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Wroom, vroom SPROINK!
General | Posted a day agoSo Saturday morning and early afternoon was spent at the show, no trouble there. But on the way home, I was gonna stop at Donny's place to give him an entry pass to said show. But just as I'm turning off the main drag to get to his place, the power steering in the truck goes out. Yikes! I was grateful for the morning workout program I've been on the last couple years, for I had just enough muscle power to wrestle the truck 'round until it was parked in front of my friend's place.
Upon exiting the truck, I saw what looked like smoke billowing from under the hood. Uh-oh. That's NEVER a good sign. Turned out to be steam. Seems a hose of some sort had given out, and sprayed the engine compartment with fluids. Most likely the radiator hose, for there was a trail of coolant for some yards behind the truck. Well, at least it hadn't been coolant-less for longer than a few seconds, so the motor didn't have a chance to melt down.
The rest was mostly basic adulting. I called AAA (everyone who drives old clunkers should be a member), and they promptly sent a tow truck. Which then hauled it off to (hopefully) Buck's Automotive. They're closed over the weekend, so the tow driver said he'd just leave Big Blue there, and I'd get it all sorted out on Monday morning.
I was struck by how little this upset me. In my youth, my vehicle crapping out on me like this would have been cause for panic. But now I just sat back and called AAA from the comfort of my friend's living room, while his big knucklehead of a dog tried to climb in my lap. Then Donny and his sister drove me home, where my lovely wife hugged me and gave me food. I have a network of friends and family that take the edge off any disaster. Bless them!
Yes, Murphy has repeatedly warned me to not get complacent. But this wasn't caused by complacency. Which reminds me, my Tucson-based readers? I'd avoid doing business with the Jiffy Lube on Grant by Silverbell. I can't prove anything, but the timing is real suspicious.
Yep - don't get complacent, but don't be paranoid, either. You can't spend your life in fear of the next disaster.
UPDATE: I just got a call from Elizabeth of the Tucson Police. Seems the tow truck driver didn't put a note in their drop box like he was supposed to, so they called the cops to check what this truck was doing in their driveway. I cleared that up, but then I was told the driver's side window had been smashed in. Gods DAMMIT! There wasn't anything of value in the cab to steal, but a new window will cost hundreds. Like I needed more expenses in the Yule season. Murphy always likes to get in the last word, doesn't he?
UPDATE #2: I borrowed my wife's car to buzz out to Buck's. Got there a few minutes past their 7 AM opening time. Seems I spoke too soon when I claimed "there was nothing of value to steal". Seems I don't think like a dirtbag looking for goods to pawn for drug money. When I got there, I saw my 2-ton hydraulic jack was missing. Also my jump box (a big battery with a handle on it, with built-in jumper cables and a tire inflator with attached air hose), and my emergency roadside kit. And my spare sunglasses from the center console, along with some audiotapes.
Doubtlessly my property has already been pawned for a twentieth of it's value, and the entire proceeds spent on meth. Thanks to it's mild winters and minimal social services (I include police with "social services"), Tucson has a rapidly worsening street vermin problem.
I would much rather have just given the junkie the twenty to forty bucks he'll get at the pawn shop, and saved myself the hundreds upon hundreds of dollars it will cost to fix the window and replace the jack and jump box. Must be nice to just not care about the harm you do to others?
Upon exiting the truck, I saw what looked like smoke billowing from under the hood. Uh-oh. That's NEVER a good sign. Turned out to be steam. Seems a hose of some sort had given out, and sprayed the engine compartment with fluids. Most likely the radiator hose, for there was a trail of coolant for some yards behind the truck. Well, at least it hadn't been coolant-less for longer than a few seconds, so the motor didn't have a chance to melt down.
The rest was mostly basic adulting. I called AAA (everyone who drives old clunkers should be a member), and they promptly sent a tow truck. Which then hauled it off to (hopefully) Buck's Automotive. They're closed over the weekend, so the tow driver said he'd just leave Big Blue there, and I'd get it all sorted out on Monday morning.
I was struck by how little this upset me. In my youth, my vehicle crapping out on me like this would have been cause for panic. But now I just sat back and called AAA from the comfort of my friend's living room, while his big knucklehead of a dog tried to climb in my lap. Then Donny and his sister drove me home, where my lovely wife hugged me and gave me food. I have a network of friends and family that take the edge off any disaster. Bless them!
Yes, Murphy has repeatedly warned me to not get complacent. But this wasn't caused by complacency. Which reminds me, my Tucson-based readers? I'd avoid doing business with the Jiffy Lube on Grant by Silverbell. I can't prove anything, but the timing is real suspicious.
Yep - don't get complacent, but don't be paranoid, either. You can't spend your life in fear of the next disaster.
UPDATE: I just got a call from Elizabeth of the Tucson Police. Seems the tow truck driver didn't put a note in their drop box like he was supposed to, so they called the cops to check what this truck was doing in their driveway. I cleared that up, but then I was told the driver's side window had been smashed in. Gods DAMMIT! There wasn't anything of value in the cab to steal, but a new window will cost hundreds. Like I needed more expenses in the Yule season. Murphy always likes to get in the last word, doesn't he?
UPDATE #2: I borrowed my wife's car to buzz out to Buck's. Got there a few minutes past their 7 AM opening time. Seems I spoke too soon when I claimed "there was nothing of value to steal". Seems I don't think like a dirtbag looking for goods to pawn for drug money. When I got there, I saw my 2-ton hydraulic jack was missing. Also my jump box (a big battery with a handle on it, with built-in jumper cables and a tire inflator with attached air hose), and my emergency roadside kit. And my spare sunglasses from the center console, along with some audiotapes.
Doubtlessly my property has already been pawned for a twentieth of it's value, and the entire proceeds spent on meth. Thanks to it's mild winters and minimal social services (I include police with "social services"), Tucson has a rapidly worsening street vermin problem.
I would much rather have just given the junkie the twenty to forty bucks he'll get at the pawn shop, and saved myself the hundreds upon hundreds of dollars it will cost to fix the window and replace the jack and jump box. Must be nice to just not care about the harm you do to others?
Yet another funeral.
General | Posted 2 weeks agoIt's been a helluva Thanksgiving. Noonish yesterday we got a call from my wife's sister in Logan, Utah. Their mother was in the ER with some kind of breathing problem. Awhile later, we got another call with the bad news: Traci's mom was dead. She'd apparently choked to death on some turkey. Yes, they tried the Heimlich.
We'd been planning to fly out to Logan to be with Traci's mom for Yule. Now it seems we'll be flying out for the funeral. And we just got back from her dad's funeral! I know Murphy never sleeps, but God DAMMIT!
We'd been planning to fly out to Logan to be with Traci's mom for Yule. Now it seems we'll be flying out for the funeral. And we just got back from her dad's funeral! I know Murphy never sleeps, but God DAMMIT!
Greed-crazed mass-murderers.
General | Posted 2 weeks agoAn old crony of mine has advised me it does little good to rant against the evil oligarchs ruining our country in general and our lives in particular, if you don't name names. Well, here they are:
https://www.gregpalast.com/larry-su.....end-game-memo/
A quote: "In 2013, a little birdy dropped a highly confidential note written to Summers from his flunky, Timothy Geithner, then Assistant Secretary (International Affairs) to the World Trade Organization. Its content was so explosive, so sick and plain evil, I just could barely believe it.
The scheme revealed in the note was breathtaking: complete deregulation of the WORLDWIDE banking system.
The End Game Memo confirmed every conspiracy freak’s fantasy that top US Treasury officials secretly joined up with a cabal of banker big-shots to rip apart financial regulation across the planet.
Geithner wrote to then-Deputy Secretary Summers,
“As we enter the end-game of the WTO financial services negotiations, I believe it would be a good idea for you to touch base with the CEOs.”
To avoid Summers having to call Geithner to get the phone numbers (which, under US law, would have to appear on public logs), Geithner listed their private lines. And here they are:
Goldman Sachs: John Corzine (212)902-8281
Merrill Lynch: David Kamanski (212)449-6868
Bank of America, David Coulter (415)622-2255
Citibank: John Reed (212)559-XXXX
Chase Manhattan: Walter Shipley (212)270-1380
CEO Reed at Citigroup picked up our call, but when it wasn’t Larry on the line, he hung up. Other numbers were changed.
Most important, the banker-Treasury lock-up succeeded beyond imagination."
This looting of the planet by demented greedheads led directly to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of deaths, and terrible suffering of millions more. Not only did this not bother these psychopaths, they planned for it:
"Ecuador, once its bank sector was de-regulated and its economy “structurally adjusted,’ exploded into riots. Stiglitz told me that inside the World Bank, these were called, “IMF riots,” which were not only predicted but planned into the re-structuring agreements. The crackdown was also predicted. Tanks in the street and martial law would allow the implementation of the full structural smash and grab.
My Argentine friends told me Structural Adjustment led to school teachers hunting in garbage cans for food. Ensuing protests and riots did not stop the sell-off of the nation’s oil company to Spain and the Buenos Aires water system to Enron."
This is the situation we're in, folks. And not only did a certain orange cretin's election NOT slow down this looting spree (as even his red-hat cult is starting to notice), he has joined and intensified it. Billionaires have a friend in the White House, but no one else.
https://www.gregpalast.com/larry-su.....end-game-memo/
A quote: "In 2013, a little birdy dropped a highly confidential note written to Summers from his flunky, Timothy Geithner, then Assistant Secretary (International Affairs) to the World Trade Organization. Its content was so explosive, so sick and plain evil, I just could barely believe it.
