She is referred to these days as Effie. Although, according to a long gone security guard, the real name of the woman who took a dive out of the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City decades ago was Julia.
There are a couple of versions of this urban legend. The one most often repeated is Effie was a maid at the Skirvin who became pregnant by the hotel's builder and owner, W.B. Skirvin. Skirvin initially made his money in oil and, if the story is true, apparently he was one serious asshole. The tale goes, in order to protect himself from what would have certainly become a nightmare scandal, he locked Effie in a room on the 10th floor of his luxurious inn. He was so intent on keeping his sexual indiscretion secret he kept her there even after the child was born. The confinement drove Effie nuts, so one day she grabbed her baby and took a long step out of the room's window.
The Julia version is far less fleshed out, so to speak. The guard claimed she and her baby fell out of the window of room 824. He never mentioned whether she had a relationship with Skirvin, or if her death was an act of suicide, or simply a terrible accident.
The legend of Effie was a minor one. In fact, 10, or 11 years ago, if you had asked around, most locals would have shrugged and said they'd never heard of it. Then in 2008 the NBA came to town when the Seattle Super Sonics became the Oklahoma City Thunder. Because of its proximity to the home team's venue many of the visiting opponents chose to stay at the Skirvin.
Cue apparitions of Effie,or Julia, and the sounds of a crying baby. Not to mention maid carts rolling down halls without someone pushing them, bathroom doors shutting on their own, and the tubs inside inexplicably filling with water.
In January 2010, after the New York Knicks dropped a game in OKC, a couple of them publicly said part of the reason they lost was that Effie and her crying baby, kept them up the night before. Word began to spread. By 2014 John Branch wrote an article in the New York Times titled, "Fright Nights in the NBA."
Branch not only retold the story of Effie, he detailed--tongue in cheek--the paranormal experiences of NBA players from the Knicks and other teams, including the Bulls, Suns, and Nuggets.
Yes, as Branch pointed out nearly five years ago, it would seem the Thunder has an unseen sixth man of sorts--one who can't block a shot, but will certainly keep the opposition up all night dwelling on things other than the impending game.
Now we learn Imagine Entertainment, headed by Brian Grazer and Bobby Cohen has decided to make a movie about all the ghostly goings on at the Skirvin. Boston Celtic point guard , Kyrie Irving has been signed to star. According to Cohen the aim is to make a mash up comedy, horror film filled with social satire, wit, and genuine frights. Cohen cites the film, "Poltergeist," as an example of what Imagine Entertainment wants to accomplish.
It is unknown at this time whether part of the social satire will include referencing the Skirvin's 50 plus year practice of not allowing African Americans to spend the night there. Indeed, it might not be Effie making things go bump in the night, but the spirit of W.B. Skirvin who is enraged by the periodic presence of really tall, not to mention rich, black men in his former establishment.
Hey, why not? If you believe Skirvin historian and reporter for The Oklahoman, Steve Lackmeyer, Effie and her baby never existed. Neither did Julia. That's not to say Lackmeyer believes the place isn't haunted. Despite being convinced Effie is pure fiction he writes he's had his own eerie experiences in the hotel. One involves a moment when he entered a room on a floor closed for remodeling and saw the TV mysteriously airing, "a soft core porn movie."
Mr. Lackmeyer also claims the Skirvin's first general manager may have been murdered--his death was never proven to be a homicide, or completely explained. And, W.B. Skirvin may have hired the hit, or committed the crime himself. And, the old man may have been having an affair with a secretary who provided an alibi for him.
Obviously someone needs to contact psychic Amy Allan and her partner, Steve Di Schiavi of the Travel Channel's "Dead Files." Let's face it, we need some real pros in here, other than NBA players, to figure all this ghostly shit out.
Whatever happens, Lackmeyer's assessment in today's, The Oklahoman is the still untitled film will probably have to find someplace else to stand in for the Skirvin. He tells us the hotel's management is adamant their establishment isn't haunted. Who can blame them? If you do admit some famous guests are having night terrors it might cost you some business.
