Today's Rejection

From the fine folks at Urban Dictionary, on my submission of the word "genitopenia":

Thanks for your definition of genitopenia!
A few volunteer editors read your definition and decided to not publish it. Don't take it personally!
To understand what definitions we publish and reject, check out this blog post: http://blog.urbandictionary.com/post/49469679426
Try rewriting your definition so that it's easier for others to understand, then try again.
Thanks,
Urban Dictionary
-----
genitopenia: (jen' - it - o - pee' - nia)
a deficiency or diminishment of the genitalia; primarily found in the male of the subspecies American Ammosexual.
Usage: "he needs bigger and bigger guns in his attempts to compensate for his advancing genitopenia".

I got vision in a world of myopia.  Guess that makes me too clever for words(?)

Who'da Thunk It?

I really hope there's absolutely nobody in Washington who's surprised by this shit:

Syrian militias armed by different parts of the U.S. war machine have begun to fight each other on the plains between the besieged city of Aleppo and the Turkish border, highlighting how little control U.S. intelligence officers and military planners have over the groups they have financed and trained in the bitter 5-year-old civil war.

The fighting has intensified over the past two months, as CIA-armed units and Pentagon-armed ones have repeatedly shot at each other as they have maneuvered through contested territory on the northern outskirts of Aleppo, U.S. officials and rebel leaders have confirmed.

In mid-February, a CIA-armed militia called Fursan al Haq, or Knights of Righteousness, was run out of the town of Marea, about 20 miles north of Aleppo, by Pentagon-backed Syrian Democratic Forces moving in from Kurdish-controlled areas to the east.

"Any faction that attacks us, regardless from where it gets its support, we will fight it," said Maj. Fares Bayoush, a leader of Fursan al Haq.

This is straight outa some fucked up movie.  And it's the work of an awful lotta people who really do (mostly) know what they're doing.  

Now try to imagine just how bad it gets with Trump or Cruz in the White House, running from one disaster to the next. Thanks anyway, guys.

Today's Observation

...comes from our latest dead celebrity, Garry Shandling.

At about 37:30, talking about what needs to happen to get "things" squared around and working in our favor again:

(The USA) ... "it's an addictive culture bottoming out."


Marc Maron's WTF podcast:

Remembering Garry Shandling: tackling the most complex philosophical question of our day - "What The Fuck"?

Gonna miss Garry Shandling. A lot.

Go, Bernie

Hawaii, Washington and Alaska.  A Bernie sweep.

You could make something of a point - "well, after all, it's the Left Coast, y'know".  Except for that Alaska thing.  Seems there may be a bit of a fly in that sugar bowl.

Alaska isn't exactly a hotbed of Hippie Liberals - even on the Dem side of things (I suspect).  State-wide, they generally elect people from out on the right end of the spectrum, and there's no compelling reason for me to believe there isn't something of a 'Conserva-Dem slant' to Alaska Democrats as well.  Which (to me) should mean that a Neo-Liberal like Hillary ought to have done pretty well, or at least she shoulda done OK.  She didn't - not well, and not OK.  She didn't land one lousy trick all day; and you can point to some Grand Strategy of having to concentrate your efforts and bypass certain states or areas or whatever, but you'd best not be ignoring the simple fact that she got her Butt. Stomped. Straight-up.

Just averaging the percentages of the votes in those 3 states shows Hillary lost 75-25. If you get beat by a 3:1 margin by anybody anywhere at anything, you might have more than a bit of trouble.  And in "your own party"?  

But then, what's up with the apportioning of the delegates? I don't pretend to know how it all works, or how it's supposed to work. And a political party gets to do things the way they wanna do things. But maybe somebody needs to take a long look at the party rules that say a candidate can "win" 40% of the delegates by getting 25% of the votes(?)

You guys are The Democrats.  You know - like democracy and shit?  A bit more of that first part and a lot less of the second, if you please.

Weaving Tweets

Call it a Disney Moment.
If you can't get with that one, just check out now cuz you've lost what it is to be human https://t.co/kL67JGFU1R

— Mike Roberts (@eVilleMike) March 27, 2016

...meanwhile, back in Duloc, things are going pretty much as expected for Lord Farquaad. https://t.co/Sq0oZIoH1w

— Mike Roberts (@eVilleMike) March 27, 2016

Your Easter Card

Throw-Back Easter

With my favorite big brother rockin' those Mom-made Easter shirts - 1959.

And the sisters - Christie and Leslie.  Again with the Mom Couture.

Charlie Gets There

Charlie Pierce, attempting to give a us a look at things to come. 

