It was not quite 28 years ago that Roseanne Barr made a fool of herself in front of about 30,000 baseball fans in San Diego. In doing so she also managed to enrage millions of other Americans, mostly of the right wing persuasion. The occasion was a July 25th, 1990 game between the Padres and Cincinnati Reds. That evening, Ms. Barr delivered a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, so out of tune, so skewed, and surreally brutal, it amounted to an audio version of a Ralph Steadman illustration--although one completely devoid of the artist's keen sense of satire.
Times have certainly changed.
Somewhere along the way, Barr gave up what might be considered really bad performance art in favor of Twitter. Well why not? It is, after all, a new age and social media has evolved to the point you can offend and insult scads of people without having to travel to San Diego, or anywhere else for that matter.
In that same time frame, she also became a big fan of Don Trump and the conspiracy theories he and his fellow travelers bring to the table. That's in addition to a taste, just like The Big Orange Guy, for late night-early morning escapades on the keypad.
The other night she let loose with a series of those alternative fact tweets. One claimed Chelsea Clinton was in some way related by marriage to the second biggest bugaboo of ultra right wing hacks, George Soros. Another was that Soros himself was a former Nazi collaborator. Neither is true, but, as we know, the truth has little to do with right wing conspiracy theories.
If that had been it, Roseanne Barr's TV show and career would have probably survived after some minor outrage from Clinton aficionados. When it comes to Soros, he is used to this constant libelous insanity and refuses to respond when two bit right wing loons attempt to disparage him.
The trouble was Barr posted another tweet. This one had to with Valerie Jarrett, a former advisor to Barack Obama--the BIGGEST of all right wing bugaboos. Jarrett is an African American woman who was born in Iran to American parents in 1956. Barr's tweet described, Ms. Jarrett as an ape fathered by The Muslim Brotherhood.
For those of you who lack knowledge of America's racial history and the vile slang associated with it, in this country when a white person calls a black person an ape, or monkey he, or she is employing a synonym for the word, nigger.
If anyone says different they're either lying to you, or themselves.
In the United States we like to say we have free speech. There are a few limitations, though. The most famous exception is you can't yell fire in a crowded theater when there isn't one. However, even when you say something not against the law, no matter how obnoxious, that doesn't mean your words don't come with consequences. You are, in the end, responsible for what you say, or write at 3am in the morning.
A prime example would be Ted Nugent. When he compared then president Obama to a coyote pissing in American living rooms it was fine. When he added that the owners of the living rooms were at fault for the damage if they didn't shoot the coyote, he got a visit from the Secret Service.
Barr's behavior since the shit hit the fan has called into question her mental health status. At first she apologized. She claimed it was a crude, ill conceived, joke. Next she blamed the tweets on the side effects of a sleep aid called Ambien. Then, she declared she was quitting Twitter altogether. After the somewhat suspect remorse and panicked excuses failed to sway ABC and the network cancelled her show anyway she jumped right back on the medium.
One of her first acts was to tweet a photo of actress/talk show host, Whoopi Goldberg wearing a tee shirt depicting Trump committing suicide. Barr claimed the tweet was posted in order to expose the network's, "hypocrisy." The photo was a complete photo shopped fake. The tee shirt Goldberg wore at a woman's march read, "Think I'm a nasty lady now? Buckle up buttercup." Then, after Ms. Barr's fellow sitcom cast members began to criticize her tweets, she howled they had, with cruel disloyalty, thrown her under the bus.
Donald Trump, being, well, Donald Trump, inserted himself into the turmoil. After Robert Iger issued an apology to Jarrett on behalf of ABC and the Walt Disney Co, Trump demanded to know why Iger had never apologized to him for all the, "HORRIBLE" things the Disney CEO has said about him.
Of course, Trump isn't black and Iger never called him what amounts to the, "N," word, but when that ego runs amok, hey, details just get in the way.
On the bright side for Barr, Alex Jones has invited her on Info Wars to combat all this, "thought control," and the aforementioned Ted Nugent has her back on Twitter. So, maybe her media career isn't over. There will always be room for an occasional guest host spot on Jones' show and perhaps she can tour with Nugent, although, thanks to that night in San Diego, we know she can't sing.
This, like everything else, will blow over as soon as some other idiot spouts off a new round of horrendous nonsense. My money is on that gruesome little fascist shit, Stephen Miller. In the meantime we need to recognize the truth. It is, first, the Obama presidency taught us that, despite all the shrill denials, racism in America is still around. Second, Trump's presence in the White House has emboldened it. And third, Roseanne Barr's tweets have personified it.
Thank God, Bob Iger had the guts to say enough is enough and fire her ass.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'll see you at the bar.
5-31-18
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Monday, May 28, 2018
Memorial Day 2018: More Dead Kids Than Combat Troops
In Donald John Trump's never ending campaign to demonize all Hispanic immigrants he loves to talk about the presence of the gang, Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13 on Long Island, NY. As late as Wednesday he described them this way: "...a ruthless gang that has violated our borders and transformed once peaceful neighborhoods into blood stained killing fields."
No, I'm not here to defend MS-13, or its criminal and sometimes deadly activities. I am, however, questioning what constitutes a blood stained killing field, in Don Trump's over ripe brain. Apparently not that much since research by The Daily Caller shows the gang was involved in four Long Island killings in the past 12 months.
That would be 13 fewer victims of murder than was amassed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL on a single February day this year.
Across the globe in Afghanistan which is--you know--a fucking war zone, 17 U.S. troops were killed in combat operations during 2017. That's 14 fewer than the number of students and teachers killed in American schools since January this year. In Iraq, during 2017, 23 fewer American service men and women were killed than people going to places that issue grades in stuff like math.
The New York Times ran a list of this testimony to American exceptionalism immediately after the shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas. To keep things as simple as possible they threw out any shootings which occurred on, or near school properties without casualties, wounded, or otherwise. They also didn't count, "several," that involved people committing suicide on campuses.
What they found was, beginning with January 22nd this year in Italy, TX there have been 10 school shootings spread out from Kentucky to California that have either killed, or wounded students and teachers.
After the Santa Fe horror, MSNBC played to liberal fears by claiming the total was over 20. FOX attempted to reassure its many times delusional audience by claiming there had only been five.
Whatever the number, we do know for sure 31 human beings have been murdered in American public schools and at least 49 have been wounded so far in the year of our Lord, 2018. Most of them have been teenagers. All of them were shot, not while facing a platoon of enemy combatants, but because they didn't play hooky the day some loon went off his nut with an easily obtained weapon.
Even though Donald J. Trump has never referred to American schools as blood stained killing fields, he swore he'd do something after the massacre in Parkland. Then, literally a day after making that promise he had lunch with some NRA executives and decided doing nothing instead was the more advantageous political strategy. Most members of congress, especially those in the house, live in such fear of NRA retribution they won't even utter a whisper about some sort of common sense gun control.
