Today's Pix

Today's Eternal Sadness

hat tip = Nick (that's my Mookie) Nacho

From NBC News:

A gun-store owner and his son were killed in a shootout with two customers after an argument over a $25 firearm repair fee, police told NBC station WDSU.

The patrons were also taken to hospital with serious injuries following Saturday's incident at the store near Picayune, Mississippi, which is 130 miles south of Jackson.

The only thing that stops a law-abiding citizen with a gun - I can't make the joke work, even for me.  

And I can't get cute with, "Well, as long as they're killing each other, I'll call that an improvement".

Fuck that, and fuck me for thinking it.

We've been trying hard to tell you for a long time.  It's up to you now, ammosexuals.  Those were your guys.  Get off your ass and do something about it.  Step up or step aside.

Trouble At The Top

Keeper of the flame

Defender of the faith

Guardian of standing athwart and yelling STOP

John Fowler, National Review Publisher, telling us basically that the GOP "establishment" has become the new Surrender Monkeys.

But BTW - "GOP Establishment"?  Is that even still a thing?  And yes, of course it is, even though they've been striving all these many long years to trick people into thinking there isn't really an "establishment" because that goes against all of that rugged individualism bullshit they've been peddling for those same many long years.

"The Big-Daddy Conservatives" have inveighed against Central Planning forever (working feverishly to make sure the rubes ignore the fact that the strategy comes from a committee at GOP HQ), but now that their party has broken up into a thousand little independent franchising operations, they're all clutching their pearls tight enough to choke a RINO (buh-dum-chssh - sorry).

Anyway, if any of these jokers had ever really bothered to read Ayn Rand, they'd know that the main tenet of Objectivsm is that while a contradiction can exist, it can't prevail.  Which means they'd understand that what's happening to the GOP now is what they've actually been saying should happen.

They've wanted everybody standing alone.  If we're all separated from each other, we can't very well act in concert with each other, and that way, the people who're already in power get to stay in power, and the rest of us get to pay rent to them.

But then, here comes Trump-o-mania.  I can't think of a clearer example of the almost instinctual inclination of people to get together and push back once they realize they're being fucked over.  Why, it's almost like they're - dare I say it? - Unionizing.

What I think is going on now is that the old GOP bosses are finding it a lot more difficult to co-opt the Trumpkins like they co-opted the TeaBaggers.  The more the GOP tries to play nice and get the rubes to come home, the harder Trump pushes them towards the extreme.  Whatever else he is or appears to be, the guy's no dummy.  He knows how to hijack a proxy fight at a stockholders' meeting.

And yes, there are some very close parallels with The Bernie Mensches.  But don't be stoopid enough to think I'm joining the Both-Siders.  If you can't tell the difference between Bernie and Trump, you need to put down the spray paint and go outside for a while.

So - common cause, anyone?  Bernie makes a lot of sense for the Trumpkins - all the good stuff about truth-telling and fair deals and solid American values, but without the brown shirts and protester beatings.

Today's Quote

I don't know if god exists, but it would be better for his reputation if he didn't. --Jules Renard

hat tip = Twitter feed from Pascals' Bookie 

How To Protest

Today's Tweet

Who's your best friend? https://t.co/mX6jWihM3J

— Kevin Pang (@pang) January 18, 2016

 

Today's Meme

hat tip = twitter pal perfectly frank

Today's Tweet

UPDATE: DeKalb officer, indicted in shooting death of unarmed, naked vet, booked into jail. https://t.co/5X1IeozbqG pic.twitter.com/XgdsnJ7YV2

— AJC (@ajc) January 22, 2016

So which way do we go on this one?  

Blue Lives Matter? 
Khaki Lives Matter?  
Support The Troops?
Save Our Vets?

One faction of Uber-Patriots fighting against other factions of Uber-Patriots, and all of a sudden, it's like we don't even have a fucking country anymore.

