Ahhh … that howl-iday time of year. Jack Frost roasting on an open fire and all that … As far as we’re concerned, there’s just nothing like it. And although our hearts are usually at room temperature, nothing warms them up quite so much as the thought of getting together in the Vault of Horror with family and friends, and chowing down on some juicy morsels. Of course, they may not be the same kinds of morsels you and yours enjoy around the Christmas table, but really now — are you going to begrudge
us an appendage here and an appendage there? After all, you’ve got ten fingers and ten toes, why not spare a few? It’s all in the spirit of the season, after all.
Some people say that the holidays are a tough time. And I say to those people — you try being one of the walking dead … When the rest of you are out staggering through the shopping malls looking for a good buy for your loved ones … we’re just out staggering, looking for your loved ones! But seriously, it really is better to give than to receive, and at no time of year is that more apparent than now. So this is why I urge you all to give—give yourselves to us and our army of Carnivorous Cadavers, that is.
Whether we’re stringing the tree with fresh entrails; hanging the stockings by the chimney with care (not our fault that the feet are still in them!); or enjoying a nice bowl of steaming red … um, punch—yeah that’s what it is; the Terror Team knows how to keep the spirit alive. Well, maybe that’s not the best choice of words, but you get the idea!
So from us to you, have a very Merry Christmas, mortals. Enjoy it while you can, and just remember — if you hear something crawling down your chimney, don’t be surprised if it isn’t Santa …
Seasons Bleedings!
The Terror Team
Captain Cruella of The Carnivorous Cadavers
B-Sol of TheVaultofHorror.net
Social Security swan song
Social Security will be killed with three daggers: the cost of the U.S. wars in the Middle East (three trillion), the cost of the Wall Street bailouts (three trillion), and the cost of tax cuts for the very rich (four trillion).
The plot against the life of America’s most successful social program has been going on for decades. Clinton was ready to privatize Social Security, until his libido got in the way. Bush has stated that the one disappointment in his presidency was his inability to destroy the program. And now we are in the hands of that consummate appeaser of right-wing corporate interests, Barack Obama.
Obama has escalated the wars, completed the Wall Street bailouts, and continued the massive tax giveaways to the rich. Even more dangerous, he has plotted to blame Social Security for the enormous deficits that have resulted. His supposedly “bipartisan” deficit reduction commission ignored the real causes of this country’s financial woes to zero in on its intended victim, the crown jewel of FDR’s New Deal.
The most treacherous part Obama’s recent sellout to Republicans, a 30 percent reduction in payroll tax, will cut off Social Security’s funding, supposedly for only one year. But try to get that funding back. Without it, current workers will no longer be supporting retired workers and the whole system will collapse. Rather than being secure for at least the next 30 years, Social Security will be struck down.
And the last stab will be Obama’s. Et tu, Barack?
Fred Nagel
Rhinebeck
Capitalist gods
Maybe it is my imagination, but President Obama seems to finally realize that this country is owned and ruled by the elite Banksters of Wall Street, and the bloated producers of military machines. War keeps the latter happy and wealthy and Wall Street insures that only the multi-wealthy stay and become even more powerful using the diminishing money of the workers. It’s easy to complain; but isn’t it in some way the fault of the middle class for allowing themselves to be flummoxed more and more in the past half century? “We” have been so soaked and bombarded in the so-called wisdom of capitalism that we look at the capitalists like gods, as they of course look on themselves. We are their expendable workers and fighters, slaves, and peons; and the elite are the Greedy Gods we are taught know best. Obama is only looking sad and perplexed, when wondering how he can do anything to correct our stupid lack of control of government. Think about how it really is, not how it should be, and once was; or at least heading in that way. Lincoln said we are of the people, by the people, and for the people, a very dangerous thing to say, and he was punished for it. The capitalist goal is almost completed: corporations rule government and the government rules the working and middle class (the latter of which is rapidly dissolving just the way it was planned). Poor Obama didn’t realize what he was getting into, and didn’t have the guts of FDR in the depression of the thirties. When told that the wealthy class was angry with his way of using “their” money to fight the depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt said he was “glad that they hate me.”
Phil Sullivan
Woodstock
U.S. “Boat to Gaza” campaign
Despite the “easing” of the Israeli siege of Gaza after the attack on the Mavi Marmara last May, Gaza remains the world’s largest open-air prison. The collective punishment of 1.5 million human beings in Gaza is both profoundly immoral as well as illegal under international law. There is now a growing U.S. Boat to Gaza campaign; this is a coalition of individuals and organizations working to organize a U.S.-flagged ship, The Audacity of Hope. This ship is scheduled to set sail in late March in the next international flotilla to Gaza. Its mission is to focus world attention on the miserable living conditions the people of Gaza continue to endure; on the illegal Israeli siege and blockade of Gaza; and on U.S. complicity and funding, which makes all of this possible.
With your help and that of thousands of people across the country, the U.S. Boat to Gaza campaign has raised a substantial portion of the funds needed to purchase, refurbish, and prepare a boat to sail with the Freedom Flotilla II. We now feel confident that we will reach our goal, and, while we are still raising much-needed funds, we are also entering a new phase in the campaign. To this end, we invite individuals and organizations to be part of the team to support The Audacity of Hope before, during, and after it sails; to help keep the mission and its purpose in the public eye; and to form an emergency network team to respond with public actions in the event of another deadly attack on this next flotilla.
We hope you will want to be part of this humanitarian effort to break Israel’s illegal siege and blockade of Gaza. If you are interested, please visit our website, ustogaza.org, and contact us at ustogaza@gmail.com.
Helaine Meisler
Shady
Buridan’s ass
Imagine a hungry donkey standing equidistant from two piles of hay. The donkey tries to decide which pile he should eat first and not being able to choose one over another, starves to death. Moral of this story is: sometimes not making a decision can have dire consequences.
Howard Harris
Woodstock
Joy to the world
Let us celebrate Christmas with real joy this year. Christmas is a lot more than a holiday. We can not take Christ out of Christmas. When that happens we only harm ourselves especially our children. It is Christ who taught us to love one another. Every human being yearns for that love. He brought us the gospel of peace. His only law is love.
Two thousand years ago the angels brought this message to the shepherds in Bethlehem: “Fear not I bring you good news. For today is born in Bethlehem a Savior which is Christ the Lord.” Christmas is more than bestowing gifts of material worth upon those we love. It is a time to look at your family and your neighbor and to tell them: “I love you and I wish you a Merry Christmas.” It is also a time to forgive those that have hurt you. Christmas is for our children. Let us have joy with them together. So I wish to all of you my friends and neighbors: “Have a Merry Christmas.”
Johann Christoph Arnold
Pastor
Woodcrest Community
Rifton
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