The scheme revealed in the note was breathtaking: complete deregulation of the WORLDWIDE banking system.
The End Game Memo confirmed every conspiracy freak’s fantasy that top US Treasury officials secretly joined up with a cabal of banker big-shots to rip apart financial regulation across the planet.
Geithner wrote to then-Deputy Secretary Summers,
“As we enter the end-game of the WTO financial services negotiations, I believe it would be a good idea for you to touch base with the CEOs.”
To avoid Summers having to call Geithner to get the phone numbers (which, under US law, would have to appear on public logs), Geithner listed their private lines. And here they are:
Goldman Sachs: John Corzine (212)902-8281
Merrill Lynch: David Kamanski (212)449-6868
Bank of America, David Coulter (415)622-2255
Citibank: John Reed (212)559-XXXX
Chase Manhattan: Walter Shipley (212)270-1380
CEO Reed at Citigroup picked up our call, but when it wasn’t Larry on the line, he hung up. Other numbers were changed.
Most important, the banker-Treasury lock-up succeeded beyond imagination."
This looting of the planet by demented greedheads led directly to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of deaths, and terrible suffering of millions more. Not only did this not bother these psychopaths, they planned for it:
"Ecuador, once its bank sector was de-regulated and its economy “structurally adjusted,’ exploded into riots. Stiglitz told me that inside the World Bank, these were called, “IMF riots,” which were not only predicted but planned into the re-structuring agreements. The crackdown was also predicted. Tanks in the street and martial law would allow the implementation of the full structural smash and grab.
My Argentine friends told me Structural Adjustment led to school teachers hunting in garbage cans for food. Ensuing protests and riots did not stop the sell-off of the nation’s oil company to Spain and the Buenos Aires water system to Enron."
This is the situation we're in, folks. And not only did a certain orange cretin's election NOT slow down this looting spree (as even his red-hat cult is starting to notice), he has joined and intensified it. Billionaires have a friend in the White House, but no one else.
Signalboosting again.
General | Posted 3 weeks agoSo yeah, here's Terrie Smith's latest editorial: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/11258083/
Quote, "Well, it looks like the sticky heart valve I have may have to be replaced. Dec. 11 I'll be having a Cardiac Stenosis test, where they'll run a wire through my wrist to get a better look at the valve. It'll evaluate the level of damage and decide what to do. It can be a "simple" procedure through my groin, or open-heart surgery."
As a guy who's had to depend on his art to feed himself (I'm a happily married full citizen now, but before that, there were some thin times), AND a heart surgery survivor, there is no way I couldn't be affected by Terrie's plea for survival. Don't do nothing, because you can only do a little (a dollar or three?). Every little bit DOES count!
A certain orange con man's cult does not help the poor: on the contrary, it grifts 'em relentlessly, in a sick mirror image of Robin Hood: They rob the poor to bloat the rich. There will be no help coming from that quarter: So all that's left to Terrie is us, her fellow furry freaks. Please, please don't let her down.
Quote, "Well, it looks like the sticky heart valve I have may have to be replaced. Dec. 11 I'll be having a Cardiac Stenosis test, where they'll run a wire through my wrist to get a better look at the valve. It'll evaluate the level of damage and decide what to do. It can be a "simple" procedure through my groin, or open-heart surgery."
As a guy who's had to depend on his art to feed himself (I'm a happily married full citizen now, but before that, there were some thin times), AND a heart surgery survivor, there is no way I couldn't be affected by Terrie's plea for survival. Don't do nothing, because you can only do a little (a dollar or three?). Every little bit DOES count!
A certain orange con man's cult does not help the poor: on the contrary, it grifts 'em relentlessly, in a sick mirror image of Robin Hood: They rob the poor to bloat the rich. There will be no help coming from that quarter: So all that's left to Terrie is us, her fellow furry freaks. Please, please don't let her down.
Karno the bookworm.
General | Posted 3 weeks agoSo I recently discovered that the Tucson Library has a branch right around the corner from where I live. YAY! Now I won't have to deal with the godawful traffic and parking meters around the main branch downtown. First book I picked up there was
WHACK JOB
A history of axe murder
By Rachel McCarthy James.
As a history nut with Viking ancestry, I obviously couldn't resist. The axe is one of mankind's first tools, endlessly useful, especially after someone thought to add a handle to it. Got a couple-3 of them, myself.
The author writes accessibly, with only the rare stray into wokeness/smugness. Hey, it's tough to be both a good historian and a good writer at the same time.
So I recommend this book to both history nuts and true-crime aficionados. It's not perfect, but who or what is?
To fill out this post, an article about how Canada's rifle confiscation scheme keeps bumping up against reality:
https://www.nraila.org/articles/202.....s-than-30-guns
Even with MUCH fewer firearms per capita, and much more thorough registration (and a famously polite and compliant population), their "Assault Weapons Ban" just ain't working.
The "voluntary buyback" is not voluntary - the law threatens dire penalties if you insist on holding onto your property - and it seems it's not really a "buyback", either. After you surrender your rifle, you must fill out and file a pile of forms - and if they're not approved by some scowling bureaucrat deep in the nomenklatura, you get no compensation.
Would YOU accept such a "deal"? I sure as hell wouldn't. And neither will most Canadians, it seems.
Back to books: I'm looking for the Parker novels by Richard Stark (pen name of Donald J. Westlake). All except "Breakout" and "Firebreak", because I've already got those. Anyone trying to thin out their library of cheap thrillers? I'll pay you shamefully low prices for 'em. And the postage, natch.
Failing that, does anyone know a good mail-order source for such used books? I'm trying to avoid doing too much business with Amazon.
WHACK JOB
A history of axe murder
By Rachel McCarthy James.
As a history nut with Viking ancestry, I obviously couldn't resist. The axe is one of mankind's first tools, endlessly useful, especially after someone thought to add a handle to it. Got a couple-3 of them, myself.
The author writes accessibly, with only the rare stray into wokeness/smugness. Hey, it's tough to be both a good historian and a good writer at the same time.
So I recommend this book to both history nuts and true-crime aficionados. It's not perfect, but who or what is?
To fill out this post, an article about how Canada's rifle confiscation scheme keeps bumping up against reality:
https://www.nraila.org/articles/202.....s-than-30-guns
Even with MUCH fewer firearms per capita, and much more thorough registration (and a famously polite and compliant population), their "Assault Weapons Ban" just ain't working.
The "voluntary buyback" is not voluntary - the law threatens dire penalties if you insist on holding onto your property - and it seems it's not really a "buyback", either. After you surrender your rifle, you must fill out and file a pile of forms - and if they're not approved by some scowling bureaucrat deep in the nomenklatura, you get no compensation.
Would YOU accept such a "deal"? I sure as hell wouldn't. And neither will most Canadians, it seems.
Back to books: I'm looking for the Parker novels by Richard Stark (pen name of Donald J. Westlake). All except "Breakout" and "Firebreak", because I've already got those. Anyone trying to thin out their library of cheap thrillers? I'll pay you shamefully low prices for 'em. And the postage, natch.
Failing that, does anyone know a good mail-order source for such used books? I'm trying to avoid doing too much business with Amazon.
Writing commission.
General | Posted a month agoSo awhile back, I noticed that pretty much the only character of mine that has a written story about 'em, is the Ace of Hearts: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/11031047/
So I sent notes to a couple of writers I knew, and asked 'em if they were interested in a small writing commission:
Short stories, a few paragraphs maybe, where the protagonist meets my characters,
Herman Orca - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/35327259/
Savage Squirrel - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/4706253/
The Mink - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58021248/
Happy Jack - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/62349546/
Hündrat - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/43449723/
Reacher and Lester - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/59562179/
and describes 'em to the reader. Not all at the same time, though!
I'm curious to see how they "look" when described by just words, how they appear to other people.
Welp, I heard back from one of the writers, and they basically said NO, and stop bothering me! I haven't heard anything at all back from the other potential writer.
So I'm using my FA forum to check if there's any wordsmiths out there who're interested in this small and mostly silly commission? If so, please let me know via PM or the comments here.
So I sent notes to a couple of writers I knew, and asked 'em if they were interested in a small writing commission:
Short stories, a few paragraphs maybe, where the protagonist meets my characters,
Herman Orca - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/35327259/
Savage Squirrel - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/4706253/
The Mink - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58021248/
Happy Jack - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/62349546/
Hündrat - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/43449723/
Reacher and Lester - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/59562179/
and describes 'em to the reader. Not all at the same time, though!
I'm curious to see how they "look" when described by just words, how they appear to other people.
Welp, I heard back from one of the writers, and they basically said NO, and stop bothering me! I haven't heard anything at all back from the other potential writer.
So I'm using my FA forum to check if there's any wordsmiths out there who're interested in this small and mostly silly commission? If so, please let me know via PM or the comments here.
The "I'm taking you all down with me" problem.
General | Posted a month agoHere's a pretty clear definition of the narcissistic sociopath:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases.....s/syc-20366662
Does this remind you of anyone that's been in the news a lot, lately? Hint: He's very high up in the political hierarchy.
