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6/24/2004
EAR PLUGS
We got more reviews coming, but here's the Torchy Taboo show:
http://www.degeneratepress.com/vault/torchy_6_2004/index.html
As usual with any show we cover with semi-naked ladies, there's lots of pictures
so you dial-up people probably need to get a drink and relax, but at least we
split it up across multiple pages this time. Enjoy!
BLASPHEMY
I apologize to the flurry of new subscribers to this publication. You’ve come at
an argumentative moment following the loss of one of the Right’s cherished
icons. Don’t mind the leftist vultures circling, the meat will be chewed from
the bones soon and we’ll return to our usually calm zine.
Meanwhile, let’s get back to the body! Degenerate PK’s spew of abuse last
episode generated yet more knee jerks from my friends to the left. Let’s kick
things off with PK’s opening lines from last episode:
“Degenerates SR & HPL, welcome to the game. You'll find it's a waste of time
trying to inject common sense into these jokers, but I like to have a little
fun with them from time to time. They get so moody when you disagree with
their narrow-minded beliefs.
I love liberals. They claim to be champions of diversity, but when a side
opposes them, they get their panties in a wad. This is why I believe them to
be proponents of socialism rather than tried and true democracy. With that
in mind, here we go...”
Since PK gave a shout out directly to HPL, let’s get his response first:
Whoa PK! I'm one of those moderates with jokers to the right and clowns to the
left of me.
LS -- Geeeezzz your experience in Oregon sounds awful! Did you glean the correct
knowledge from your experience? You argue that Carter administration was good
because it took better care of the unfortunate. Is that the correct (or even a
fair) criteria upon which to judge an administration? To be liberal in one's
youth is to be human. To be liberal as an adult is to be a fool.
PK -- I often get annoyed with those who offer America's economic prosperity as
proof of our political system's virtue. Since you happen to be in real estate,
consider this old axiom, "location, location, location." We, as a nation,
happened to inhabit one prime piece of real estate; the climate is moderate,
natural resources are abundant, and the terrain highly navigable. Thriving on
this here is relatively easy, and just about any sloppy-assed political system
could be an economic success here.
Degenerate HPL
Your editor really should stick to editing and not open his big mouth ‘cause he
tends to put his foot in it when debating, but I can’t let growling dogs lie.
PK, One thing I’ve noticed from my enemies on the right is their derision and
insult in the place of rational debate. Personally, I think it’s because if they
engage in rational debate they come up as short as their dicks. C’mon, can’t you
even get out some half-baked semi-informed Rush-Limbaugh/Neil-Bortz-parroting
ARGUMENT here?
“I didn’t come here to be insulted, I want an argument.”
“Oh, this is abuse. Arguing is next door.”
From Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Or, to put it another way, here’s a more elegant response from degenerate JDP:
This is my last word on the subject, and let it be an objective lesson to
Degenerate PK, in all its didacticism. I responded to all of his points
with counter arguments, some highlighting just how ill-informed PK was,
particularly with regard to international affairs from 1976 to
1988. Rather than support his points, to which I had responded, while
trying to be as fair as I could to the embodiment of the question of
whether Willy Lohman could look "presidential," he selectively quoted from
my reply, sometimes out of context, and usually coupled with direct
insult. Not that insult is necessarily bad, but insult devoid of wit is
little more than school yard name-calling. Why offend someone with style
(in his case, Haute C'est Poulle) when you can offend them with
substance. I would have hoped that he would have seen the opportunity to
look into the arguments and perhaps learn more about the events he so
ignorantly mangled, and then present an informed rebuttal that might have
led to an enlightened discussion in which all sides could contribute to a
greater understanding of the issues at hand. Instead, he seems to have
ignored them and taken refuge in his own, dogmatic view of the world,
repeating cliche`s such as the tried and true tax evader's coda, "Don't
people know better how to spend their money than the government,"
regardless of its total irrelevance to the matters at hand. There is an
old saying that may be relevant, and with it I shall close, "Never try to
teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig."
Degenerate JDP
Enough with the verbal jabs, let’s get back to the subject at hand, courtesy of
degenerate RVI:
Degenerate PK asked: "Do RVI and JDP think that government can better spend
individuals' money? If so, on what and how much?"
