All This Is That Turns 10 Years Old Today

By Jack Brummet, Mona Goldwater, and Pablo Fanque, Eds.

We've published 7085 posts since starting in 2004, and have published every single day for the last ten years, mostly from Seattle, but also from India, China, Russia, Mexico, England, Turkey, Greece, Canada, Korea, Idaho, Montana, New York City, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, Oregon, Arizona, and Wyoming.

All This Is That is often syndicated , purloined, linked to, and referenced by other blogs and websites, and our articles and art have been reprinted in books and magazines about The Web, alien lore, folk lore and folk ways, poetry, and politics.  We've even published a few recipes by Jack.

All This Is That began ten years ago with a poem by Jack Brummet posted the morning of November 16, 2004:

Poem: Driving Home To Seattle, We Watch Deer 
Drink from the Skookumchuck River

by Jack Brummet

A rainbow loops over
the alder cathedral.
Dark clouds are sinking.

The Lamplighter
loans them a patch of land
and a heartbeat.
---o0o--- 

All This Is That Staff Drawing

By Jack Brummet

---o0o---

Drawing: Pablo Fanque

by Jack Brummet

[Drawing of our National Affairs Editor, Pablo Fanque]

---o0o---

Throw The Bums Out - a poster by jack, mona, and pablo

research and assemblage by jack brummet, pablo fanque, and mona goldwater

click to enlarge

---o0o---

Digital Art: Three - Mona, Pablo, and Jack

click to enlarge

---o0o---

All This Is That's Staff

Pablo, Jack, and Mona

click to enlarge

---o0o---

All This Is That Turns Six Years Old This Week

We began publishing this blog in November, 2004.  Since then, we've published 4,260 posts, or, roughly two per day.  At least 180 of these posts have focused on alien lore; 200 or so have been poems by Jack; three or four hundreds of Pablo Fanque's political pieces have appeared, as well as four hundred pieces of original art.  We have also published numerous pranks and japes; two letters from George W. Bush to the editors of All This Is That, dozens of articles on country, rock, bluegrass, and jazz; around 20 articles on Growing Up Hillbilly, hundreds of articles on Presidents, and Presidential elections, many articles on pop culture, and dozens of articles on the folly of humans and the human condition.  It's hard to sum up four thousand posts, but we have generally stuck to our mission of covering the paranormal, poetry, painting, politics, persiflage, and pop.

Over the next week, Pablo and Jack will be posting links to their favorite articles here.  We will also include links to Google's top searches here (of which, interestingly, none appear on either Jack's or Pablo's lists.


We started out very tentatively six years ago, feeling our way along as learned how to blog and how to publish every day.  We've gotten much better at it, and have published every single day for the last six years.  We have published this blog from all around the country--from Boston, Vancouver and Victoria Canada, NYC, San Francisco/Berkeley, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Orange County, England, Mexico, Greece, India, and Turkey.

Stay tuned this week for some of our favorites. 

Before we sign off today, we want to announce that we are adding another editor to our staff.  Our friend, and reformed Republican, Mona Goldwater will become a regular contributor on, or before, December 1, 2010. 

In closing, here is the very first piece to ever appear on All This Is That.  It is a short poem by Jack, that appeared our first day, November 16th, 2004:

Poem: Driving Home To Seattle, We Watch Deer Drinking from the Skookumchuck River


A rainbow loops over
the alder cathedral.


Dark clouds are sinking.
The Lamplighter


loans them a patch of land
and a heartbeat.
---o0o---

Jack Brummet
(originally appeared in The Croton Review)
---o0o---

Pablo Fanque and Mona Goldwater cancel the "2,000 Bible bonfire on a bed of American flag kindling" counterdemonstration after Dr. Terry Jones/Dove suspend their Quran burning party

They appear to be out of cell phone range at the moment, but Pablo and Mona left me a lengthy voice mail yesterday afternoon from "somewhere near Memphis," where they had just learned that the Quran burning in Gainesville, FLA had been cancelled. They had clearly been "celebrating" their apparent triumph.

You may remember that early in the week, Pablo loaded up a pickup with 2,000 Bibles, and fifty American flags ("for kindling") and began barreling toward Florida to mount a serious, and quite possibly, dangerous confrontation.

"a counteroffensive against the crackers, ass-clowns, and pinheads who are about to torch a stack of Qurans." - Pablo Fanque (All This Is That National Affairs Editor)

Pablo and Mona

Midway through the voicemail, Mona Goldwater took the phone and told me, slurring even more than Fanque, that they were drinking at a rest stop just outside of Memphis, and giving away their large stock of Bibles and American Flags to surprised fellow travellers.  "We'll sleep here overnight and get back on the road to Seattle at first light.  We did it! I mean, I get that it wasn't us alone, but I don't think even that publicity-whore Terry Jones wanted to see our Quran and American flag bonfire."

