ADOLESCENT PERVERTS! GRABBING ASSES ON THE STREET

Please bear with me when I reveal these anecdotes, because they are all building blocks of the overall story that I am telling here. This one sounds really bad.


I was hangin' with Starsky and another kid from the crowd. Our little hormones must have all been out of control at the same time, because we went on an ass-grabbing spree on W. 72nd St. Two memories stand out; one shameful, one funny. After doing the "goose-and-run" thing for a while, we saw a couple of gorgeous Japanese girls. They were at least several years older than us (I was 11 or 12), but still very young and vulnerable. After we goosed them and ran, we came back, and did it again. They were definitely putting up with this better than any other girls (or women) that we had done this to earlier, so we tried to talk to them, but I ended up goosing one of them from the front side. I couldn't help it, and she finally did take a swing at me after that. I think she ended up hitting Starsky, who was totally innocent, of course.


After laying low for a while after that, we talked our other freind into humping a woman's butt at a pay phone on 72nd and Central Park West. Well, this lady was not one to be screwed around with, in the early '70's. She cornered him in the subway station, by running across the street to the other exit when he tried to escape, and he didn't have the balls to jump the turnstile. She called the cops from the pay phone, while Starsky and I laughed at his misfortune! I think that we eventually gave him lookout assistance before the cops arrived, but this was the '70's, so we had alot of time to help her in that respect as well, prolonging the hilarity! Yes, we actually helped her to capture him, before helping him escape.


When I was a kid, we didn't think about victimization. We did what we thought we could get away with, as children always do.We were victimized as well, but we got over it. I eventually learned how to treat women properly, but it took some time. More on that in future chapters.

(This one was posted in reaction to the 10 year-old who rubbed his groin on a school staffer, and got handcuffed by the NYPD for an hour. His behavior, like mine, deserves the harshest punishment appropriate for his age. I think he deserves worse punishment for trying that kind of behavior in school. Remember, I didn't even get caught! I punished myself later in life.)

Christmas Graffiti 5

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This blog is graffiti.

GETTING ROBBED ON HALLOWEEN, AND CHASING THE CULPRITS TO A PROJECT ROOFTOP

I was in 6th grade, so I guess I was eleven when this happened. It was halloween, and I brought a couple of freinds over, to paint our faces for trick-or-treating. One freind unexpectedly "invited" two 14 year old girls, as well. I had no idea that I was being set up.

One of my two freinds kept me busy painting monster faces on each other in the bathroom, while the other helped these girls steal everything of value they could find in our apartment. When we got out of the bathroom with the monster makeup on, the girls were halfway out the door. I didn't notice the bulge in one of the girl's snorkel coat at all.

As we talked about where we were going to trick or treat, one of the guys asked me to play the radio. This was unusual in itself, because we didn't usually listen to the radio when we were hanging out. I said "OK," only to find the radio missing. I ran to the drawer that held my brother's cassette recorder. Gone! I started crying like a baby, thinking about how much trouble I was in. Everything was gone, even my brother's penny collection!

I almost came to blows with my freinds after realizing that they set this up. It ended up with us trailing the girls to McDonalds, where they spent the pennies, and further downtown to the Amsterdam projects, behind Lincoln Center, where most of my classmates lived (These two idiots among them!)

Somehow, we found which building they were in, and enlisted the help of the Toyloy family in that building. I name them because Ricky was in my older brother's class, and his sister Yvette went to the roof with me to get the goods back from the theiving girls. I had the pleasure of reminiscing about this incident with both of them last year at the one and only St. Paul the Apostle School reunion.

Unfortunately, the two "friends" who set me up back in the day weren't at the reunion, and I never knew what happened to the girls. We had them arrested, and their families kept coming to our house to plead with us not to press charges. I had a fantasy about getting sex from one of them to keep them out of jail, which was a pretty bad thing to think at such a young age. Of course, I was 12 years old by that time, so I had an excuse for thinking that way. We ended up not pressing charges, my childish fantasy remaining just that.

At the reunion, I heard that the old freind that showed the girls where all the valuables were in my family's apt. was now in jail. Big surprise. He, and the other kid had starting stealing cars by eighth grade, just two years later. I always hoped that my better nature would rub off on freinds like these. I should count myself lucky that more of their malicious nature didn't rub off on me.

JUST ANOTHER HALLOWEEN TALE FROM THE VENDOME! DON'T MISS MUG-OR-TREAT, from the next year!

GERALDO REPORTS ON A FIRE AT THE VENDOME

I was called down to the Principal's office again. What the hell did I do this time? I saw my brother was also summoned, so it wasn't likely anything we did. We didn't socialize at school. It turned out that there was a "little fire" at our building, as the Principal described it.

I remember worrying about Baggy, our cat, all afternoon. Mom was at work until 5 PM, just a few blocks away from my school, and Dad was in Freeport, teaching HS English.

As it turned out, there was a 4 alarm fire at the Vendome (48 W. 73rd St), started by a grease fire from the bar/restaurant on the ground floor. All but 5 apartments of the seven-floor building (6 apts. per floor.) were uninhabitable. All of the B apartments were spared, as in 3B (our apt.), 4B, etc. Baggy was fine, too.

When I finally got home, the walls of both adjoining apartments were totally ripped out, and you could see into the living rooms. Pink insulation littered the hallway. It was surreal. When we got to our apt, at the end of the hall, it was amazing to see so little smoke damage inside.

Around 4 or 5 PM, a channel 7 Eyewitless news crew came around to film a report. The guy they sent had long hair, and was a rising star of local news at the time, none other than GERALDO RIVERA! He made the report from our upstairs neighbor's apartment, 5 or 7B.

This is one of my earlier Vendome stories, so I was pretty young. GERALDO did his report, and when they put the camera on me and my brother, I was smiling and laughing, so I looked down. We saw it rebroadcasted on the late news, at 11. He didn't ask us any questions, someone just said "get a shot of the kids!"

I still laugh at that memory, but this was a great tragedy, though no lives were lost. At that age, I was just happy that my cat was OK, and that we still had a place to live.

REBUFFING ANOTHER GAY ADVANCE; WHAT, WAS THERE SOMETHING IN THE WATER?

I had an older friend, a kid who lived in the Mayfair towers, next to the Dakota. He was 14, I was 12. He was rich, I wasn't. He was pretty slick about things, too. First, he talked me into trusting him to carry me across a shallow part of the boat lake in Central Park, instead of getting muddy feet walking around it's edges. I was a naieve child, when it came to friendships. Of course I ended up swimming in the filthy water, and got beaten with the scrub-brush when I got home. Yes, beaten on the butt, and screaming on the floor.

This was Mom's message to me, telling me that something was wrong with this.

I was leery of hanging out with this kid again, but I went over to his apartment to play with GI Joes. Yeah, well it got kind of weird. He started undressing, saying we were going to play with GI Joes in the bathtub. Ever the diplomat, I said I didn't want to do that. He ended up rolling around on his thick shag carpet naked, as I hastily excused myself.

I took it in stride. I had other friends that I knew were gay, even before they admitted it, when I was 12 years old. We were still kids; I thought of this as an embarassing invitation that I rejected. Only today do I realize that this kid was probably molested at an early age, which made him so open about what he wanted to do at 14 years old.

I was lucky for my upbringing. I was exposed to NYC in the '70's, and it wasn't a pretty sight, except to me. I thought I lived in a great world, even with all of the crap my family went through. I am a product of my times, and I'm proud of it.

HOW I AVOIDED CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AT THE VENDOME: I WAS GIVEN A CHOICE

As a child, even before I moved into the Vendome, I had been photographed more times than I can remember, though there is that one with me lifting my shirt with no diaper on, at about 2, that I'll never forget... LOL! My father was an amateur photographer, and my mother had a freind who was a professional photographer. Between them, we had a ton of family photos by the time I was 8 years old.

Around this time, this friend of mom's asked her if I would pose for nude pictures, and she asked me if I wanted to pose nude for his "artistic" photography. I was pre-pubescent, but still realized the sexual aspect of this. I knew he was gay, wanting to look at me in a sexual way, not an "artistic" one. I liked girls, even before I reached puberty, and knew this wasn't for me.


I told mom that I wasn't comfortable posing nude, and that was the end of that story. As much as I might fault my mom for even asking me if I wanted to pose nude for a probable pedophile, I'm proud that she never let that happen against my wishes, and protected me from worse predators. She was a consummate liberal, open to all ideas. I was exposed to more in my childhood than many adults have seen in their whole life.


There's a flip side to this coin: I wanted to see one of my babysitters nude, and she never babysat me again. That's for another post, but she was also a freind of mom's; one with morals.