Yes, the government can better spend individual's money on some things: Welfare,
a social safety net, basic universal healthcare, education, the arts, libraries,
police and fire departments, the military, interstate highways, research of all
sorts. Of course, since I am a socialist, you knew what my answer would be. As
for "how much," that would depend on how much you make. Those who are poor or
with a lower middle class income shouldn't pay anything; those with millions and
billions of dollars should pay a lot. It's not a fair idea, but it's just. There
is a difference between these two concepts -- justice and fairness -- that all
libertarians and most conservatives miss -- libertarians are eaten up with the
idea that if everyone isn't treated the same way by government, it is evil (this
is a child's logic -- they also share this notion with communists); however, I
think those with more resources have a responsibility to bear greater burdens
than those who don't. It is the privilege of being strong and fortunate and,,
maybe, smart. If the wealthy don't like it, Atlas can go Shrug and sit in the
corner and pout till Doomsday for all I care. The rest of us have to exist in
this world and no one has the right to demand that we spend our time laboring
under some mindless Social Darwinistic scheme just so a minority of property
owners can assure themselves they are the highest achievement of evolution while
minimizing the power of government to alleviate suffering and allow us to
collectively do what individually we cannot. Life is difficult enough by far
without that kind of impediment.
Degenerate RVI
Here’s another from degenerate SH:
Thanks for the Reagan rant of a few missives back. I liked it. The
responses have been... well... I lived through that mother fucker's
reign. Lost my college aid in the first year and dropped back into a
poverty it took a long time to get out of. I don't think it would even
be possible for someone to do that now.
American politics has swung so far to the right that Nixon looks like a
communist. Here's one for you: Nixon proposed nationalizing health
insurance right before Watergate broke -- if the asswipe hadn't been
doing B&E we'd have health care for everyone. No shit. Try that one
today... and the biz about Reagan facing down the Evil Empire? Hell,
all that blustering and posing kept the hardliners in place when Gorby
was trying to get them out the door.
My wife and I are holding put until the elections this fall. If Bush &
Co. end up running the show, we're moving to Europe. My direct taxes
will go up, but I'll get real health care (as in, the doctor spends 20
minutes with me when I have a sore throat -- and then just hands over
the meds as part of the visit), free education for the kids, six weeks
of paid vacation (!!), and food that is made of ingredients instead of
factory-farmed by-products. Oh, and everyone gets paid a living wage.
Not mention public transit that works so I don't have to drive. And
egalitarianism, ghod forbid. Total cost of living is lower. Total
quality of life is higher. And total ability to be left the fuck alone
is much higher.
But I digress. Thanks for the Reagan rant, and fuck the whiners.
Pointless side commentary: I first signed up for your email when we
lived in L.A. before moving out, and while us old fucks (40+) don't get
out to a lot of shows we appreciate the attitude and the POV. If it was
physically possible to stay out until 2 AM and then do useful work at 9
AM we'd be making fools of ourselves every night.
Keep banging them drums.
Regards,
Degenerate SH
Last but not least, one from degenerate B_ (last initial unknown):
I'm a silent fan of your e-mails... but I wanted to clarify something that one
of your writers wrote about Reagan, (because wow this just wont die).
"Homelessness is and always has been a local issue, it's not for the feds to
control. Blame our cities' mayors. Even when homelessness maxed out during
the Clinton administration, I could find no reason to blame him. He may have
"felt the pain" of the homeless, but couldn't do much about it."
Actually, no, this is not true. Reagan in his wisdom, closed the Govt-funded
looney bins. If you've ever volunteered at a homeless shelter, you'd discover
that half of these people BELONG in a "home". They aren't homeless because of
hard times, they are homeless because the voices in their head continue to tell
them to crap their pants.
So, when your boy Ronnie closed the government run looney bins, all these
wonderful people spilled out onto the streets. THAT is why homelessness became
a huge issue during the Reagan Era.
Glad i could help.
Degenerate B
By the way, you can catch some more anti-Right Wing propaganda starting Friday
when Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 is released. It's playing at Midtown Art
and other fine theaters.
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