Two articles from earlier in the week on the Fanque/Goldwater road trip and demonstration:

Pablo Fanque, Mona Goldwater, and company on the road to "Burn a Koran Day" at Dove World Outreach Center in FLA


I plan to light up 2,000 Bibles on a bed of 50 American Flags in Florida on September 11th

"Dr." Terry Jones.  Bookburner

---o0o---

Pablo gets his credentials

Our two favorite letters from George W. Bush

By Pablo Fanque (National Affairs Ed.) and Jack Brummet (Arts and Social Mores ed.)


As you may or may not remember, we (Jack and Pablo) have corresponded periodically with the Presidents (we've only had two since All This Is That started five years ago). Our letters to them ranged from out and out trolls to respectful invitations. One letter we received--that we cannot find!--came from a staffer and basically said "are you crazy? We're not giving this to The President."

But in response to some of our more, shall we say apparently positive and supportive letters?, we did hear back from The Boss himself.

Click the letters to enlarge.




---o0o---

Retraction: Pablo Fanque makes the rare mistake: Palin pregnancy story goes nowhere--Limbaugh, Hannity, and possibly Lieberman off the hook

On rare occasions, even Pablo Fanque is wrong . On July 4th, 2009, he reported that Sarah Palin resigned the governorship because she was pregant. Best line in his article: "Complicating things even further, another reporter saw Democrat convert Senator Arlen Specter leaving her hotel suite, with shoes in hand, at three in the morning."

Palin resignation bombshell: "Not really sure" if the father is Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh

July 4, 2009

By Pablo Fanque,
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

Shortly after Governor Sarah Palin's hastily called, and sparsely attended, press conference at her home in Wasilla, Alaska yesterday, I was contacted by a friend in her administration. Take that with however many grains of salt you wish. . .I actually do have friends in her administration. None of those friends has ever leaked a word, or fed me anything of substance since the day her name began circulating on short lists of Sen. John McCain's VP choices. Until this afternoon.

Following Governor Sarah Palin's resignation announcement earlier today, a CNN anchor wondered: "Is Sarah Palin pregnant?" The talking head inadvertently stumbled onto the story, but failed to dig deep enough to uncover the underlying bombshell.

If you believe my source (I do), Governor Palin joins the ranks of Republicans involved in sex scandals in recent weeks. If troubles, like celebrity deaths, come in threes, Sarah Palin is about to join Governor Mark Sanford, and Senator John Ensign in the doghouse.

At the April Republican Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City, the Governor was at loose ends. She had just been savaged by the press, and McCain campaign staffers were leaking nasty tidbits about her to friends in the press. She was there to network, to forget, and to party.

On at least two nights, she was drinking heavily with supporters and other prominent Republican officials. As it turns out, she became pregnant at the conference. The problem is, she's not sure whether the father is Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity. Complicating things even further, another reporter saw Democrat convert Senator Arlen Specter leaving her hotel suite, with shoes in hand, at three in the morning."

To quote the Governor from her press conference yesterday, there is little doubt that she is "advancing in another direction."
---o0o---

Highly Placed Source: "We'll go back to wooden legs and hook arms while the insurance companies behave like drunken, rampaging sailors on shore leave"

By Pablo Fanque,
National Affairs Editor

Pablo Fanque filed this story via a Gmail email this morning as he departed the country to trek in the Karakoram. He left this note: "I met ___________ at the White House just before President Obama left for his Martha's Vineyard vacation. This highly placed source asked a few reporters to breakfast for a colloquy on the national health care 'debate.'" [ed's note: When Fanque uses the phrase "highly placed source" he almost always refers to either the principal of the story (in this case, President Obama), or to a member of his closest inner circle. Inner circle in Obama's case means one of his top advisers--most likely either David Axelrod, or Rahm Emanuel.]

“It’s disturbing so see the very people this would help most storming town halls and congressional offices, pressing the agendas of the insurance lobby.

“What we do today will either break the system open or we will irrevocably lock ourselves into a two-tiered system—one for the wealthy, and another for the unfortunate rest of us. Sure, at this moment, the majority is insured. But five years down the road with medical care continuing its upward spiral and employers chiseling away at, or eliminating medical benefits? We are actually heading toward a single tier system.