LEAV IN THE USMC: I WAS CALLED "LITTLE HITLER" IN THE NDRC

A teaser from a future chapter: LEAV IN THE USMC


Shortly after I was admitted to the Naval Drug Rehab Center (NDRC), I was made Unit Leader, under the premise of putting low-ranking (I was an E-3) people in charge of the rest of the druggies. I soon earned the nickname "Little Hitler," for enforcing the rules strictly. It was strictly for show: I used to let most of the people I assigned extra duty off, telling them to do some "light dusting" in the back of the squad bay (In other words, just disappear for an hour). I did make some senior people scrub shower drains with toothbrushes, though. This appeased the staff at the rehab, and helped me keep discipline as well. "Friends" who thought that they could flaunt the rules were occasionally made to pay with shit duty as well, keeping the worst people in line. Yes, we were a bunch of screw-ups, but they were MY screw-ups, and I marched them around with the pride that any leader would take in his people.

There is more to tell about my stay at NDRC Miramar, which also is the base where the movie "Top Gun" was filmed. This is just a teaser, of course.

Update: This one's funny, "MY FAVORITE GUNNY."

BRUCE'S PLEASURE CHEST: A VENDOME TALE

When I lived at the Vendome, a sex store opened up in the neighborhood, called Bruce's Pleasure Chest. We actually went into this store, and held the wax tit-candles and penis water guns. At that age, it wasn't long before we got banned from the store for our antics in that environment.


This made them our enemies. Bruce's became a target of ours, much like the old Irish bar, which we smokebombed just for kicks. With Bruce's, we threw a bunch of empty airline liquor bottles at his window. Whoever was working there threw a huge empty vodka bottle back at us, that night.


Another time - I can't remember exactly what we did, but we ended up on my friend Rich's fire escape, directly above the store, with the fag from the store yelling "if I ever catch you kids, I'm going to MOLEST you!" -as we taunted him back!


I often wonder if Bruce's PC was tied in with the gay drug dealing ring that took over the area, as cited in my other posts. I think that he owned one of the weed spots that I went to years later, a few blocks away, under the cover of a similar sex shop. It's pretty much a no-brainer,

--BECAUSE...

He remembered us as the kids who caused him so many problems at his first store, which I didn't know to be a weed spot, being too young. Years later, we ended up copping from his new store, as well as the bookstore, which I think was another of his front businesses. We never had a good relationship with any of these guys; they were always pushing the limits of acceptable behavior, even when we were buying pot from them.


I don't want to associate all sex shops with Bruce's, or slander all gays as drug dealers and/or child molesters. I do want to relate my past experiences, which happen to include all of these elements, to one degree or another. These events all happened from the mid - 1970's to early '80's, and are merely anecdotes from my days living at the Vendome.

Bush Fails To Prevent East Coast Blizzard

This was forwarded to me in an email from ÅG:


Bush Fails To Prevent East Coast Blizzard


Minorities Hit Hardest by Brian Williams NBC


As President Bush and his staff cowered in the White House, snow continued to pile up on the many poor and minority victims who could not afford to get out of town, or to safety in Florida. Crucial supplies of blankets, hot cocoa, popcorn and dark rum - so essential to surviving the stress of any major snowstorm - lay in stores undelivered.


"Where is the government? I need my sidewalk shoveled so I can get out to buy my damn lottery tickets!" said one D.C. resident from his living room. "Why are we wasting money in Iraq when we could be spending it here?"


Progressive blogs blasted the President for his inaction. "We find the timing terribly suspicious - just as the Domestic Spying hearings kick into high gear, what happens? A major northeast Blizzard. Why now?" wrote blogger FUAmericaNBush2.


Hearings into the Blizzards' effect on hearings are almost a certainty.


Howard Dean has suggested he will call for an investigation once his new medications kick in. John Kerry took a break from the sporting activities of the glamorous super-rich in some exotic locale (random choice: Ice Sailing in Finland) to call for new legislation outlawing snowstorms. "The Republican Congress has dropped the ball once again. I have always been a staunch supporter of anti-snow legislation, except for certain locations where I ski. Snow has no business on our roads and the President and Congress know that."


Calls for impeachment over "SnowGate", as some are calling it, already are mounting as deeply as the snow itself. What will be discovered underneath will prove to have a truly chilling effect on the Republicans, as the inevitable thaw proceeds.


More breaking news......


Al Sharpton demands an investigation as to why snow is ALWAYS white.


Cheney has stock in Tru-Value Hardware, which sold an unprecedented number of SNOW SHOVELS today. Calls for Cheney's impeachment are mounting.


The gracious junior senator from N.Y. has opened the doors of her home to all of the heatless poor of her neighborhood. She is busy baking cookies for them, while her husband applies body heat to the nearly frozen teen-aged girls.

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TALES FROM THE VENDOME: INCIDENT AT 72ND & COLUMBUS

It all started with Starsky. He had to throw the gum into this other guy's hair, as we were walking away. He ducked around the corner before the guy turned around, and I was standing there. This guy was a 17-year old who had been trying to find out if we were gay, which we weren't Anyway, he charged at me, and I charged right back at him. As we scuffled, Starsky came around the corner to assist me against this older, bigger opponent.

Walking down the block was the president of the 71st St. Block Association, and his boyfriend. As he broke up the fight, he held Starsky up against a wall by his throat. Starsky and I were scrawny kids of 13-14 at that time, and this seemed excessive force to me. The 17-year old and I had stopped fighting as soon as the adults intervened, and Starsky wasn't really doing that much, but told the guy "get away from me," or something. I can only guess what provoked this crazy bastard into this rage. I screamed "I'm calling the cops on you, man!"-to which he replied "go ahead, I'm the head of the Block Association!"

I ran over to the bodega on the SW corner of 71st and Columbus to call the cops. The men that hung out in front of the bodega asked us what was wrong. We told them what happened, and they tracked down the two guys at 72nd and Colunbus Ave. This one guy from the bodega came right up to the guy who choked Starsky and said "you hurt that kid," and punched him straight across the jaw!

Within minutes, a larger crowd had gathered. The police pulled up, and the block ass. president told the officers that "this guy hit me!" -The cops immediately handcuffed the guy from the bodega, as Starsky and I, along with the crowd, screamed out against this injustice. The cops wouldn't listen to us, two crying little boys in a sea of outraged people. We tried to show them the bruises on Starsky's neck, but this was the '70's, so we had to accept it.

Meanwhile, in the Vendome, my older brother noticed a commotion out the window; a huge crowd of people gathering around a police car, blocking the intersection of 72nd & Columbus. He got out the monocular (made by our grandfather - Robert K. Leavitt Sr.), and looked across the street. He called our mom to the window, and she saw the entire scene. Starsky and Hutch, in the middle of a big public fiasco again. At the center of the mob, there we were, crying our eyes out to the cops, to no avail.

The only moral I can find here is "don't throw gum in people's hair, and don't assault suspected criminals, unless you want to get screwed." -just another installment in my Tales from the Vendome.

"THE THEME" FROM LEAV! -YA DAMN RIGHT!

Who's the crazy bloggin' man
That's spreadin' sense across the land?
LEAV!
Ya damn right!

Who is the man that would risk his neck
For his brother man?
LEAV!
Can you dig it?

Who's the cat that won't cop out
When there's danger all about?
LEAV!
Right On!

They say this cat LEAV is a bad mother...
SHUT YOUR MOUTH!
-But I'm talkin' 'bout LEAV!
THEN WE CAN DIG IT!

He's a complicated man
And no one understands him but his woman
ANNA LEAV! she's a liberal...


An homage to one of my many inspirational influences, Mr. Isaac Hayes. For those who don't know, these lyrics are an altered version of the theme from SHAFT, a popular movie character in the 1970's. Yeah, Samuel Jackson updated the character in 2000, but he's not Richard Roundtree, the guy who I thought played the BIGGEST and BADDEST hero of that era.

Update 03/15/06: Isaac Hayes has quit south Park over a spoof of Scientology.

Gordon Parks, who created Shaft, has died.

Sad news all around.

PETA KILLS KITTIES!

PLEASE STOP THIS HATEFUL GROUP!

THEY KILL KITTIES!

PARTISAN SEASON'S GREETINGS

For My Democratic Friends:

"Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. And without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee. By accepting these greetings you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself or himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher."

For My Republican Friends:

Here's wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Hat tip to AG, an old school buddy.

ON RACE: ARE BAD WORDS REALLY HATEFUL? 06/26/03

I've been thinking about "hate" crimes and "hate" speech lately, and I'm reminded of two episodes from my childhood.

The first one was when I was in sixth grade at St. Paul the Apostle school in Manhattan. Most of my friends lived in the Amsterdam housing projects, right behind Lincoln Center. Most days, after school, we would go to the Lincoln Center Library and do childish things, like sliding down the escalators, or scratch up the great Motown records (after listening to them, of course). Across the street was the Julliard school, where we would sneak in and try to get a peek at the aspiring ballerinas practicing. They were like creatures from another planet, all of them so pale and skinny, with their hair pulled up in a little bun on top of their heads.

One day we stayed outside, and taunted them as they left the school, saying "HON-KEY, HON-KEY, HON-KEY!" This was great fun for an hour or so, after which we went back over to Lincoln Center to hang out. I finally got around to asking one of my friends what a "honky" was. After he told me, I said "but wait, I'M WHITE!". One of my friends said "You're not Puerto Rican?", to which I replied "I've got blond hair and freckles!". He replied, "Chris, YOU A HONKY!". We all laughed, and no friendships were ended that day, though we didn't "honky-bait" the Julliard girls again.