And in COMPLETELY UNRELATED historical musings - When Germany had well and truly lost World War 2, Hitler ordered that what was left of his country's infrastructure be destroyed. Bridges blown up, the electrical grid taken down, etc. Ostensibly so that the Allied invaders couldn't use it, but his ravings made the real reason clear: It was to punish the German nation for having failed him.
But a handful of his generals, less insane than the Fuehrer, flew around countermanding those orders. Thereby saving not only Germany's infrastructure, but countless lives, also.
I gotta wonder, when America's Maximum Leader realizes that the jig is up for him - assuming his dementia allows him such complex thoughts by then - will he try the same? Break everything rather than let some Democrat president-elect play with HIS toys? Will anyone in his party have the spine to do the same as Hitler's generals, to stand up to him and prevent the worst of the damage?
.......Well.....maybe it won't matter. Robert H. Jackson, chief prosecutor for the Americans at the Nüremberg trials of the Nazi high command, said in a report to Pres. Harry Truman:
"It was really the recoil of the Nazi blows at liberty that destroyed the Nazi regime. They struck down freedom of speech and press and other freedoms which pass as ordinary civil rights with us, so thoroughly that not even the highest officers dared to warn the people or the Fuehrer that they were taking the road to destruction".
But censorship was a lot easier in those pre-television, pre-internet days. Now we have people shouting warnings 24/7. Looka me, doing it right now!
So yeah, we have been warned. Repeatedly. Will we do anything about it?
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases.....s/syc-20366662
Does this remind you of anyone that's been in the news a lot, lately? Hint: He's very high up in the political hierarchy.
And in COMPLETELY UNRELATED historical musings - When Germany had well and truly lost World War 2, Hitler ordered that what was left of his country's infrastructure be destroyed. Bridges blown up, the electrical grid taken down, etc. Ostensibly so that the Allied invaders couldn't use it, but his ravings made the real reason clear: It was to punish the German nation for having failed him.
But a handful of his generals, less insane than the Fuehrer, flew around countermanding those orders. Thereby saving not only Germany's infrastructure, but countless lives, also.
I gotta wonder, when America's Maximum Leader realizes that the jig is up for him - assuming his dementia allows him such complex thoughts by then - will he try the same? Break everything rather than let some Democrat president-elect play with HIS toys? Will anyone in his party have the spine to do the same as Hitler's generals, to stand up to him and prevent the worst of the damage?
.......Well.....maybe it won't matter. Robert H. Jackson, chief prosecutor for the Americans at the Nüremberg trials of the Nazi high command, said in a report to Pres. Harry Truman:
"It was really the recoil of the Nazi blows at liberty that destroyed the Nazi regime. They struck down freedom of speech and press and other freedoms which pass as ordinary civil rights with us, so thoroughly that not even the highest officers dared to warn the people or the Fuehrer that they were taking the road to destruction".
But censorship was a lot easier in those pre-television, pre-internet days. Now we have people shouting warnings 24/7. Looka me, doing it right now!
So yeah, we have been warned. Repeatedly. Will we do anything about it?
Harmless, anodyne title.
General | Posted a month agoHanna Arendt told us in 1951 that
""The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists."
And pounding the people's weak little brains with bullshit until they don't know which way is up, has become easier than ever with computer tech and domination of the media by large corporations. The owners of which are NOT your friends, just so you know.
In fact, Glorious Leader himself posted an AI-generated animated clip that had him wearing a crown while flying a jet that dumped tons of shit on America. That was so on the nose, that had anyone else posted such, they would have been dog-piled into oblivion by the M-crowd (trying not to set off the algorithm, here).
So if you're one of those unfortunates who've surrendered the burden of thinking to the spinmeisters, I have this ONE WEIRD TRICK you can use to maybe get your feet a little more solidly under you. It can be summed up as "What if it was me?"
What if the punishments you'd like to impose on the Other Side, however you define it, were imposed on you? If you, just for example, opened your big mouth and flapped your lips so as to make sounds come out of your pie-hole? Or posted the equivalent of those sounds online? Would that be reason enough to toss you in a concentration camp? Or even to murder you? To take you away from all your friends and family, rob you of all your future days?
If you come to the painfully obvious conclusion of NO, that your speech does not justify murdering you, then maybe you are wrong about what should happen to the Other Side. Because (hold onto something solid) the people on the Other Side are JUST AS HUMAN AS YOU ARE! No, really! It's true!
The climate change crisis and the financial crash are bearing down on us like freight trains with stripped brakes. Letting propagandists split us up into powerless little ghettos who waste their time and energy on fighting each other - we can't afford that anymore. Not if we want to survive what's coming with anything resembling dignity.
""The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists."
And pounding the people's weak little brains with bullshit until they don't know which way is up, has become easier than ever with computer tech and domination of the media by large corporations. The owners of which are NOT your friends, just so you know.
In fact, Glorious Leader himself posted an AI-generated animated clip that had him wearing a crown while flying a jet that dumped tons of shit on America. That was so on the nose, that had anyone else posted such, they would have been dog-piled into oblivion by the M-crowd (trying not to set off the algorithm, here).
So if you're one of those unfortunates who've surrendered the burden of thinking to the spinmeisters, I have this ONE WEIRD TRICK you can use to maybe get your feet a little more solidly under you. It can be summed up as "What if it was me?"
What if the punishments you'd like to impose on the Other Side, however you define it, were imposed on you? If you, just for example, opened your big mouth and flapped your lips so as to make sounds come out of your pie-hole? Or posted the equivalent of those sounds online? Would that be reason enough to toss you in a concentration camp? Or even to murder you? To take you away from all your friends and family, rob you of all your future days?
If you come to the painfully obvious conclusion of NO, that your speech does not justify murdering you, then maybe you are wrong about what should happen to the Other Side. Because (hold onto something solid) the people on the Other Side are JUST AS HUMAN AS YOU ARE! No, really! It's true!
The climate change crisis and the financial crash are bearing down on us like freight trains with stripped brakes. Letting propagandists split us up into powerless little ghettos who waste their time and energy on fighting each other - we can't afford that anymore. Not if we want to survive what's coming with anything resembling dignity.
But....but I don't hate anyone?!
General | Posted a month agoSo my previous journal, "Aspirational victimhood" was removed. Fortunately, the Mods were kind enough to tell me why:
"Your content has been removed because it violates our rules which state:
Code of Conduct, Section 2.7 - Do not identify with or promote real hate, terrorist organizations, mass murderers, serial killers and their ideologies.
A hate group is one that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a designated sector of society (e.g. Nazism, ISIS, KKK) that are reflected in the real world. Users who identify with or promote real hate or terrorist organizations and their ideologies may be permanently banned from Fur Affinity without warning.
You have done this by posting about Charlie Kirk, even negatively."
This struck me strange, as I hadn't said anything negative about the fella. In fact the underlined message of the journal was "Political opinions are not an excuse for murder, and never have been".
That doesn't sound like hate speech to me. But speech codes have been changing with dizzying speed lately, so it would come as no surprise if I have lost track of the latest in Political Correctness.
In fact, I suspect my journal was censored by an algorithm who thought my journal had too many keywords in it. Out of curiosity, I asked the Mods if this was the case. If they answer, I'll pass it along. Ah this modern world, its wonders to behold!
So just to provide some balance to all this hate I'm apparently seething with, I thought I'd bore everyone to tears with yet another listing of the things I love:
Number one is my sweetiepie. Marrying her was one of the few Very Smart things I've done in my life.
Next come close family and friends. I'd be long dead if their helping hands hadn't pulled me out of the shark-pit more than once and more than twice. Here's to my crew, the stout fellers!
Then, my dog. I'm unreasonably fond of the critter.
I love my job. Is being paid to sit around and doodle cartoons a sweet gig, or what?!
My hobby is also endlessly entertaining. I'm into collecting the debris of the British Empire: So when I recently found out that during WW1, the Brits, desperate for handguns, commissioned thousands of knockoffs of the Smith and Wesson no. 3 double-action revolver in .455 Webley caliber from Spain, I was chuffed. I love the top-latch S&W revolver design, and discovering there was a British Empire version of it had me all lit up with collector mania.
The revolvers were made by Garate, Anitua y Cia and Trocaola, Aranzabal y Cia in 1915-1916. About 30,000 were made, but even being so old and rare, the prices are not out of my reach, if I save up for a bit.
If you have such a Garate or Trocaola that you're trying to get rid of, give me a buzz, and we'll make a deal!
EDIT: The Mods got back to me with a straight answer:
"This content was removed due to the discussion of political violence as well as Kirk's perceived role in your journal. Any content reviewing, promoting, discussing these topics are removed across the site no matter where someone's stance is on the subject is removed. This has been done to make it fair and to keep political discourse low within Fur Affinity. Fur Affinity does not utilize AI in moderation and every action is hand reviewed by moderators and admins."
So my first guess was correct - all journals even mentioning "hot-button" issues are removed, regardless of context. That would have been a good thing to know in advance. But here we are, pretending to have no opinion about the horrifying, even life-threatening developments going on in our communities. This seems excessively chickenshit to me, but to be fair, there seems to be no depth the Orange Menace will not stoop to.
"What was the Bishop's sermon about?"
"Sin."
"What did he say regarding it?"
"He was against it."