And, all these stories might be causing just that. In his article, Steve Lackmeyer notes some NBA teams are now booking three other hotels in the downtown area when they play the Thunder in Oklahoma City.
Well, team owners and GM's have to do something to keep their players relaxed and focused. I mean it is one thing to face Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Steven Adams on their home court, but another entirely to have the shade of Effie fucking with your game.
1-29-19
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Wilbur Ross Doesn't See a Problem For Federal Employees While Don Trump Commits Extortion
The current Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross doesn't understand why there is all this fuss about federal employees missing a couple of paychecks. According to him they should simply take out loans until the President's extortion scam runs its course and the government re-opens.
Here is what he said the other day, "When you think about it these are basically government guaranteed loans because the government has committed these folks will get their pay back once this whole thing gets settled down." He added, "So, there is really not a good excuse why there really should be a liquidity crisis." He finished by saying, (The employees), "might have to pay a little bit of interest, but the idea that it's a paycheck, or zero is really not a valid idea."
Of course, Secretary Ross is estimated to be worth around $700 million so he might be a tad out of touch with the life of say a United States Coast Guard enlisted man. USCG Seamen with 10 years experience, make on average, $31,164 per year. Or that of a U.S. Park Ranger, who grosses $38,338 per year and a TSA agent at your local airport who brings in $40,160 a year.
Plus, Mr. Ross, who once had a thriving business relationship with Vladimir Putin's son in law, should know a basic fact about lending institutions--at least the ones not run out of a bar booth by a guy named Vinnie the Leg Breaker. They are more apt to loan money to people who really don't need it rather than some poor schmuck who is down to about five bucks in his, or her checking account, no matter who is guaranteeing it.
Besides, as tens of millions of people know--when you're earning 40 grand a year, or less and paying for a car, rent, utilities, food, and maybe a kid, or two, there is no such thing as a, "little," interest.
Yes, if this current act of national black mail has taught us anything it is Don Trump's, "great economy," is a flimsy house cards when it comes those millions of Americans who are still trying to cling to the notion they're part of the middle class. Let's face it, the people he's furloughed, or demanded to work without pay aren't some lazy grubs who live on other's tax dollars. They are Americans going to work like most do, toiling diligently for a raise and a promotion, yet all it takes is one, or two missed paychecks for vast numbers of them and us, to be completely fucked.
Not that such cruel circumstances matter to people like Wilbur Ross, or the current resident of the White House. Both of them have no concept of what it feels like to know, really know, you and your family are within a precious few days of going without heat and light, or worse, getting thrown out onto the streets.
This insulation, not to mention some obviously inbred sadistic tendencies, free them to use 800,000 civil servants as pawns in a cruel game. What Donald John Trump is essentially saying is, Give me what I want, no matter how nuts it is, or I will destroy the lives of nearly a million people and their families.
That's what we've come down to in this country. We have a man in the White House who, if he feels stymied by the opposition party, will simply inflict economic havoc, pain, and panic on as many citizens as possible until he gets his way. And if he succeeds this time, he'll do it again and again and again. Nancy Pelosi knows it, we all do.
My God, we don't have a president sitting in the Oval Office, we have an Alphonse Capone on steroids.
If you don't think so just ask, Mike Cohen and his father in law.
1-24-19
Here is what he said the other day, "When you think about it these are basically government guaranteed loans because the government has committed these folks will get their pay back once this whole thing gets settled down." He added, "So, there is really not a good excuse why there really should be a liquidity crisis." He finished by saying, (The employees), "might have to pay a little bit of interest, but the idea that it's a paycheck, or zero is really not a valid idea."
Of course, Secretary Ross is estimated to be worth around $700 million so he might be a tad out of touch with the life of say a United States Coast Guard enlisted man. USCG Seamen with 10 years experience, make on average, $31,164 per year. Or that of a U.S. Park Ranger, who grosses $38,338 per year and a TSA agent at your local airport who brings in $40,160 a year.