As for the NRA, well, we all know what they think--everyone, including my four year old grandson should be carrying a gun, "for self defense." That mandate also includes guys like Alex Tilghman, who posted a YouTube video of demonic ducks tormenting him just yards from the OKC restaurant he shot up a few days later.
No other industrialized country on this blue ball puts up with this crazed shit. And correspondingly no other industrialized country has to seriously consider turning its schools into the type of armed fortresses not seen since the age of Vietnam fire bases.
Yes, we may be free, but we're also the only place on earth where you can end up with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, not induced by intense overseas combat, but from simply attending Mrs. Tisdale's art class on the wrong Friday.
Given these circumstances, this Memorial Day we might want to consider not just remembering our war dead, but those killed in our schools as well. Hey, why not? As the stats show, the cemeteries are currently filling up with kids who attend class more quickly than they are with members of the military deployed in combat areas.
sic vita est
5-28-18
No, I'm not here to defend MS-13, or its criminal and sometimes deadly activities. I am, however, questioning what constitutes a blood stained killing field, in Don Trump's over ripe brain. Apparently not that much since research by The Daily Caller shows the gang was involved in four Long Island killings in the past 12 months.
That would be 13 fewer victims of murder than was amassed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL on a single February day this year.
Across the globe in Afghanistan which is--you know--a fucking war zone, 17 U.S. troops were killed in combat operations during 2017. That's 14 fewer than the number of students and teachers killed in American schools since January this year. In Iraq, during 2017, 23 fewer American service men and women were killed than people going to places that issue grades in stuff like math.
The New York Times ran a list of this testimony to American exceptionalism immediately after the shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas. To keep things as simple as possible they threw out any shootings which occurred on, or near school properties without casualties, wounded, or otherwise. They also didn't count, "several," that involved people committing suicide on campuses.
What they found was, beginning with January 22nd this year in Italy, TX there have been 10 school shootings spread out from Kentucky to California that have either killed, or wounded students and teachers.
After the Santa Fe horror, MSNBC played to liberal fears by claiming the total was over 20. FOX attempted to reassure its many times delusional audience by claiming there had only been five.
Whatever the number, we do know for sure 31 human beings have been murdered in American public schools and at least 49 have been wounded so far in the year of our Lord, 2018. Most of them have been teenagers. All of them were shot, not while facing a platoon of enemy combatants, but because they didn't play hooky the day some loon went off his nut with an easily obtained weapon.
Even though Donald J. Trump has never referred to American schools as blood stained killing fields, he swore he'd do something after the massacre in Parkland. Then, literally a day after making that promise he had lunch with some NRA executives and decided doing nothing instead was the more advantageous political strategy. Most members of congress, especially those in the house, live in such fear of NRA retribution they won't even utter a whisper about some sort of common sense gun control.
As for the NRA, well, we all know what they think--everyone, including my four year old grandson should be carrying a gun, "for self defense." That mandate also includes guys like Alex Tilghman, who posted a YouTube video of demonic ducks tormenting him just yards from the OKC restaurant he shot up a few days later.
No other industrialized country on this blue ball puts up with this crazed shit. And correspondingly no other industrialized country has to seriously consider turning its schools into the type of armed fortresses not seen since the age of Vietnam fire bases.
Yes, we may be free, but we're also the only place on earth where you can end up with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, not induced by intense overseas combat, but from simply attending Mrs. Tisdale's art class on the wrong Friday.
Given these circumstances, this Memorial Day we might want to consider not just remembering our war dead, but those killed in our schools as well. Hey, why not? As the stats show, the cemeteries are currently filling up with kids who attend class more quickly than they are with members of the military deployed in combat areas.
sic vita est
5-28-18
Friday, May 25, 2018
Last Night's Dinner at Louie's
A number of years ago, while he was still the head coach of the University of Oklahoma football team, Bob Stoops decided to invest some of his hard earned cash in a new bar and grill located across the street from the campus. He chose to name it after his dog, Louie.
Stoops obviously didn't have the time, or expertise to run the enterprise, so an outfit called the Hal Smith Restaurant Group took control of the operation. The concept was casual dining, paired with typical American food. The place featured a lot of TV's with sports playing continuously on each and every one of them. There was also a bar which to this day sells wildly over priced drinks on game days.
The idea took off and soon Louie's were popping up all over the state. Fairly quickly one showed up on the east shore of Lake Hefner which is located on the northwest side of Oklahoma City. It features a couple of different patios overlooking the water and at the right moment on clear days, a great view of the sun setting on the other side of what is essentially a two mile wide man made pond.
Last night, around 6:30 pm it was full of patrons as it typically is. Then a guy, who police identify as 28 year old, Alexander C. Tilghman showed up. Reports say he was wearing the type of ear protectors normally seen at gun ranges. At least one witness said he was also wearing protective eye goggles. In addition he was carrying a side arm.
Everyone in America can guess what happened next.
That's right, the fucker opened fire. It still isn't completely clear whether he was actually in the restaurant, on the patio, or the lawn next to it when he did. It's also unknown why he did it. Initial police reports say it was a random act which isn't unusual these days, but right now that doesn't ring completely true.
Two adult women were reported wounded along with a young girl who was shot through the abdomen and in the tailbone. At least one of the adults and the girl were attending a birthday party. A man who was there broke his arm when he dove for cover. After wounding all three of the women, Tilghman apparently left the restaurant, seemingly uninterested in inflicting further casualties.
A witness to the shooting, Ron Benton told local NBC affiliate, KFOR he fled the restaurant after the shooting stopped, then spotted Tilghman walking on a sidewalk outside. He also saw a car with two men exit the parking lot, then do a turn around.
According to Benton, "A guy jumped out of it and went for the back of his vehicle. I just assumed it was an off duty police officer, or something like that. It was just the way he moved, whoever it was. He just appeared to be somebody who had some training, some weapon training."
After the shooter refused commands to drop his weapon shots were exchanged and Alexander Tilghman was killed.
The two men in the car, Juan Carlos Nazario--citizenship status no doubt soon to be investigated by ICE--and Bryan Whittle were immediately proclaimed heroes. In a moment of pure orgasmic ecstasy one local TV reporter stated, "This is the exact purpose of conceal and carry!" He failed to speculate if Tilghman might have also had a conceal and carry permit, obviously leaving such details for later analysis by cooler heads in the studio. No one has publicly said which of the two Samaritans ultimately brought the shooter to his end.
The smoke had barely cleared before the NRA was hot on Twitter proclaiming their never ending mantra about good guys with guns being the only thing that can stop bad guys with one is unassailably true. The organization also took swipes at Oklahoma republican Governor Mary Fallin for recently vetoing a bill which would have allowed anybody in the state to carry a hand gun without any training, or a license and would have weakened back ground checks. You know--on people exactly like Alexander C. Tilghman.