The second episode was maybe a year or so later, when I was spending weekends in Freeport with my father. I met a whole new bunch of kids from south Freeport (all white), and quite a different culture. I was talking with a girl from this crowd, when I said to her "nigga, you're crazy".

OH BOY.

The resulting commotion could be called "culture shock", but I was lucky the whole crowd didn't kick my ass! I tried to explain that where I was from, that expression was no more offensive than saying "Man, you're crazy" or "Dude, you're crazy". I can still remember her screaming "He called me a nigger!", over and over as my brother helped smooth things out with the crowd.

I still wonder if she would've had as bad a reaction if I had said "Bitch, you're crazy". However, I'm proud to say that I watched many people from that crowd overcome their racism in the following years, especially during high school.

The point of these stories is that you can't judge what's in a person's heart or mind just by what they say on one occasion. You also can't guess at what another person might be over-sensitive to, or what they actually hear when you speak. I realize that I'm citing childhood anecdotes, showing me to be quite a naive child. As adults, more is expected of us. Therein lies my problem with "hate crime" laws. If I get into a fight with a black guy, and I call him "nigger" during the fight, is that a "hate crime"? Considering my above stories, couldn't I make a case that, in my formative years, I learned that word as being no more offensive than "man" or "dude"? Would a jury buy it?

-Or how about a customer at the motel I work for, an old black man who said to me "they should ship you back to Ireland"? (I swear it's true, Anna was on the phone listening to the whole thing!) Should I have denied him a room, and sued him for "hate speech", or just laughed it off? I laughed it off, of course.

However, I don't see a need to apologize for using "bad" words in my everyday speech (or my emails). I don't use racially polarizing words nearly as often as I use plain old profanity, which is supposed to be offensive to everyone.

While society is getting more permissive of general profanity, more and more words are deemed "politically incorrect" due to racial over-sensitivity. Well, I'm not buying it. The only person I have to worry about offending is the man who looks back at me in the mirror; he's the most honest judge of my character.

We're all human, and quite fallible. Once we accept this, maybe we can work around all of our individual "quirks" and "biases". I may hate what someone else has to say, but I will defend their right to say it, unless it actually incites others to break the law.

CHRISTOPHER K. LEAVITT

PLASTIC KARMA

I overdrew my debit card for the first time ever, the same week that I lost it, along with my wallet, on my way to my fiance's Christmas party. While it was bad karma to lose my wallet, and all of my ID, I'm sure whoever found it thought they hit the jackpot after seeing my Republican National Committee ID. Not all Republicans are rich, even in NY. They will be as sorely dissapointed as I was about the loss of my ID.

I CALL THAT PLASTIC KARMA

PS: I see the bright side; that I had no money in the wallet when I lost it, and that the card was useless to anyone who found it. I was able to correct both my arrears and get a new card at the same time, and the nice lady at the bank suggested a passport as a back-up ID.

NEXT: Reclaiming my ID before a potential ID theft! (Another bad move by the scammers, if they try)

UPDATE: Found my wallet at the bottom of my closet! Take that, imagined ID thieves!

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OUT THE WINDOW: TALES FROM 48 W. 73RD STREET (THE VENDOME) 1974

Photo of my windows (center) facing Columbus Avenue. The window I jumped out of is around the right corner of the building.

I lived for a time at 46 W. 73rd St, and then moved next door to 48, which was on the SE corner of Columbus Ave (&73rd St.). My parents had separated, and my father lived in Freeport, Long Island. I stayed with him on weekends, being picked up either on Friday night, or Saturday morning. I had made some friends in Freeport, and preferred to be able to see them on Friday nights, of course. Well, one week, when I was about 12 years old, I thought I should be able to travel from Manhattan to Freeport alone on a Friday night. Mom would have none of this, of course. Dad would be coming in the morning to take me out to Freeport, and that was that. I was banished to my room, with 2 windows overlooking Columbus Ave, and a third window just one floor above the roof of the store next door.

I don't know exactly what posessed me that night, but I look back to my wish to be like Shaft, Spider-Man, and the Werewolf at that age, just as a guess. I put some clothes in a plastic bag, and scraped together the money for the subway and LIRR fare (I think it was $2.35 for the LIRR during off peak hours, and either 35 or 50 cents for the subway, though I'm not sure at all), and JUMPED OUT OF THE SIDE WINDOW, ONTO THE ROOF OF THE BUILDING NEXT DOOR. I sprained my ankle on that first jump, and then had to climb down the store's fire escape ladder, and hang- jump down onto Columbus Ave, about midway between 73rd and 72nd streets. I was hearing the theme from Shaft in my head as I limped down 72nd St. to the subway, and then to the LIRR, on my way to hang out with my friends in Freeport.

By the time I got to the Freeport LIRR station, it was past my usual curfew, and I had to walk the 2 miles to dad's place, because I had no money for a cab. I was starting to realize that this was not going to be worth what I had invested in it. Boy, I didn't know the half of it. When I arrived at St. Marks Ave, where dad lived, he was waiting at the door. NOT HAPPY. He invited me in, and asked me if I knew why my mother had so many nervous breakdowns. Of course, I had no clue. I was always the last one to know when mom got "spooky", as we called it, and I often unwittingly encouraged it. Little did I suspect, maybe not even during this incident, when my dad told me explicitly, that I might have added to her stress. Dad wasn't the only one; my older brother used to tell me that I (again, "unwittingly") used to put all kinds of pressure on mom. I didn't see it then, but do now. Now I see my fiance worrying about her adult (20 yr. old) daughter going out alone, and I understand.

There are alot more stories to be told about my life at 48 W. 73rd St. As I find the words to articulate them, I'll be writing them. This is what NEXTLEAV is for, after all. The personal side, and other stuff I wouldn't post on LEAVWORLD. Hope it's interesting, and helpful.

Seen and Not Seen

I got this in an email, and don't know who wrote it. Damn good, though.

Subject: To my friends and family: From a Mc Comb Resident


What I have seen since Katrina:

The poor and the wealthy hurt by the storm.

Black, White, Hispanic, Oriental and Indian all hurt by the storm.

Christian people giving, giving, giving.

Churches going all out to minister in Jesus' name.

Neighbors going door to door helping one another.

Thugs and hoodlums going door to door looking for someone vulnerable.

Ice and water being fought over as police tried to keep the peace.

People coming up from New Orleans taking over empty houses because shelters are full.

Out of town volunteers coming with food and staying for now a week still serving it.

The Churches all ! over this part of the country doing what Christians do in a crisis.

The Red Cross doing a great job in the shelters.

The Salvation Army doing a great job in the community.

Four Hundred crewman from everywhere bring back the power to our homes, churches and businesses.

Lines at service stations a block to a mile long.

National Guardsman patrolling the streets of Mc Comb along with Kentucky policemen protecting us from the hoodlums and thugs of Mc Comb, Pike County and New Orleans (the most dangerous city in the world before Katrina.)

Drug dealers working outside shelters.

Doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel working tirelessly, even sleeping in the hospital to do the job God called them to do.



WHAT I HAVE NOT SEEN;

The ACLU setting up a feeding line.

People for the American Way helping in the shelters.

The NAACP doing any work whatsoever.

The American Atheist organization serving meals in the shelters.

Jesse Jackson directing traffic at the gas stations.



I could go on but you get my message. Its the people with love and compassion who do the work.

The gripers in Congress should come on down and get in line to pass the water and the ice. Are you listening Hillary, Chuck, Teddy and all the sorry loafers we call Senators and Congressmen. They don't have a clue as to what this life is all about here on the Gulf Coast.

Boy I feel better now.

WEST IS A DIRECTION, WESTERN IS ALL CULTURES' DIRECTION

This could be pure nonsense, but why was the USSR considered "the Eastern block," though some of those Eastern nations now join many Far Eastern nations as part of the West, and our current war is about "Westernizing the Middle East?" I propose a geographic analogy:

These terms (North, South, East, and West) were coined before men knew the world was round. West was, and still is, a direction that one can travel; eventually we learned that travelling ever Westward can bring one back to the same point on Earth. The same goes for East, North, and South, or any other direction one can imagine, of course. West, however, has morphed into a cultural term. It now represents or influences cultures literally around the globe, some with very different histories than those originating "the West" as a culture.

Why has the West been so successful at changing so much of the world? Why is Eastern Europe so much more "Westernized" than Western Europe these days? Why do the Islaofascists in the Middle East plot terror against "Western" infidels, and rail against their influence? Because, much like West is a direction on the map, it has become a direction in human culture, including international politics. The general direction is toward greater individual freedom, but as in my geographic analogy, travelling too far "West" can bring a nation right back to oppression of individuals' rights that it was trying to escape. This has become a problem in the U.S, as well as much of Western Europe. Policies claiming to be "of public benefit" threaten to strangle individual freedoms, and the legal abdication of personal responsibility in favor of "deep pockets" lawsuits or "social justice" helps propagate these policies. The U.S, as the leading Western nation, should be on the forefront, fighting to curtail abuses of it's own government bureaucracy against citizens, especially (but not solely) those of the judicial branch.

