John Ashcroft was another cog in the right-wing nutjob US administration of George W. Bush.  As US Attorney General he was pat of numerous repressions of the freedom of American citizens and of any person visiting the United States.  All in the, publicly stated, name of protecting Americans. In truth Ashcroft and the rest of the Bush administration was simply going about their business of keeping the US population controlled through fear.  Oh I’m sure they did actually stop some threats and attacks, but the way they went about it did damage to the US culture and reputation that will take a generation to repair.  This fear allowed Bush and his cronies to make sweeping cultural and economic changes designed primarily to financially benefit Bush’s friends and allies. All this is common knowledge though.  I’m just rambling on in the pretence of generating some background story for the picture. In the midst of it all, someone took offense to Mr. Ashcroft’s supposed problems with the statue of the “Spirit of Justice”.  ...

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I cannot accept, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill today because they pissed me off. And also, help me to be careful of the toes I step on today as they may be connected to the ass that I may have to kiss tomorrow. Help me to always give 100% at work … 12% on Monday 23% on Tuesday 40% on Wednesday 20% on Thursday 5% on Friday And help me to remember … when I’m having a really bad day, and it seems that people are trying to piss me off, that it takes 42 muscles to frown and only 4 to extend my middle finger and tell them to bite me! Amen

I received a card during some customer service training seminar or other that I took in the 90's, and for some reason that card has been following me around in my piles of crap for something like 12 years.  So today I'm going to transcribe it here and then burn it, so it can no longer haunt me.   Words to Avoid For Extraordinary Customer Relations   (controlling words) have to I need (want) you to ... You need to ... What's your problem? I can't/you can't Would you mind ... ? I'll try I'm sorry It's just a ... best/worst but required / necessary should / ought to must policy jargon       Words to Use For Extraordinary Customer Relations   Are you willing? Will you? What have you considered? What are the options? Which do you prefer? What are the alternatives? How can it be corrected? How can I help? What do you want me to do? Here are some options I made a mistake I understand I understand you concern I apologize for (specific) however will / willing able unable   Oh look, there is a little copyright statement.  So ... the above is taken from a card copyright 1988 Kaset International, Tampa FL.  I didn't write it, except for the opening blurb.  I have found that many of these words ...

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well, and was astonished at what he saw. As every shovel of dirt hit his back, the donkey did something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed, as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off. ...

When God created Canada ----------------------- Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Heaven, God went missing for six days.  Eventually, Michael the archangel found him, resting on the seventh day.  He inquired of God, "Where have you been?" God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look Michael, look what I've made." Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?" It's a planet," replied God, "and I've put LIFE on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance." "Balance?" inquired Michael, still confused. God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth, "For example, Northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth while Southern Europe is going to be poor; the Middle East over there will be a hot spot.  Over there I've placed a continent of white people and over there is a continent of black people," God continued, pointing to different countries. This one will be extremely hot and arid while this ...