In addition, Benton's assessment that both Nazario and Wittle appeared to have weapons training--thereby validating Fallin's decision--didn't seem to enter the overly fogged brain of whoever tweeted that NRA bull shit.
Well, what do you expect? Once you're locked into a manifestly insane dogma there is no room for doubt, or intellect. Indeed, go with the raw emotion of the moment. Don't muddle things by spending time thinking about how this latest episode of gun violence actually went down.
Meanwhile, earlier today, a Noblesville, Indiana teen ager wounded a teacher and fellow student at his middle school. The shooter is reported to have fired up to 16 rounds before being tackled by an unarmed science teacher, who knocked his weapon away during the struggle. The kid is now in custody. The condition of his victims is currently unknown.
The NRA has yet to offer up their opinion on this latest school shooting and its outcome. Don't worry though. If we know anything, besides summer vacation can't get here fast enough, it is they will. And whatever it ends up being, it will be just as demented as it always is.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the bar is most definitely open.
sic vita est
5-25-18
Stoops obviously didn't have the time, or expertise to run the enterprise, so an outfit called the Hal Smith Restaurant Group took control of the operation. The concept was casual dining, paired with typical American food. The place featured a lot of TV's with sports playing continuously on each and every one of them. There was also a bar which to this day sells wildly over priced drinks on game days.
The idea took off and soon Louie's were popping up all over the state. Fairly quickly one showed up on the east shore of Lake Hefner which is located on the northwest side of Oklahoma City. It features a couple of different patios overlooking the water and at the right moment on clear days, a great view of the sun setting on the other side of what is essentially a two mile wide man made pond.
Last night, around 6:30 pm it was full of patrons as it typically is. Then a guy, who police identify as 28 year old, Alexander C. Tilghman showed up. Reports say he was wearing the type of ear protectors normally seen at gun ranges. At least one witness said he was also wearing protective eye goggles. In addition he was carrying a side arm.
Everyone in America can guess what happened next.
That's right, the fucker opened fire. It still isn't completely clear whether he was actually in the restaurant, on the patio, or the lawn next to it when he did. It's also unknown why he did it. Initial police reports say it was a random act which isn't unusual these days, but right now that doesn't ring completely true.
Two adult women were reported wounded along with a young girl who was shot through the abdomen and in the tailbone. At least one of the adults and the girl were attending a birthday party. A man who was there broke his arm when he dove for cover. After wounding all three of the women, Tilghman apparently left the restaurant, seemingly uninterested in inflicting further casualties.
A witness to the shooting, Ron Benton told local NBC affiliate, KFOR he fled the restaurant after the shooting stopped, then spotted Tilghman walking on a sidewalk outside. He also saw a car with two men exit the parking lot, then do a turn around.
According to Benton, "A guy jumped out of it and went for the back of his vehicle. I just assumed it was an off duty police officer, or something like that. It was just the way he moved, whoever it was. He just appeared to be somebody who had some training, some weapon training."
After the shooter refused commands to drop his weapon shots were exchanged and Alexander Tilghman was killed.
The two men in the car, Juan Carlos Nazario--citizenship status no doubt soon to be investigated by ICE--and Bryan Whittle were immediately proclaimed heroes. In a moment of pure orgasmic ecstasy one local TV reporter stated, "This is the exact purpose of conceal and carry!" He failed to speculate if Tilghman might have also had a conceal and carry permit, obviously leaving such details for later analysis by cooler heads in the studio. No one has publicly said which of the two Samaritans ultimately brought the shooter to his end.
The smoke had barely cleared before the NRA was hot on Twitter proclaiming their never ending mantra about good guys with guns being the only thing that can stop bad guys with one is unassailably true. The organization also took swipes at Oklahoma republican Governor Mary Fallin for recently vetoing a bill which would have allowed anybody in the state to carry a hand gun without any training, or a license and would have weakened back ground checks. You know--on people exactly like Alexander C. Tilghman.
In addition, Benton's assessment that both Nazario and Wittle appeared to have weapons training--thereby validating Fallin's decision--didn't seem to enter the overly fogged brain of whoever tweeted that NRA bull shit.
Well, what do you expect? Once you're locked into a manifestly insane dogma there is no room for doubt, or intellect. Indeed, go with the raw emotion of the moment. Don't muddle things by spending time thinking about how this latest episode of gun violence actually went down.
Meanwhile, earlier today, a Noblesville, Indiana teen ager wounded a teacher and fellow student at his middle school. The shooter is reported to have fired up to 16 rounds before being tackled by an unarmed science teacher, who knocked his weapon away during the struggle. The kid is now in custody. The condition of his victims is currently unknown.
The NRA has yet to offer up their opinion on this latest school shooting and its outcome. Don't worry though. If we know anything, besides summer vacation can't get here fast enough, it is they will. And whatever it ends up being, it will be just as demented as it always is.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the bar is most definitely open.
sic vita est
5-25-18
Monday, May 21, 2018
Santa Fe, Texas: Here We Go Again in the Land of the Free
To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, here we go again.
This latest iteration of the ongoing carnage that marks America's sordid sexual affair with guns and the violence they bring occurred in Santa Fe, TX, a small burg about half way between Houston and Galveston.
This insanity is going down so fast these days cable news networks can't even agree on the number of shooting incidents that have happened at schools in this year of our Lord, 2018. MSNBC reported Friday's nightmare was the 22nd, while FOX said it was the fifth.
Well who is really counting any more? I mean let's face it, at this point the only thing that's going to stop these hyper violent moments of madness is the start of summer vacation--which can't get here quick enough for everybody.
Eight Santa Fe students and two teachers are dead. One of them is a girl who had recently, and quite publicly, told her soon to be killer there was no way in hell she was going to date him, so he might as well stop bugging her about it.
17 year old, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, fit the profile of a high school shooter so perfectly that he was, in fact, nothing more than a grotesque cliché.
Yes, another loner who spoke rarely and was reportedly bullied, although it is uncertain by who. He routinely shut out the clamor in the halls with earphones, and no matter how steamy the southeast Texas weather became, invariably dressed in a long black trench coat. The only exception to the image was the kid played football his freshman year and was apparently fairly good at it.
On Friday, in addition to the trench coat, he wore a tee shirt with the words, "Born to Kill," across the front. He was also packing his father's Remington shotgun and .38 caliber pistol along with an unspecified number of functional explosive devices.
He managed to dispel any after the act NRA inspired fantasies by shooting and critically wounding an armed guard working security at the start of his rampage. Then for nearly 25 minutes he went toe to toe with police responders in a full fledged fire fight so intense it still isn't clear if Pagourtzis killed and wounded all the casualties, or if some were the victims of what is known in the trade as, friendly fire.