But I digress.

Successful countries adopt Western policies that enhance their productivity first, as Japan, Taiwan, and others have done, with political freedoms following in each case. Not every society takes a "due West" course. Each nation that "Westernizes" does so differently. China is an example of a nation that has adopted Western economic policies, while maintaining a Communist dictatorship. This will test the theory of economic freedom bringing about political freedom. While China poses a major threat, it is not as great as the Soviets presented at the height of the Cold War. Right now, we must take care of the business at hand in Afghanistan and Iraq, and insure that these countries move in a western direction, expanding individual freedoms. To do any less invites enlarging the suffering in those nations, and adding to the next potential threat to "the West," regardless of how many here at home hate that idea. The internal opponents of the "West" only have the luxury of hating the West because of the freedoms provided them under Western free speech policies, so they really don't have a valid argument against "Westernization."

ATTACKS BY STRANGERS

After hearing the sad story about a young woman on L.I. who was attacked after asking for directions from, and getting in the car, of a stranger, I remember a similar situation that happened to me a few blocks from the same place in 1978 or so. I was 15, and had just walked a drunk friend home, when a stranger in a car asked directions to a street on the other side of town. Being drunk myself, I got in his car, with the assurance that he would give me a ride back to my house, which was in between where we were and where he was going. Unfortunately, I directed him to the wrong street, and when I remembered which street to go to, he had other ideas. He offered me money to give me oral sex, which I declined. As I unlocked the door of his car (while moving), he reached over, locked it, and wrapped his arm around my neck. I punched him in the face, unlocked and opened the car door, and jumped out, safely skidding to a stop on the fresh snow in the street. I broke off the nearest street-level tree branch, and ran along side of the closest house, waiting for him to reappear. After a while, I started walking home, meeting some friends in a car who gave me a ride. I told them this story, because it wasn't anything more than something to talk about, having survived it unscathed. A few years later, I found another friend had been accosted by the same fat black guy with glasses, in the same white car. My friend used his large pocket knife to get out of his situation, without having to actually use it violently.

Serial rapists/pedophiles come in all sexual orientations, and have been around since before anyone reading this was born. Women aren't the only ones at risk. Everyone thinks about how bad the kids are today, but there is always some adult who is worse. Look at my anecdotal story. I, and one of my friends fought this guy off, but how many times was he successful? Where are those kids now? I'm scared of today's adult predators, which is an alarm worth ringing. Let's hope today's kids are as up to fighting them off as my friend and I were.

BAR ART GALLERY

WLCOME TO LEAV'S BAR ART GALLERY! These pieces were drawn on coasters, napkins, and scrap paper at a number of local bars. Some aren't that good, but worth a laugh.

BUG-EYED SKULL MONSTER

ALIEN SPACE CREATURE

SELF-PORTRAIT '99

BAR HEART: WHEN SYMBOLS ATTACK

DEMON PIRATE

KISS VAMPIRE

LIZARD KING

WOLVERINE

DINOSAUR

BIRD-MONSTER

MUTE

NEXTLEAVWORLD: POLITICAL ARTWORK!

MY POLITICAL ART ARCHIVE

DEAN & GORE - THE LIBERAL SIDESHOW

KERRY is DUKAKIS... I TOLD YOU SO!

I'M A REPUBLICAN, NOT A RACIST!

THREE RELIGIONS UNDER ONE FLAG!

THE DEATH SQUAD'S PRESENT TO THE U.N!

WARRIOR W PART I

WARRIOR W PART II

WARRIOR W PART III

THEY CAME TO DIE. WE DIDN'T.

SADDAM, OSAMA, ARAFAT are BLOOD BROTHERS, DEATH TO THEM ALL!

JO HURT: Art and Audio Clip of Mom singing "ZIP"

My late mother was a Broadway actress in the '50's, before I was born. Her stage name was Jo Hurt, and the high point of her career was in 1950, when she appeared in "Pal Joey." I found a page on Amazon.com with a short audio clip, and thought I'd share it. My Godmother, Elaine Stritch, is currently appearing at Lincoln Center in NYC, though I haven't seen her in over 20 years. She also recorded "ZIP" in 1952, on a different cast recording. This link is to the page with my mom's version. Just click on the "samples" link, then pick the song "ZIP" when you get there. That's my mom!

This is a Jon Whitcomb painting of her, done in the early 1950's. It was altered to look like a Cosmopolitan magazine cover by her agent.



...and this is a sketch of her from 1945, done on the Pacific USO tour with Bob Hope.







I'm really proud of her, and it's nice to show it.

LEAVART: LONE WOLF!

These are links to all of the LONE WOLF art on my LEAVART site. New posts will be linked.

LONE WOLF
-Comic, page One
-as STARWOLF!
-T-Shirt Design (April 1983)
-Blood Trail
-LONE WOLF DESIGNS composite
-with EVERYBODY, under LONE WOLF DESIGNS
-CHRISTMAS WEREWOLF, with bloodshot blue eyes!
-GOLD WOLF?
-"12 DAYS OF THE CHRISTMAS WEREWOLF"

STARBORN GALLERY! - LEAVART

These are links to all of my drawings of STARBORN on my LEAVART site. I'll add links as I post new drawings. The links are to the drawings, with comments about some of the drawings at the original LEAVART posts:

STARBORN: 2 DIFFERENT VIEWS
Color "Makeover"
STARBORN: Lost Image
STARBORN: "Purple Invasion"
Starborn Comic Art: Page 2 Detail
Starborn, Solaris, Wavelord, Silver Surfer, and Co...
STARBORN CAPTURED BY "EVIL GUMBY!"
STARBORN COMIC: PAGE ONE
STARBORN! Close up!
-IF ONLY (WORLD TRADE CENTER TRIBUTE)
-with BABES
-1978
-Defending the Earth
-with COSMOS and WAVELORD
-Grim Looking
-Page 2 & 3 of STARBORN comic
-Kickin Back on a Gray Day
-Solar Flare
-with WAVELORD and SOLARIS
-with EVERYBODY!

La Shawn Barber: Takin' the Heat!

I recently posted a comment on La Shawn Barber's blog, in response to a post about her being called an "uncle tom" and worse by some commenters. When I returned home and checked the comments, I got a taste of what she puts up with. Notice how the commenter (someone calling themselves HiRez) equates the shunning of a Black Republican (for more than his position on reparations) with the ACTUAL KILLING going on in the Palestinian areas. As for Israelis being killed for supporting the Palestinians, it doesn't happen. Israel has Arab legislators who openly support the Palestinians. The assasination of the Prime Minister was a rare attack by an Israeli terrorist, not a daily occurence.

"HiRez" also takes issue with my use of the term "race baiting", but what is calling someone an "uncle tom", if not race baiting? For the record, calling anyone who justly criticizes a Black person a racist, without addressing the criticism, is also "race baiting." Read on:


Ms. Barber, what is happening to you is symptomatic of what happens to anyone who opposes an entrenched ideology. Palestinians who want peace with Israel are murdered in the streets as traitors for doing the same thing you are doing. You are a voice of sanity that is sorely needed in the US today. Looking at the decline of the MSM, I’m glad to see people on the forefront of the next media wave have a more reasoned point of view. These attacks on you, and bloggers in general, as a "conservative white male" surrogate are simple race baiting, as I’ve written about on my www.nextleav.blogspot.com site. I have to be honest, and admit that I haven’t published any of my more controversial pieces on race on my main political blog, www.leavworld.blogspot.com. You give me courage not to be ashamed to be called a racist when expressing an opinion informed by facts or personal experience. I have a comic art blog, www.leavart.blogspot.com, where I am going to post an awesome piece of art that says: I’M A REPUBLICAN, NOT A RACIST! Though I’ve emailed it to a few friends in the past, I wasn’t sure I would ever post it. I know this sounds like a pitch for readers on my websites, but look at them yourself, and decide if they’re worth posting. You are one of my favorite writers since I first read you on the JWR website. I’m new to blogging, and hope you like what I’m doing, too.
Comment by Chris Leavitt - 03.16.05 @ 8:12 am


This is symptomatic of the hypocrisy I am talking about…
Posted by the guy advertising his blog…CHRIS LEVIT…(sic)
"Ms. Barber, what is happening to you is symptomatic of what happens to anyone who opposes an entrenched ideology."
Could being a conservative be an entrenched ideology?
"Palestinians who want peace with Israel are murdered in the streets as traitors for doing the same thing you are doing."
As are Israeli’s who oppose the persecution of Palestinians…
What occurs if we reframe…and say…CONSERVATIVES are slain in Republican Circles for saying publicly they believe in reperations (Alan Keyes) or that they strongly believe in Affirmative Action (Colin Powell)…
"(these attacks) As a 'conservative white male surrogate' are simple race baiting,"
The biggest logical fallacy in argumentation I have seen EVER by people who want to minimize or chastising dialogue and discussion on race is this one…either some is "playing the race card" or they are "race baiting"…which is every much an ad hominem attack on the person presenting the discussion as if the argument is invalidated as illogical because the person presenting it is using it for what you deam as a perverse purpose…
And this further illustrates my disgust with partisan politics and ideological crusaders…maybe I will go back to being an independent…
Comment by HiRez - 03.16.05 @ 9:18 am


