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Jul 16, 2019
Jul 15, 2019
Deep Thought
The English language is fucked up.
We know this because of the way we spell the word "phonetically", and by the fact that we're not allowed to spell words like "phonetically" phonetically.
We know this because of the way we spell the word "phonetically", and by the fact that we're not allowed to spell words like "phonetically" phonetically.
Today's Tweet
The air is filled with chaff and the water is slick with chum. Whatever it is we're not supposed to see must be getting very much closer and clearer.
As of today it's irresponsible NOT to speculate what videos Trump has of Lindsey Graham's sex life. https://t.co/c74PFEzJrt— Frances Langum (@bluegal) July 15, 2019
Mucho Gusto
Here's Justin King (Beau Of The Fifth Column) with a market solution that the clear-eyed pragmatic "capitalists" will never consider.
Because they fully expect everything to be handed to them on the proverbial silver platter under the auspices of the full faith and credit of the American taxpayer, who's being held at bay by threat of deadly force.
This is The Daddy State
Because they fully expect everything to be handed to them on the proverbial silver platter under the auspices of the full faith and credit of the American taxpayer, who's being held at bay by threat of deadly force.
This is The Daddy State
Today I FlipFlop A Bit
This is the kinda shit that pops up on any given social media feed a hundred times on any given day.
First, I have no problem respecting and showing a little appreciation for the cops or the librarians or the moms or the service members or the guy behind the counter at 7-11 - although I have indeed gotten more than a little peeved at how much whining goes on about all of it.
But I think maybe I should be trying to see past the complaints, and look at the reasons for those complaints.
Maybe what we need to do is address the fucked up system that gives people good reason to believe there's no respect for them, and leads them to where they have to stand up and holler.
Which happens to be also the place where they're more easily manipulated into thinking a bottom-feeding slug like Donald Trump is their ticket to a more perfect union.
We have to start talking about honor again.
If we put some sense of honor (and honorability) back into the way we conduct ourselves - and the way we demand our government conducts itself - then there's less likelihood that anyone becomes so disillusioned that they end up feeling they have no alternative to throwing rocks and punches and bombs.
And like the man said - when we make peaceful revolution impossible, we make bloody rebellion inevitable.
First, I have no problem respecting and showing a little appreciation for the cops or the librarians or the moms or the service members or the guy behind the counter at 7-11 - although I have indeed gotten more than a little peeved at how much whining goes on about all of it.
But I think maybe I should be trying to see past the complaints, and look at the reasons for those complaints.
Maybe what we need to do is address the fucked up system that gives people good reason to believe there's no respect for them, and leads them to where they have to stand up and holler.
Which happens to be also the place where they're more easily manipulated into thinking a bottom-feeding slug like Donald Trump is their ticket to a more perfect union.
We have to start talking about honor again.
If we put some sense of honor (and honorability) back into the way we conduct ourselves - and the way we demand our government conducts itself - then there's less likelihood that anyone becomes so disillusioned that they end up feeling they have no alternative to throwing rocks and punches and bombs.
And like the man said - when we make peaceful revolution impossible, we make bloody rebellion inevitable.
Jul 14, 2019
Just Goofin'
One Guy:
Y'know, if it wasn't for them Arabs, we wouldn't have had 9/11.
Another Guy:
Right. It'd be IX/XI - but we'd still be a little confused about who did what, and we'd still be out there fuckin' shit up.
Y'know, if it wasn't for them Arabs, we wouldn't have had 9/11.
Another Guy:
Right. It'd be IX/XI - but we'd still be a little confused about who did what, and we'd still be out there fuckin' shit up.
The Permission Slip
If you're slagging immigrants on a technicality - ie: "I don't mind them being here, I just don't want them to be here illegally" - then you have to know what's legal and what's not.
And we have to agree on the basic premise that everyone has an obligation to follow the law, not just the orders of the boss.
Crossing our border without permission is illegal, except when you cross that border to ask for asylum.
We signed on to an international treaty that sets out the terms for immigration and asylum, and under our constitution, treaties carry the weight of law.
Beau Of The Fifth Column - Justin King
The rule of law is kinda the whole fucking point for "both sides" of this issue. We should be able to recognize that there's common ground here, agree on a set of facts, and move into a debate on how best to advance the greater good.
You'd think so anyway.
Unfortunately, we're dealing with a political phenomenon that depends on the suspension of objective reality.
We're up against a kind of "thinking" that has no use for consistency, rejects the concept of shame, and substitutes loyalty for truth.
So we can't expect to make much headway relying on well-reasoned argument, but we can't abandon the effort. It's what we've got - it's what differentiates us from the Daddy Staters.
Jul 13, 2019
Another Test
When you test the sentiment of the former by taking the action described in the latter, American "conservatives" are revealed to be hypocrites, or bigoted nativists, or just plain old ordinary whiny-butt pussies.
Today's Quote
Thinking about all the bullshit narratives the Press Poodles came up with to explain how so many Americans decided to jump on the Cult45 wagon.
Here's a Twitter account (@JuiusGoat) - aka: AR Moxon - with a fair take on it.