"Your content has been removed because it violates our rules which state:
Code of Conduct, Section 2.7 - Do not identify with or promote real hate, terrorist organizations, mass murderers, serial killers and their ideologies.
A hate group is one that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a designated sector of society (e.g. Nazism, ISIS, KKK) that are reflected in the real world. Users who identify with or promote real hate or terrorist organizations and their ideologies may be permanently banned from Fur Affinity without warning.
You have done this by posting about Charlie Kirk, even negatively."
This struck me strange, as I hadn't said anything negative about the fella. In fact the underlined message of the journal was "Political opinions are not an excuse for murder, and never have been".
That doesn't sound like hate speech to me. But speech codes have been changing with dizzying speed lately, so it would come as no surprise if I have lost track of the latest in Political Correctness.
In fact, I suspect my journal was censored by an algorithm who thought my journal had too many keywords in it. Out of curiosity, I asked the Mods if this was the case. If they answer, I'll pass it along. Ah this modern world, its wonders to behold!
So just to provide some balance to all this hate I'm apparently seething with, I thought I'd bore everyone to tears with yet another listing of the things I love:
Number one is my sweetiepie. Marrying her was one of the few Very Smart things I've done in my life.
Next come close family and friends. I'd be long dead if their helping hands hadn't pulled me out of the shark-pit more than once and more than twice. Here's to my crew, the stout fellers!
Then, my dog. I'm unreasonably fond of the critter.
I love my job. Is being paid to sit around and doodle cartoons a sweet gig, or what?!
My hobby is also endlessly entertaining. I'm into collecting the debris of the British Empire: So when I recently found out that during WW1, the Brits, desperate for handguns, commissioned thousands of knockoffs of the Smith and Wesson no. 3 double-action revolver in .455 Webley caliber from Spain, I was chuffed. I love the top-latch S&W revolver design, and discovering there was a British Empire version of it had me all lit up with collector mania.
The revolvers were made by Garate, Anitua y Cia and Trocaola, Aranzabal y Cia in 1915-1916. About 30,000 were made, but even being so old and rare, the prices are not out of my reach, if I save up for a bit.
If you have such a Garate or Trocaola that you're trying to get rid of, give me a buzz, and we'll make a deal!
EDIT: The Mods got back to me with a straight answer:
"This content was removed due to the discussion of political violence as well as Kirk's perceived role in your journal. Any content reviewing, promoting, discussing these topics are removed across the site no matter where someone's stance is on the subject is removed. This has been done to make it fair and to keep political discourse low within Fur Affinity. Fur Affinity does not utilize AI in moderation and every action is hand reviewed by moderators and admins."
So my first guess was correct - all journals even mentioning "hot-button" issues are removed, regardless of context. That would have been a good thing to know in advance. But here we are, pretending to have no opinion about the horrifying, even life-threatening developments going on in our communities. This seems excessively chickenshit to me, but to be fair, there seems to be no depth the Orange Menace will not stoop to.
"What was the Bishop's sermon about?"
"Sin."
"What did he say regarding it?"
"He was against it."
Paranoia pays off.
General | Posted a month agoSo yesterday, in the Denver airport, it was coming up on 10 PM, when my plane to Salt Lake City was supposed to take off. My suspicions were aroused by the fact that the screen by gate 50 (the gate designated on my boarding pass) said "Wichita". I asked the lady at the counter where the Salt Lake City flight was. "Oh, that's been delayed till midnight", she responded.
This came as a shock, as all the previous delays had been announced via text, but I'd heard nothing about this. I couldn't believe it. Literally. I asked where the leaderboard (the board where all the flights going at the airport are listed) was. She waved a hand and said "Somewhere over there".
I promptly stomped somewhere over there, and found the board. Looked up my flight number - it was going to another city. Checked out Salt Lake City. Yes, there was a SouthWest airlines flight to Salt Lake City at 10 - from gate 42. Seems pretty much all the info on my boarding pass was wrong. I pointed this out to the lady at the counter. She checked her computer and said. "Oh yeah, that's right! You'd better hustle, they're boarding!"
So I hustled, and just made it. I was the last to board, and got the last open seat in the very back. But at least I didn't miss my flight! For once, being a distrustful semi-paranoid paid off.
Sheesh. Neglecting to tell me they'd changed gates was bad enough, but what was up with lying to me?!
This came as a shock, as all the previous delays had been announced via text, but I'd heard nothing about this. I couldn't believe it. Literally. I asked where the leaderboard (the board where all the flights going at the airport are listed) was. She waved a hand and said "Somewhere over there".
I promptly stomped somewhere over there, and found the board. Looked up my flight number - it was going to another city. Checked out Salt Lake City. Yes, there was a SouthWest airlines flight to Salt Lake City at 10 - from gate 42. Seems pretty much all the info on my boarding pass was wrong. I pointed this out to the lady at the counter. She checked her computer and said. "Oh yeah, that's right! You'd better hustle, they're boarding!"
So I hustled, and just made it. I was the last to board, and got the last open seat in the very back. But at least I didn't miss my flight! For once, being a distrustful semi-paranoid paid off.
Sheesh. Neglecting to tell me they'd changed gates was bad enough, but what was up with lying to me?!
Joker VS the daycare shortage.
General | Posted 2 months agoSo I schwung through the local library the other day, Spotted a manga compilation out of the corner of my eye:
JOKER: One Operation Joker vol. 1, by Satoshi Miyagawa and Keisuke Gotou
Huh, DC characters done by Japanese mangaka? Looks interesting. And the cover art was striking: A manically grinning Joker holding a baby wearing a bat-eared hoodie.
I was delighted when I discovered that the cover was a honest representation of the contents: In a fight with the Joker, Batman is knocked into a vat of chemicals - a mirror of the Joker's origins. The vat transforms him into a baby. And since there's little point to the Joker without Batman, Joker decides to raise the baby back to full-grown Batmanhood.
From there in, it's basically a domestic comedy, with the Joker struggling with single fatherhood (Harley Quinn turns out to be worse than useless as a helpmate for child-rearing). The creators, while clearly enjoying themselves, keep a straight face throughout. The hilarity of the story doesn't come from obvious gags, but from the Joker's weirdly relatable struggles with single parenting. Sleep schedules, diaper sizing and disposal, finding a reliable daycare, so he can finally get out to do some lucrative crimes to pay his expenses, etc.
I'm amazed the editors at DC had the balls to sign off on this. Check it out if it comes your way. It's....long-term funny, is that the right word? At least to those with a mildly evil sense of humor.
JOKER: One Operation Joker vol. 1, by Satoshi Miyagawa and Keisuke Gotou
Huh, DC characters done by Japanese mangaka? Looks interesting. And the cover art was striking: A manically grinning Joker holding a baby wearing a bat-eared hoodie.
I was delighted when I discovered that the cover was a honest representation of the contents: In a fight with the Joker, Batman is knocked into a vat of chemicals - a mirror of the Joker's origins. The vat transforms him into a baby. And since there's little point to the Joker without Batman, Joker decides to raise the baby back to full-grown Batmanhood.
From there in, it's basically a domestic comedy, with the Joker struggling with single fatherhood (Harley Quinn turns out to be worse than useless as a helpmate for child-rearing). The creators, while clearly enjoying themselves, keep a straight face throughout. The hilarity of the story doesn't come from obvious gags, but from the Joker's weirdly relatable struggles with single parenting. Sleep schedules, diaper sizing and disposal, finding a reliable daycare, so he can finally get out to do some lucrative crimes to pay his expenses, etc.
I'm amazed the editors at DC had the balls to sign off on this. Check it out if it comes your way. It's....long-term funny, is that the right word? At least to those with a mildly evil sense of humor.
Oh, THAT'S why! Now I feel dumb.
General | Posted 2 months agoI know I said I'd give you good folk some relief from the Orange Man Bad stuff.....but alas, artists are flighty, unreliable creatures. As you know all too well by now, I've been musing a lot on how Prump got into the White House the second time. The first time was fairly obvious: People would vote for ANYBODY other than Hillary, even if their only other choice was (yech) Dimbulb Donny, the sleazy con man.
But how'd he manage to pull it off the second time, with the country knowing full well what an awful person he is? I was flabbergasted. Until I read Robert Lee White's obvious-in-hindsight take on the puzzle. Turns out, that's exactly why he won! A quote:
"I actually think he won, for that precise reason. Because he had at least one fucked-up part to mirror the fucked-up parts of millions.
If you are a racist, you found your guy. If you are a misogynist, you found your guy. If all you care about is money, you found your guy. If you have an emotionally armored heart, you found your guy. If you make fun of disabled people, you found your guy. If you hate intelligent people, you found your guy. If you are a rapist, you found your guy.
If you are a serial cheater, you found your guy. If you are a perpetual bankrupt, you found your guy. If you don't pay people for their honest work, you found your guy. If you are a hustler and a conman, you found your guy. If you mock people's physical appearances, you found your guy. If you long for a toxic Daddy, you found your guy. If you are dissociated and disembodied, you found your guy. If you are unconscionable in all your economic dealings, you found your guy. If you lie day and night, you found your guy. If you have never eaten green vegetables, you found your guy. If you are a white supremacist, you found your guy. If you have a hole in your ego so big that not even the presidency could fill it, you found your guy. If you are a sociopath, and care not one iota about other humans, you found your guy. If you...