Speaking as someone who is not and has never been a member of any political party, I think that’s a good idea. And about this:
This is symptomatic of the hypocrisy I am talking about…Could being a conservative be an entrenched ideology?
This is man’s condition, HiRez. You’re not above it and I’m not above it. Whatever you want to call it, you have an entrenched ideology, too, and if you say you don’t you’re being disingenuous. The important point is what is true, not how many ways we can attack labels.
Comment by La Shawn - 03.16.05 @ 9:25 am

Dear La Shawn,WOW! There were zero comments posted when I wrote mine! Now there are over 50! It looks like I got HiRez’ panties in a bunch almost as much as you do! Thanks for defending my right to my own ideology. Meanwhile, you keep calling ‘em as you see ‘em. I agreed with everything you said in your post and comments, and now I’m going back to read more.
Have a great day, from Chris
comment by Chris Leavitt — 03.17.05 @ 1:06 am

JUXTAPOSITION: IDEAS AT WAR

This is a combination of 2 pieces from very different sources. I liked the way they worked together. The opening paragraph and every other is by (American) Don Monkerud, from his o2/07 piece "The new Americanism: The Eichmann Syndrome". The second paragraph and every other is by Matthias Dapfner, Chief Executive of the huge German publisher Axel Springer AG, in his piece "
EUROPE - THY NAME IS COWARDICE "-no date available. Read on:

As the world mourns the anniversary of the Holocaust, we continue to wonder how one of the most advanced countries in the world could commit such an atrocity. We forget that the slaughter didn't occur overnight but took years to set up. Little by little individuals assuaged their consciences and found it advantageous to go along with authority, committing a number of small acts, ultimately culminating in genocide.

Appeasement crippled Europe when genocide ran rampant in Kosovo, and even though we had absolute proof of ongoing mass-murder, we Europeans debated and debated and debated, and were still debating when finally the Americans had to come from halfway around the world, into Europe yet again, and do our work for us.

While we are not Nazis yet, Americans appear blind to the irrational justifications that are leading us to engage in a holy crusade that bodes well for no one. Will we continue to allow a minority, driven by irrational and anti-rational Christian beliefs, to transform our society? Or will our acquiescence lead us one day to find ourselves marching beside Adolf Eichmann?


Appeasement cost millions of Jews and non-Jews their lives as England and France, allies at the time, negotiated and hesitated too long before they noticed that Hitler had to be fought, not bound to toothless agreements. Rather than protecting democracy in the Middle East, European appeasement, camouflaged behind the fuzzy word "equidistance," now countenances suicide bombings in Israel by fundamentalist Palestinians.

Our bombs have killed up to 100,000 people in Iraq and we justify our continued occupation as "bringing democracy to the world." President Bush won the election based on "strong leadership," and surrounds himself with Federalist Society lawyers who believe in the supreme power of the president. Congress promises to dismantled our social programs and allow us to compete against corporations and the wealthy, who already own 85 percent of the nation's assets. Giant corporations such as SBC and AT&T are allowed to merge, lay off 25,000 workers, and control our public utilities. Republicans muscle laws through Congress to benefit the rich, while increasing funds for domestic spying, the military and a narrowly defined "moral agenda."

Appeasement generates a mentality that allows Europe to ignore nearly 500,000 victims of Saddam's torture and murder machinery and, motivated by the self-righteousness of the peace-movement, has the gall to issue bad grades to George Bush.. Even as it is uncovered that the loudest critics of the American action in Iraq made illicit billions, no, TENS of billions, in the corrupt UN Oil-for-Food program.

Patriotism transforms into national chauvinism-against "old Europe" and the rest of the world-and even those opposed to the Iraq military adventure support "our troops." Environmental laws are dismantled. Religious faith replaces common sense and science. Our Secretary of Defense justifies using atomic weapons on the battlefield. Republicans who railed against Clinton "lying," ignore Bush's lies about WMD and change congressional rules that would allow an indicted Tom DeLay to retain his leadership position. The American people remain quiescent, good citizens, fulfilling their primary role as consumers. Are we in danger of becoming like Adolf Eichmann?

One cannot help but recall Britain's Neville Chamberlain waving the laughable treaty signed by Adolf Hitler, and declaring European "Peace in our time". What else has to happen before the European public and its political leadership get it? There is a sort of crusade underway, an especially perfidious crusade consisting of systematic attacks by fanatic Muslims, focused on civilians, directed against our free, open Western societies, and intent upon Western Civilization's utter destruction. It is a conflict that will most likely last longer than any of the great military conflicts of the last century - a conflict conducted by an enemy that cannot be tamed by "tolerance" and "accommodation" but is actually spurred on by such gestures, which have proven to be, and will always be taken by the Islamists for signs of weakness.

Anyone with a smattering of awareness today questions the path down which our leaders are taking us. Consider the direction. As America pursues an aggressive military policy-Bush's preemptive strike-invading Iraq and Afghanistan, threatening to bomb Iran and North Korea, and imposing our economic form of corporate democracy around the world, Americans are becoming more nationalistic and more willing to support acts we considered totally unacceptable in the past.

Only two recent American Presidents had the courage needed for anti-appeasement: Reagan and Bush. His American critics may quibble over the details, but we Europeans know the truth. We saw it first hand: Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War, freeing half of the German people from nearly 50 years of terror and virtual slavery. And Bush, supported only by the Social Democrat Blair, acting on moral conviction, recognized the danger in the Islamic War against democracy. His place in history will have to be evaluated after a number of years have passed.

It's almost comical to see how much more a bigwig German executive "gets it" than one of our own "home grown" pinhead liberal writers. Still, I can't vouch for either of these as the true sources of this writing. I got one in the email, and the other is from "the progressive mind" website, which is linked in my "Blogs I differ with" post on my Leavworld blog. Either way, the ideas at war are fairly well defined in this little hodgepodge, so take a side and comment, damnit!

Jenny Martinez on the kidnapped GI JOE doll

This is from Jenny Martinez' great military blog: http://www.jenmartinez.com/mt/
How Bizarre
Apparently, out of some sort of desperation, a group of shitrags in Iraq have kidnapped a GI Joe doll . Yes that's right, a doll. In fact, it looks remarkably like the Soldier doll my ex bought in Kuwait and sent to our son.
"Our mujahideen have managed to capture the American soldier John Adam after killing a number of his colleagues," said the Mujahideen shitrags in the undated statement on a Web site monitored in Dubai. It threatened to kill him."
Granted I did play with dolls as a child but I would like to know exactly how one goes about "killing" a doll. Since dolls are not alive and all...
Liam Cusack, marketing coordinator for Dragon Models USA said the picture appeared to show a special forces operative figure the company had made for collectors. Cusack said the striking similarity between his company's action figure, which was marketed under the name "Cody," and the published picture, were pointed out to him early on Tuesday by an Arizona retailer. "I worked on the development of that figure so I had seen the look of that head before." Cusack, speaking from his office at City of Industry, California, noted the rifle being pointed at the figure in the photograph posted on the Web site also appeared to be the plastic M4 rifle included with the figure.

FOLLOW THE FREEDOM free thoughts

Follow the pattern of freedom around the world in recent history, and its setbacks. All of Eastern Europe is democratic, and still China continues to supress not only it's own people, but it's neighboring countries' populations. Worse is North Korea, whose conditions truly rival Hitler's Germany, and I do not exaggerate! That people escape into Communist China, gladly to suffer what passes for comfort there, only emphasises the horror that has been sparsely reported on, but known for what it is. Pres. Putin, who once headed the KGB, part of No. Korea's support system, must know of some way to end this horror of a regime. It seems that he is preoccupied with reasserting Russian hegemony, at least over Russia. Putin will use his influence with No. Korea to keep us out of his business with China and Iran, unless Bush gets tough. Follow the freedom movements in all three of those countries, for they may hold the key to a different future than that predicted by most of the "doom and gloom" liberals. Pres. Bush has comitted to giving Iran a truly Democratic neighbor to make the Mullahs look bad. Democratic Ukraine is going to make Putin play ball with the west, and China's economic growth will soon breed more money than they will know what to do with, other than buy the rest of the world. This makes them the largest repressive Capitalist country in the world. Wal Mart is their biggest consumer of goods, and is known for imposing conditions on it's suppliers. Do you think Wal-Mart's existence could be justified to the Wal-Mart haters if they brought democracy to China?

