Hello everyone! I could explain to you why we havn’t been blogging for awhile….and why the site has been somewhat broken. But I won’t! Instead I would like to make you aware of our up-coming extravaganza this Friday, the 7th of August. From 7-11PM, we’ll be having a gallery opening for Meth and Hotdogs, a collection of cartoon-e bastards. There will be work from 30 to 40 artists from around the country (and some Canadians or something). It’ll be fun….it’ll be BEYOND fun. So..you know…BE THERE…er…HERE!

I know, I know, your mind is blown. Expect to put up with more of this stuff until I have the time and energy to do some political rant-a-mataze!

Love,

Angelo

With the recent pirating outbreak and a successfully mediated hostage situation, the focus is on Africa’s most Libertarian nation.  Somalia has been running on purely free-market principles for decades now; a land of fast jeeps, empty cities, raped women, and bombs, bombs, bombs! Since 1991 it has been without a government, mostly due to a combination of internal instability and the preference outside nations have for promoting it. Since the late 90s the United States has supported warlords, propped up a potempkin secular government, and knocked down any popular (usually Islamic) government when established.

What people don’t talk about is how key the United States is in the utter lawlessness in Somalia. Because the U.S. prefers to create a terrorist training ground instead of a potential sponsor-state, the Islamic Courts, the first real government Somalia has developed since 1991, were overthrown several years ago. The United States, acting through Ethiopia, overthrew the Islamic Courts and re-established the rule of the very warlords that are sending out pirates to attack the world’s shipping vessels.

If this sounds incredibly stupid to you, it…should. Not only was the leader of the Islamic Courts a “moderate” (for the radical Islamic world, that is), but his ousting has further empowered warlords who are ten times worse than radical fundamentalists. Who would you rather live under: a murderous tyrant with no moral principles or interest in social development or a hardline fanatic with a penchant for harsh punishment of criminals? That choice isn’t supposed to be easy, but it’s the choice the Somalis made when they supported the Islamic Courts.

The United States, our government, has made a very entrenched foreign policy: we’ll do everything we can to get what we prefer, even if it means getting the worst of the realistic scenarios. We’d rather support warlords and a fake secular government based in a foreign nation/ the U.N. than the real government of Somalia: The Islamic Courts. Why? They will probably support terrorism. It’s true; though Al-Qaeda actually has a few issues with the ICU (Islamic Courts Union) and its moderate leader.

Of course, what’s worse? A state that likes terrorists or an area the size of Virginia acting as a gigantic terrorist training ground? An area we have no control over, where we have little idea what is going on and no predictability. That’s opposed to a probable enemy-state we can communicate with and monitor; an orderly tyranny without so many variables.

We cannot have it our way; that’s been the lesson of Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba, North Korea…everywhere that has a different culture, a mind of its own; for better or worse. We can’t turn a nation still in a middle-ages mindset into a modern democracy overnight; and we can’t forget that fundamentalist religions are and have been a civilizing force in the world. It’s likely that such strict, moralist, overbearing, religious-based social orders are needed to bring a chaotic people into a civilized frame of mind. From there, as has been in our history, democracy and progressive ideas can take root.

Economic development, education, and allowing the people of Somalia to judge their own government, its merits and flaws, will turn Anarchic, bloody, Somalia into: Somalia! Africa’s Center for the Arts! In other words; maybe we need the 700 Club to get Project Runway. I can’t believe I just fucking typed that.

(Angelo S. is a senior fellow at Cranky Yellow’s Institute for Awesomely-Cool studies. He holds an almost-degree in knowing-stuff and Google.)

The Russians have really lost their game since the fall of the Soviet Union. The production values on this is fairly good for youtube; but is anyone buying this insanity?

Could they have at least got a guy who at least sounds somewhat like ANY American, much less a Texan? And……and…..we started World War I? We made up Pearl Harbor? I mean, we’ve done some pretty bad crap in our day but I am pretty certain we didn’t force the Europeans to murdalize each other. We….we’re even responsible for Russians not having babies anymore?

Hilarious quotes:

” We dropped nuclear bombs on two peaceful Japanese cities”

” HI….BOIS…And…Gerelz….Iem Gerge Dubbalooo Bersh…. ”

“We created the first social virus……….we called it, Live Fast, Die Young”.

This guy is a hoot. Check out his other videos for absolute, distilled, hilarious, insanity!

Oh, bitch, gloves are comin’ off now! He is literally saying he is willing to die so that he can call Obama’s mother white trash:

The guy made some prophecies, which he said came directly from god: Hillary would win the primary and…later…McCain would win the presidency.

Glenn Beck is no better than the rest of these losers and psychos. Just because he got himself on national television doesn’t make anything he says true. He’ll have a lovely home at FoxNews.

Oh good idea terrists; first you make sure a covert Muslim gets elected president and then you bash him on international news outlets? Obama is going to have to use his direct line to Osama Bin Laden and give out some serious scolding!

I’ve been experimenting with Tarot cards for quite some time. Since High School actually. That’s about the time every dejected boy and mopey girl finds magical outlets to their teenage angst. Being extremely unpopular I decided to find ways to gain power so that I could one day wreak destruction on all those who wouldn’t sit with me at lunch!

I mean, having the power of time at your fingertips is certainly a handy tool for revenge. I could, like, know where they’d be sitting in 2nd period. All manner of tacks, gum, and loose screws would await their hapless behinds! Besides, it’s always fun to jump out from behind some door and yell when, where, and how they are gonna die. Nothing’ll scare a kid more than knowing they’ll have to live to old age, eventually passing away after a long, drawn-out battle with lymphoma.

Nowadays, though, I use my powers for good. Aiding friends, family, and complete strangers with their questions and queries. Most say I am pretty good, whether it be through psychic prowess or mere psycho-analytic aptitude.