Today's Anniversary

Roe v Wade - Jan 22, 1973

And may I say for the record:

I am pro-life.

I believe strongly that abortion should be tightly restricted

to women

who are pregnant

and don't wanna be pregnant anymore.

Also, I have a penis, so whatever I say on this subject may be safely disregarded entirely.

Thank you.

Might Be Worth A Look

If anybody can make it work, these guys can make it work.

Today's Pix

Today's Tweet

The Narcissus Borealis (thanks tengrain) ponies up and endorses Donito Trumpelini - and history rhymes again in the 2016 personification of Churchill's lament about "when tyrants embrace".

Palin: "self-made" Trump doesn't rely on Other People's Money. Trump co-wrote book saying his success built on OPM pic.twitter.com/X3SfP148tW

— Richard Hine (@richardhine) January 20, 2016

Still not gettin' my panties in a bunch over this one tho', because I'm still not convinced Trump really wants to be Prez.  He starts getting a little too close to winning something, he has to do something outrageous that pulls in a few more rubes while pushing the establishment a little farther away. 

The plan is to boost his brand, but always always always - sit on your ass collecting rent while somebody else does the work.

The wise ones tell us he got Palin's endorsement to prop him up in Iowa - but then she's a no-show at a Trump event the very next day?

This is "USAmerica Inc - Campaigning For Fun and Profit". Palin got the paycheck for the one night stand, but it doesn't look like she'll be joining the tour.  Or maybe she's just waiting for her own bus again.

Now take a look at what pops up from the GOP Establishment - "Movement Conservatism" -  about what they think of Trump voters:

(btw - watch Joy Reid's expression starting around the 1:30 mark)

And also too - Rick Wilson's prob'ly looking for clients, and so saying what he said in that clip is part of the blurb - it's his prospecting letter, going out to potential customers.

Everybody gets a chance to cash in when the carnival's in town.

Get Ready For It

Storm comin'.  Time for the waves of panicked humanity to start crashing thru the walls of the neighborhood grocery.

hat tip = FB friend MM

Tiny Desk

Natalie Merchant

Today's Quote

I get the whole bit about "micro-agressions" and all, but I think I like it better in its original form:

Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes in every waking moment of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted as truth in the society dominating them. --Martin Luther King, Jr

hat tip = @zimbabwekid

Today's Quote

On his birthday

"I have great faith in fools; self-confidence my friends call it." --Edgar Allan Poe

Today's Tweet

Trump is amazingly *unpopular* with general election voters. https://t.co/jmwl5uaR4Z pic.twitter.com/7SQfrsFaLp

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) January 18, 2016

Golden Oldie

hat tips = FB friends VW-E and LM-M 

Today's Tweet

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience..." #MLKDay2016 #MLK pic.twitter.com/Uq3JkU9KJ2

— The King Center (@TheKingCenter) January 18, 2016

MLK Day

Civil Disobedience is an honored tradition in USAmerica Inc.  As long as you do it right - with respect for the rule of law.  Even when you're resisting a law you believe is unjust, you still adhere to the greater concept of A Nation Of Laws.

He got arrested too😒🙄........ Happy Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. !!!!#MLK ✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/bEIOfAG0LK

— HBCU Buzz (@HBCUBuzz) January 15, 2016

And now for today's Check-Your-White-Privilege Quiz:

Here we see LBJ meeting with MLK and "other black leaders" in the run up to The Civil Rights Act in 1964 - can you name any of those 3 other guys?

Enjoy It While It Lasts

Choosing Sides?

A good look at the candidates from a slightly obtuse viewpoint(?) I dunno - worth considering.