Bush - Catastrophic Failure LEAV'S RESPONSE

THIS IS A POST FROM
http://catastrophicfailure.blogspot.com, WITH MY POSTED RESPONSE FOLLOWING.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Bush's Axis of Evil
The Bush 2nd term agenda is no secret. It is to further the agenda of 3 right-wing special interests (aka Bush's axis of evil) who were behind his re-election and at the expense of the vast majority of Americans, our environment, and the rest of the citizens of this world:(1) Bigoted "christian" fundamentalists (fundamentalism CLOSES hearts & minds),(2) A greedy clique within corporate America,(3) The war-mongering neo-cons who have their sites on American imperialism (google PNAC).So much for "compassionate conservative," being a "uniter--not a divider," and for not being into "nation building." Check out this article:
G.W. Bush: Phase 2 – On the Other Hand
posted by Thinks4Herself at 1:33 AM

1 Comments:
Chris said...
I suggest you read some of my posts at both www.leavworld.blogspot.com. and www.nextleav.blogspot.com. I am a Christian, but not a fundamentalist with a closed mind. I am no corporate tool. I work for a small business, and ride a bicycle to work. I am a neo-con only in that I was a HUGE LIBERAL once upon a time, and woke up around 1992 or so, thanks to Bill Clinton and Rush Limbaugh. I found that being a conservative wasn't in contradiction to conservation of the environment, or of helping the poor get off of welfare. I am a hawk on defense because this country has backed away from the terrorist threat through both Republican and Democrat administrations. I waited after the first attack on the WTC, and we did not respond. George Bush has, and I agree with all of his principles.

THOUGHTS ON RACIAL PROFILING

As I watch yet another PBS story about racial profiling, I have some questions. Have the people complaining about profiling of blacks ever had a problem with police targeting whites who come into black neighborhoods to buy drugs? I distinctly remember an episode of COPS where the cop tells a white guy "you're the wrong color to be in this neighborhood". More than a few times, I have been stopped, though only once searched, for nothing more than walking or riding my bike down the street, as far as I could tell. Each time, I cooperated with them, and had my ID on me. Each time I found that they were looking for someone that fit my general description, and let me go on my way. I actually found these incidents bothered me less than when people locked their doors as I walked by their cars at a light, another favorite "humiliation" cited by the "racial profiling" protest crowd.
This is not to deny racism exists. It exists both inside and outside police departments. Is it not racist to attribute someone else's actions to racism without even talking to them, or looking at all the facts of the incident? This is my big problem with accusations of "racial profiling", that it is actually just a tool for "RACE BAITING" politicians and activists. The worst part is that their blanket accusations make it harder to find the true racists in law enforcement. If you label all white cops racists, why would they do anything about getting rid of the real racists that they work with? It just breeds racial comtempt both ways. Let's not forget that racism is the enemy, and it can be harbored in hearts of every color.

MEL GIBSON'S NEXT MOVIE: THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST

MEL GIBSON'S NEXT MOVIE: THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST
Mel Gibson should defy the critics who say that he cannot follow up his last religious blockbuster by following the story to its next logical step. The resurrection of the Christ could be a bigger triumph of Christian filmmaking, without the violence of the passion. Would this one shut up the Hollywood critics? Of course not! Hell, they will criticize it's Easter release date, and redouble their claims of anti-semitism, and blame it's success on the Religious Right, who are taking over America. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mr. Gibson, I want to be the first one to publicly encourage you to do the next film depicting the journey of Jesus. What you did with your first film was amazing, and I think that you can surpass it with the next one. Right or wrong, yours is an evocative telling of the greatest story of God's sacrifice for us. I am a believer in your vision, and would like to see more.

WHO'S A FACIST?

A SHORT HISTORY OF "FACIST" SMEARS
Defaming Ronald Reagan as running a "shadow government" that really controlled the country.

Accusing Reagan of working with Iran for the hostage release during his inauguration.

Rudy Giuliani being widely defamed as Hitler while Mayor of NYC, pre 9/11.

Hillary accusing Ken Starr of being part of "the vast right-wing conspiracy".

The spurious charge that the Supreme Court "stole" the election for Bush.

That Bush knew about, or was behind 9/11 was called "one interesting theory" by Howard Dean.

Re the Patriot Act: Ashcroft's Justice Dept. is worse than Hitler's SS! A widespread falsehood!

WHY ARE THE ABOVE PEOPLE ALL COMPARED TO THE WORST FACISTS?

BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL REPUBLICANS!

RECORD COLD TEMPS SIGNIFY GLOBAL WARMING

RECORD COLD TEMPS SIGNIFY GLOBAL WARMING, according to "The Day After Tomorrow" fanatics.
Global warming fanatics including AlGore threw a secret press conference on the internet yesterday. Besides the freezing temperatures across the nation, other topics discussed were the drive to drive up oil prices, and how to salvage the Kyoto accords. An upside of the cold temps was increased conductivity on wires that didn't snap from the cold. Overall, bandwidth was up, but being monopolized by millions of idiots online blaming the record cold tempuratures on "global warming", with Bush's re-election a close second.

PRE-ELECTION PREDICTIONS! 11/24/04

I HAD TO STEP IN IT AGAIN...Friday, September 24, 2004

Iraq's Prime Minister Allawi addressed the U.N. and did a round of interviews with the U.S. media over the last few days. Much has been said about how he parrots Pres. Bush, of how they could have had the same speech writers. This is only true insomuch as they both are aligned against the terrorists, not trying to "understand" them. PM Allawi is focused on Iraq, while Pres. Bush has a wider focus, but anyone who doesn't see that the enemy is the same is a fool! Sen. Kerry still believes that Communism wasn't a threat to southeast Asia, after 2 MILLION people died following his advice back then. How many will die if Kerry is elected President? Kerry has the nerve to try to discredit PM Allawi, and to disconnect the terrorists in Iraq from the rest of the world. If he can't see that the links between these terrorists are worldwide, he is unfit for leadership of this country.

A second thing that Allawi mentioned was the western media bias, in favor of the terrorists. He called it "giving them oxygen". A wise man, this Allawi is. He didn't say the western media should not cover the bombings and murders, but that they should cover the school openings, and political councils that are happening in localities around the country. This is actually a fault of the "what sells" mentality more than the political bias, but the US networks would like nothing better than to have the power to affect this war somehow. It's just too bad that they don't saturate the airwaves with some of the positive developments in that troubled country. People are taking their cue from Dan Rather, and disbelieving what the liberal US media reports, believing instead the words of US servicemen who have been there, and the Bush Administration, as well as the Iraqi government. One view will prevail!

IN LEAV'S IMAGINATION, THE REAL FIGHT LOOKS LIKE THIS!
Here are the clear differences: Dan Rather is Kerry's surrogate, and Iyad Allawi is Bush's. Allawi survived Saddam's assasins with axes in a London hotel room. Rather survived men in suits beating him up, saying "what's the frequency, Kenneth?". Allawi is the fully respected Prime Minister of Iraq. Dan Rather, much like John Kerry, is losing credibility fast in the public eye. Both men have a big challenge ahead, but the difference is that if Rather or Kerry win, the public loses. If Rather stays employed, we all lose credibility in the news. If Kerry is elected, chances are we will lose the war on terror, at least as much as in the '90's, for the forseeable future. I guarantee that the enemies of America are salivating for a Kerry Presidency.

DON'T GIVE IT TO THEM!

MORE BS from BS!

NEXTLEAV is my special place to post my craziest stuff...well, old BABS STRIESAND keeps putting my craziest stuff to shame on her very popular website! Can you believe what kind of person it takes to believe this, and further to sing it in public?

THE SPECIAL LYRICS TO PEOPLE ...Barbra Streisand
Posted on June 26, 2004
THE SPECIAL LYRICS TO "PEOPLE" AS PERFORMED BY BARBRA STREISAND AT THE LOS ANGELES FUNDRAISING CONCERT FOR THE KERRY CAMPAIGN

In response to requests, we are printing the exact lyrics sung by Ms. Streisand, a highlight of the June 24, 2004 concert, An Evening With John Kerry And Friends. The event raised over $5,000,000 to support the Democratic Presidential candidacy.

"PEOPLE"

Special Lyrics
By Alan & Marilyn Bergman

PEOPLE
I MEAN G - O - P - EOPLE -
WHO'D BELIEVE THERE'S SUCH PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD?
BUSH SEEZA
LOTTA CONDOLEEZA,
THEY'RE DIVIDING THE PLANET'S OIL
ACCORDING TO RICHARD "POIL"
AND THEY'RE ALL JUST TRAINEES
OF CHENEY'S.

RUMSFELD,
WE MUST GET RID OF RUMSFELD -
HE'S THE SPOOKIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD.
AS FOR POWELL -
HE'S NEITHER FISH NOR FOWL.
HE'S IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM,
WHILE THEY'RE ALL FIDDLING WITH DOOM.
NO ONE'S MINDING THE STORE.
WHAT'S MORE,
LET'S DISCUSS THIS WAR WE'RE LOST IN,
DON'T ASK WHAT IT'S COSTIN' -
WHAT'S A TRILLION OR TWO TO RULE THE WORLD?