I am not entirely sure whether or not I believe that divinations such as these can actually tell the future. What I have found, at least, is that they help you focus, conceptualize, and analyze your problems. They help; and they’re quite abit of fun. I would suggest trying out a deck or two, if not simply for the artwork and symbolism.

For some fun, how’s about we play a game? Click on one of the following pictures for a picture which symbolizes your immediate future! Good luck everyone! (And no cheating by picking out a better future for yourself if your first choice is crappy. Deal with it!)

Congratulations Democrats on electing a historic president! Let’s all hope he doesn’t disappoint. I present all those who voted for Obama and worked hard on his campaign with the following celebratory videos!

One piece of advice, though, this is not the end. This is merely the beginning. Going back to sleep thinking that the job is done will only put a Republican in the White House 4 years from now. Our job is to make sure that Obama does what he said he’d do and keep Conservatives from blocking his efforts and dragging him through the mud.

Don’t get bored with politics, don’t go back to bed, don’t rest, don’t feel secure; the fight for an America of promise: peace, freedom, equality, and common prosperity; it will be long, hard, and assured only so long as you remain dedicated to what you believe in.

Insurance companies are well-known for their avarice and cold-hearted approach to human health and well-being. It doesn’t matter whether or not you would die from lack of coverage, they would rather you expire than cover someone who wouldn’t make them any money.

That’s the nature of a private, capitalist healthcare system. They don’t care if your children’s faces will fall off without coverage, they’ll do everything in their power to keep you from costing them money.

Of course, the government (which they spare no expense in lobbying) does everything it can to make sure this doesn’t change.

Case in point; meet artist, Cranky Yellow contributer, and new mother Elizabeth Frick (A.K.A. Ahimsa Creations).

That’s right everyone, the insurance company (ironically named “Golden Rule”) has colluded with the Missouri State government to push the costs of insuring undesirable babies to us, the tax-payers. That way insurance companies can be sure to only get healthy children who won’t cost them a penny, meaning they will get as much money as possible for providing as few services as possible. In the meantime, we must all pay the price for maintaining their bottom-line! It’s win-win!

This whole phenomena is very common; so common it has a name in the social sciences field: “Creaming”. Creaming is the process by which insurance companies do everything they can to insure people with little chance of becoming sick while leaving sickly people out in the cold. The elderly, the terminally ill, people with pre-existing conditions, high-risk individuals who are not yet sick, diabetics, and HIV+ individuals (or just gay men, they actually want to know your sexuality in order to provide you with health and/or life insurance). In other words, they take the “cream” off the top, the best most delicious part, and leave the rest for society or individuals to deal with.

To say that creaming is common is kind of an understatement; insurance companies couldn’t exist without the policy. There is simply no money in insuring people who actually need insurance, what would be the benefit? They have to make sure that costs do not exceed revenue, or that people in need of coverage do not come close to exceeding those that don’t.

Now, I have absolutely no problem with providing healthcare coverage to anyone in need; well, to be totally honest I think healthcare is a human right and should be provided to anyone and everyone. The real problem here is that this is social healthcare gone backwards; it is an issue of private enterprise externalizing their costs to the rest of society so they can enrich themselves.

It’s disgusting; it’s inhuman to write a copy-paste emotionless letter to a new family saying that their child was unlucky enough to be able to fit in a loophole and they are happy to cram her through it. They regretted to inform them that they couldn’t wait to toss their adoptive child to the curb because of flaws in Missouri state insurance policy.

Golden Rule is probably telling the truth when they say “We treat all children the same”. If they could find loopholes for any unhealthy children, adopted or otherwise, they would drop them faster than you can say “denied”.

Here is the Frick’s blog if you’d like to know more about them.

Oh ho ho! Let’s prove those war-hungry, wealth-loving, torturing, backwards, hypocritical oafs that they can’t find safe-haven in the supposedly tame Midwest! I mean, seriously, do they really think it’s a good idea to have their little party next door to Canada and within a state that consistently votes Democrat? George Bush lost the state during the election that he managed to get the popular vote in (instead of his first term in which he managed to get in due to a combination of vote fraud, the electoral college, and the Supreme Court).

Luckily, a collection of groups are preparing to make sure the Republicans have more to listen to than Country music and lame speeches. Every day during the convention protestrnc2008.org is inviting people to come up to chilly Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota to shout and march our way to victory this November. The Republicans need to know they are up for a fight; they need to know just how many people are tired of their antics, their policies, and their useless, pointless, endlessly destructive wars.

Cranky Yellow is planning on attending this protest during the September 1st demonstrations. A full calender of events and information on where and when the events are happening can be found here. Join us if you’d like, it’d probably be really cold so bringing us some hot chocolate might get you something special (especially if you are an artist or activist). I’m just saying I am not above being bribed, we’ve still got room in the store, open calender dates for shows, and activist events being planned in Saint Louis.

The artist/activist Zach Otte was good enough to make a rather eye-catching poster to mark the occasion and encourage people to join in. Take a look for yourselves:

Every Cranky worth their muster ought to partake in this affair; what are we if not in it for victory over the forces of corporate manslaughter? The very policemen of the rich will be gathering in one spot; what else is there to do than yell at them from specially designed “Free Speech Zones”?

What’s a Democracy without a protest or two, what’s a Cranky without being frozen solid holding a sign with slightly rhyming phrases denouncing current policies and administrations? I ask you, do we even have a choice?

The first installment of Crammed Organisms @ Star Clipper Comics is closing down this Friday, July 18th! If you want to see it you had better get your butt over there and check it out. If you don’t go… you’ll wish you had. It’s a beautiful show.

That’s all for today. I’m a little tired and grumpy.