If he only had two of these issues, he never would have won. It was the fact that he had hundreds of them, that made him the winner.
Because millions of humans are toxic. So they could relate to him, in one form or another...
It's never been about trump. It's always been about the people who finally have their twisted feelings about others validated. trump has given "those people" permission to disparage and hate their fellow human beings.
trump is only symptomatic of a much larger issue of a collective toxicity. If there is a single sentence that characterizes trump it is this:
"He says the things I'm thinking."
That may be what is so terrifying. Who knew that so many tens of millions of Americans were thinking unconscionable things about their fellow Americans?
Who knew that tens of millions men felt so emasculated by women and challenged by minorities? Who knew that after years of seeming progress on race and gender, tens of millions of white Americans lived in seething resentment, waiting for a demagogue to arrive who would legitimize their worst selves and channel them into political power?
Perhaps we had been living in a fool's paradise.
Now we aren't."
It seems I've been living in a bubble I was unaware of. I've surrounded myself with family and friends ("Friends are the family you choose") who are kind, intelligent, talented....generally good people, you know? Because who wants to hang out with assholes?
Comfortable in my personal bubble of upstandin' citizens, I was unaware of how many of my fellow Americans were small, shallow, selfish, shitty. Stupid and/or mean-spirited enough to vote for Trump, even. Not that the alternative to him that the Democrats vomited up was appetizing, lord knows. But maybe, possibly, she'd have been slightly less of a disaster?
Too late to wonder about that now. Seems it's America's turn to experience the famous summation of all Russian history:
"AND THEN - THINGS GOT WORSE."
But how'd he manage to pull it off the second time, with the country knowing full well what an awful person he is? I was flabbergasted. Until I read Robert Lee White's obvious-in-hindsight take on the puzzle. Turns out, that's exactly why he won! A quote:
"I actually think he won, for that precise reason. Because he had at least one fucked-up part to mirror the fucked-up parts of millions.
If you are a racist, you found your guy. If you are a misogynist, you found your guy. If all you care about is money, you found your guy. If you have an emotionally armored heart, you found your guy. If you make fun of disabled people, you found your guy. If you hate intelligent people, you found your guy. If you are a rapist, you found your guy.
If you are a serial cheater, you found your guy. If you are a perpetual bankrupt, you found your guy. If you don't pay people for their honest work, you found your guy. If you are a hustler and a conman, you found your guy. If you mock people's physical appearances, you found your guy. If you long for a toxic Daddy, you found your guy. If you are dissociated and disembodied, you found your guy. If you are unconscionable in all your economic dealings, you found your guy. If you lie day and night, you found your guy. If you have never eaten green vegetables, you found your guy. If you are a white supremacist, you found your guy. If you have a hole in your ego so big that not even the presidency could fill it, you found your guy. If you are a sociopath, and care not one iota about other humans, you found your guy. If you...
If he only had two of these issues, he never would have won. It was the fact that he had hundreds of them, that made him the winner.
Because millions of humans are toxic. So they could relate to him, in one form or another...
It's never been about trump. It's always been about the people who finally have their twisted feelings about others validated. trump has given "those people" permission to disparage and hate their fellow human beings.
trump is only symptomatic of a much larger issue of a collective toxicity. If there is a single sentence that characterizes trump it is this:
"He says the things I'm thinking."
That may be what is so terrifying. Who knew that so many tens of millions of Americans were thinking unconscionable things about their fellow Americans?
Who knew that tens of millions men felt so emasculated by women and challenged by minorities? Who knew that after years of seeming progress on race and gender, tens of millions of white Americans lived in seething resentment, waiting for a demagogue to arrive who would legitimize their worst selves and channel them into political power?
Perhaps we had been living in a fool's paradise.
Now we aren't."
It seems I've been living in a bubble I was unaware of. I've surrounded myself with family and friends ("Friends are the family you choose") who are kind, intelligent, talented....generally good people, you know? Because who wants to hang out with assholes?
Comfortable in my personal bubble of upstandin' citizens, I was unaware of how many of my fellow Americans were small, shallow, selfish, shitty. Stupid and/or mean-spirited enough to vote for Trump, even. Not that the alternative to him that the Democrats vomited up was appetizing, lord knows. But maybe, possibly, she'd have been slightly less of a disaster?
Too late to wonder about that now. Seems it's America's turn to experience the famous summation of all Russian history:
"AND THEN - THINGS GOT WORSE."
So how'd we get here?
General | Posted 2 months agoOkay, enough about Prump. Those who haven't drunk the MAGA Kool-Aid are all too aware of what a disaster he is - and those who have imbibed that foul draught are not going to be dragged back to reality by an editorial on an obscure funny-animal fansite. Heck, decades after Hitler had brought Germany to ruin, his Nazis were still muttering into their beers that he did nothing wrong, and it was all the fault of the Jews. Although they did so mostly in Spanish, because they'd fled to Argentina to avoid being hanged for their crimes.
Speaking of Nazis, did you know that in the pre-war years, they sent delegations to America to study our Jim Crow laws? The original Nazis and Fascists studied at the feet of freedom-lovin' Americans to learn how to be extra super shitty to minorities. If you take the time to read some history, you'll find it's full of such moments of hilarity.
To finally get to the point, how did we get to the point where the American public despised their ruling class so intensely, that an evil clown like Prump could gain the White House with just a lil' helping of voter suppression? This book provides a clue:
https://www.amazon.com/Days-Destruc...../dp/1568586434
Check it out - it's got well-illustrated hard facts that explain some modern dilemmas pretty well.
Speaking of Nazis, did you know that in the pre-war years, they sent delegations to America to study our Jim Crow laws? The original Nazis and Fascists studied at the feet of freedom-lovin' Americans to learn how to be extra super shitty to minorities. If you take the time to read some history, you'll find it's full of such moments of hilarity.
To finally get to the point, how did we get to the point where the American public despised their ruling class so intensely, that an evil clown like Prump could gain the White House with just a lil' helping of voter suppression? This book provides a clue:
https://www.amazon.com/Days-Destruc...../dp/1568586434
Check it out - it's got well-illustrated hard facts that explain some modern dilemmas pretty well.
To be fair.
General | Posted 2 months agoI've received a couple of complaints claiming that I haven't been treating the demented cult-leader of the MAGAs fairly. I was shocked by this, obviously. And since we all know that scrupulous fairness is the #1 concern of the MAGA cult, I sure don't want to seem the lesser man in comparison. So here's an unbiased report on the man and his place by Thom Hartmann:
https://donorbox.org/the-last-ameri.....-on-the-brink?
Hartmann is not only a well-known radio host, but also a certified psychotherapist, ordained theologian and noted historian who has brought this extraordinary collection of skills to an examination of the president’s brain. If he can't fairly figure out what's going on in the White House right now, who can? A quote:
"Trump grew up in an atmosphere of cruelty under the familial dictatorship of his daddy Fred Trump, whom the future president saw bully his older brother into an early alcoholic death. His mother emotionally checked out, leaving us with a president who needs a mother’s hug — and is taking it out on government employees.
Trump learned cruelty from his dad but learned how to weaponize it from his second daddy: Roy Cohn, Joe McCarthy’s henchman, who taught Trump how to use fear and media manipulation to break your enemies — a group now encompassing most Americans.
Does Trump even believe his own bullshit? That’s not even a question for Trump, notes Hartmann. He quotes the master of prevarication himself:
“The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest. I call it ‘truthful hyperbole.”
The ghost-writer of Trump’s The Art of The Deal says he made up the term “truthful hyperbole” to cover up the word, “lie.”
Can't get fairer than quoting the man's own words, yes? I hope this satisfies all parties.
https://donorbox.org/the-last-ameri.....-on-the-brink?
Hartmann is not only a well-known radio host, but also a certified psychotherapist, ordained theologian and noted historian who has brought this extraordinary collection of skills to an examination of the president’s brain. If he can't fairly figure out what's going on in the White House right now, who can? A quote:
"Trump grew up in an atmosphere of cruelty under the familial dictatorship of his daddy Fred Trump, whom the future president saw bully his older brother into an early alcoholic death. His mother emotionally checked out, leaving us with a president who needs a mother’s hug — and is taking it out on government employees.
Trump learned cruelty from his dad but learned how to weaponize it from his second daddy: Roy Cohn, Joe McCarthy’s henchman, who taught Trump how to use fear and media manipulation to break your enemies — a group now encompassing most Americans.
Does Trump even believe his own bullshit? That’s not even a question for Trump, notes Hartmann. He quotes the master of prevarication himself:
“The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. People want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest. I call it ‘truthful hyperbole.”
The ghost-writer of Trump’s The Art of The Deal says he made up the term “truthful hyperbole” to cover up the word, “lie.”
Can't get fairer than quoting the man's own words, yes? I hope this satisfies all parties.
Rut becomes trench, becomes grave.
General | Posted 2 months agoI just got the last print issues of two magazines I subscribe to, GUNS and American Handgunner magazine. Printing costs being what they are, the physical magazines just can't compete with the Internet anymore. Brent T. Wheat of GUNS says:
"There's also the ancillary problem of the hyper-specialization of society. People today want to see only what they're interested in, rather than a wide range of topics. I grew up in an era where a newspaper or magazine was a literal smorgasbord of loosely related notions, but this is a foreign concept to today's audience where algorithms have narrowed our focus into tight niches to the exclusion of anything else."