Texas Senator, Ted Cruz offered his prayers to the victims and their families. This after running campaign ads in 2016 which featured him cooking a slice of bacon wrapped around the heated barrel of a rapid fire semi automatic rifle he was gleefully blasting away with.
The Lt. Governor of the state, Dan Patrick, immediately stated guns were not at fault in this epic horror show because, "They are part of who we are as a nation."
He went on to blame, everything from not teaching religion in public schools, to video games and homes with no fathers--even though Pagourtzis' dear old Dad was obviously home that day, along with his guns. And, finally, Mr. Patrick said the right of a woman to get an abortion was also a contributing factor.
Not to be outdone, Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate, Dan Fisher told fellow republicans gathered in Duncan, the problem was a, "...decaying moral culture." He went on to say, "We expose them to every possible obscene thing, whether it's through a video game, or movies and then we're surprised when we've taught them they're just animals that they act like animals."
For those with short memories Duncan is the town where three young geeks shot and killed a visiting Australian because, "they were bored," It was also the home of Alan Hruby who stole his father's gun then used it to kill him, his mother, and sister so he could continue his free spending ways with the family fortune.
It is unknown how many video games any of them watched, or under what circumstances abortion might have warped their moral sensibilities. We do know, however in both cases, just as in Santa Fe, TX, easily obtained guns were involved.
But what the hell, as the Lt. Governor said, they are part of us as a nation right?
Indeed they are.
That's why no one was truly surprised when Dimitrios Pagourtzis ran amok with a couple of them at Santa Fe High School last Friday. The truth is, at this juncture, the only real stunner was it took three months from the Parkland FL mass shooting until now for it to happen again.
Hey, this sort of bat shit craziness is exactly why we still delude ourselves into believing we are, The Land of the Free.
Don't think so? Just ask the hillbilly who showed up at the Santa Fe campus less than 24 hours after the shooting wearing a pro Trump hat while carrying a semi automatic weapon slung over his shoulder. He'll explain it to you.
5-21-18
This latest iteration of the ongoing carnage that marks America's sordid sexual affair with guns and the violence they bring occurred in Santa Fe, TX, a small burg about half way between Houston and Galveston.
This insanity is going down so fast these days cable news networks can't even agree on the number of shooting incidents that have happened at schools in this year of our Lord, 2018. MSNBC reported Friday's nightmare was the 22nd, while FOX said it was the fifth.
Well who is really counting any more? I mean let's face it, at this point the only thing that's going to stop these hyper violent moments of madness is the start of summer vacation--which can't get here quick enough for everybody.
Eight Santa Fe students and two teachers are dead. One of them is a girl who had recently, and quite publicly, told her soon to be killer there was no way in hell she was going to date him, so he might as well stop bugging her about it.
17 year old, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, fit the profile of a high school shooter so perfectly that he was, in fact, nothing more than a grotesque cliché.
Yes, another loner who spoke rarely and was reportedly bullied, although it is uncertain by who. He routinely shut out the clamor in the halls with earphones, and no matter how steamy the southeast Texas weather became, invariably dressed in a long black trench coat. The only exception to the image was the kid played football his freshman year and was apparently fairly good at it.
On Friday, in addition to the trench coat, he wore a tee shirt with the words, "Born to Kill," across the front. He was also packing his father's Remington shotgun and .38 caliber pistol along with an unspecified number of functional explosive devices.
He managed to dispel any after the act NRA inspired fantasies by shooting and critically wounding an armed guard working security at the start of his rampage. Then for nearly 25 minutes he went toe to toe with police responders in a full fledged fire fight so intense it still isn't clear if Pagourtzis killed and wounded all the casualties, or if some were the victims of what is known in the trade as, friendly fire.
Texas Senator, Ted Cruz offered his prayers to the victims and their families. This after running campaign ads in 2016 which featured him cooking a slice of bacon wrapped around the heated barrel of a rapid fire semi automatic rifle he was gleefully blasting away with.
The Lt. Governor of the state, Dan Patrick, immediately stated guns were not at fault in this epic horror show because, "They are part of who we are as a nation."
He went on to blame, everything from not teaching religion in public schools, to video games and homes with no fathers--even though Pagourtzis' dear old Dad was obviously home that day, along with his guns. And, finally, Mr. Patrick said the right of a woman to get an abortion was also a contributing factor.
Not to be outdone, Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate, Dan Fisher told fellow republicans gathered in Duncan, the problem was a, "...decaying moral culture." He went on to say, "We expose them to every possible obscene thing, whether it's through a video game, or movies and then we're surprised when we've taught them they're just animals that they act like animals."
For those with short memories Duncan is the town where three young geeks shot and killed a visiting Australian because, "they were bored," It was also the home of Alan Hruby who stole his father's gun then used it to kill him, his mother, and sister so he could continue his free spending ways with the family fortune.
It is unknown how many video games any of them watched, or under what circumstances abortion might have warped their moral sensibilities. We do know, however in both cases, just as in Santa Fe, TX, easily obtained guns were involved.
But what the hell, as the Lt. Governor said, they are part of us as a nation right?
Indeed they are.
That's why no one was truly surprised when Dimitrios Pagourtzis ran amok with a couple of them at Santa Fe High School last Friday. The truth is, at this juncture, the only real stunner was it took three months from the Parkland FL mass shooting until now for it to happen again.
Hey, this sort of bat shit craziness is exactly why we still delude ourselves into believing we are, The Land of the Free.
Don't think so? Just ask the hillbilly who showed up at the Santa Fe campus less than 24 hours after the shooting wearing a pro Trump hat while carrying a semi automatic weapon slung over his shoulder. He'll explain it to you.
5-21-18
Thursday, May 17, 2018
She Says Laurel and I Say Yanny, While Trump and His Wankers See and Hear Whatever They Want
In America, unlike much of the rest of the world, we generally have a huge amount of time on our hands. That's because the vast majority of us don't have to worry about basics, like how we are going to score our next meal, or--unless you're in Flint, MI--a jug of clean water.
We're also a hysterical lot, given to wildly fixating on shit so completely outrageous it leads the rest of the world to consider us, at best, weird and at worst, out right nuts.
Think not? Eighteen plus years ago during the great Y2K scare one Eastern European was quoted as saying, "We don't have the time, or money to worry about things like that." Leading up to the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012 actual Mayans living in Belize had no idea why American TV programs were babbling about apocalyptic planetary alignments and deadly reversals of the magnetic poles based their ancient math, astronomy and religion.
The internet hasn't helped this tendency of Americans to trip off into obsessive nonsense. Two years ago, for a month, or so, it seemed the entire nation was captivated to a disturbing degree over the color of a dress posted on line. Was it black and blue, or white and gold? For a few days the media coverage of the damned thing competed with news coming out of places like Afghanistan and Iraq where U.S. troops were fighting and far too often dying.