“It is galling to me that even one Representative or Senator oppose any form or nationalized health care or a public option to the insurance companies. These people enjoy a Cadillac federal system of insurance. But what is good for the goose is apparently not so good for the gander when it comes time to pay the bill.

“Congress would bring back the days when you walked the streets and saw hundreds of people limping, walking with bent frames; when life expectancy was under fifty years of age. They can live with a country where once again people must live with glass eyes, wooden legs, cleft palates, and hook arms, and where almost any major illness is a virtual death sentence.

“These folk would lead you to believe we will not only have death panels, but giblet and joint panels where a board decides just who gets the livers and kidneys, and who gets a new hip or a cornea transplant. But they don’t mention those—they talk about government funded massages, breast implants, and Viagra prescriptions!

“The thing is we can’t let the insurance companies--and their co-conspirators, the medical profession--have their way. We tried that with The Banks and Wall Street. Look where it got us! And the insurance companies—if this is possible—have even less scruples. Almost completely unfettered since Bill Clinton left office, they have behaved like drunken, rampaging sailors on shore leave.”
---o0o---

Counterpoint: Pablo Fanque: when do we get your retraction on Arlen Specter?

By Jack Brummet
All This Is That Folklore and Poetry Editor

It was less than two weeks ago that you, Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor, befouled All This Is That with a euphoric encomium (Celebrate! Sen. Arlen Specter extricates himself from The Hive--> The GOP begins to succumb to The Sickness) on Arlen Specter, illustrated with The Spec' wearing a halo.

It's been a week since I questioned your sanity on that one (Rebuttal: Pablo Fanque, are you out of your f***ing mind? Arlen Specter: Hero?). And yet, we have seen nothing on these pages even faintly resembling a retraction or apology. Are you waiting for the heat to die down? Or, are you not man enough to stand up and defend your boy now that he has stepped in the proverbial pile? Or have you switched parties yourself?
Since your anointment of the turncoat Senator as The Second Coming, Arlen Specter has:

• Said on Meet The Press that he never told President Obama that he would be loyal.
• Voted against BHO's budget only a day after he announced his party switch.
• Voted against a Democratic bill designed help homeowners in bankruptcy court
• Told the New York Times has was pulling for Norm Coleman to win in court against Al Franken.
• Announced his national health plan, based on diet and exercise.
• Seen the democrats strip away his seniority in retaliation for his disloyalty.
• Claimed the The President "would seek my advice, especially when I disagree with him.”
• Virtually admitted he switched parties only to save his own skin. He makes Crazy Joe Lieberman look like a Yellow Dog Democrat.

As Gail Collins said in the New York Times "Specter’s theory is that his propensity to do whatever he wants should not only be tolerated, but constantly rewarded. That’s not character. It’s self-indulgence. "

In the end, Democrats foolishly gave Arlen Specter a face-saving subcommittee; he got off with just a slap on the wrist. And a halo, from you, Pablo Fanque. How do you like your angel these days, Pabs?
---o0o---

Rebuttal: Pablo Fanque, are you out of your f***ing mind? Arlen Specter: Hero?

By Jack Brummet
All This Is That Arts and Lifestyles Editor

In Pablo Fanque's misguided recent posting on Arlen Specter (Celebrate! Sen. Arlen Specter extricates himself from The Hive--> The GOP begins to succumb to The Sickness) on All This Is That, Pablo makes the error of postulating Arlen Specter's party-switch as an heroic act. In fact, Pablo, Arlen Specter has explicitly stated that he switched parties to save his own skin. He was basically run out of his own party on a rail, and faced a primary battle which pollsters said he was sure to lose. So he jumped ship, and came on over to our party. And within one day, admitted he may not follow his new party's line, on Senate procedural issues a/k/a The Filibuster), or on whomever BHO nominates for the Supreme Court Associate Justice slot. That's possibly OK. It's not just the G.O.P. who like their mavericks. We like people to get "mavericky" too. But, to paraphrase Gertrude Stein, "a rat is a rat is a rat."




Arlen Specter has always been one of my favorite Republicans, mostly because he would cross the aisle, and has co-sponsored bills with Democrats like Joe Biden. He is an intelligent man. I've never quite forgiven him for what he did to Anita Hill in the Thomas confirmation hearings.

He's no Hero, Pablo, and certainly not deserving of the halo you awarded him. Sure, I'm glad he's on our side; but let's face it, he's on our side as long as it suits his purposes (e.g., being re-elected at all costs). He jumped to our party because he has nowhere else to go.