Plus, Mr. Ross, who once had a thriving business relationship with Vladimir Putin's son in law, should know a basic fact about lending institutions--at least the ones not run out of a bar booth by a guy named Vinnie the Leg Breaker. They are more apt to loan money to people who really don't need it rather than some poor schmuck who is down to about five bucks in his, or her checking account, no matter who is guaranteeing it.
Besides, as tens of millions of people know--when you're earning 40 grand a year, or less and paying for a car, rent, utilities, food, and maybe a kid, or two, there is no such thing as a, "little," interest.
Yes, if this current act of national black mail has taught us anything it is Don Trump's, "great economy," is a flimsy house cards when it comes those millions of Americans who are still trying to cling to the notion they're part of the middle class. Let's face it, the people he's furloughed, or demanded to work without pay aren't some lazy grubs who live on other's tax dollars. They are Americans going to work like most do, toiling diligently for a raise and a promotion, yet all it takes is one, or two missed paychecks for vast numbers of them and us, to be completely fucked.
Not that such cruel circumstances matter to people like Wilbur Ross, or the current resident of the White House. Both of them have no concept of what it feels like to know, really know, you and your family are within a precious few days of going without heat and light, or worse, getting thrown out onto the streets.
This insulation, not to mention some obviously inbred sadistic tendencies, free them to use 800,000 civil servants as pawns in a cruel game. What Donald John Trump is essentially saying is, Give me what I want, no matter how nuts it is, or I will destroy the lives of nearly a million people and their families.
That's what we've come down to in this country. We have a man in the White House who, if he feels stymied by the opposition party, will simply inflict economic havoc, pain, and panic on as many citizens as possible until he gets his way. And if he succeeds this time, he'll do it again and again and again. Nancy Pelosi knows it, we all do.
My God, we don't have a president sitting in the Oval Office, we have an Alphonse Capone on steroids.
If you don't think so just ask, Mike Cohen and his father in law.
1-24-19
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Enes Kanter and Recep Tayyip Erdogan Really Don't Like Each Other
NBA player, Enes Kanter and Turkey's Executive President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan really don't like each other. So much so in 2016, Kanter, who is Turkish, posted a tweet, calling, Erdogan, "the Hitler of our century." The Turkish government immediately deleted his Twitter account throughout the country. A year later his passport was cancelled and the government issued a warrant for his arrest, accusing him of being a member of a, "terror group."
Of course, Enes Kanter isn't the only one dwelling in the dog house so to speak when it comes to the Turkish government these days. In fact just about anyone who says something bad about Mr. Erdogan, or is a fan of his once ally and now political foe, Fethullah Gulen stands a good chance of ending up doing a real life version of Billy Hayes in the film, "Midnight Express".
Just ask Gulen. He saw the writing on the wall, decided to skip the experience and now lives in some out of the way hamlet in Pennsylvania.
Hey, these things happen when you have a head of state who is steering his country toward a dictatorship and the exalted title of, Executive President for Life. Especially after a coup attempt in 2016 took he and his pals, at least momentarily, to the brink of political extinction.
Kanter's family, who still live in Turkey, knew things would turn bleak for them after Enes made the, "Hitler," comment. They publicly disowned him and urged the Knick's center to change his last name. Shortly afterward, Kanter, obviously stung to the core, issued a statement saying he loved Fethullah Gulen more than his family. In response--and proving in Turkey disowning your kid sometimes just isn't enough--Kanter's father, Mehmet, was canned from his college teaching job and arrested by Turkish authorities, although he was later released.
Well, what do you expect? According to Wikipedia, as far back as 2013, Erdogan was finished with taking any political guff. That year there were country wide demonstrations protesting his growing authoritarianism. He called the people in the streets some vile names then sent in the cops who promptly killed 22 of them. After he and Gulen had their falling out he purged the judiciary branch of any suspected dissidents and replaced the empty seats with people who are steadfastly loyal to him. In order to make sure the local media didn't question this brutal nonsense his boys threw more journalists into the slammer during 2016 and 2017 than any other country in the world.
