Aug 11, 2018

Podcast

(leave a little something in the tip jar)


Crocs are no more. yay.

Check your voter registration: www.headcount.org - or call 866-OUR-VOTE

Waving money at a woman - I think that one's worth the whole investment of my time listening to this podcast.

It's not that it doesn't happen to men all the time - the assumption being that you'll compromise any and all principles if the money's right. That shit happens to everybody, pretty much every day (everybody's got a mortgage to pay).

The real point though, is that a man pulls that shit with a woman, and it's easy to see how she'd interpret it in a very different way. It becomes the same old story of subjugation - of how a woman is considered worthless if she's not under the aegis of a man. A good little eye-opener for me. Thanks, Blue Gal.


Cheat Sheet®

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Aug 10, 2018

Trashed

Knowing this is the state of our existence on Earth's surface...







...does it come as some kind of news that we'd have similar problems in our planetary neighborhood?


Is it really necessary to point out that we're headed for a bad end if we don't stop fouling the nest?

The Kessler Syndrome:

The Kessler syndrome is troublesome because of the domino effect and feedback runaway wherein impacts between objects of sizable mass spall off debris from the force of collision. The shrapnel can then hit other objects, producing even more space debris: if a large enough collision or explosion were to occur, such as between a space station and a defunct satellite, or as the result of hostile actions in space, then the resulting debris cascade could make prospects for long-term viability of satellites in low earth orbit extremely low.[6][7] However, even a catastrophic Kessler scenario at LEO would pose minimal risk for launches continuing past LEO, or satellites traveling at medium Earth orbit (MEO) or geosynchronous orbit (GEO)...
And if we're really serious about wanting to explore beyond our little cluster of cosmic dust particles, here's the kicker:

.. The catastrophic scenarios predict an increase in the number of collisions per year, as opposed to a physically impassable barrier to space exploration that occurs in higher orbits.

So, lemme see - if there's no chain reaction that kills all the tech shit that we have to have just to stay alive - much less go rocketing off into deep space - then the continued accumulation of space junk around the planet will constitute a barrier that we can't navigate thru as we try to rocket off into deep space.

For the one species with a big brain and all the smarts to rise above the other critters, we sure are pretty fuckin' stoopid sometimes.

Space Force Theme

Songify - Schmoyoho


Today's Today

Happy National S'mores Day, everybody.


This is a really weird fuckin' country sometimes.

Aug 9, 2018

Today's Tweet



More than that I cannot add.

Jesus Fuck

Meet Joe Manchik, Green Party "candidate" for OH12


1,127 people voted for this idiot, in a race where the margin in favor of the Republican is about 1,750. 

And please - spare me the bullshit about "how bad the Dems must be to make people think they should vote Green..."

What I hear you saying is, "how fucking stoopid does a voter have to be to think Joe Manchik is a good choice?"

Your little protest votes for these idiotic boutique candidates running their idiotic vanity project campaigns are costing us dearly.

You're an adult. You can see the difference. You don't need spoon feeding. You can do some of the fucking work for yourself.

Aug 7, 2018

A Reminder

(versions of this have been floating around for quite a while)

I'm not mad that Hillary lost.
I'm really not concerned that we have differing political preferences.

I don't think less of you because you vote a certain way.

-- I think less of you because you watched an adult mock a disabled person in front of a crowd and you still supported him.
-- I think less of you because you heard him spouting clearly racist language, and you stood with him.
-- I think less of you because you listened to him speak in favor of committing war crimes, and you still wanted him to lead our government.
-- I think less of you because you watched as he reduced a woman's worth to nothing but her appearance, and you got on board with him.
-- I think less of you because your loyalties lie with your political tribe instead of our national family.

It isn't your politics that I find repulsive. It's your willingness to side with a traitorous Daddy State bully - to indulge his bigotry, his misogyny, his cruelty, and his treachery; which leaves me only to surmise that you embrace those characteristics as your own.

So no - we will not be coming together to move forward, or whatever.