This, I believe, is a bad thing. Not only because it leads to a general narrowing of minds, but because the writers (or employers of those writers) of these algorithms can and do use them to isolate us into bubbles which are then frequently pumped full of bullshit. Do you think the orange clown currently in the White House could have gotten there if his MAGA cult had been subjected to frequent reality checks?
Of course not. So the "content providers" made sure the fragile little MAGAs didn't get any reality checks that might have shocked and upset them. Truth? Justice? Consensus reality? Who needs it? And NOW look at the mess we're in!
How do we get out of this mess? I confess I don't know. But I suspect that bullets are probably not the best way to go?
"There's also the ancillary problem of the hyper-specialization of society. People today want to see only what they're interested in, rather than a wide range of topics. I grew up in an era where a newspaper or magazine was a literal smorgasbord of loosely related notions, but this is a foreign concept to today's audience where algorithms have narrowed our focus into tight niches to the exclusion of anything else."
This, I believe, is a bad thing. Not only because it leads to a general narrowing of minds, but because the writers (or employers of those writers) of these algorithms can and do use them to isolate us into bubbles which are then frequently pumped full of bullshit. Do you think the orange clown currently in the White House could have gotten there if his MAGA cult had been subjected to frequent reality checks?
Of course not. So the "content providers" made sure the fragile little MAGAs didn't get any reality checks that might have shocked and upset them. Truth? Justice? Consensus reality? Who needs it? And NOW look at the mess we're in!
How do we get out of this mess? I confess I don't know. But I suspect that bullets are probably not the best way to go?
On the road again...
General | Posted 2 months agoSo me and the good wife are on the road again, visiting her dad before cancer finishes the job. Have I mentioned I'm not a fan of cancer?
We developed car trouble, but the really super expensive bit proved to be still under warranty, so we're gonna return home just a little later and poorer than we expected, rather than being stranded and bankrupt. Yay?
Shout-out for Terrie Smith, the original OG of furry fandom:
https://www.furaffinity.net/journal...../#cid:61299696
Even tiny amounts of help make a big difference in these circumstances (I have been in such circumstances more times than I want to recall, so you can take my word for this), so here's your chance to be one of the good guys.
Seriously, being a hero is crazy cheap and easy these days, so why would you not be?
And if you lean more towards villainy, here's your chance to take advantage of a distressed damsel's desperation! So for whichever reasons, go slip her some shimoleons. Either out of the goodness of your heart, or to rip off her art at knock-down prices.
We developed car trouble, but the really super expensive bit proved to be still under warranty, so we're gonna return home just a little later and poorer than we expected, rather than being stranded and bankrupt. Yay?
Shout-out for Terrie Smith, the original OG of furry fandom:
https://www.furaffinity.net/journal...../#cid:61299696
Even tiny amounts of help make a big difference in these circumstances (I have been in such circumstances more times than I want to recall, so you can take my word for this), so here's your chance to be one of the good guys.
Seriously, being a hero is crazy cheap and easy these days, so why would you not be?
And if you lean more towards villainy, here's your chance to take advantage of a distressed damsel's desperation! So for whichever reasons, go slip her some shimoleons. Either out of the goodness of your heart, or to rip off her art at knock-down prices.
Wild East showdown.
General | Posted 2 months agoSeems when some elected officials wanted to inspect some ICE facilities on their home turf, ICE simply arrested 'em and tossed 'em out: https://www.reuters.com/legal/gover.....an-2025-09-19/
Interesting, very interesting. So ICE thinks it's above the law? If any inspections are to be done, the officials will have to bring enough of their own gun-goons to cow ICE into compliance? Is this where the first shots of the second civil war will be fired?
Lots of fun on the horizon. Good thing I already have a gun.
Interesting, very interesting. So ICE thinks it's above the law? If any inspections are to be done, the officials will have to bring enough of their own gun-goons to cow ICE into compliance? Is this where the first shots of the second civil war will be fired?
Lots of fun on the horizon. Good thing I already have a gun.
"Smart people don't like me"
General | Posted 2 months agoThe above title is one of the few truthful statements ever recorded by lil' Donny Trump. But don't sell yourself short, Donny: Pretty much NOBODY actually likes you.
Anybody here remember their grade school bully? The fat kid who tried to make up for being stupid by being mean? That's Trump, throughout his school years. Such creeps might attract some toadies into their orbit. But if the bully goes too far, and gets his ass handed to him by his intended victim? Will his toadies leap to his defense? Hell, no. As soon as the bully's face smacks into the dirt, whoosh, he's all alone. The moment the association with the bully is no longer profitable, away the toadies run.
One thing that puzzled me about the present situation, is how the hell did someone so obviously, publicly stupid, get to be President? Here's a quote from an article in the German newspaper, Die Süddeutsche Zeitung from Munich, called "The Genius of being Stupid."
"Donald Trump, according to the most popular Trump interpretation, is the one his followers would like to be if they had more money and more power - uninhibited by manners, morality, conscience. Inconsiderate, ruthless, mean. Trump is just a little smarter, otherwise he wouldn't have that much money. Where the money comes from is another story - but in recent weeks Trump has provided a few refutable clues to the thesis that he is not smarter, but dumber than his followers.
Trump calculated that some prices had fallen by a thousand percent, which raised the question of whether he could even count from one to one hundred. Trump announced that he would fly to Vladimir Putin in Russia. Apparently he didn't know that Alaska belonged to the United States. And these are just the simplest cases. The fact that, before he negotiated with Putin for the first time, he already promised to fulfill his most important demands to Ukraine, cannot be explained by stupidity. American commentators repeatedly note that most five-year-olds could understand better than Trump who the attackers in Ukraine are and who are the attacked.
...
Trump is stupid, there is hardly any doubt about that. He doesn't play the naive, he doesn't disguise himself as a pure fool, he's not a holy fool. His stupidity has neither ulterior motives nor double bottom, Donald Trump means what he says. In Springfield they eat cats, in Beverly Hills you can only brush your teeth once a day. I, Donald Trump, am a stable genius.
He's stupid, and that explains his moral problems. He cannot have empathy, rules of decency are incomprehensible to him, the suffering of others does not touch him: because it takes a minimum of intelligence for these basic requirements of humanity, the spiritual power to feel into others and to think."
So it seems to me that the money men, the actual billionaires who backed Trump's campaign, were thinking along these lines: "Holy shit, what a cockwomble! But the underclass sees him as one of their own - those morons just might get this moron into the White House! Then all i gotta do is flatter this fragile lil' dimbulb a little, and he'll sign anything I put in front of him! It'll be like I'm the President myself, except that this idiot will catch the blame if anything goes horribly wrong!"
But it seems that the billionaires (Musk very much withstanding) overestimated Trump's intelligence. They thought he would just re-route even more of the economy into their money-bins, not destroy it with idiotic tariffs and ICE raids on car-makers. WHOOPS!
And when the country's on fire, do you think the money-men who got him into office will stand by him and sacrifice their fortunes to repair his damage? HA HA HA HAWWWW! Of course not! They'll be in their private jets, heading for the Bahamas. We peasants, like always, will have to do all the grinding labor it will take to fix Trump's mess. If it is even fixable, by the time one of his lickspittles poisons him or something.
If a man is evil, there's at least the hope that he might reform. But stupid is permanent.
Anybody here remember their grade school bully? The fat kid who tried to make up for being stupid by being mean? That's Trump, throughout his school years. Such creeps might attract some toadies into their orbit. But if the bully goes too far, and gets his ass handed to him by his intended victim? Will his toadies leap to his defense? Hell, no. As soon as the bully's face smacks into the dirt, whoosh, he's all alone. The moment the association with the bully is no longer profitable, away the toadies run.
One thing that puzzled me about the present situation, is how the hell did someone so obviously, publicly stupid, get to be President? Here's a quote from an article in the German newspaper, Die Süddeutsche Zeitung from Munich, called "The Genius of being Stupid."
"Donald Trump, according to the most popular Trump interpretation, is the one his followers would like to be if they had more money and more power - uninhibited by manners, morality, conscience. Inconsiderate, ruthless, mean. Trump is just a little smarter, otherwise he wouldn't have that much money. Where the money comes from is another story - but in recent weeks Trump has provided a few refutable clues to the thesis that he is not smarter, but dumber than his followers.
Trump calculated that some prices had fallen by a thousand percent, which raised the question of whether he could even count from one to one hundred. Trump announced that he would fly to Vladimir Putin in Russia. Apparently he didn't know that Alaska belonged to the United States. And these are just the simplest cases. The fact that, before he negotiated with Putin for the first time, he already promised to fulfill his most important demands to Ukraine, cannot be explained by stupidity. American commentators repeatedly note that most five-year-olds could understand better than Trump who the attackers in Ukraine are and who are the attacked.
...
Trump is stupid, there is hardly any doubt about that. He doesn't play the naive, he doesn't disguise himself as a pure fool, he's not a holy fool. His stupidity has neither ulterior motives nor double bottom, Donald Trump means what he says. In Springfield they eat cats, in Beverly Hills you can only brush your teeth once a day. I, Donald Trump, am a stable genius.
He's stupid, and that explains his moral problems. He cannot have empathy, rules of decency are incomprehensible to him, the suffering of others does not touch him: because it takes a minimum of intelligence for these basic requirements of humanity, the spiritual power to feel into others and to think."