From Bitter Empire:

(In reverse order, starting at)

14. Ted Cruz

Let’s be clear here: Ted Cruz is not just the worst presidential candidate to have on your side in a bar fight. He is the worst possible human being to have on your side in a bar fight. And it’s not only because when he speaks he sounds like Eddie Murphy doing his nerd character. It’s that everyone hates Ted Cruz, and they hate him for a reason. Not just Democrats, everyone. Ted Cruz is famously and vigorously loathed by everyone in his own party. Fellow Republican Bob Dole has been out of politics for like 20 years and even he takes the time to hate Ted Cruz.

hat tip = FB pal AF 

Ali's Birthday

"I handcuffed lightnin' and throwed thunder in jail"

Happy birthday to the greatest.

I grew up without benefit of color.  I don't remember even meeting anybody with dark brown skin for the first 12 or 15 years of my life.  But in 7th grade, I had a teacher/coach who showed us films of (then) Cassius Clay.  He taught us that a man's ability is where everything starts because that will show you what's in his heart.  If you get hung up on how he doesn't look like you or act like you or think like you - while you're busy with all the shit that doesn't matter, he'll be busy knockin' you on your dumb ass.  On a playing field. In a classroom. At a job.  Everybody's competing.  Everybody can learn to do what it takes to win. 

If you don't respect all of that because you refuse to see anybody else as your equal, you'll have a hard time being willing to do the work necessary to give yourself a shot.  Then the only way you win is if the game is rigged in your favor.  And that ain't winnin'.

Always A Little Perspective Please

Vox, addressing the panic pushers at the GOP "debate":

Again, this by no means obviates the real threat from terrorism generally or ISIS specifically, but it makes the rhetoric on the GOP stage seem a bit hysterical.

For even more perspective: The number of Americans killed per year by terrorism is the same as the number crushed to death by their own furniture.

Obviously one key difference here is that terrorist groups would like to kill many more Americans, and are surely trying to accomplish just that, whereas presumably your sofa is not plotting any major attacks. But the point is that the risk terrorism poses to everyday American lives is not where you might have thought it was from this debate.

America just doesn't have much of a domestic terrorism problem. Incidents like the shootings in San Bernardino are vanishingly rare, as violent extremist groups have very few adherents here. US intelligence operations make it very difficult for foreign terrorist groups to bring operatives into the US and plan an attack.

Today's Tweet

Trump to go all out for the Millennial vote in the general election. [pic via @figdrewton] pic.twitter.com/nRurK40h0X

— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) January 17, 2016

Testing My Embeds

Sorry - found it at Mock Paper Scissors and I just couldn't resist.

Senator Fecal Foam coming from behind

Another Nail In The Coffin

Former Virginia Governor Robert (Vaginal Bob) McDonnell will stay out of federal prison for a bit longer.

HuffPo:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up the case of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), who in October urged the justices to review his multiple convictions on federal corruption charges.

The justices' decision to hear the case effectively allows McDonnell to remain out of prison at least until the court issues a decision -- which could arrive as late as June.

McDonnell's lawyers are trying to convince the court that the kind of "official action" federal law treats as corruption -- and that a jury agreed McDonnell committed while governor -- was no more than "routine political courtesies," including activities such as "arranging meetings, asking questions, and attending events."

"This is the first time in our history that a public official has been convicted of corruption despite never agreeing to put a thumb on the scales of any government decision," McDonnell's lawyers wrote in their appeal to the Supreme Court. "Officials routinely arrange meetings for donors, take their calls, and politely listen to their ideas."

I think we need to be ready for the Roberts Court to use this case to strengthen the link between Money and Speech.  It seems like these guys need to establish precedents that reinforce the system of Legalized Bribery that's been evolving from what continues to look more and more like our failed experiment in self-government.