The latest internet rage is an audio version of that dress. It is the Yanny/Laurel conundrum. It began when young Cloe Feldman of California re posted an Instagram from a vocabulary project of Katie Hetzel done through Vocabulary.com.
No I'm not going to provide a link to it. Go find it yourself, it won't be hard. Needless to say my wife and I took the brief test. When the robo voice repeated a word several times I clearly heard it say, Yanny over and over. She shook her head then told me, "I don't know what you're listening to, because it is saying Laurel." A brief, but intense debate ensued which involved questions of not just hearing, but sanity. It has yet to be resolved.
The not so serious argument, however did bring me to a moment of perfect clarity. Between the color of the dress and the audio of the mysterious word it dawned on me why American politics are in the state they are today. In that brilliant flash I realized the gruesome thug in the Oval Office and his baying supporters are sensory mutants. They look and listen to the exact same things the rest of us do while seeing and hearing utterly different stuff.
Members of Black Lives Matter take to the streets protesting police brutality and the indiscriminate shooting of young unarmed black men by authorities. The right wing wankers who voted for El Don listen to them and what they hear are the same people saying something like, "First kill the cops, then all the white people."
To this day, Donald John Trump claims he saw thousands and thousands of Muslims celebrating the destruction of the World Trade Center in New Jersey. Those of us with functioning brains saw the same news broadcast, but we witnessed hundreds of Palestinians dancing around, not in Paterson, or any where else in Jersey, but rather the Gaza Strip, which is a tad east of the Garden State.
When The Big Orange Guy announced he was running for president he said Mexico was sending us their drug dealers, murderers, rapists, and he assumed, a few good people. What the rest of us heard was--oh wait--we all heard exactly that. Then the fucker became president. Sorry, bad example.
Yes, given the all consuming desire to see and hear whatever fits their view of the world the ultra right came up with FOX News. Now we are still marveling at a presidential advisor who spoke of alternative facts with a straight face while her boss howled like werewolf that the only reason he lost the popular vote in 2016 was because three million, or so illegal aliens were able to cast ballots.
She saw the largest inauguration crowd in the history of the republic despite photos and film proving otherwise. He claimed he survived a crude attempt to steal, or at least delegitimize his election by the very people he demonized without an iota of proof any such conspiracy took place.
And oh, on that deadly day in Charlottesville there were some good Nazis in the streets too.
My God, it must be such a comfort to the rest of the planet knowing we have the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.
Indeed.
See you in the bar. I'll be the one with the double martini.
5-17-18
We're also a hysterical lot, given to wildly fixating on shit so completely outrageous it leads the rest of the world to consider us, at best, weird and at worst, out right nuts.
Think not? Eighteen plus years ago during the great Y2K scare one Eastern European was quoted as saying, "We don't have the time, or money to worry about things like that." Leading up to the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012 actual Mayans living in Belize had no idea why American TV programs were babbling about apocalyptic planetary alignments and deadly reversals of the magnetic poles based their ancient math, astronomy and religion.
The internet hasn't helped this tendency of Americans to trip off into obsessive nonsense. Two years ago, for a month, or so, it seemed the entire nation was captivated to a disturbing degree over the color of a dress posted on line. Was it black and blue, or white and gold? For a few days the media coverage of the damned thing competed with news coming out of places like Afghanistan and Iraq where U.S. troops were fighting and far too often dying.
The latest internet rage is an audio version of that dress. It is the Yanny/Laurel conundrum. It began when young Cloe Feldman of California re posted an Instagram from a vocabulary project of Katie Hetzel done through Vocabulary.com.
No I'm not going to provide a link to it. Go find it yourself, it won't be hard. Needless to say my wife and I took the brief test. When the robo voice repeated a word several times I clearly heard it say, Yanny over and over. She shook her head then told me, "I don't know what you're listening to, because it is saying Laurel." A brief, but intense debate ensued which involved questions of not just hearing, but sanity. It has yet to be resolved.
The not so serious argument, however did bring me to a moment of perfect clarity. Between the color of the dress and the audio of the mysterious word it dawned on me why American politics are in the state they are today. In that brilliant flash I realized the gruesome thug in the Oval Office and his baying supporters are sensory mutants. They look and listen to the exact same things the rest of us do while seeing and hearing utterly different stuff.
Members of Black Lives Matter take to the streets protesting police brutality and the indiscriminate shooting of young unarmed black men by authorities. The right wing wankers who voted for El Don listen to them and what they hear are the same people saying something like, "First kill the cops, then all the white people."
To this day, Donald John Trump claims he saw thousands and thousands of Muslims celebrating the destruction of the World Trade Center in New Jersey. Those of us with functioning brains saw the same news broadcast, but we witnessed hundreds of Palestinians dancing around, not in Paterson, or any where else in Jersey, but rather the Gaza Strip, which is a tad east of the Garden State.
When The Big Orange Guy announced he was running for president he said Mexico was sending us their drug dealers, murderers, rapists, and he assumed, a few good people. What the rest of us heard was--oh wait--we all heard exactly that. Then the fucker became president. Sorry, bad example.
Yes, given the all consuming desire to see and hear whatever fits their view of the world the ultra right came up with FOX News. Now we are still marveling at a presidential advisor who spoke of alternative facts with a straight face while her boss howled like werewolf that the only reason he lost the popular vote in 2016 was because three million, or so illegal aliens were able to cast ballots.
She saw the largest inauguration crowd in the history of the republic despite photos and film proving otherwise. He claimed he survived a crude attempt to steal, or at least delegitimize his election by the very people he demonized without an iota of proof any such conspiracy took place.
And oh, on that deadly day in Charlottesville there were some good Nazis in the streets too.
My God, it must be such a comfort to the rest of the planet knowing we have the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.
Indeed.
See you in the bar. I'll be the one with the double martini.
5-17-18
Monday, May 14, 2018
Oklahoma Governor, Mary Fallin Experiences a Sudden Appearance of Balls
Sometimes things get so crazy even a torch carrying GOP howler like Oklahoma Governor, Mary Fallin has to pause for a moment in order to dial back the mob's NRA enflamed fervor. When those rare occasions happen some overly optimistic liberals will invariably spasm in wonder at the sudden appearance of a set of balls on that unexpectedly brave soul who has dared challenge the gun fetishists on what everyone assumes is their unassailable home turf.
Of course, when you've reached the term limit of your office after being passed over for a job by Mr. D. Trump and Company like Fallin has, it really doesn't take that much courage to quash outright insanity--just a functioning brain. Luckily for the state, during one stunning moment of lucidity last Friday, she proved to have just that when she vetoed Oklahoma Senate bill 1212.