Then, to make sure there wasn't any word on the street criticizing him, he blocked Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in Turkey.
In all honesty this totalitarian sort of shit leads one to believe Enes Kanter has a valid point when it comes to the current Turkish regime.
It also explains why that same regime is in the process of filing an Interpol arrest warrant and extradition papers for Kanter. After all, the man will simply not shut up. When he isn't playing basketball, he's been meeting with congressmen, then posting photos of those meeting on social media. In addition the Washington Post published an op-ed piece by him which details his opposition to Erdogan. In other word, he is doing all the things any American assumes they can do without fear of repercussions--well, at least for now.
Thursday, Kanter's team was in London to play the Washington Wizards. The Knick's big man wasn't there. He was on CNN explaining why he didn't go. He said, quite frankly, he was afraid the Turkish secret police would kill him.
While you can't be sure about an assassination, at least not this quickly after Jamal Khashoggi's gruesome murder, which the Turks were proud to expose--everyone has to admit a clandestine abduction was a distinct possibility. Or, even a public detention and extradition. Who knows what the British will do these days? Their politics are almost as chaotic as ours right now.
Listen, I don't blame Mr. Kanter for not going--we all know it isn't paranoia when they really are out to get you.
And, let's face it, Recep Tayyip Erdogan certainly is out to get, Enes Kanter, not to mention a whole lot of other people.
sic vita est
1-19-19
Of course, Enes Kanter isn't the only one dwelling in the dog house so to speak when it comes to the Turkish government these days. In fact just about anyone who says something bad about Mr. Erdogan, or is a fan of his once ally and now political foe, Fethullah Gulen stands a good chance of ending up doing a real life version of Billy Hayes in the film, "Midnight Express".
Just ask Gulen. He saw the writing on the wall, decided to skip the experience and now lives in some out of the way hamlet in Pennsylvania.
Hey, these things happen when you have a head of state who is steering his country toward a dictatorship and the exalted title of, Executive President for Life. Especially after a coup attempt in 2016 took he and his pals, at least momentarily, to the brink of political extinction.
Kanter's family, who still live in Turkey, knew things would turn bleak for them after Enes made the, "Hitler," comment. They publicly disowned him and urged the Knick's center to change his last name. Shortly afterward, Kanter, obviously stung to the core, issued a statement saying he loved Fethullah Gulen more than his family. In response--and proving in Turkey disowning your kid sometimes just isn't enough--Kanter's father, Mehmet, was canned from his college teaching job and arrested by Turkish authorities, although he was later released.
Well, what do you expect? According to Wikipedia, as far back as 2013, Erdogan was finished with taking any political guff. That year there were country wide demonstrations protesting his growing authoritarianism. He called the people in the streets some vile names then sent in the cops who promptly killed 22 of them. After he and Gulen had their falling out he purged the judiciary branch of any suspected dissidents and replaced the empty seats with people who are steadfastly loyal to him. In order to make sure the local media didn't question this brutal nonsense his boys threw more journalists into the slammer during 2016 and 2017 than any other country in the world.
Then, to make sure there wasn't any word on the street criticizing him, he blocked Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in Turkey.
In all honesty this totalitarian sort of shit leads one to believe Enes Kanter has a valid point when it comes to the current Turkish regime.
It also explains why that same regime is in the process of filing an Interpol arrest warrant and extradition papers for Kanter. After all, the man will simply not shut up. When he isn't playing basketball, he's been meeting with congressmen, then posting photos of those meeting on social media. In addition the Washington Post published an op-ed piece by him which details his opposition to Erdogan. In other word, he is doing all the things any American assumes they can do without fear of repercussions--well, at least for now.
Thursday, Kanter's team was in London to play the Washington Wizards. The Knick's big man wasn't there. He was on CNN explaining why he didn't go. He said, quite frankly, he was afraid the Turkish secret police would kill him.
While you can't be sure about an assassination, at least not this quickly after Jamal Khashoggi's gruesome murder, which the Turks were proud to expose--everyone has to admit a clandestine abduction was a distinct possibility. Or, even a public detention and extradition. Who knows what the British will do these days? Their politics are almost as chaotic as ours right now.