I recommend we welcome him into the party, and "trust, but verify." In short, sure, bring him in, but don't trust him any further than you can throw him. What's to say he won't jump ship on us once the prevailing winds change direction? For now, let's bring him along. . .even if he ends up as a double agent. But let's not call him a hero. He's a politician, with all the treachery, ambition, and madness that entails.

Pablo, I wonder, from your anointing of Senator Specter, if you don't have a Republican streak yourself? And, as for you Arlen Specter, if you're going to abandon ship, why not jump the shark and become a full-blooded Yellow Dog Democrat? You'll be leaving behind the festering cadaver of the G.O.P., but you'll be gaining a brother and sisterhood of The Right Stuff.
---o0o---

We beat The Beach Boys?

By Pablo Fanque,
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

and

Jack Brummet
All This Is That Poetry, Pranks, Paranormal, Pop, Painting, and Persiflage Editor

As you probably don't know, All This Is That is named after a Beach Boys song with the same name. The song itself is about eastern philosophy and meditation. Why did we name this blog All This Is That? Because we liked The Beach Boys, and we liked the way it sounded. And because All This IS That. It really is.

These days on most search engines (especially Google), All This Is That is the first result. We beat the Beach Boys! Jack's wife Keelin looked at us with a jaundiced eye when we told her that. Kind of a "OK. Who cares?" look. And she's probably right. It's narcissistic? Maybe. But it really just feels like a tiny bit of vindication. . .something we don't get a lot of. Just an acknowledgement that maybe four and a half years flogging this blog hasn't gone completely unnoticed...

Craven, 'though we may be, it's kind of cool. A video of the song appears below. . .


---o0o---

And the race is on: The 2012 Presidential campaign has begun. . .The first hat in the ring? Sarah Palin's.

By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

All This Is That's coverage of the 2012 Presidential race begins now. The election campaign kicked off quietly today, when Governor Palin of Alaska launched her website and PAC. What does The Governor's political action committee intend to do? They are. . .



"Dedicated to building America's future, supporting fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation. SarahPAC believes America's best days are ahead. Our country, founded on conservative principles and the fight for freedom, must confront the challenges of the 21st century with integrity, innovation, and determination.

"SarahPAC believes energy independence is a cornerstone of the economic security and progress that every American family wants and deserves.

"SarahPAC believes the Republican Party is at the threshold of an historic renaissance that will build a better future for all. Health care, education, and reform of government are among our key goals. Join us today!"

It is clear as an unmuddied stream...Sarah Palin is running for President. She will do it by swinging to the far right, or, really, shucking the patina of moderation the McCain Presidential campaign required of its would-be Veep.

Sarah Palin will remind us that she warned us about just what Obama would unleash once the fetters were off. She will use BHO's middle name frequently. She will call him a Marxist, pinko, commie dupe, and naive. If she studies hard over the next couple of years, and if Obama seriously fumbles the ball, she may just have a shot in the primaries.

It will be most interesting to see what her PAC cooks up, and who in the G.O.P. will be on her side. One old pro I don't think we'll see sign up is Senator John McCain. I would have to guess they spoke the last words they spoke to each other were through gritted teeth the night of the election, when McCain put the kibosh on the concession speech she thought she could strongarm him into letting her deliver.

We are on her mailing list and will bring you updates as her PAC swings into action and begins accumulating cash for her Oval Office bid.
---o0o---

It's Joe! Obama picks Biden for VP slot as John McCain runs marbles through his hands like Captain Queeg

As All This Is That revealed early this week, in an article by our National Affairs Editor Pablo Fanque, Barack Obama has selected his fellow senator, Smilin' Joe Biden as his running mate.

The Associated Press broke the story Friday evening. The selection of Biden will be public unveiled tomorrow morning as Biden joins Obama at a rally in Illinois. Those of us who signed up with the Obama campaign will receive a text message announcing his choice early tomorrow morning. [ed's note: we received the text message from the Obama campaign this morning at 1:56 AM Pacific Time...just after the story was being confirmed by MSNBC and other news services. ]

All This Is That was right. Hats off to Pablo Fanque for his always excellent reporting!

The Associated Press story that ran Friday night said:

"Barack Obama selected Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware late Friday night to be his vice presidential running mate, according to a Democratic official, balancing his ticket with an older congressional veteran well-versed in foreign policy and defense issues."
"Biden, 65, has twice sought the White House, and is a Catholic with blue-collar roots, a generally liberal voting record and a reputation as a long-winded orator."