The law had been passed by that august body, 33-9. Then it flew through the state house of representatives 59-28. The measure weakened background checks on people buying hand guns by removing the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation from the process. It also enabled practically everyone to carry a side arm both concealed and in the open by eliminating the current required safety and competency training and the legal necessity for a state license. In other words, the statute allowed every state citizen who hasn't been convicted of a crime, or diagnosed mentally ill by a doctor, and is 21 years old--18 if in the military--to purchase a hand gun, load it, then walk around wherever they want like some new age John Wesley Hardin.
The downside to the law--which no one wanted to mention--was if you were planning to commit a violent crime, or shoot up a school just because you're bat shit crazy it would now be legal for you to openly carry the instrument of your deadly intent. There would be no more messing around trying to hide the damn thing either under a jacket, or in a back pack. In addition, it removed the threat some cop might actually haul you in before you open fire simply because he sees you're carrying a loaded weapon.
That's right Your Honor, the officer picked me and me alone out of a crowd of similarly armed people. How could he know I hear the voices of Tim McVeigh and Jim Jones in my head and been sodomized by fucking aliens. After all, I was wearing a polo shirt and slacks from Wal-Mart for God's sakes. I tell you it is nothing, but discrimination, pure and simple! The NRA Uber Alles!
Supporters of the bill, the rough draft of which was handed to senate sponsors by the NRA's "Institute for Legislative Action," claim it was needed so people could defend themselves without having to pay the state a fee, or spend time leaning how not to shoot themselves, or others accidentally in the foot, or other body parts. It would, they pointed out, especially benefit the poor and the elderly who aren't able to afford the cost of the required training course, or license.
This new found compassion for the poor and aged is nothing more than self serving horse shit. Especially when you consider the costs of the training course and license are minor compared to the price of a legally purchased gun and the ammunition it uses.
SB 1212 had been opposed by almost every institute of higher learning and health care organization in the state. More importantly, because they are the ones who are going to have to figure out in a split second, which gun packing son of a bitch, is the actual perpetrator during an active shooter nightmare, law enforcement agencies were against it. In addition, the states two largest chambers of commerce--Oklahoma City and Tulsa--lobbied in opposition because, you know, it's tough to attract new businesses to a place where every potential felon can walk around with a 9.mm on their hip night and day.
The NRA was quick to denounce Fallin's veto. It issued a statement which in part read, "...this temporary set back will be rectified when Oklahoma residents elect a new and genuinely pro second amendment governor."
Fallin put out a news release defending her decision which said, "Oklahoma is a state which respects the second amendment. As governor I have signed both concealed carry and open carry legislation. I support the right to bear arms and own a pistol, a rifle, and a shotgun. Again, I believe the firearms laws we currently have in place are effective, appropriate, and minimal, and serve to reassure our citizens that people who are carrying handguns in this state are qualified to do so."
Yes, yes we're all pro gun, just not pro gunfights in the streets. In order to make sure we don't think she has come completely to her senses, on the same day she vetoed the gun bill the governor signed a measure into law which allows religious based adoption agencies to refuse their services to gay couples.
Well hey, if you can't shoot them, at least make sure they won't be able to adopt kids, right?
Listen, when it comes to the that rogue elephant in the room, the NRA, you take your victories, as small as they are, whenever you can get them. You also enjoy them for the brief moments they last.
Let's face it, Mary Fallin will be gone in January 2019. The person who will replace her--and unless there is a miracle of biblical proportions it will be another republican--is being bought and paid for by the NRA even as these words are being typed.
Trust me. I know how these things work.
5-14-18
Of course, when you've reached the term limit of your office after being passed over for a job by Mr. D. Trump and Company like Fallin has, it really doesn't take that much courage to quash outright insanity--just a functioning brain. Luckily for the state, during one stunning moment of lucidity last Friday, she proved to have just that when she vetoed Oklahoma Senate bill 1212.
The law had been passed by that august body, 33-9. Then it flew through the state house of representatives 59-28. The measure weakened background checks on people buying hand guns by removing the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation from the process. It also enabled practically everyone to carry a side arm both concealed and in the open by eliminating the current required safety and competency training and the legal necessity for a state license. In other words, the statute allowed every state citizen who hasn't been convicted of a crime, or diagnosed mentally ill by a doctor, and is 21 years old--18 if in the military--to purchase a hand gun, load it, then walk around wherever they want like some new age John Wesley Hardin.
The downside to the law--which no one wanted to mention--was if you were planning to commit a violent crime, or shoot up a school just because you're bat shit crazy it would now be legal for you to openly carry the instrument of your deadly intent. There would be no more messing around trying to hide the damn thing either under a jacket, or in a back pack. In addition, it removed the threat some cop might actually haul you in before you open fire simply because he sees you're carrying a loaded weapon.
That's right Your Honor, the officer picked me and me alone out of a crowd of similarly armed people. How could he know I hear the voices of Tim McVeigh and Jim Jones in my head and been sodomized by fucking aliens. After all, I was wearing a polo shirt and slacks from Wal-Mart for God's sakes. I tell you it is nothing, but discrimination, pure and simple! The NRA Uber Alles!
Supporters of the bill, the rough draft of which was handed to senate sponsors by the NRA's "Institute for Legislative Action," claim it was needed so people could defend themselves without having to pay the state a fee, or spend time leaning how not to shoot themselves, or others accidentally in the foot, or other body parts. It would, they pointed out, especially benefit the poor and the elderly who aren't able to afford the cost of the required training course, or license.
This new found compassion for the poor and aged is nothing more than self serving horse shit. Especially when you consider the costs of the training course and license are minor compared to the price of a legally purchased gun and the ammunition it uses.
SB 1212 had been opposed by almost every institute of higher learning and health care organization in the state. More importantly, because they are the ones who are going to have to figure out in a split second, which gun packing son of a bitch, is the actual perpetrator during an active shooter nightmare, law enforcement agencies were against it. In addition, the states two largest chambers of commerce--Oklahoma City and Tulsa--lobbied in opposition because, you know, it's tough to attract new businesses to a place where every potential felon can walk around with a 9.mm on their hip night and day.
The NRA was quick to denounce Fallin's veto. It issued a statement which in part read, "...this temporary set back will be rectified when Oklahoma residents elect a new and genuinely pro second amendment governor."
Fallin put out a news release defending her decision which said, "Oklahoma is a state which respects the second amendment. As governor I have signed both concealed carry and open carry legislation. I support the right to bear arms and own a pistol, a rifle, and a shotgun. Again, I believe the firearms laws we currently have in place are effective, appropriate, and minimal, and serve to reassure our citizens that people who are carrying handguns in this state are qualified to do so."