(Second chorus)
THE SENATE
HOW I WANT THE SENATE!
ALL WE NEED IS TWO PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!
I SEEA
ANTONIN SCALIA.
HOW I DREAD EV'RY TIME HE SITS -
SCARED OUT OF MY WOLFOWITZ.
TIME THOSE NEO-CON GUYS
WERE GONE GUYS.

THEY'RE LYING -
WHILE THE GLOBE IS FRYING -
AND THE FISHES ARE DYING IN THE WORLD.
THEIR SOLUTION
FOR ALL OF THE POLLUTION:
IS JUST TO BEAR IT AND GRIN,
AND PRACTICE NOT BREATHING IN.
BUT THINGS ARE GONNA BE GREAT.
JUST WAIT -
WHEN THE WHITE HOUSE STATIONERY,
READS PRESIDENT JOHN KERRY -
WE'LL BE THE LUCKIEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!

Original music: Jule Styne
Original lyrics: Bob Merrill


Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

THE "STREET" CONNECTION 11/12/01

THE "STREET" CONNECTION
C.K.Leavitt 11/12/01
"The Arab Street", a term falsely used to describe to describe the poor and oppressed in the Middle East, is a product of the same propaganda machine that produced "The Workers' Revolution", with similar flimsy underpinnings. These are slave countries, whose leaders actively channel their internal opposition onto the "infidels", currently understood as "America" (and Israel). It was no different during the Cold War, when other oppressed peoples, from many nations, were brainwashed to hate America. Now Russia and all of the former Soviet nations are working with us, against the terrorist threat. Similarly, the "Arab Street" will become part of the "Main Street", if America is successful.
All societies have poor and oppressed populations. In our free society, we open ourselves to all opinions. This means even the long reach of the ANTI-WESTERN CIVILIZATION crowd, who have already embedded themselves in western culture. In fact, there's no shortage of America-haters right here at home!
An interesting thing to look at is the Nation of Islam. I have no doubt that most of their membership are typical Americans, with their fair share of frustration with the world. What if Louis Farrakan turns out to be a puppet of this same extremist fringe, paid to stir up "The American Street"? In America, you can protest against your own country, so where better to propagandize!

PRE-INVASION THOUGHTS ON IRAQ 12/24/02

Waiting For the Straw That Breaks the Camel's Back Christopher K. Leavitt 12/24/02

We must assume that war is inevitable. More specifically, that war with Iraq is inevitable. What we are waiting for is the straw that breaks the camel's back. A reporter on ABC news, reporting on the downing of the predator drone, finished his report by saying that the Bush administration wouldn't use this as a "pretext" for war. This illustrates one point, which is how misguided the mainstream media's distinction between the "war on terrorism" vs. the "war on Iraq" is. Saddam Hussein is a traditional Stalinist leader, a thug who seized power through murder, and maintains dominance of his country through terror. Because of the international community's intervention (and Israel's 1980 bombing of his nuclear weapons plant at Osirak), he has not become the next hitler yet. Make no mistake, he has allied himself, however tenuously, with al queda. In fact, he is building TWO of the biggest mosques in the world to attract the religious fanatics. It is said that the mosques are dedicated to Saddam, no doubt with the mandatory huge paintings of him on the walls, in contradiction of Islamic teaching. The fact is that these al queda terrorists care about as little for their god Allah, at least at the leadership level. Simply observe the remains of Osama and Mullah Omar's compounds in Afghanistan, and you can see the same "blasphemous" (to Islam) murals. They use terror, money, and even religion to control populations, great and small, for their own enrichment, at the expense of both their own people and the rest of the world.
In today's globalized culture, this must stop. Western culture has it's problems, but at least it's open to considering new ideas from other cultures. The supression of individual rights, whether economic, political or religious (or anti-religious, for those without faith) should be opposed aggressively, and the first "target of opportunity" to rid the world of this cancer is Iraq, with Iran hopefully already in the planning stage.

We should not be waiting for "the straw that breaks the camel's back"; it fell on Sept. 11, 2001. Now it's time to act.

OPEN LETTER TO RUSH LIMBAUGH

LEAVITT on LIMBAUGH: 10/03/03 Back in 1992, after losing my nightclub business, I was down and out. Around this time, I had one of my drunken political "debates" with my friend Matt "Hoops" Reilly, at Clarke's bar. I, being a Liberal Democrat then, was defending "slick Wiily" Clinton as "our" version of "tricky Dick" Nixon, and correctly predicted that he would not only be elected, but would get away with "whitewater", the "bimbo eruptions", and anything else that the Republicans could throw at him. Then Matt asked me if I had ever listened to Rush Limbaugh. "What, that racist, bigoted homophobe?" -or words to that effect, was my reply. "How can you say that if you never listened to him?" was the comeback, after I admitted that I hadn't. Well, it took me a few months, but I found his radio show on WABC 77 (NYC). I listened to him, this brash Conservative, with an open mind. I was astounded with his obviously tounge-in-cheek "arrogance", and his extreme "political incorrectness"(at least to a Liberal). Rush first weaned me off of the daytime soap operas, then inspired me to beat my crack addiction. The critical change came when I thought about how down and out I was. After blowing all of my inheritance money, I never turned to the government for assistance after things went bad; I was fortunate enough to have friends who helped me through that difficult period. This is exactly Rush's message, that we should not depend on government to turn our fortunes around. In fact, the NY State government (a TRULY LIBERAL ESTABLISHMENT, even with a "Republican" Governor) sucked the life out of the one business I did own. It was like a slow-motion epiphany. I started seeing events, both in my life and in the world at large, in a larger historical context. The more I listened to Rush, the more he made sense to me. I can't say I agree with everything Rush says, but I love the way he frames an issue. I have been listening to him since '92 or '93, and the only "preaching" I remember was for self-reliance and the 3 F's (FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND FAITH), as opposed to reliance on government! The logical extention of this is to defeat the Democrats, and this is how I became a Republican, thanks to Rush Limbaugh. Now that Rush is at the center of the media spotlight for his drug use, I think that my story is especially poignant. I've kept act together for over six years, and I bet Rush will be able to beat his addiction as well, with the help of those same 3 F's. I, for one, haven't lost faith in him. He loses no credibility with me for having human flaws. He was one of many factors that helped me get my life back together. I hope that I can be a factor in helping him get his life back on track, too. As a member of Rush 24/7, I'm sending my story to Rush on his "double secret" email, and hopefully he'll read it eventually, and take inspiration as I did from him. GOOD LUCK, RUSH! -FROM CHRIS LEAVITT

TORT REFORM DEBATE on PBS

TORT REFORM DEBATE on PBS NEWSHOUR

I was watching the NEWSHOUR with Jim Lehrer on PBS, and during the tort reform debate, a woman opposed to reform said that a brain damaged child's award would be capped at $250,000. The man who supported tort reform corrected her misleading statement, saying that the child's medical and living expenses would be paid for life, but pain and suffering damages ABOVE that would be capped at $250,000. Quite a big misrepresentation by the anti-tort reform side, don't you think? Keep that in mind if you watch any people debate this, or even in the reporting about it! Half-truths are the bane of good journalism, tainting without technicaly "lying". Good thing that PBS had someone from the conservative side swift enough to catch the spin and hit it out of the ballpark. I'll have to look up the names, but it was fun to watch.

COMMENTS FROM BS (BARBARA STRIESAND!)

This section contains statements and speeches by Ms. Streisand.

The "So-Called" Liberal Media ...Barbra Streisand
Posted on December 10, 2004
The idea of a liberal media bias is simply a myth. If only it were true, we might have a more humane, open-minded, and ultimately effective public debate on the issues facing the country. We may actually embrace the principles of liberalism, instead of using it as a tool to divide the nation. Everything good that has happened in this country is founded on the ideology of liberalism. Liberals in the past were liberators who fought for a woman's right to vote, and fought to end segregation in the United States and then to end apartheid in South Africa. Thanks to liberals, today we have public education, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, environmental protection laws, a minimum wage law...among many other wonderful programs. Such a label should be worn with a badge of honor and defended by Democrats, not allowed to be used as slander by the Right Wing.
TRANSLATION: EVERYTHING GOOD COMES FROM LIBERALS, AND THEIR THOUGHT PROCESS! BELIEVING THAT IS NOT A BIAS!

Frankly, the idea that the media is sympathetic to conservative causes rather than liberal ones is obvious, for reasons of ownership, economics, and outside pressure. With the major networks being controlled by a small group of large corporations, the news reporting has become most often sympathetic to conservatives, for fear of losing advertising dollars and being reprimanded by the current administration.
TRANSLATION: CONSERVATIVES ARE BAD PEOPLE! THE ONES THAT OWN FOX NEWS AND OTHER MEDIA ARE CONTROLLING EVERYONE ELSE, EXCEPT THE LIBERALS! THIS IS EVIDENCE OF CONSERVATIVE BIAS!