So it seems to me that the money men, the actual billionaires who backed Trump's campaign, were thinking along these lines: "Holy shit, what a cockwomble! But the underclass sees him as one of their own - those morons just might get this moron into the White House! Then all i gotta do is flatter this fragile lil' dimbulb a little, and he'll sign anything I put in front of him! It'll be like I'm the President myself, except that this idiot will catch the blame if anything goes horribly wrong!"
But it seems that the billionaires (Musk very much withstanding) overestimated Trump's intelligence. They thought he would just re-route even more of the economy into their money-bins, not destroy it with idiotic tariffs and ICE raids on car-makers. WHOOPS!
And when the country's on fire, do you think the money-men who got him into office will stand by him and sacrifice their fortunes to repair his damage? HA HA HA HAWWWW! Of course not! They'll be in their private jets, heading for the Bahamas. We peasants, like always, will have to do all the grinding labor it will take to fix Trump's mess. If it is even fixable, by the time one of his lickspittles poisons him or something.
If a man is evil, there's at least the hope that he might reform. But stupid is permanent.
The house the Republicans hate.
General | Posted 3 months agoLast night, I realized my household consists of an immigrant, a teacher, a Trans person, and a brown person. Daisy the dog is the only one in this house the Republicans are not on record as hating with a blind fury. Well, guess who we won't be voting for. How did MAD magazine put it, "A super-Patriot is someone who loves his country, while hating 90% of the people in it".
Here I am, warts and all.
General | Posted 3 months agoSeeing how there's a raging haboob ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haboob ) of bullshit, I mean politics, blowing through America right now, I thought I might save my readers some time and trouble by clarifying my position:
I'm your basic mushy social democrat. I know us "Why can't we all just get along" folks aren't getting any respect right now, but this is me, "stuck in the middle with you". It's not my fault they seem to have moved the goalposts to where I can't even see them.
Disappointed there's nothing to fly into a fit of screaming outrage about? OK, I'll throw you a bone: Both the extreme Left and the extreme Right suck each end of the exact same steaming turd. This polarization is downright unhealthy, both for the participants in particular, and America in general. When the culture clash has degenerated to the point of straight-up murder, you have gone too far. Take a deep breath and a step back from the brink, pretty please?
Speaking of murder, don't forget that both extremes want us dead. Leaping to the defense of people who would happily see you shipped off to a concentration camp, might not be the best use of your time and energy.
I'm your basic mushy social democrat. I know us "Why can't we all just get along" folks aren't getting any respect right now, but this is me, "stuck in the middle with you". It's not my fault they seem to have moved the goalposts to where I can't even see them.
Disappointed there's nothing to fly into a fit of screaming outrage about? OK, I'll throw you a bone: Both the extreme Left and the extreme Right suck each end of the exact same steaming turd. This polarization is downright unhealthy, both for the participants in particular, and America in general. When the culture clash has degenerated to the point of straight-up murder, you have gone too far. Take a deep breath and a step back from the brink, pretty please?
Speaking of murder, don't forget that both extremes want us dead. Leaping to the defense of people who would happily see you shipped off to a concentration camp, might not be the best use of your time and energy.
I was right! Damn, I hate that.
General | Posted 3 months agoSo me and an ol' pal that I've semi-permanently loaned my scooter to, made a date at a motorcycle dealership for nine AM, to swap out the scooter's drive belt. I get stuck for a bit as a slow-moving freight train crosses my path, but I still make it to the motorcycle place at nine on the dot. I sign up for the repairs, hand 'em the new drive belt, and sit down to wait for my friend to show up.
But he doesn't. So my brain, as it usually does, immediately goes to the worst-case scenario: My friend hasn't shown up, and hasn't called to explain why, because he's had a terrible auto accident. He's too severely injured to communicate! Or even dead! Augh!
But about an hour into my wait, I finally get a text from him. And find out I was right. In his own words:
"Had some little red car playing brake check, checked me and then flew across 3 lanes, did it to someone else, and kept going. 20 seconds or so later, an SUV brakes suddenly. I tried to do the same, but couldn't shed enough momentum. Totaled the scooter. I hit knee and then helmet into the vehicle and blacked out. Woke up with my leg caught in the handlebars and my back laying across the exhaust pipe."
Well, fuck that asshole in the little red car. Bet he took off laughing at the damage he'd done. I hope Karma catches up to 'em soon.
Anyway, I brought some shirts to my pal in the ER (the EMTs had cut his shirt(s) off him). Fortunately, his helmet had done its job, and he eventually staggered out of there with just a skinned knee and sore neck. His roomie was there to haul him home - the 3 of us stopped for eats on the way. You always hope it's a waste of money when you're buying safety equipment like helmets - but they sure are a good thing to have when you need 'em. Without that helmet, he'd likely be dead.
I suppose I've been putting off calling the insurance company by typing this. And I gotta check where they hauled the wrecked scooter. Impound lots charge by the day. Ugh, I hate that shit. But nothing's finished until the paperwork is done, they tell me.
But he doesn't. So my brain, as it usually does, immediately goes to the worst-case scenario: My friend hasn't shown up, and hasn't called to explain why, because he's had a terrible auto accident. He's too severely injured to communicate! Or even dead! Augh!
But about an hour into my wait, I finally get a text from him. And find out I was right. In his own words:
"Had some little red car playing brake check, checked me and then flew across 3 lanes, did it to someone else, and kept going. 20 seconds or so later, an SUV brakes suddenly. I tried to do the same, but couldn't shed enough momentum. Totaled the scooter. I hit knee and then helmet into the vehicle and blacked out. Woke up with my leg caught in the handlebars and my back laying across the exhaust pipe."
Well, fuck that asshole in the little red car. Bet he took off laughing at the damage he'd done. I hope Karma catches up to 'em soon.
Anyway, I brought some shirts to my pal in the ER (the EMTs had cut his shirt(s) off him). Fortunately, his helmet had done its job, and he eventually staggered out of there with just a skinned knee and sore neck. His roomie was there to haul him home - the 3 of us stopped for eats on the way. You always hope it's a waste of money when you're buying safety equipment like helmets - but they sure are a good thing to have when you need 'em. Without that helmet, he'd likely be dead.
I suppose I've been putting off calling the insurance company by typing this. And I gotta check where they hauled the wrecked scooter. Impound lots charge by the day. Ugh, I hate that shit. But nothing's finished until the paperwork is done, they tell me.
NO! Stop that!
General | Posted 3 months agoOne of the quirks of human psychology that perennially interests me is the blindness that partisans have for the mistakes, fuckups and outright crimes of "their side". Leftists can't see any of the damage wrought by leftwing violence (riots, arson, targeted murder, etc). Heck Tankies can't see the pile of dead left by Stalin, even though it's made of sixty MILLION skulls. You can see a pile like that from orbit!
Same for the right-wing. Hey, genius: The reason that violent criminals are now disguising themselves as ICE agents is because the behavior of said agents has become indistinguishable from that of violent criminals. In what world is that OK?
What brought this on was the report of the murder of some fella called Charlie Kirk. I didn't know who that was, so I looked him up. Seems he was a right-wing Trumpskite who mainly tried to talk people into seeing things his way. And that, kids, is the right way to do it! Talk, debate. If your arguments are shit, this shittiness will be exposed as your debate partners club you with the truth.
You do not refute verbal arguments with murder. MURDER IS BAD! BAD, BAD, BAD!!! The Nazis murdered ten million people in their concentration camps, and no-one but an idiot thinks they were right about anything.
Civil wars (have I mentioned they suck?) are not won by whoever is the most Politically Correct. They are won by whoever has the better organization, numbers and weapons. So stop trying to start one! Stop murdering people for speech! It's wrong and bad and Unamerican!
Same for the right-wing. Hey, genius: The reason that violent criminals are now disguising themselves as ICE agents is because the behavior of said agents has become indistinguishable from that of violent criminals. In what world is that OK?
What brought this on was the report of the murder of some fella called Charlie Kirk. I didn't know who that was, so I looked him up. Seems he was a right-wing Trumpskite who mainly tried to talk people into seeing things his way. And that, kids, is the right way to do it! Talk, debate. If your arguments are shit, this shittiness will be exposed as your debate partners club you with the truth.
You do not refute verbal arguments with murder. MURDER IS BAD! BAD, BAD, BAD!!! The Nazis murdered ten million people in their concentration camps, and no-one but an idiot thinks they were right about anything.
Civil wars (have I mentioned they suck?) are not won by whoever is the most Politically Correct. They are won by whoever has the better organization, numbers and weapons. So stop trying to start one! Stop murdering people for speech! It's wrong and bad and Unamerican!
Shitstorm Trump aftermath.
General | Posted 3 months agoIt's possible that if your average MAGAt is sitting and staring at his empty plate, one of his neurons might make a heroic effort to connect to the other one, and deliver the message "Hey....this isn't good!". Empty stomachs have been known to bring even the most deluded suckers back to reality.
So if there's an election for President in 2028, the chances are excellent that the new Prez will be a Democrat. Which brings up an obvious problem: What's the new Prez supposed to do with all the idiot toadies that Trump's installed throughout the federal bureaucracy? The spectacularly incompetent lick-spittles whose sole qualification for their jobs is slavish subservience to Trump?