Listen, I don't blame Mr. Kanter for not going--we all know it isn't paranoia when they really are out to get you.
And, let's face it, Recep Tayyip Erdogan certainly is out to get, Enes Kanter, not to mention a whole lot of other people.
sic vita est
1-19-19
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Steve King in Congress: Obviously There is a Flaw in the System
In an amazing turn of events, it appears you can say something so stupid, vile, and racist members of the republican party will actually condemn it. At the moment no one is more shocked at this unexpected turn of events than Iowa congressman, Steve King.
After all, he has sat in the United States House of Representatives since 2003 and been saying crazed shit not only since the moment of his swearing in, but before. He's also been getting away with it. That's mainly because of the GOP code of Omerta, which officially began during the Ronald Reagan era when the Gipper told his party no republican should ever speak ill of another one. The wheels of his free ride were also greased because all republican presidential hopefuls must show up and do well in the Iowa caucuses. They therefore needed the support of one Steve King, who is wildly popular among the uber right dwelling in his district.
In fact, republican tolerance of his intolerance has been so pervasive Mr. King felt it was perfectly acceptable, earlier this month, to wonder aloud why terms such as, "white nationalism," and "white supremacy," were considered offensive these days. He even hinted, none too subtly, their current unpopularity was a direct repudiation of everything he'd been taught in school.
In reality the first crack in the levee appeared last fall. Just before the 2018 elections the National Republican Congressional Committee withdrew their financial support from his campaign because of a junket he took to Austria. While there he had a friendly chat with a web publication which is a front for the Austrian Freedom Party. The Freedom Party was founded by a former Nazi SS officer--you know, one of the same sort of guys who ran the death camps. These days rather than doing that sort of odious work, party members rail about things like, "The Great Replacement," a conspiracy hypothesis concerning white genocide perpetrated by people of color.
Given King's history none of this should have been a surprise to anyone, least of all those of us with functioning brains.
According to the New York Times:
In 2005 King introduced a bill in congress which would make English the, "official language," of the United States. He also sued the Iowa secretary of state for posting voter information on line not only in English, but Spanish, Laotian, Bosnian, and Vietnamese.
A year later, in 2006 , a full decade before Don Trump started talking about it, Mr. King advocated for a 12 foot wall he wanted built along the border with Mexico. During his presentation he proposed it be topped with electrified wiring. Not enough to kill, mind you, but just enough to be a disincentive for those trying to climb over the top. According to the representative, "We do that with livestock all the time."
Then fast forward to 2010 when he explained to members of the house the thought process cops should go through to spot illegal immigrants. "What kind of clothes people wear," he said, "what kind of shoes people wear, what kind of accent they have...sometimes it's just a sixth sense they can't put their finger on."
Five years later, in 2015, he made an appearance with Dutch politician, Geert Wilders at the U.S. capitol. Brother Wilders, among other things, claims Islam isn't a religion, the Quran is worse than Mein Kampf, and all mosques in the west should be shuttered. King thanked Wilders, "for having the guts to speak out."
At the GOP convention in 2016, while speaking in praise of white folks he said, "Where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?" Later he told the Washington Post, "The idea of multiculturalism, that every culture is equal...that's not objectively true. We've been fed that information for 25 years and we're not going to become a greater nation if we continue to do that."
After endorsing Wilders Dutch political campaign in 2017, King told Breitbart radio, "(Muslim immigrants in Europe)...are supplanting Western civilization with Middle Eastern civilization and I say and Geert Wilders says, Western civilization is a superior civilization--it is the first world."
Finally, during last year's campaign a reporter from an Iowa TV station asked King, "What is a white nationalist? The congressman opened his response with, "First of all I think you have to be white..." He finished with, "It is a derogatory term today. I wouldn't have thought so maybe a year, or two, or three ago. But today they use it as a derogatory term and they imply you are a racist."
I hate to tell you Congressman, but we really aren't implying it. We're flat out saying it.