Historians have a word for Germans who joined the Nazi party, not because they hated Jews, but because they hoped for restored patriotism; or out of a sense of economic anxiety; or a hope to preserve their religious values; or dislike of their opponents; or raw political opportunism, or convenience, or ignorance, or greed.
That word is "Nazi". Nobody cares about their motives.
They joined what they joined. They lent their support and their moral approval to it. And, in so doing, they bound themselves to everything that came after.
Who cares any more what particular knot they used in the binding?
Today's Tweet
I need that candle. ($40 on etsy)
It's a meltdown kinda morning, isn't it donny? pic.twitter.com/HAQYy3cWQh— Curious Bystander❓ (@NCaDaPi) July 13, 2019
Today's Joke
So, I saw these two guys down on the mall wearing matching outfits - and feeling friendly and chatty, I asked them if they were a couple.
They arrested me.
They arrested me.
Jul 12, 2019
An Anthem
Across The Borderline --Ry Cooder:
There's a place where I've been told
Every street is paved with gold
And it's just across the borderline
And when it's time to take your turn
Here's one lesson that you must learn
You could lose more than you'll ever hope to find
When you reach the broken promised land
And every dream slips through your hands
Then you'll know that it's too late to change your mind
'Cause you've paid the price to come so far
Just to wind up where you are
And you're still just across the borderline
Up and down the Rio Grande
A thousand footprints in the sand
Reveal a secret no one can define
The river flows on like a breath
In between our life and death
Tell me who's the next to cross the borderline
En la triste oscuridad (In the sad darkness)
Hoy tenemos que cruzar (today we have to cross)
Este rÃo que nos llama más allá (this river which calls us farther away)
But hope remains when pride is gone
And it keeps you moving on
Calling you across the borderline
And when you reach the broken promised land
And every dream slips through your hands
Then you'll know it's too late to change your mind
'Cause you've paid the price to come so far
Just to wind up where you are
And you're still just across the borderline
And every dream slips through your hands
Then you'll know it's too late to change your mind
'Cause you've paid the price to come so far
Just to wind up where you are
And you're still just across the borderline
Now you're still just across the borderline
(by Ry Cooder, John Hiatt, Jim Dickinson)
Quiet Reminder
It's about making it harder for "lower class" women - poor women.
WaPo:
Even if the blue-noses manage to re-criminalize abortion, I can be on a plane to Montreal with my pregnant daughter tomorrow and get back with my un-pregnant daughter the day after that.
Women of means - ie: white middle class Republican women - will not suffer as much under the rule of these Daddy State assholes (or so they believe).
But make no mistake, all of us will suffer because of the fallout and "unintended" consequences of the special regulations imposed only on women, but designed to keep us all under control.
WaPo:
Even if the blue-noses manage to re-criminalize abortion, I can be on a plane to Montreal with my pregnant daughter tomorrow and get back with my un-pregnant daughter the day after that.
Women of means - ie: white middle class Republican women - will not suffer as much under the rule of these Daddy State assholes (or so they believe).
But make no mistake, all of us will suffer because of the fallout and "unintended" consequences of the special regulations imposed only on women, but designed to keep us all under control.
Here Comes Sunday
It's a test. A trial run. They need to see how it goes operationally, but also to gauge our reaction to this next step towards Daddy State rule.
And like they say - if you've ever wondered what you would've done in 1930s Germany - you're doing it now.
Jul 10, 2019
Yesterday
Justin King, aka: Beau Of The Fifth Column
Asylum --Maaz 2018
Stand on graves and cast out the helpless.
They arrive in waves to the illusion of hope.
A 'caravan' of people,
All begging for freedom,
But fear not,
They shall be murdered
for they are evil.
How can they expect asylum, safety & security,
from a land built on death?
Where those in power face no scrutiny.
Where an orange haired buffoon can thrive & prosper,
But mothers & fathers cannot afford a doctor.
Yet still these people come here seeking a better life and
how dare they do?
With hands calloused from hard work,
hearts filled with grief,
spirits filled with belief;
Don’t they know?
This is a land built out of the flesh of martyrs,
On a charter that helps oppress its own population,
A country that thrives off devastation.
Asylum --Maaz 2018
Stand on graves and cast out the helpless.
They arrive in waves to the illusion of hope.
A 'caravan' of people,
All begging for freedom,
But fear not,
They shall be murdered
for they are evil.
How can they expect asylum, safety & security,
from a land built on death?
Where those in power face no scrutiny.
Where an orange haired buffoon can thrive & prosper,
But mothers & fathers cannot afford a doctor.
Yet still these people come here seeking a better life and
how dare they do?
With hands calloused from hard work,
hearts filled with grief,
spirits filled with belief;
Don’t they know?
This is a land built out of the flesh of martyrs,
On a charter that helps oppress its own population,
A country that thrives off devastation.
Today's Tweet
This guy's doing some really good work - I only wish somebody could actually pull this off IRL.
BREAKING: protestors hang anti-Trump banner in front of the Trump International Hotel in downtown Chicago this morning. pic.twitter.com/Ql2IrVLAR1— Paul Lee Ticks (@PaulLeeTicks) July 9, 2019
Jul 9, 2019
Deep Thought
Hippies took the Volkswagen, a symbol of Nazi hate, and turned it into a symbol of peace and love.