"Across more than 30 years in the Senate, he has served at various times not only as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee but also as head of the Judiciary Committee, with its jurisdiction over anti-crime legislation, Supreme Court nominees and Constitutional issues. "

"In selecting Biden, Obama passed over several other potential running mates, none more prominent than former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, his tenacious rival in dozens of primaries and caucuses. "

"The official who spoke did so on condition of anonymity, preferring not to pre-empt a text-message announcement the Obama campaign promised for Saturday morning. "
---o0o---

John Edwards and Rielle Hunter: the long, slow slide into obscurity begins

illustration from Co-Ed Magazine

By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

This is our last posting on Ex-Senator John Edwards, in order to let him drift into the obscurity he so richly deserves. . .like the old televisions in the 50's and 60's. . .when you turned them off, the picture collapsed to a small dot in the center of the screen that slowly faded away. John Edwards has hinted that he intends to carve out some sort of public role for himself, but that's the same delusional thinking that led to his current predicament. It's time to air the stench out of All This Is That.

According to today's Daily News, "John Edwards didn't confess his adultery with his flaky videographer, Rielle Hunter, until after he officially announced his presidential run in December 2006."

The National Enquirer reports that "Edwards didn't confess until after an unwitting campaign staffer walked in on him with Hunter and word got back to his wife, who confronted him." They further report: "They broke up a bunch of times, especially when Elizabeth was rediagnosed [with cancer]," a friend of Hunter's, Texas publicist Pigeon O'Brien, told People. "But they got back together."

And a "bombshell" that will surprise no one who has followed the story: "sources close to Hunter say that Edwards and his mistress choreographed their public tango over a DNA test: he offered to take one last week, she declined to allow it. "They worked that out together in advance," a source described only as "an insider" told the Enquirer. "She's still protecting John because she loves him and thinks they may eventually have a future together."
---o0o---

"Crazy" Joe Liberman on the VP short list--for McCain

By Pablo Fanque,
All This Is That National Affairs Editor


"Don't move back Mr. President. I'm getting a chubby."

According to a story in the Financial Times by Stephanie Kirchgaessner, Joe Lieberman, former Democratic vice-presidential nominee/Democrat turncoat, who endorsed John McCain for President, is being vetted as a running mate for the Republican presidential hopeful an unnamed McCain advisor said.


From an All This Is That staff artist, two years ago - August 9, 2006


"John, he's all yours. You can have the P.O.S."


The Senator at a Press Conference with Donald Rumsfeld

Although Democrats haven't exactly been buying McCain’s tarnished image as a maverick politician, Mr. Lieberman’s support for the presumptive Republican nominee has the unfortunate effect of making McCain seem more palatable, as a bi-partisan legislator with friends on both sides of the aisle. Lieberman, could also help Mr McCain win over Jewish voters with his steadfast support for Israel.

But you know what? No one likes a rat, and in the end, what is Joe Lieberman but a sawed-off Neo-Republican apologist for Israel who turned his back on his Democratic brothers and sisters in their hour of greatest need? Sure, you'll use a rat; you'll exploit him to get to the next stage, but in the end, a rat is a rat is a rat. People will trust him as far as they can throw him (what is the record for dwarf-tossing, anyway?).

The odds of John McCain surviving two terms in office are not specifically all that good. Eight of 43 Presidents have died in office, and he will be the oldest President ever. Even if he seems palatable as a running mate, not many people on either side of the aisle are ready for a Lieberman Presidency. The republicans know he has certain liberal tendencies they may find unpalatable. The Democrats know he is an unprincipled weasel who shouldn't be trusted with even an obscure subcommittee chairmanship. McCain will come to his senses once this trial balloon is laughed off the table. McCain will come to his senses and pick a nice, bland running mate who can carry one important state, and do no collateral damage.


---o0o---

John McCain may just want to hang up his rock and roll shoes after Obama's Berlin speech

By Pablo Fanque,
All This Is That National Affairs Editor




Obama speaks to an adoring throng of Berliners


I listened to Obama's speech in Berlin this morning, on the anniversary of the American-British Berlin airlift, in answer to the blockade of West Berlin by the reds. It was a nuanced, well-modulated speech than had the crowd roaring and on its feet as much as any speech he has given to partisan Obamanites in America.

Senator John McCain, already running scared this week, with Obama scoring all the praise and headlines and sound bytes, should probably just stick his head in the oven and crank up the gas.

Maybe McCain can get some mileage out of whatever hacks he selects for Vice-President. Maybe he can continue to hammer away at Obama as an appeaser of terrorists. Maybe he can somehow seem young and vigorous. But I don't think so. This morning, hearing Barack Obama speak in Germany, I knew McCain was in deep, deep trouble.
---o0o---