Some Tweets

Why do NYers vote Democrat? Because we remember the last time we trusted a Republican to keep us safe #NewYorkValues pic.twitter.com/VqNyg2FIm3

— Dandelion Dollars (@DandelionDollar) January 15, 2016

New York slams Cruz after attack on Trump's #NewYorkValues: "Drop dead, Ted" https://t.co/r8TcMfN6Vp pic.twitter.com/ERnVjg1oqx

— The Hill (@thehill) January 15, 2016

"I have to tell you, that was a very insulting statement." Trump defended #NewYorkvalues against Cruz https://t.co/bdPU4tOFxk

— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) January 15, 2016

It's kinda hard to take Trump at his word for anything, but with that caveat, if you've said something that makes Donald Trump feel insulted...?  Whoa.

Today's Dead Celeb

Alan Rickman.  Best bad guy ever.  Best badass good guy ever.

Dogma (1999) --from Kevin Smith

RIP

Sweet Tweet

Hug...! pic.twitter.com/TcJUccQBfz

— Suzanne Lepage (@SuzanneLepage1) January 13, 2016

Whoa, Lady

For a minute there, I tho't I'd accidentally surfed into a That Girl rerun.  But anyway.

Governor Nikki Haley, R-SC:

These things are never good and most often flat-out awful, so she gets a little credit just for having the guts to try, and by comparison, it's a shitload better than Rubio or Jindal, so there's that(?)

Conventional wisdom has it that this is mostly a message aimed at Trump on behalf of a GOP Establishment as they finally start to wake up and get worried that the Monster Of The Id that they created in the 80s and 90s and fed for 35 years has crashed through the fence that was supposed to keep it in the Democrats' yard and is now completely fucking up the GOP rose beds, shittin' in GOP swimming pools and sniffin' everybody's butt cracks - which is pretty much exactly what the "Libruls" (and the GOP's very own "moderates") have been trying to tell them would happen for those same 35 years.  Because rational thinkers understand that you don't control people for very long.  And - not to get too nerdily metaphorical on ya here - when you push somebody to tap into something that always includes that "dark side", try not to act so surprised when Kylo Ren shivs you through the fucking heart, Mr Solo.  (hat tip = driftglass)

Anyway.

She makes the GOP's big point about immigration and terrorism, and how we have to be really really really careful and even straight-up suspicious of new-comers and outsiders and people who're different from us.  Then, not more than a few paragraphs later, she slides right into "nine beautiful souls" welcoming a stranger into their worship circle only to be gunned down because he turned out to be a terrorist jerkwad.  Of course, she disguises it by glossing it over with how forward-thinking and courageous she is for having taken down that stoopid fucking flag (props for that BTW), but she's inviting that standard xenophobia inference, and she knows the people she wants to make the connection will make the connection.

This shit doesn't happen by accident, kids. That's some of the best code-speak ever.

She's not saying "stop being a buncha ignorant racist assholes".  She's saying, "stop being ignorant racist assholes out in the open because that embarrasses me because I have to get you to vote for me".  

In the end, she's telling people who're in open revolt against what they see as a party - that they've been taught BY THAT PARTY - to believe is being ruined by "Political Correctness"  to be politically correct.  She's demanding it.

I'd say the horse has left the barn, but that assumes the barn's still there as some kinda point of reference.  You're in a bit of a pickle, Nikki.

SOTU 2016

Some faves:
(about 14:00) 

"It's not too much of a stretch to say that some of the only people in America who're going to work the same job in the same place with a health and retirement package for 30 years are sitting in this chamber."

(about 18:50)

"But after years now of record corporate profit, working families won't get more opportunity or bigger paychecks just by letting big banks or big oil or hedge funds make their own rules at everybody else's expense." 

(about 22:00) Talking about innovation and research. He's trying to reassert government's proper roll in pushing for progress while trying to keep the privateers and the rentiers from controlling the mechanisms of that progress solely for the sake of corporate profit.

(starting about 30:00) Let's go back to being the smart country when it comes to what we do about terrorism.  Let's not help the bad guys by repeating their rhetoric about how big and bad they are, and how they're coming to fucking destroy America. Basically - "Stop losing your shit all the fucking time."   These are bad guys and they "have to be rooted out, hunted down and destroyed", but stop saying that a buncha slavering fanatics charging around in a used Toyota pickup is somehow the equivalent of any random squad of US Marines - why do you not understand how insulting that is to the troops you claim to have the highest regard for?  Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you people? 