And So It Goes
If "Conservatives" would stop acting like a buncha whiny-butt pussies, I'd stop calling them a buncha whiny-butt pussies.
I've called them Rubes for a while now too - which they are, because they continue to demonstrate they are.
See how that works?
Now, I'm not saying I have some kind of perfect record when it comes to bravely confronting things in life.
To this day, I can't listen to Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells (The Exorcist) without having nightmares. And I'm a fucking atheist.
There was also the time I believed that my wife of 28 years (now ex-wife) wasn't taking horizontal mambo lessons from an old high school "acquaintance" on a regular basis.
So I can be a chicken - and a dumbass mired in denial too.
But for the most part, when I'm looking at all this political stuff, I can pick my way through the available data and synthesize a reasonable hypothesis that I can test, to see if it holds up.
There are things you just have to know are bullshit. And it's not something where you have to have a knack for it, or an innate ability to see the truth through an unfiltered mind's eye.
You just have to test it. Question it. Sort it out.
And really, it helps to be possessed of that tiny modicum of common sense that "conservatives" are always bitchin' about how nobody else has.
Anyway.
The Washington Examiner:
Russian intelligence agents spread a false report claiming assassins working for Hillary Clinton killed Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich just days after his murder, according to a new investigation.
The SVR, Russia’s foreign intelligence service, spread a fake intelligence report about Rich on July 13, 2016, three days after he was killed walking home, a federal prosecutor told Yahoo News.
The Russians claimed Rich, a 27-year-old working as a data director for the DNC, was going to alert the FBI to corrupt dealings by Clinton when he was murdered by assassins. Those details then appeared on whatdoesitmean.com, an obscure website that promotes Russian propaganda.
In the next two years, media organizations owned by the Russian government emphasized stories falsely alleging Rich leaked Democratic Party emails to WikiLeaks.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange also made false statements about Rich’s death to obscure that the hacked emails came from Russia, special counsel Robert Mueller alleged in his redacted report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The Internet Research Agency, a Russian troll factory that engaged in social media influence operations during the election, aggressively circulated the conspiracy theories, helping to keep the false claims alive.
The conspiracy was also spread by allies of President Trump.
The Examiner isn't what any sentient being would consider "lefty":
And "conservatives" are suckers. They're whiny-butt pussies and rubes and suckers.
Today's Tweet
Got me a bad Eeyore goin' today.
The Plutocracy Project is out in the open.— e'Ville Mike (@eVilleMike) July 9, 2019
Purpose-built store-bought coin-operated politicians.
Our little experiment in self-government is dying, and unless we pull off a miracle comeback in 2020, we're just arguing over who will get to do what with the corpse. https://t.co/owCRWix2yK
God's Special Little Creatures
When Hollywood gives us prophesy dressed up to look like trifling entertainment.
hat tip = driftglass
Some Of Them Are Monsters
Charlie Pierce, Esquire - I copied the whole piece from behind the pay wall.
It took me a couple of tries to wade through the muck of the indictment that the Southern District of New York dropped on Jeffrey Epstein on Monday. Every time I got sort of rolling, I'd run into a sentence like this:
Epstein typically would also masturbate during these sexualized encounters, ask victims to touch him while he masturbated, and touch victims' genitals with his hands or with sex toys.It is impossible that Epstein's many influential friends and houseguests didn't know about this. Apparently, Epstein was not shy about his predilections. The current President* of the United States was a frequent running buddy, and he said in New York magazine back in 2002:
I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.And before the flying monkeys take wing, let me say that, if any Democratic politician was involved in these late Roman Empire hootenannys, that person should be convicted and buried under the jail as well. This is not a stick-to-politics moment. This is going to screw up the political moment good and proper, though. Unless Epstein cuts a quick deal at the encouragement of all those people who suddenly don't know him anymore, this is going to be a long and garish public spectacle. It's going to devour news cycle after news cycle. And if anything emerges connecting the president* directly to Epstein's alleged crimes, there isn't going to be a news cycle anymore. There will be only this story, over and over again.
This, after all, is the lubricious dark side of the Masters of the Universe mentality that brought us the near collapse of the world economy, and which too many powerful people in our politics became far too comfortable in embracing. If there are no rules worth keeping in business, why should there be any rules worth keeping in your off-hours? (How confident was Epstein that the bell would never toll for him? According to the FBI, they found he'd carefully labeled all the kiddie porn in his collection.) If everything is a commodity to be bought and sold, and if the basic business plan of all your peers is fraud, why stop at just collateralizing home loans? Why not collateralize young girls? After all, of all the deadly sins, greed and lust are the closest cousins.
Meanwhile, a lot of women are finally going to get a chance to tell their stories, and to make whatever peace they can with having been caught up in a ghastly series of events that would shame the Borgias. If some of the people who exploited them are destroyed in the process, that is not their concern, nor ours. Fitzgerald was more right than he knew: the rich are different from you and me. Some of them are monsters.
Once I get you to accept the absurdity, I can get talk you into committing the atrocity.
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