And now even people like, Kevin McCarthy, Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, and others are too--at last.
Mr. King has been denied a seat on every congressional committee which effectively kills any real political influence he might have. Earlier today the House voted 424-1 to, disapprove of his latest round of bullshit. The single no vote was cast by a democrat who wanted more drastic action than, disapproval.
In response to the vote, King was quoted as saying, white supremacist ideology, "never shows up in my head." He also said, "I don't know how it could possibly come out of my mouth."
Well, many of us don't know how you ever became an American legislator, Steverino. Or, how you've managed to stay one this long.
Obviously, there is a flaw in the system.
1-15-19
After all, he has sat in the United States House of Representatives since 2003 and been saying crazed shit not only since the moment of his swearing in, but before. He's also been getting away with it. That's mainly because of the GOP code of Omerta, which officially began during the Ronald Reagan era when the Gipper told his party no republican should ever speak ill of another one. The wheels of his free ride were also greased because all republican presidential hopefuls must show up and do well in the Iowa caucuses. They therefore needed the support of one Steve King, who is wildly popular among the uber right dwelling in his district.
In fact, republican tolerance of his intolerance has been so pervasive Mr. King felt it was perfectly acceptable, earlier this month, to wonder aloud why terms such as, "white nationalism," and "white supremacy," were considered offensive these days. He even hinted, none too subtly, their current unpopularity was a direct repudiation of everything he'd been taught in school.
In reality the first crack in the levee appeared last fall. Just before the 2018 elections the National Republican Congressional Committee withdrew their financial support from his campaign because of a junket he took to Austria. While there he had a friendly chat with a web publication which is a front for the Austrian Freedom Party. The Freedom Party was founded by a former Nazi SS officer--you know, one of the same sort of guys who ran the death camps. These days rather than doing that sort of odious work, party members rail about things like, "The Great Replacement," a conspiracy hypothesis concerning white genocide perpetrated by people of color.
Given King's history none of this should have been a surprise to anyone, least of all those of us with functioning brains.
According to the New York Times:
In 2005 King introduced a bill in congress which would make English the, "official language," of the United States. He also sued the Iowa secretary of state for posting voter information on line not only in English, but Spanish, Laotian, Bosnian, and Vietnamese.
A year later, in 2006 , a full decade before Don Trump started talking about it, Mr. King advocated for a 12 foot wall he wanted built along the border with Mexico. During his presentation he proposed it be topped with electrified wiring. Not enough to kill, mind you, but just enough to be a disincentive for those trying to climb over the top. According to the representative, "We do that with livestock all the time."
Then fast forward to 2010 when he explained to members of the house the thought process cops should go through to spot illegal immigrants. "What kind of clothes people wear," he said, "what kind of shoes people wear, what kind of accent they have...sometimes it's just a sixth sense they can't put their finger on."
Five years later, in 2015, he made an appearance with Dutch politician, Geert Wilders at the U.S. capitol. Brother Wilders, among other things, claims Islam isn't a religion, the Quran is worse than Mein Kampf, and all mosques in the west should be shuttered. King thanked Wilders, "for having the guts to speak out."
At the GOP convention in 2016, while speaking in praise of white folks he said, "Where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?" Later he told the Washington Post, "The idea of multiculturalism, that every culture is equal...that's not objectively true. We've been fed that information for 25 years and we're not going to become a greater nation if we continue to do that."
After endorsing Wilders Dutch political campaign in 2017, King told Breitbart radio, "(Muslim immigrants in Europe)...are supplanting Western civilization with Middle Eastern civilization and I say and Geert Wilders says, Western civilization is a superior civilization--it is the first world."
Finally, during last year's campaign a reporter from an Iowa TV station asked King, "What is a white nationalist? The congressman opened his response with, "First of all I think you have to be white..." He finished with, "It is a derogatory term today. I wouldn't have thought so maybe a year, or two, or three ago. But today they use it as a derogatory term and they imply you are a racist."
I hate to tell you Congressman, but we really aren't implying it. We're flat out saying it.