Trump disgusts me, but the simple fact that he doesn't disgust you is why these particular bygones will never be bygones. ever.


Today's Quote

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."
--Charles Darwin

Today's Tweet



No one is obliged to accommodate bigotry, or to give ignorance an equal voice.

 

Andy Borowitz

The New Yorker:

MINNEAPOLIS (The Borowitz Report) -- Many Americans are tired of explaining things to idiots, particularly when the things in question are so painfully obvious, a new poll indicates.

According to the poll, conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, while millions have been vexed for some time by their failure to explain incredibly basic information to dolts, that frustration has now reached a breaking point.

Of the many obvious things that people are sick and tired of trying to get through the skulls of stupid people, the fact that climate change will cause catastrophic habitat destruction and devastating extinctions tops the list, with a majority saying that they will no longer bother trying to explain this to cretins.

Coming in a close second, statistical proof that gun control has reduced gun deaths in countries around the world is something that a significant number of those polled have given up attempting to break down for morons.

Finally, a majority said that trying to make idiots understand why a flag that symbolizes bigotry and hatred has no business flying over a state capitol only makes the person attempting to explain this want to put his or her fist through a wall.

In a result that suggests a dismal future for the practice of explaining things to idiots, an overwhelming number of those polled said that they were considering abandoning such attempts altogether, with a broad majority agreeing with the statement, “This country is exhausting.”




The Assholes In Charge


Wilbur Ross may be the swampiest of the Swamp Thangs.

Dan Alexander, Forbes:

It is difficult to imagine the possibility that a man like Ross, who Forbes estimates is worth some $700 million, might steal a few million from one of his business partners. Unless you have heard enough stories about Ross. Two former WL Ross colleagues remember the commerce secretary taking handfuls of Sweet’N Low packets from a nearby restaurant, so he didn’t have to go out and buy some for himself. One says workers at his house in the Hamptons used to call the office, claiming Ross had not paid them for their work. Another two people said Ross once pledged $1 million to a charity, then never paid. A commerce official called the tales “petty nonsense,” and added that Ross does not put sweetener in his coffee.

There are bigger allegations. Over several months, in speaking with 21 people who know Ross, Forbes uncovered a pattern: Many of those who worked directly with him claim that Ross wrongly siphoned or outright stole a few million here and a few million there, huge amounts for most but not necessarily for the commerce secretary. At least if you consider them individually. But all told, these allegations—which sparked lawsuits, reimbursements and an SEC fine—come to more than $120 million. If even half of the accusations are legitimate, the current United States secretary of commerce could rank among the biggest grifters in American history.

- and -

Those who’ve done business with Ross generally tell a consistent story, of a man obsessed with money and untethered to facts. “He’ll push the edge of truthfulness and use whatever power he has to grab assets,” says New York financier Asher Edelman. One of Ross’ former colleagues is more direct: “He’s a pathological liar.”

Wilbur Ross is on the Cult45 payroll because Wilbur Ross is a kindred spirit - crooked like a mountain road.

One more time - say it with me now: This is not an administration; this is a fucking robbery.

Aug 5, 2018

Shenanigans

Seems like an idea whose time has come.


But, as always, we have to understand that civil disobedience and political mischief of this kind are illegal, so be ready. 

You can't very well stand up to the law if you're not equally willing to stand up for the law.

You don't throw rocks and then hide your hands.

This is the difference between living democratic principles and the kind of mob rule currently on display at any given Hillbilly Nuremburg Rally.

Virginia Law:

§ 46.2-832. Damaging or removing traffic control devices or street address signs.
Any person who intentionally defaces, damages, knocks down, or without authorization interferes with the effective operation of, or removes any traffic control device or a street address sign posted to assist in address identification in connection with enhanced 9-1-1 service as defined in § 56-484.12 is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

§ 18.2-11. Punishment for conviction of misdemeanor.
(a) For Class 1 misdemeanors, confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both.

Paraphrasing that strange little brown man in the funny clothes:

"They can arrest me. They can beat me. They can kill me. They will then have my dead broken body, but they will never have my obedience."