It is my considered opinion that, as far as the simple process of voting goes, the World's Last Great Democracy couldn't organize a two-car funeral if you spotted it the hearse. The primaries on Tuesday night were an endless carnival of blunders, cock-ups, and general mayhem. This is the first election cycle we've had since John Roberts declared the Day of Jubilee and gutted the Voting Rights Act. These two things are not coincidental. The good folks at the SEIU have done a great job aggregating the various atrocities.

For example, Native Americans, the last Americans to obtain the right to vote, face a staggering array of obstacles. In Alaska, for example, Native villages can be as much as 150 miles from a polling place, and that only by boat or airplane. There is no consistent national policy on whether or not tribal identification cards are recognized under the spate of new voter-ID laws that passed in the wake of the 2007 decision upholding an Indiana law and that became a flood after Roberts and the Court declared the Day of Jubilee seven years later. The isolation of many Native communities often prevents people who are trying to vote from receiving the legal advice they need to protect their right to the franchise. And that is only the most extreme example of the chicanery that is going on.

This election ought to be a landslide that rightfully sweeps away the GOP and shames them out of their stoopid reliance on an Authoritarian and Hypocritical Bait-n-Switch brand of politics. But instead, it promises to be another close one - another great example of the media-generated, ad-revenue-fueled myth of a closely divided nation, sponsored by smart corporate money that wants more tax dollars funneled into their coffers while making sure the Coin-Operated Politicians have the rubes pissed off at anybody but the Rent-Seeking Corporatists.

Here's how I think it's supposed to work. 

People are turning away from the GOP in droves, and probably, while a lot of them intend not to vote at all, a nice big bunch (who would usually vote for them) intend to vote against the Repubs like they did in '92.  If you can keep a significant percentage of them from voting at all, you'll probably still lose, but it'll look really close, and that's what matters now.

And even if you can't keep enough people away from the polls to make a big difference in National or State-Wide races, you can prevent the balance being tipped in the very important "small stuff" races like County Supervisor and DA and State Legislature etc. So if the GOP can keep a handle on that level, then they can go on pretending they have a case to make about "big, far-away government tellin' the little guys what to do yada yada yada".

Remember always that elections get decided by about a dozen votes per precinct. 

The key is maintaining balance between the 2 competing sides. If the Red Group has 49%, and the Blue Group has 49%, that means I can throw in my 2% to support whatever candidate promises me the biggest tax breaks or subsidies or military protection for my investment holdings in FuckedUp-istan, or whatever. This is the old game of Divide And Conquer, but with a heapin' helpin' of Henry Kravitz Corporate Raider thrown in. 

(And don't you dare start thinking we aren't being distracted while certain politicians are working hard to sell everything in this country to the highest bidder and take us back to the glory days of 1750, but that's a slightly different rant - closely related, but that comes after a few more rounds)

Voter Suppression is all about not allowing "the divide" to get so big that the 2% loses its oomph.

But also too, remember that the GOP is very much on the defensive:  

1) makes it all the more dangerous

2) they're just looking to survive to fight another day, and that means: 

3) the Dems have to dominate. They have to win big. And when was the last time they managed that one - and more to the point of my theme here, when was the last time they were allowed to do that?  Hillary seems to be the perfect fit for the occasion - ie: she'll win, but not by enough to upset that delicate and finely-crafted balance.  And that also is a slightly different rant.

And BTW - if you think it looks like a mini-series on network TV, you ain't wrong.  The game is totally reliant on distraction and misdirection, and we've been thoroughly conditioned to  get caught up in the gripping drama of real-life events as they unfold blah blah blah, so that we stay frozen in place, allowing "our betters" to make the important decisions for us while we pretend to be well-informed and involved.

One last wrinkle: those astoundingly shitty Anti-Civil-Rights laws passed recently in Georgia and North Carolina? That's this year's version of The Big Wedge designed to motivate the "Christian Values Voters".  The GOP will likely flack the fuck outa that one, screeching that the valiant "conservatives" are trying to protect Real America from The Homo, and if you don't go vote, then the police will have no choice but to break down your doors and force you to Gay Rape your house pets. You know the drill.

Up on your hind legs, kids. Stay together. Work together. Get shit done.

Signs Signs Everywhere There's Signs

Today's GIF

Modern Police Work

11.45: Arrived at crime scene

11.45: Examined body. Signs of a struggle

11.45: Found murder weapon in drain

11.45: Realised watch was broken

Pixelated Boat

Today's Quote

If you wish to be a warrior, prepare to be broken.
If you wish to be an explorer, prepare to be lost.
And if you wish to be a lover, prepare to be both.
--Daniel Saint

Today's Tweet

And this one may be the all-time winner.

