The Patron Saint Of A Pen Warmed In Hell

This song is why Mark Twain is named

"The Patron Saint of A Pen Warmed In Hell"


Sadly, it's truer today than when he first wrote it over 100 years ago, sadly it looks like we just never learn, do we?

"The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Updated was written in 1901 by Mark Twain, as a parody of American imperialism, in the wake of the Philippine-American War. It is written in the same tune and cadence as the original Battle Hymn of the Republic.

The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Updated

by Mark Twain

Lyrics
Mine eyes have seen the orgy of the launching of the Sword;
He is searching out the hoardings where the stranger's wealth is stored;
He hath loosed his fateful lightnings, and with woe and death has scored;
His lust is marching on.

I have seen him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded him an altar in the Eastern dews and damps;
I have read his doomful mission by the dim and flaring lamps--
His night is marching on.

I have read his bandit gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my pretensions, so with you my wrath shall deal;
Let the faithless son of Freedom crush the patriot with his heel;
Lo, Greed is marching on!"

We have legalized the strumpet and are guarding her retreat;*
Greed is seeking out commercial souls before his judgement seat;
O, be swift, ye clods, to answer him! be jubilant my feet!
Our god is marching on!

In a sordid slime harmonious Greed was born in yonder ditch,
With a longing in his bosom--and for others' goods an itch.
As Christ died to make men holy, let men die to make us rich--
Our god is marching on.

* NOTE: In Manila the Government has placed a certain industry under the protection of our flag. (M.T.)

We Have A Winner!!!!! A Pen Warmed In Hell's Long National Nightmare Is Over.

(UPDATE: Blogger is being a little bitch right now, and not letting me post these pics the way I want them to go, and also since I've got to get ready for the below mentioned POS day-job, so, much to my chagrin, these two pics will have to do for now.

I'll put the rest up when I don't want to gash my teeth, rend my cloth and tear my hair out like I'm actually in Hell, for reals. ~nyc)

Despite what the "new & improved" Blogger might have to say about how long I've been on their corner of the internets, it's been a long, long, long time that A Pen Warmed In Hell has had a presence, and I gotta tell ya. it can get pretty discouraging sometimes because nobody's been leaving any comments here.

Kinda depressing, flying blind, it can be.

Not to mention discouraging too

Well, finally the ice has been broken.

First jurassicpork popped in and said "hi" and just now today, enigma4ever, of Watergate Summer, just left me some nice words of encouragement, and I gotta tell ya, The Spiritual Patron Saint of A Pen Warmed in Hell, Mark Twain, himself, is right, you can:

"Get by for two weeks on the strength of a compliment".

Who knew?

So I want to do something special for them both, and since I'm not in a position to award cash prizes, at least not yet, if anyone out there wants to show me how to set up a PayPal donate link, or sell advertising, in addition to Google's Adsense Program, here on A Pen Warmed In Hell, so I can, like, y'know, I'm like everybody else and I really want to quit my day job, they don't understand me over there anyways, so it's not like there'd be any hard feelings, and do this full time, that'd be awesome.

In the meantime, and since it works so well with the President Ford stuff that I'm planning on writing here, here are some honest, Out-Sourced, Injun, pictures that I took last year, when I back to DC last Spring to visit my girlfriend in DC, (babs you are SO missed), of the actual office that the Watergate Building Break-In, which led to the Fall of Richard Nixon, happened in.

There's actually a freaking Shrine, of sorts, in there.

How cool is that?

I hope you all like them.


More to follow.

~nyc