Dan Rather was castigated by the media for airing the Bush National Guard story before completely verifying one document. As we have known for years, the details of Bush's service record offered in the story were true, as Killian's secretary even verified, although the document presented in the piece is in question. Men who served in Bush's unit for the year he claimed he was in the National Guard, have stated on record that they do not remember seeing him there. The LA times also reported the story and even printed that when asked to report to Vietnam, Bush checked the box stating "do not volunteer for overseas." Now, an award-winning respected journalist has decided to retire early with a black mark on his career. In sharp contrast, no such walking papers or even a slap on the wrist was given to those in the Bush Administration, who perpetuated false information to the public as a way to rally support for the Iraq war. Dan Rather's error didn't hold a candle to the seriousness of the lies and lives lost by entering into an unnecessary war. One's actions are a little sloppy - the other's actions are high crimes and misdemeanors. Among the litany of false claims by the Bush Administration were a link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda, the purchase of aluminum tubes for nuclear weapons by Iraq, the possibility of a "smoking gun" to become "a mushroom cloud," and Iraq's purchase of yellow cake from Niger. If the President, who has formed a habit of blaming others for the mistakes committed by his administration, thought that the intelligence, defense and security information he received was bad, then Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, CIA Director, George Tenet, and National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice should have been fired immediately. Yet few in the media took aim at anyone in the Administration for their egregious errors and deceit. If Dan Rather was so excoriated for talking about a document that may not be real, the press should have pressured this administration to step down for their countless lies and irreparable mistakes - starting with the President. The Bush Administration's lies were far more serious and detrimental to the American public, in that it falsely represented the reasons to wage war and send American soldiers into battle. Thousands of young soldiers and a hundred thousand innocent Iraqis have died in vain, thousands have been wounded and more continue to die everyday as this war wages on. The hypocrisy would be laughable, if it wasn't so tragic. DAN RATHER'S LIE WAS NOT AS BAD AS BUSH AND THE REST OF THE WORLD SAYING SADDAM HAD WMD!

The press failed once again with regard to fellow Journalist Robert Novak, who stooped to a low in journalistic integrity by naming an undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame in his nationally syndicated column, thereby destroying her career and putting her life and her network of associates in danger. Novak was neither fired from CNN, where he is a commentator on Crossfire, or from his newspaper column. Nor was he even publicly reprimanded. The "liberally-biased" media failed to hold Robert Novak accountable for his highly partisan and destructive actions. BOB NOVAK SHOULD BE IN JAIL, NOT JUDY!

Remember back during the 2000 election when RNC employees posed as "irate local citizens" and stormed polling places in Florida in order to squelch the recount process. Where was the press coverage investigating the deception and informing Americans of the truth. Where was the press coverage of Florida's highly controversial felon list, which was produced by a private contractor and riddled with inaccuracies, denying tens of thousands of eligible voters the right to vote? When minority voters are being intimidated and disenfranchised by the thousands leading up to and during a close election race, the public relies on the press to bring the story to the forefront thereby prompting immediate action by our leaders. DEMOCRATS WERE THE THUGGISH ONES THIS YEAR, AND I SUPPORTED THEM!!

With the presence of Fox News, The O 'Reilly Factor, Rush Limbaugh, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, no one can dispute the existence of a strong conservative media. However, where these news outlets feel free to proudly proclaim their "conservative bias" by sharing their unwanted opinions, prestigious TV network anchors like Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, Bill Moyers and Jim Lehrer carefully tow-the-line to present the news in a balanced manner. They are real journalists who objectively present the news in order to allow the audience to make up their own minds. But sadly, today some of these wannabe TV reporters make inappropriate and derogatory statements perhaps in an effort to make a name for themselves. I TRIED TO AVOID THE SPOTLIGHT, BUT I WAS EXPOSED AGAIN!!

Despite all the claims of pushing a biased liberal agenda by the press, the Republicans have managed to win five out of the last seven Presidential elections, and this year continue to strengthen their control of the congress. Their success undoubtedly is due in part to the fact that reporters on major networks have become so fearful of either losing their job or being deemed biased, they have relinquished their journalistic responsibility to hold our leaders accountable. I SUCK HARDER THAN ALL THE REST OF THE DEMOCRATS, WHO CLEAN THE CHROME OFF MY BUMBER!!!



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DISTASTE FOR FANCE! (er, FRANCE)

UNDERSTANDING THE FRENCH is to know DISTASTE!
The bigger the picture one takes of the French, the worse they look. This policy they recently adopted, trying to make a "balance" against US power, looks to end badly, as most of their foreign schemes have. Having sided with Saddam in the recent conflict, they now have to be looked at as potentially collaborating with Iran, Syria, or even North Korea and China. One wonders how far will France go to "counter" what it perceives as US influence worldwide.
The EU is another bad idea that the French think will ressurect their glory days, this time lording over the new Eastern European democracies. The problem here is that the new Europe has low tax rates, and bursting economies. France, Germany, among others are welfare states with economies approaching the state of the old Eastern European nations under communism. One senses that the "new" Europeans might not enjoy exchanging one yoke for another, once the chafing starts again. (as in soon)
France has been a "has-been" on the world stage for the better part of the last century. Now, they constitute a new threat: Millions of "unassimilated" Muslims from various nations living in housing projects outside of the cities all over France. When the French economy collapses, will there be an Islamist, or Communist uprising, even as democracy takes root in Iraq, and Eastern Europe? If either of these groups take over France, they will have access to nuclear arms. This could be the outcome of their Socialized economy, if they aren't allowed to suck the life out of the booming EastEU countries.
France and Germany are like the canaries in the coal mine of unbridled Socialism, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The amount of EU regulation of enterprise probably exceeds the centralized bureaucracy of the USSR in its heyday. France's Socialist economy won't even qualify for membership in it's own little EU club. One hopes they don't take all of Europe down with them again, with their crazy schemes.
This is all just speculation. But one can agree on a few things, no?

F#*K FRANCE!
BOYCOTT FRANCE!
TELL EVERY FRENCH PERSON YOU MEET HOW STUPID THEIR PRESIDENT IS, AND THAT THE U.S. WILL GET ALONG WITH FRANCE SO MUCH BETTER ONCE THEY REPLACE THAT JERK JAQUES CHIRAC!


Chris Leavitt 07/01/04

BOB ALLEN ON 9/11

I woke up this morning in my 17th floor apartment in Brooklyn Heights and
watched the sun come up over lower Manhattan, something I have done every
morning for the six years I have been living here.

The skyline across the East River looked miraculously untouched, and I might
have believed that the horror I had witnessed from my window yesterday was
only a plot for one of my novels, except the two towers, which had been the
centerpiece of my view, were gone, replaced by a pillar of smoke still
billowing from a spot where I had stood only a week ago.

But the rising sun still glinted off the other skyscrapers, and the smell of
smoke was dissipating from my apartment. I turned on the TV to hear my
mayor
say we New Yorkers had too much spirit to have it extinguished by an act of
terror. And he's right. Live goes on.

Out my window, people are opening their businesses, including an Arab-run
news stand across the street. The man, who listens to music I find strange
and speaks in a language I cannot understand, works hard many hours every
day. I have seen fear in his eyes late at night when he wonders if the next
customer will add a few pennies to his daily earnings or come to steal from
him. He may look and speak different, but he's just like all of us in this
vast melting pot of American with the sames dreams and fears.

We cannot hate people for the color of their skin or their place of origin;
that's not the American way. We hate people for their actions, and we will
make those who caused this horrendous act pay for their crime. But if we
follow the advice of those who have let hate cloud their judgment at this
time of terror, then we will be as bad as those who perpetrated this crime.

The terror is real. Just now I hear the roar of jet engines outside my
window, and a shudder runs up my spine. I realize that's how the people of
London must have felt during the blitz, but this time I know it's an
American
fighter jet flying precautionary cover over my City. But the thought that
such an action has become necessary makes me shudder, too. My country has
changed. Life will never be the same again. But if we let these terrorists
steal freedom and decency from us, they will have won. These gutless
wonders
can defeat us only if we let them. These terrorists have no arsenal to use
against us. They were able to attack America only by using our own peaceful
tools --our passenger airliners -- as weapons against us. If they cause us
to hate senselessly, they will use our own emotions against us, too.

--Bob Allen
Wednesday, September 19, 2001 12:19:49 AM

BULIMIC GROUP PROTESTS ANTI-WAR PUKERS

BULIMIC GROUP PROTESTS ANTI-WAR PUKERS Christopher K. Leavitt www.leavworld.com 03/30/03

A nationwide coalition of bulimia support groups held a protest today at a private clinic in an undisclosed location against the anti-war protesters who "self-purged" on the steps of the Federal building in San Francisco. "There are better ways to protest the war than by promoting unhealthy psychological conditions" said patient X, who said stress over the first Gulf war led to her condition as a child. "Seeing those people throw up just makes me sick, and that's a problem for me", she said, adding "We don't need to see the use of self-induced vomiting shown in such a positive light as an anti-war protest". When asked if anything Saddam Hussein did ever made her sick or caused her to "self purge", she replied "Who is Saddam Hussein?"