And now even people like, Kevin McCarthy, Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, and others are too--at last.
Mr. King has been denied a seat on every congressional committee which effectively kills any real political influence he might have. Earlier today the House voted 424-1 to, disapprove of his latest round of bullshit. The single no vote was cast by a democrat who wanted more drastic action than, disapproval.
In response to the vote, King was quoted as saying, white supremacist ideology, "never shows up in my head." He also said, "I don't know how it could possibly come out of my mouth."
Well, many of us don't know how you ever became an American legislator, Steverino. Or, how you've managed to stay one this long.
Obviously, there is a flaw in the system.
1-15-19
Saturday, January 12, 2019
Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun Lands in Toronto
In 1945 King Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia met with American President Franklin Roosevelt on a U.S. ship anchored in the Suez Canal. They struck a deal which was sealed with a handshake. The agreement was Saudi Arabia would supply the United States with endless boatloads of oil in exchange for American guarantees to protect and support the Saudi regime, also known as the House of Saud, through thick and thin.
Of course in 1945, thanks to Herr Hitler and the Japanese military, America, Britain, and France among others were friends with a lot of strange and despicable people. The most prominent of them being Big Joe Stalin and the USSR.
Soviet and western camaraderie ended rather quickly after Adolf dropped the pill while simultaneously eating his gun and Japan avoided a nuclear holocaust by surrendering. Suddenly the big threat was Russian expansionism. Their neo imperialism led the United States to the regrettable habit over the next few decades to support any and all ruthless dictatorships--from Havana to Saigon and destinations in between--just so long as they weren't communists. In fact, American foreign and moral policy at the time seemed to be based solely on the old adage, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Included in all those nations was Saudi Arabia. At the time, to our eternal detriment, no one in this country knew what an Arab, or Muslim was. The only time we came across them was in an occasional Hollywood movie which invariably portrayed them as either simple camel drivers, or buffoonish side characters. And when it came to Saudi Arabia we certainly didn't care how they ran their country, or treated their citizens.
Times have changed nearly everywhere, but some of us in high places still don't give a rat's ass when it comes to the Royal Saudi medieval view of civilization. After all that fantastic reserve of oil hasn't stopped pumping yet and now days they buy huge amounts of military equipment from us. Those sales, we are told by the current resident of the White House, are necessary for our economic well being. They are, he says, another way of, Making America Great Again.
All of which leads us to a couple of people. The first is Jamal Khashoggi. He was a Saudi journalist who was critical of the royals in Riyadh. In October of last year he screwed up by entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in order to procure some paper work which would allow him to marry a Turkish national. All the reliable information available says he was carted out of the place in bits and pieces after a Saudi hit squad murdered, then dismembered him.
After his death the initial response from the White House amounted to, "Listen, they're buying shit from us, it isn't our problem who they kill." Well, that and at least a fleeting and unsaid thought which ran along the lines of, Why can't I do that?
The second is 18 year old Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun. A few days ago she traveled with her family to Kuwait then she decided enough was enough. She grabbed a flight to Bankok. She said the reason she left was her father had physically abused her and was forcing her into an arraigned marriage. The Thais seized her passport, but she barricaded herself into a hotel room and took to social media to plead for help. Her dear old Dad came to visit, but she declined to see him. He said the real reason she left was because he had ten kids and she might have felt, "ignored at times." Luckily for her the UN got involved and the Thais backed off.
Ms. Alqunun isn't the first woman to try to get out of, The Kingdom. Several Saudi women have sought asylum in various countries over the years because of abuse, but they've all been returned to their home country and fates we can only guess at. Human right's activists say there have been many more cases which have gone unreported.
The Saudis don't take this sort of shit from their women lightly. In August they kicked the Canadian Ambassador out of Riyadh, withdrew their own Ambassador from Ottawa, then ordered all their citizens who are studying in Canada to return home. At the same time they froze Canadian investments in Saudi Arabia. This severe diplomatic action took place because the Canadian foreign ministry had tweeted support for human rights activists who had recently been arrested by Saudi police.
