Meet the hateful/discriminatory Nazi porn king

According to some, that would be, uh . . . me.

Several years ago my son-in-law downloaded some freeware utility program onto my computer. It did what it was suppose to do, but it also contained a worm that allowed its creator to send pornographic emails through my computer (and thus seen as coming from MY IP address!).

It took me a while to convince my ISP (Internet Service Provider) NOT to cancel my account once the complaints started coming in. I removed the nasty worm, and all was well again.

That explains the “porn king” part of my title.

As for the hateful and discriminatory Nazi part, that came yesterday. Here’s the story.

In 1974 I bought and moved into a small house in Corpus Christi. This dwelling had been built in the 1930s and had one electrical circuit (protected by a single 30-amp fuse) serving the entire place! The first thing we did was hire an electrician to have the place wired according to modern codes.

But in the attic (which I had entered to install insulation, since it had none!) I found a folded-up burlap bag. Pictures below.


Well, I thought that was interesting; an actual piece of WWII Nazi memorabilia! I decided I'd keep it, since someday it might be worth something.

But Carol has been saying for some time (several years, I think) that it's time to get rid of that old thing. So yesterday, since I still can't swing a golf club (see post below), I decided I would list the item on eBay and see what I could get for it.

After all, a quick Google search found a very similar bag which had sold on a different auction site recently for $60! Hey, that's a small tank of gas these days!

And although a search of eBay using the word "Nazi" resulted in well over 2,000 items (mostly coins and stamps) being auctioned, not one of them was a burlap bag! I figured I had a real find. A unique item! It might actually bring enough for TWO tanks of gas!


I prepared the listing, entitling it "Nazi burlap bag." I arranged the pictures, went through all the details of figuring shipping costs and payment options, and submitted entire thing for auction.

Several hour later I received the following email:

Dear tx_duke_of_earle,

You recently listed the following auction-style listing:

280225922979 - Nazi burlap bag

The was removed because it violated the eBay Hateful or Discriminatory policy. We notified members who placed bids on the item that the listing has been canceled.

In order to ensure that all listings are consistent with the spirit of the worldwide community, eBay members are not allowed to sell items that may be viewed as promoting or glorifying hatred, violence, and racial or religious intolerance. Items that promote organizations with these views are also prohibited.

Accordingly, members are not allowed to sell items (such as helmets, daggers, and medals) that bear the Nazi, Neo-Nazi, or Aryan Nation symbols. Even if members block, crop, or simply don't show the organization's symbol in their listing, the items are still not permitted on eBay. Members are also not allowed to sell items that were owned by or affiliated with Nazi leaders.

Okay then! I somehow failed to realize that I was promoting any organization that "glorified hatred, violence, and racial or religious intolerance." I just wanted to sell an old burlap bag!

Now, if half of what I read about the FBI, NSA, and Office of Homeland Security is accurate, I am probably now on at least a dozen lists of possible terrorists or hate criminals. Likely the next time I try to fly on a commercial airline I will be detained, strip-searched, and subjected to all kinds of indignities and accusations before (IF) I'm allowed to board the plane.

In fact, this morning there's been a strange van with blacked-out windows parked in front of my house, and I think someone has rifled through my garbage cans.

I'm going to check with the State Department to see if my passport is still valid. And if you don't see any blog posts from me for several weeks, you'll know they've got me in an interrogation room somewhere beating out of me everyhing I know.

Come to think of it, you might want to reformat your hard drive to erase any evidence that you've ever read this blog, or YOU may be up for interrogation next!