From now on I am watching @oreillyfactor exclusively through @Snapchat filters pic.twitter.com/9KLXGAuHrH

— Erin Gloria Ryan (@morninggloria) March 23, 2016

Gouge out my eyes with a rusty garden trowel and incinerate my brain - please - somebody - make me un-remember this.

Today's Tweet

CNN

After the attacks in Brussels, the home of NATO and the capital of the European Union, leaders inside Belgium and beyond vowed not to back down in their fight against terror.

In Belgium, where officials declared three days of national mourning, Michel offered a resolute message to those who supported and cheered the attackers.

"To those who have chosen to be barbarous enemies of freedom, democracy and fundamental values ... we remain united as one," Michel said. "We are determined to defend our freedoms and to protect our liberties."

In its message claiming responsibility, ISIS noted that Belgium is one of the nations "participating in the international coalition against the Islamic State."

A Twitter post widely circulated by prominent ISIS backers Tuesday featured the words, "What will be coming is worse."

Do you know how many people are wondering whether those responsible are secular humanists?
None. No one is.
There's a reason for that.

— MrOzAtheist (@MrOzAtheist) March 23, 2016

Belgian authorities say the man in white is one of three suspects tied to the airport attack.

The other two died in the explosions, Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon told CNN. But investigators believe the man in white planted a bomb at the airport, then left.

"The third man left a bomb in the airport, but it didn't explode. ... And we are now looking for this guy," Jambon said.

A photograph released by investigators shows the three suspects side-by-side.

Today's GIF

Upside Down And Backwards

The National Treasure formerly known as Charlie Pierce has today's take down on David Brooks: 

(yeah yeah - OK - "today" as in 4 days ago. I'm pleasantly otherwise occupied. Priorities hafta shift a little and I catch things up when I can)

Moral Hazard noticed that Master had left his computer on, and that there were words on the screen, arranged in paragraphs. He wandered over and put his paws up on the desk. He looked over at Master again. Master's eyes were open but he was not seeing anything. Moral Hazard read, and he understood. He walked sadly out of the room, through the kitchen, and out onto the fire escape over the alley. He let the afternoon breezes wash over him. He wondered if Master would ever wake up, or if anyone would notice if he did.

My own little bit: for all The Fountainhead fans, just turn things over; look at the mirror image, and it's easy to see that David Brooks is straight outa Central Casting - positively born to the role of Ellsworth Toohey.  A venal, self-serving word-weasel paid to reinforce The Noble Lie.  And to paraphrase St Ayn's own way of describing this thing: "the epitome of evil is the man who knows the truth and recognizes it when he hears it, but denies it and substitutes a conveniently profitable lie - meant to deflect the anger of the mob, and redirect it against the very tools they need to free themselves."

You can get regular and thorough David Brooks take-downs at driftglass.

And every Friday afternoon, check in with The Professional Left Podcast.

Today's Pix

 

Marketing To The Id

I'm thinking this is probably not really about self-reliance or empowerment or even the usual patronizing bullshit of "lemme mansplain about how we just wanna keep you sweet brainless dollies a little safer".

Selling with sex is one thing, but look at it.  She's an attractive, purposeful-looking grownup woman - throwing open her coat to give us a peek at her kinda-girlie lingerie, while reaching around behind her, hoping to grab hold of somebody's big hard steely penis, which of course is her only salvation because she's really just that "sweet brainless dollie" who can't possibly survive without some guy's dick in her hand.

A whole Marketing Division somewhere is toasting themselves because they know there's an army of dumbass ammosexuals masturbating on Mom's clean sheets over this right now.

Guys - even without my own little hangups, there're enough Repression Issues in just this one picture to keep a battalion of Freudians on the bestseller list for-fucking-ever.

Halfway To Summer

This being the Vernal Equinox, it won't be long before it's time to pack up the old family wagon and make the trek to a relaxing week at a beach somewhere.

You'll wanna check out all the gear, but also, you need to take certain precautions to be sure your flabby winter bod can take the added stress of the vacation season - especially if you've got kids.

Let's be careful out there.

A Bit Less Dumb Now

Wouldn't it be nice to look forward to a time when we can just learn this and be a little amazed, and not feel like we have to catalog the knowledge in a way that makes it easily retrievable because we know we'll need it to push back against some idiot god-knobber who wants to teach kids about talking snakes and 900-year-old boat builders?