Yes, yes we're all pro gun, just not pro gunfights in the streets. In order to make sure we don't think she has come completely to her senses, on the same day she vetoed the gun bill the governor signed a measure into law which allows religious based adoption agencies to refuse their services to gay couples.
Well hey, if you can't shoot them, at least make sure they won't be able to adopt kids, right?
Listen, when it comes to the that rogue elephant in the room, the NRA, you take your victories, as small as they are, whenever you can get them. You also enjoy them for the brief moments they last.
Let's face it, Mary Fallin will be gone in January 2019. The person who will replace her--and unless there is a miracle of biblical proportions it will be another republican--is being bought and paid for by the NRA even as these words are being typed.
Trust me. I know how these things work.
5-14-18
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Dispatches From Oklahoma: Tom Coburn Plots to Steal the Teacher Pay Raise and While You Might Not Be Able to Drive a Car, By God, You Can Carry a Glock Anywhere
It comes as no surprise when ultra right wing loons run amok in Oklahoma. The state is so bright red on political maps you have to wear shades to look at it. How else would you describe a place where, over the last three presidential elections, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Donald J. Trump have carried every single county?
Going into the 2018 elections the republican party has 75 of 101 seats in the state house of representatives while 40 of the 48 state senators are members of the GOP. In addition there isn't a single democrat who holds either a state wide, or federal elective office.
Now you know why Oklahoma teachers had to go on strike for nearly two weeks to get their first raise in 10 plus years.
Those were an ugly few days during which unhinged legislators accused educators of everything from making anonymous death threats to being the unwitting tools of outside socialist forces from places like California and Chicago. Ultimately, the walkout ended with both sides dissatisfied.
Members of the legislature were incensed they were forced to hike selective taxes worth $400 million and because the teachers didn't take their raise, smile, thank them, then go home. The reason the teachers didn't is because $400 million still wasn't nearly enough to bring the funding of public education back to where it was before the clowns from those Joe McCarthy outer limits started the cuts more than a decade ago. It's also why plenty of school districts are still going to have to invest heavily in duct tape in order to hold together rotting text books while conducting classes in buildings with leaky roofs and faulty heating systems.
Still, $400 million beats nothing, right? Well it does, but only if you can keep it.
Toward the end of the strike former U.S. Senator Tom Coburn announced he was fronting a group called, "Oklahoma Taxpayers Unite." The organization is now circulating a petition which would call for a state wide vote to repeal the taxes which are earmarked to fund the raise. In other words Coburn's new outfit is attempting to wipe out the teacher pay increase and eliminate any spare money which might go to schools.
Dr. Tom, as he is called and his pals are ignoring polls which showed over 70% of Oklahomans supported the teachers during the walk out. What they are counting on is being able to sell tens of thousands of, big government sucks, tea party, types on the idea that the funding is a direct tax on them and all the money for a teacher pay raise and school upgrades can come from gutting other state agencies--or what they like to call government fat.
First and foremost the increase isn't a direct tax on the public. In fact the vast majority of the money will come from taxes levied on tobacco and oil companies, plus an adjustment in the percentage of money the state lottery commission must dedicate to education. Secondly, as Phil Horning, a former OKC school board member pointed out in today's The Oklahoman, over the past few years various state agencies have already been gnawed to the bone. During that time frame, thanks to indiscriminate tax cuts which have benefited energy companies and the wildly well to do, 7,000 state jobs have been sliced from the payroll and Oklahoma has suffered through five budget shortfalls.
But hey, who needs to dwell on such details? After all, it's still a tax isn't it? We'll pay it eventually since there has never been an oil, or tobacco company who has let the government shave as much as a dime off their bottom line. They just pass additional costs along to the consumer. Besides, it is politically advantageous for Oklahoma conservatives if everyone here remains--to quote Dean Vernon Wormer--"Fat, drunk, and stupid..." Let's face it, how else can these raving morons stay in power?
On another front Senate Bill 1212 now sits on Governor Mary Fallin's desk awaiting her approval. If she signs off on it everyone in the state gets to carry a loaded handgun in public without a permit, or any sort of safety training.
Yeah, that's all we need. Every, Nazi, Klucker, and undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenic will be able to pack a piece on a sidewalk, near a school, and in a mall. That's right sir, you're too fucking incompetent behind the wheel of a car to get a driver's license, but, by God, you can carry a Glock 9mm anywhere you want. Have a nice day and oh, happy hunting.
A well regulated militia my ass.
Ladies and gentlemen--as you may have guessed--the bar is now open.
5-10-18
Going into the 2018 elections the republican party has 75 of 101 seats in the state house of representatives while 40 of the 48 state senators are members of the GOP. In addition there isn't a single democrat who holds either a state wide, or federal elective office.
Now you know why Oklahoma teachers had to go on strike for nearly two weeks to get their first raise in 10 plus years.
Those were an ugly few days during which unhinged legislators accused educators of everything from making anonymous death threats to being the unwitting tools of outside socialist forces from places like California and Chicago. Ultimately, the walkout ended with both sides dissatisfied.
Members of the legislature were incensed they were forced to hike selective taxes worth $400 million and because the teachers didn't take their raise, smile, thank them, then go home. The reason the teachers didn't is because $400 million still wasn't nearly enough to bring the funding of public education back to where it was before the clowns from those Joe McCarthy outer limits started the cuts more than a decade ago. It's also why plenty of school districts are still going to have to invest heavily in duct tape in order to hold together rotting text books while conducting classes in buildings with leaky roofs and faulty heating systems.
Still, $400 million beats nothing, right? Well it does, but only if you can keep it.
Toward the end of the strike former U.S. Senator Tom Coburn announced he was fronting a group called, "Oklahoma Taxpayers Unite." The organization is now circulating a petition which would call for a state wide vote to repeal the taxes which are earmarked to fund the raise. In other words Coburn's new outfit is attempting to wipe out the teacher pay increase and eliminate any spare money which might go to schools.
Dr. Tom, as he is called and his pals are ignoring polls which showed over 70% of Oklahomans supported the teachers during the walk out. What they are counting on is being able to sell tens of thousands of, big government sucks, tea party, types on the idea that the funding is a direct tax on them and all the money for a teacher pay raise and school upgrades can come from gutting other state agencies--or what they like to call government fat.
First and foremost the increase isn't a direct tax on the public. In fact the vast majority of the money will come from taxes levied on tobacco and oil companies, plus an adjustment in the percentage of money the state lottery commission must dedicate to education. Secondly, as Phil Horning, a former OKC school board member pointed out in today's The Oklahoman, over the past few years various state agencies have already been gnawed to the bone. During that time frame, thanks to indiscriminate tax cuts which have benefited energy companies and the wildly well to do, 7,000 state jobs have been sliced from the payroll and Oklahoma has suffered through five budget shortfalls.