NeoLib uh-oh:
(about 17:00)  - This one sounds like he's selling an investment plan for Wall Street - but it ties into the remarks on not letting the too-big-to-fail gang play by their own rules - he's going for that famous "Obama in the middle" thing(?)

"(on a guy losing his job)...he should still be able to save for retirement  and take his savings with him."

Full remarks: Watch @POTUS deliver his final State of the Union address. #SOTU https://t.co/AOyWjdFk4O

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 13, 2016

It was a good one to go out on. I wonder how long before the Repubs get their strategies in place for what to do now.  Gov Haley's "response" seemed to hold some interesting weirdness.  I'll try to get to that later.

Today's Pix

(click a pic)

Homemade Fail

hat tip = FB pal RM

Today's Style Element

A car full of Irish nuns is sitting at a traffic light in downtown Dublin, when a bunch of rowdy drunks pull up alongside of them.

"Hey, show us yer tits, ya bloody penguins!" shouts one of the drunks.

Quite shocked, Mother Superior turns to Sister Mary Immaculata and says, "I don't think they know who we are; show them your cross."

Sister Mary Immaculata rolls down her window and shouts, "Piss off, ya fookin' little wankers, before I come over there and rip yer balls off!"

Sister Mary Immaculata then rolls up her window, looks back at Mother Superior, quite innocently, and asks, "Did that sound cross enough?

Your vs You're 

- or - 

The Apostrophe Is Our Friend

Whose Side Are You On?

Take the quiz and find out who your candidate is.

I wonder why I'm not surprised.

Today In Y'all Qaeda Land

Here's a pretty good look at the latest Wingnut Clusterfuck going on in Oregon, from Al Jazeera:

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2016/01/oregon-standoff-160111172301780.html

hat tip = FB friend DR

Yes, it's Al Jazeera.  And yes, it's biased.  And yes, we have to get used to the fact that nobody's really doing good journalism anymore, so we have to be able to sort thru the shit on our own.

And here's a related bit from Raw Story:

The Bundys have voiced support for a variety of right-wing fringe ideas, particularly the “posse comitatus” notion that no legitimate governments exist above the county level, and they believe in no higher law authority than the county sheriff.

However, posse members have embedded an implicit threat in their belief system.

If the sheriff violates his oath of office, as determined by the right-wing extremists themselves, “he shall be removed by the posse to the most populated intersection of streets in the township and at high noon be hung by the neck, the body remaining until sundown as an example to those who would subvert the law.”

The main point here is that there's not a dime's worth of difference between what these jagoffs are doing in places like Oregon and what their counterpart jagoffs are doing in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Jagoff is as jagoff does, Forrest.

Today's Tweet

Obama's job-killing policies a complete failure, reports Fox News, as US posts best 2 years of job growth since '90s pic.twitter.com/8mGhpojjtD

— The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) January 11, 2016

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

Part 1 from The Real News Network

hat tip = FB buddy DR

The safety gizmo was found to be malfunctioning during an inspection in 1976 - the last time this site was inspected - and it was removed in 1979.

No safety inspections in very nearly 40 years. A safety valve that prob'ly would have prevented the thing from leaking for these last 4 months - but hey, we'll just go on about our bidness because the market will make any necessary corrections all in good time, and only some libtard who hates anybody trying to make a living would think anything might actually go wrong. 

This fits nicely into my take on the GOP Playbook.

1) Fuck up the EPA - cut funding, block appointments, harass in general

2) Wait for an environmental disaster

3) Point at it and say, "The EPA's all fucked up; their job-killing business-hostile regulations were supposed to make sure this didn't happen. The EPA is useless. Let's get rid of the EPA"