What Was That, Anyway?

Raw Story

President Donald Trump’s White House was caught completely unprepared for Saturday’s false alarm about a missile attack on Hawaii, said Politico.

The news about the potential attack “sent White House aides scrambling” as they frantically called federal agencies trying to find out what to do and how to respond, raising serious questions about their preparedness for an actual attack — nearly a year into Trump’s presidency.

“President Donald Trump’s Cabinet has yet to test formal plans for how to respond to a domestic missile attack, according to a senior administration official,” wrote Politico’s Eliana Johnson. “John Kelly, while serving as Secretary of Homeland Security through last July, planned to conduct the exercise. But he left his post to become White House chief of staff before it was conducted, and acting secretary Elaine Duke never carried it out.”
The last I heard, it took 38 minutes before Hawaiian officials got their shit together enough to go public and withdraw the warning.

38 minutes.

I get the feeling there was a buncha guys hiding in the basement waiting and checking their watches, until finally one guy says, "I didn't hear a boom - I think there woulda been a boom by now - anybody hear a boom? Anybody?"

So this is where we are now. We have a government run by assholes who apparently think it's OK to make everybody live at the broken end of the bottle all the fucking time.

Working poor - don't get too comfortable with that Medicaid. You're kids are expensive, and we've got better people to spend that money on.

Middle class - don't bitch to us about conditions and wages - we let you work here and pay you just enough to keep you from getting together and coming to our gated communities to fuck us all up.

That false alarm in Hawaii could be real next time - you'll need to trade in your Social Security and Medicare to pay even more for a military that you're required to venerate, but will never ever be used in any way that benefits anyone but multinational rentiers.

What do you mean you don't like it? This is what you voted for, dumbass - it's not like nobody told you this is what we intended to do all along.

Today's Tweet

I don't even...can't even...

Time to start drinking

The scene: three days after nuclear war erupts in the aftermath of a Presidential twitter rant.

Congressman A: This move by the President was very unhelpful.

Senator B: I am deeply disturbed by the President's actions.

Pundit: This is how real Americans use nuclear weapons.

— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) January 12, 2018

 

Today's Bit O' Satire

The fucked-up-edness really kicked into high gear when we (ie: conservatives) became convinced that the whole thing should be demystified because all you really needed was some common sense and a regular guy's outlook.

Jonathan Pie

"I went to the best doctor's on the planet, and the cancer came back - twice.  And now it's back again. This time I think I'll hire a plumber instead."

James Baldwin

I remember being aware of Baldwin, but he wasn't a big influencer for me.

I kinda regret missing that opportunity, and I regret not listening better.

Today's Plucky Entrepreneur

Here's a cool little novelty. 

When you squeeze it, a brown gel oozes out ever so slightly.

Imagine thousands of these lining the shelves in the gift shop at The Great Hall of the People in Beijing during 45*'s next visit.

hat tips = FB buds Doug and Bill

Today's Tweet

Chuck Grassley (aka: Senator Death Panel) lies. 

A lot.

1) It's not a leak. She sent it to her press list, from her office & posted it online.
2) She not only had the permission of the witness, it was a request of the witness
3) There is no rule against what she did - committee rule, law or otherwise. https://t.co/tH3EcExJZP

— Lily Adams (@adamslily) January 10, 2018

 

The Geejy Bird

I have to return to this one every so often, as a reminder to check my perspective.

Every government is a geejy bird.

The geejy bird is a strange creature; it flies only once in its lifetime, but that flight is a spectacle to behold. The geejy bird appears suddenly, standing on a limb, young, elegant, proud and respectable.  Surveying the horizon, it spreads its majestic wings and swoops upward in a wide graceful curve, with magnificent wing flappings and loud glory whoops.  When it reaches maximum altitude, it begins its elegant descent, an ever narrowing spiral.  It makes smaller and smaller circles in the sky until, suddenly and mysteriously, it vanishes through its own asshole.

No one knows where geejy birds go - probably back where they came from.  Unfortunately, when they go, they take us along.  We are all subjects of one geejy bird or another; we are born and live and die during one of these mad flights.  To be born early is, at least, exciting; the air sparkles with hopes and dreams, and there are worthwhile things to be done.  To board the flight in the soaring stage is next best; there is a fresh wind and a feel of strong wings and a dizzying view of the world.

But what about those of us who are born near the end of the flight?  We can't jump off; the fall would be fatal.  In vain we scream, "Turn around, great geejy bird! Turn back in thy flight!"  Too late.  There is nothing to do but make the best of it.  We snap to attention, salute, and begin to sing our stirring anthem.  "God Bless Our Geejy Bird!"  Together we enter the turd tunnel to oblivion.

The Rape of the A*P*E* (page 174) --Allan Sherman

Sing It, Dude

Yeesh

Today's Pix

Diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the artist did self-portraits as long as he could

Fight For It

Fossil fuel companies are run by smart guys who clawed their way to the top of their organizations by knowing what the fuck they're doing.

Those guys have invested most of their lives in their careers - and since the global oil reserves are supposed to hold out for another 50 years, and since they're not getting any younger, they'll be cashing in on all that hard work - so don't expect them to bail.

They have to be beaten - by political means and by economic means - because they won't just walk away from that kind of power.

Sam Slams It

"I hope your New Year's resolution is to register to vote, because mine is to kick non-voters in the face." --Samantha Bee

It promises to be a very long year, and an uphill fight.

Today's Tweet

What we all shoulda learnt by now

This year I learned that an Australian diplomat Alexander Downer and former UK MI6 agent Christopher Steele, along with the UK and Dutch govt, are better patriots concerned about US national security than the entire Republican Party.

— Very Stable HawaiiDelilah (@HawaiiDelilah) January 10, 2018

 

Today's Tweet

Dry hole, dude

So today I learned that when hummingbirds are confused they sit down and have a good old think like the rest of us. pic.twitter.com/sC3QFob2M0

— Stuart Rutherford (@doodlewhale) September 28, 2017

 

It Just Doesn't Matter

Feeling a little Outrage Fatigue?

Remember one thing. Trumpsters want nothing more than to make "liberals" mad enough to cry.

That's it. That's the only thing on the list for a big bunch of 'em.

The GOP is the Party of Perpetual Trolling.

So when 45* does something like playing the fool during the anthem at a football game, and that makes you mad, and you freak out little - mission accomplished.

The trick, I guess, is to take it in as another example of why he's so thoroughly not a POTUS, without becoming inured to this shit (yeah - like normalizing)

We can stop spending ergs on trying to bring people around; to get them to understand how bad he is for all of us.  That's in the capable hands of Krystal Ball and the other reconcilers, who won't give up on dreams of unicorns and pixie farts (bless their hearts - no joke).

Today's Tweet

...and a quote - Twofer Tuesday

Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense. -Robert Frost

— Famous Quotes (@_Famouss_Quotes) January 9, 2018