…sort of.

11 years ago, yesterday, I began journaling online at a little webzine called the Zen Gazette. It was a background site hosted on the server for my former business, Drugstore Zen Media, and, every couple of days, I popped up and bitched about something. There was not, as far as I recall, any software for journaling at the time, so, I’d fire up the notepad and Netscape and post something up as a fresh webpage. It sucked.

Several friends have joined me in the effort over the years, most notably Sgt. Jake and Jack Allen, III (who have also joined this current effort), as well as Joe Valentino, Sarah Winkler, Mike Robinson, Sara Thompson, the Reverend Barry Gibbon, Donna Wright, Mark Catalane, Allison Griffin, and, may he rest in peace, Guy Rodgers. Now, I am adding to the team a very old friend of mine, Libertarian Jon Carter.

The original mission of the Zen Gazette was pretty simple: To Bitch About Stuff. My floating in and out of politics certainly bent the hell out of what started as a journal about media, entertainment, advertising, and film. It is comforting to know that after a decade, my mission remains the same. Not many things in life are that dependable.

My life has undergone many changes and these changes have always had some impact on my work. Most notably, I broke my neck in 1997 and, aside from physical therapy, online journaling was how I spent a lot of my time while I was learning how to walk again.

Over the last few years, I’ve gone back and forth from an active political operative to a indy-movie producer, writer, graphic artist and radio guy. Most of the time these things all get mashed together. JM Bell, the Militant Progressive, is pretty much the evolution of more than 10 years of semi-professional online bitching.

I have a couple more little surprises to roll out over the next couple of days, so that’ll do it for now. Please stay tuned.

Here’s a funny Blog Post from August 1999 … after the fold

2000 Elections are looking VERY grim.

As we watch the events unfold toward the November elections perhaps it’s best to consider the ramifications of voting for any of the current list of contestants. As you’ve probably noticed the field, on both the right and the left wing, is looking pretty pitiable, no? Here’s are my

Take a quick look at your national news and tell me if you are satisfied with your choices or if, like me, you wonder what the hell people are thinking in the caucuses.

Let’s take a quick look at the left field:

1. Bill Bradley

Fuzzy, pansy, slow pitch softball, absolute sissy. This guy couldn’t get angry if you smacked his mother while you scratched his BMW. Seriously. Think about this: HE LETS AL GORE PUSH HIM AROUND. Throughout the primaries he has constantly let a hippy back him into a corner and each and every time has fought back with something nice to say. How sweet. If you have any love for the armed services you will not allow this man into office. If there is ever any sort of conflict, anywhere, even with Jamaica, this guy will faint like a vegan in a butcher shop.

2. Al Gore

Notably the closest thing the oval office has seen to a bona fide tree hugger, EVER. And maybe that’s not a bad thing. HE cares for the environment, he’s good on tech issues, and, compared with the rest of the field, he’s a good choice except for a couple of things. First, he’d need to find a way to get the press to quit kicking his ass every time he turns around. They hate his ass. I think it’s because he’s smarter than they are.
Also, someone needs to get him to lighten the hell up. If you have a southern accent, you’re supposed to smile. Be yourself, Albert. Dump the dead weight that keeps putting you in costume. She’s obviously a half-wit.

Now the Right Wing

1.George Bush, the Sequel.

Somebody tell me where in the hell this yahoo got the idea that America wanted another Texan in the White House! At least he doesn’t have his father’s whiny voice. Unlike Al Gore, George won’t admit to his history of drug use. What a wuss. He talks a really tough line of platform but when it’s time for a hard line he’s only got the gumption when someone else is running the lethal injection. Put aside the fact that he’s mortified of crowds and media and look into those beady little eyes and tell me whether or not you wonder if this guy is sane. If he gets elected, we are seriously screwed.

2. John McCain.

I actually like John McCain. I don’t much care for his politics but, hell, he is a war hero, a former POW and he once held a two and a half hour press conference when allegations of misconduct concerning the Savings and Loan scandals popped up. He answered every question the press threw at him until the press had nothing else to ask. He is absolutely fearless in the face of the media, he gives a good speech, and he’s kinda funny.

3. Steve Forbes

Alien. Enough said. His flat tax policy seems like a good idea to me but, lets be honest here, the guy is freaky. Hitchcock freaky, not Rick James freaky. The last time he ran, critics and comics picked up on the fact that he didn’t really blink. Now he blinks every fifteen seconds. Like a Swiss watch. BOO! Who says that aliens from outer space can’t learn to adapt and co-exist on Earth?

That’s it for me right now. I’m still waiting for an Independent Party Candidate to pop up. I hear Jesse Ventura may run. Wouldn’t that be fun?