But hey, who needs to dwell on such details? After all, it's still a tax isn't it? We'll pay it eventually since there has never been an oil, or tobacco company who has let the government shave as much as a dime off their bottom line. They just pass additional costs along to the consumer. Besides, it is politically advantageous for Oklahoma conservatives if everyone here remains--to quote Dean Vernon Wormer--"Fat, drunk, and stupid..." Let's face it, how else can these raving morons stay in power?
On another front Senate Bill 1212 now sits on Governor Mary Fallin's desk awaiting her approval. If she signs off on it everyone in the state gets to carry a loaded handgun in public without a permit, or any sort of safety training.
Yeah, that's all we need. Every, Nazi, Klucker, and undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenic will be able to pack a piece on a sidewalk, near a school, and in a mall. That's right sir, you're too fucking incompetent behind the wheel of a car to get a driver's license, but, by God, you can carry a Glock 9mm anywhere you want. Have a nice day and oh, happy hunting.
A well regulated militia my ass.
Ladies and gentlemen--as you may have guessed--the bar is now open.
5-10-18
Monday, May 7, 2018
Don Blankenship: Trumpier Than Trump
So what is a former coal company CEO to do after being indicted by a grand jury for conspiracy to violate mandatory federal safety and health standards, conspiracy to impede federal mine safety officials, making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and securities fraud--then getting chucked into a federal prison for a year after being convicted of the first charge?
I mean other than screeching you were Barack H. Obama's political prisoner and blaming the disaster, which killed 29 miners, entirely on government inspectors and regulations?
Well, in the case of Don Blankenship you run in the West Virginia republican primary for senate. You also claim the GOP Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell is an unrepentant cocaine fiend, then make sure we all know he is married to, Elaine Chao, "a wealthy China person." Just to ensure the message is clear, you add, McConnell is soft on trade with China--creating scads and scads of jobs for Beijing--because of his, "China family."
Hey, why not? Politics isn't for pussies you know. It is eat, or be eaten. Take no prisoners, burn your enemies homes to the ground and put their children to the sword. That's how those no nonsense ancient Romans dealt with the Carthaginians. Besides we are in the era of Donald J. Trump. Truth and decency have about as much use as those rotting VCR tapes sitting around the house gathering dust.
Of course, The Big Orange Guy has been down this road before. He bet on the wrong horse in the Alabama republican primaries, then ended up backing Judge Roy Moore, who he later said was doomed in the general election from the very beginning.
Don T. is getting out in front of this one. Through a tweet he urged WV republicans to vote for just about anyone besides Don Blankenship, because, in his words, Blankenship, "...can't win the general election."
Blankenship isn't taking that sort of shit lightly. He snapped back with a convoluted version of what happened in Alabama by claiming Trump had asked voters there to elect an accused pedophile--which he did, but only after Moore was the last republican standing. He also bragged, "I'm Trumpier than Trump," while conveniently avoiding the truth. You know, the truth that Moore has never been charged, or convicted of child molestation, while Don Blankenship has most certainly been convicted and done hard time for his part in facilitating the worst U.S. mine disaster since 1970.
Waiting in the wings for the winner of the primary will be democratic incumbent, Joe Manchin. In normal times he would be considered a centrist, if not an outright conservative. However, as we've noticed, these are anything, but normal times. Every democrat alive is accused of all manner of crimes, from socialism to running child trafficking rings in the back rooms of pizza parlors.
And there are multitudes of dim bulbs and trailer park fascists out there who believe every word of it.
Out going GOP Senator Jeff Flake knows the terrible score. As he said earlier today, "It isn't that Don Blankenship can't win the general election, it's that he shouldn't."
The trouble is shouldn't doesn't mean squat any more. Trump, more than anyone else realizes how bat shit crazy things have become--hell, his very presence in the Oval Office proves it. That's why he took to twitter. The latest polls show Blankenship's numbers are surging upward.
Yes, in a sane world Don Blankenship would be beaten like a gong in any political race he entered on general principle alone. Tomorrow, in WV the odds are better than 50-50 the worst he will do is come in second.
Such is the state of the republic in this, the year of our Lord, 2018.
sic vita est
5-7-18
I mean other than screeching you were Barack H. Obama's political prisoner and blaming the disaster, which killed 29 miners, entirely on government inspectors and regulations?
Well, in the case of Don Blankenship you run in the West Virginia republican primary for senate. You also claim the GOP Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell is an unrepentant cocaine fiend, then make sure we all know he is married to, Elaine Chao, "a wealthy China person." Just to ensure the message is clear, you add, McConnell is soft on trade with China--creating scads and scads of jobs for Beijing--because of his, "China family."
Hey, why not? Politics isn't for pussies you know. It is eat, or be eaten. Take no prisoners, burn your enemies homes to the ground and put their children to the sword. That's how those no nonsense ancient Romans dealt with the Carthaginians. Besides we are in the era of Donald J. Trump. Truth and decency have about as much use as those rotting VCR tapes sitting around the house gathering dust.
Of course, The Big Orange Guy has been down this road before. He bet on the wrong horse in the Alabama republican primaries, then ended up backing Judge Roy Moore, who he later said was doomed in the general election from the very beginning.
Don T. is getting out in front of this one. Through a tweet he urged WV republicans to vote for just about anyone besides Don Blankenship, because, in his words, Blankenship, "...can't win the general election."
Blankenship isn't taking that sort of shit lightly. He snapped back with a convoluted version of what happened in Alabama by claiming Trump had asked voters there to elect an accused pedophile--which he did, but only after Moore was the last republican standing. He also bragged, "I'm Trumpier than Trump," while conveniently avoiding the truth. You know, the truth that Moore has never been charged, or convicted of child molestation, while Don Blankenship has most certainly been convicted and done hard time for his part in facilitating the worst U.S. mine disaster since 1970.
Waiting in the wings for the winner of the primary will be democratic incumbent, Joe Manchin. In normal times he would be considered a centrist, if not an outright conservative. However, as we've noticed, these are anything, but normal times. Every democrat alive is accused of all manner of crimes, from socialism to running child trafficking rings in the back rooms of pizza parlors.
And there are multitudes of dim bulbs and trailer park fascists out there who believe every word of it.
Out going GOP Senator Jeff Flake knows the terrible score. As he said earlier today, "It isn't that Don Blankenship can't win the general election, it's that he shouldn't."
The trouble is shouldn't doesn't mean squat any more. Trump, more than anyone else realizes how bat shit crazy things have become--hell, his very presence in the Oval Office proves it. That's why he took to twitter. The latest polls show Blankenship's numbers are surging upward.
Yes, in a sane world Don Blankenship would be beaten like a gong in any political race he entered on general principle alone. Tomorrow, in WV the odds are better than 50-50 the worst he will do is come in second.
Such is the state of the republic in this, the year of our Lord, 2018.
sic vita est
5-7-18
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