two Jewish cows, right? They open a milk factory, an ice cream store, and then sell the movie rights. They send their calves to Harvard to become doctors. So, who needs people?

AN ARKANSAS CORPORATION: You have two cows. That one on the left is kinda cute.

For more like this, surf to Political Jokes. Just don't send them to me.

"You will have good karma if you do not propagate chain letters."

On a website for the unrepentant overendowed, an item from the advice column:

Dear Aunt Agony:

All of my jeans wear out in the very same place - between my thighs. I'm tired of spending all my money only to have pants wear out in two months. What should I do?

Bare Thighs
------------------------------------------###----------------------------------------
Dear Thighs:


Auntie has two suggestions: First, leather patches in strategic places will not only wear better than cheap cloth, they'll feel better, too. (Ooh, leather!)

Second, try spending more time engaged in activities that don't require your thighs to meet.

For more on the joys of obesity, surf to Fat!So?. It's one of the hippier sites on the web, not to mention that they moon you good and proper when you arrive. Talk about in your face! I love it.

Now Hear This:

WASHINGTON, DC—According to a Gallup public-opinion opinion poll released Monday, a solid 85 percent of the American people strongly believe that the American people no longer strongly believe that Bush is performing effectively as president.

"Due to perceived dissatisfaction over the economy, a strong majority of Americans believe that a strong majority of Americans believe that Bush's reputation has taken a hit," said Paul Mallock, a spokesman for Gallup. "In addition, we discovered a small but growing minority that believes a small but vocal minority is dissatisfied with the way the president is handling the situation in Iraq. The small but growing minority we found believes that a small but vocal group of Americans thinks that reconstruction is messier and more expensive than Bush originally said it would be."

Of the 10,577 U.S. adults polled, 8,891 "strongly agreed" that more Americans "strongly disapproved" of the president's current performance. ... read the rest

The Onion publishes satire that leans so far left, it's almost horizontal! If you're sick of the mainstream news, TV is depressing you and you're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, surf over to The Onion and wallow in your disaffection.