If every election is followed by a Purge of the previous administrations' appointees, the political parties will become desperate not to lose. And didn't i say I don't want to be ruled by whichever pack of crooks cheats the hardest? That way Civil War lurks, and they suck.
And while we're on the subject, what are the Republicans gonna do with themselves after Trump croaks? (Mmmm, aahhhh, let me enjoy that thought for a moment....) A personality cult without a personality to worship is a pretty pointless exercise. Can anyone name a recent cult leader whose cult didn't evaporate after said leader kicked the bucket? Yes, I know about the Mormons. I said RECENT cults.
Yes, I'm sure the Repubs can trot out any number of sociopathic criminals who are even more greedy, cruel, stupid, cowardly and racist than Trump. But will they have popular appeal? Can the Repubs catch the Golden Turd twice? Nobody's gonna rally behind the ol' Couchfucker, that's for sure.
Change is coming, probably before we're ready for it. It's just I have this crazy dream of these changes not being for the worse? Wouldn't that be nice?
So if there's an election for President in 2028, the chances are excellent that the new Prez will be a Democrat. Which brings up an obvious problem: What's the new Prez supposed to do with all the idiot toadies that Trump's installed throughout the federal bureaucracy? The spectacularly incompetent lick-spittles whose sole qualification for their jobs is slavish subservience to Trump?
If every election is followed by a Purge of the previous administrations' appointees, the political parties will become desperate not to lose. And didn't i say I don't want to be ruled by whichever pack of crooks cheats the hardest? That way Civil War lurks, and they suck.
And while we're on the subject, what are the Republicans gonna do with themselves after Trump croaks? (Mmmm, aahhhh, let me enjoy that thought for a moment....) A personality cult without a personality to worship is a pretty pointless exercise. Can anyone name a recent cult leader whose cult didn't evaporate after said leader kicked the bucket? Yes, I know about the Mormons. I said RECENT cults.
Yes, I'm sure the Repubs can trot out any number of sociopathic criminals who are even more greedy, cruel, stupid, cowardly and racist than Trump. But will they have popular appeal? Can the Repubs catch the Golden Turd twice? Nobody's gonna rally behind the ol' Couchfucker, that's for sure.
Change is coming, probably before we're ready for it. It's just I have this crazy dream of these changes not being for the worse? Wouldn't that be nice?
*sigh* MORE distractions.
General | Posted 3 months agoI was tempted to click on an article in Daily Kos that claimed "The MAGAs find a gun control law they like". Seems someone, somewhere deep in the DOJ bureaucracy, was caught on a hot mic wondering if it would be possible to ban Trans people from gun ownership. And since all True Believers know gun owners are racist trans-haters, the article condescendingly assumed we'd be all for this.
But in the real world, the answer came back pretty quick: Oh HELL no!
https://reason.com/2025/09/06/major.....m-owning-guns/
Quotes: "But as Reason's Jacob Sullum wrote, the idea is "legally loony." There is no statutory authority for such a categorical decree. Even if Congress did pass such a law, it would be unconstitutional based on current Supreme Court precedent and prevailing circuit court opinions. If the Trump administration was hoping to get a pass from gun-rights groups over these small details, it will be disappointed. Categorical bans—issued by executive fiat no less—have been a red line for pro-Second Amendment groups and lawmakers for decades.
"The NRA supports the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans to purchase, possess and use firearms," the organization posted Friday on X. "The NRA does not, and will not, support any policy proposals that implement sweeping gun bans that arbitrarily strip law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights without due process."
Pretty much every gun group that's heard of this nonsense has condemned it:
"Stephen Gutowski, an independent journalist covering gun rights and the gun industry, reported that the NRA wasn't alone: "Every major gun-rights group has now spoken against the idea of the DOJ trying to strip trans people of their gun rights en masse," he posted on X Friday.
Gutowski's tally included Gun Owners of America, the Second Amendment Foundation, the Firearms Policy Coalition, the National Association for Gun Rights, and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms."
It seems not everyone has forgotten what usually happens to minority groups after the government forcefully disarms them. This moronic Nazi bullshit will never fly. But it seems that whispering the idea of such nonsense to "influencers" makes a good distraction. Looka me, wasting several minutes of good typing time on it.
But in the real world, the answer came back pretty quick: Oh HELL no!
https://reason.com/2025/09/06/major.....m-owning-guns/
Quotes: "But as Reason's Jacob Sullum wrote, the idea is "legally loony." There is no statutory authority for such a categorical decree. Even if Congress did pass such a law, it would be unconstitutional based on current Supreme Court precedent and prevailing circuit court opinions. If the Trump administration was hoping to get a pass from gun-rights groups over these small details, it will be disappointed. Categorical bans—issued by executive fiat no less—have been a red line for pro-Second Amendment groups and lawmakers for decades.
"The NRA supports the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans to purchase, possess and use firearms," the organization posted Friday on X. "The NRA does not, and will not, support any policy proposals that implement sweeping gun bans that arbitrarily strip law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights without due process."
Pretty much every gun group that's heard of this nonsense has condemned it:
"Stephen Gutowski, an independent journalist covering gun rights and the gun industry, reported that the NRA wasn't alone: "Every major gun-rights group has now spoken against the idea of the DOJ trying to strip trans people of their gun rights en masse," he posted on X Friday.
Gutowski's tally included Gun Owners of America, the Second Amendment Foundation, the Firearms Policy Coalition, the National Association for Gun Rights, and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms."
It seems not everyone has forgotten what usually happens to minority groups after the government forcefully disarms them. This moronic Nazi bullshit will never fly. But it seems that whispering the idea of such nonsense to "influencers" makes a good distraction. Looka me, wasting several minutes of good typing time on it.
Distraction carousel speeds up.
General | Posted 3 months agoSo one side effect of Team Trump's dismantling of American governance (turns out cruel acts can be blamed on both stupidity AND malice), just to appease his hurt widdle feelings, is a massively ramped-up need to distract us from this shit-avalanche.
When a Texas fella is sitting on the roof of his flooded-out house, and FEMA is not coming, what will keep him from thinking that maybe Trump all but shutting down FEMA, was a bad idea?
And I imagine that people who've had close family kidnapped by ICE aren't too enthused about that either. And how about all the small businesses facing bankruptcy because of Trump's tariffs?
So when the oligarchy's media try to get you to swallow distracting brainworms, here's a simple question you can fight back with: "WHY SHOULD I CARE"?
You should care about climate change, because it can make you a refugee, or even kill you. And being dispossessed, even killed, is bad.
But, for example, the "Trans issue"? Pfft! Who cares? So some guys like to think they're women, and wear dresses and makeup. So what? Does that break my leg or pick my pocket? It does not. I have no reason to care.
And if a hairy lummox gets in your face, loudly demanding "correct" pronouns, and suchlike? That's not a trans-woman. That's an asshole. So... just call them an asshole. It's a nice, non-gendered word, that accurately describes 'em. Problem solved! If you can even call such a cheap distraction from real issues a problem.
As for women presenting as men, there's long been a word for 'em: Bull-dyke. I know a couple, and they're fine folks. They're not spending any of their time and energy on destroying the country, as far as I know. Y'know, like Trump and his idiot toadies unabashedly ARE doing?
Go ahead, try applying the "Why should I care" question to the other issues occupying your brain. Your job? Yes, you should care, as your job provides the money that keeps you from starving in the gutter, hopefully.
Your spouse? Yes, you should definitely care about them. If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
Furry fandom? Heh! A bunch of arrested development weirdoes wearing bunny pajamas? Harmless. Don't spend any clock-cycles worrying about them.
....And so on and so forth. See how it works?
When a Texas fella is sitting on the roof of his flooded-out house, and FEMA is not coming, what will keep him from thinking that maybe Trump all but shutting down FEMA, was a bad idea?
And I imagine that people who've had close family kidnapped by ICE aren't too enthused about that either. And how about all the small businesses facing bankruptcy because of Trump's tariffs?
So when the oligarchy's media try to get you to swallow distracting brainworms, here's a simple question you can fight back with: "WHY SHOULD I CARE"?
You should care about climate change, because it can make you a refugee, or even kill you. And being dispossessed, even killed, is bad.
But, for example, the "Trans issue"? Pfft! Who cares? So some guys like to think they're women, and wear dresses and makeup. So what? Does that break my leg or pick my pocket? It does not. I have no reason to care.
And if a hairy lummox gets in your face, loudly demanding "correct" pronouns, and suchlike? That's not a trans-woman. That's an asshole. So... just call them an asshole. It's a nice, non-gendered word, that accurately describes 'em. Problem solved! If you can even call such a cheap distraction from real issues a problem.
As for women presenting as men, there's long been a word for 'em: Bull-dyke. I know a couple, and they're fine folks. They're not spending any of their time and energy on destroying the country, as far as I know. Y'know, like Trump and his idiot toadies unabashedly ARE doing?
Go ahead, try applying the "Why should I care" question to the other issues occupying your brain. Your job? Yes, you should care, as your job provides the money that keeps you from starving in the gutter, hopefully.
Your spouse? Yes, you should definitely care about them. If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
Furry fandom? Heh! A bunch of arrested development weirdoes wearing bunny pajamas? Harmless. Don't spend any clock-cycles worrying about them.
....And so on and so forth. See how it works?