So, given the circumstances, guess where Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun ended up? That's right, she flew into Toronto today, wearing a hoodie emblazoned with the word, "Canada," across the front. She was met by the nation's Foreign Minister, Chrystia Freeland, who told the waiting media, "This is a brave new Canadian."
Yes, sometimes humanity wins.
However, we all know glory and justice can be fleeting.
Watch your back, Ms. Alqunun and for God's sake don't go anywhere near a Saudi Consulate, or the American border. Neither bode well for you. One has proven to be a death trap and the other, since our guy can cite that 1945 handshake, is a place you will get deported from, if for nothing else the slogan on his fucking hat.
1-12-19
Of course in 1945, thanks to Herr Hitler and the Japanese military, America, Britain, and France among others were friends with a lot of strange and despicable people. The most prominent of them being Big Joe Stalin and the USSR.
Soviet and western camaraderie ended rather quickly after Adolf dropped the pill while simultaneously eating his gun and Japan avoided a nuclear holocaust by surrendering. Suddenly the big threat was Russian expansionism. Their neo imperialism led the United States to the regrettable habit over the next few decades to support any and all ruthless dictatorships--from Havana to Saigon and destinations in between--just so long as they weren't communists. In fact, American foreign and moral policy at the time seemed to be based solely on the old adage, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Included in all those nations was Saudi Arabia. At the time, to our eternal detriment, no one in this country knew what an Arab, or Muslim was. The only time we came across them was in an occasional Hollywood movie which invariably portrayed them as either simple camel drivers, or buffoonish side characters. And when it came to Saudi Arabia we certainly didn't care how they ran their country, or treated their citizens.
Times have changed nearly everywhere, but some of us in high places still don't give a rat's ass when it comes to the Royal Saudi medieval view of civilization. After all that fantastic reserve of oil hasn't stopped pumping yet and now days they buy huge amounts of military equipment from us. Those sales, we are told by the current resident of the White House, are necessary for our economic well being. They are, he says, another way of, Making America Great Again.
All of which leads us to a couple of people. The first is Jamal Khashoggi. He was a Saudi journalist who was critical of the royals in Riyadh. In October of last year he screwed up by entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in order to procure some paper work which would allow him to marry a Turkish national. All the reliable information available says he was carted out of the place in bits and pieces after a Saudi hit squad murdered, then dismembered him.
After his death the initial response from the White House amounted to, "Listen, they're buying shit from us, it isn't our problem who they kill." Well, that and at least a fleeting and unsaid thought which ran along the lines of, Why can't I do that?
The second is 18 year old Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun. A few days ago she traveled with her family to Kuwait then she decided enough was enough. She grabbed a flight to Bankok. She said the reason she left was her father had physically abused her and was forcing her into an arraigned marriage. The Thais seized her passport, but she barricaded herself into a hotel room and took to social media to plead for help. Her dear old Dad came to visit, but she declined to see him. He said the real reason she left was because he had ten kids and she might have felt, "ignored at times." Luckily for her the UN got involved and the Thais backed off.
Ms. Alqunun isn't the first woman to try to get out of, The Kingdom. Several Saudi women have sought asylum in various countries over the years because of abuse, but they've all been returned to their home country and fates we can only guess at. Human right's activists say there have been many more cases which have gone unreported.
The Saudis don't take this sort of shit from their women lightly. In August they kicked the Canadian Ambassador out of Riyadh, withdrew their own Ambassador from Ottawa, then ordered all their citizens who are studying in Canada to return home. At the same time they froze Canadian investments in Saudi Arabia. This severe diplomatic action took place because the Canadian foreign ministry had tweeted support for human rights activists who had recently been arrested by Saudi police.
So, given the circumstances, guess where Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun ended up? That's right, she flew into Toronto today, wearing a hoodie emblazoned with the word, "Canada," across the front. She was met by the nation's Foreign Minister, Chrystia Freeland, who told the waiting media, "This is a brave new Canadian."
Yes, sometimes humanity wins.
However, we all know glory and justice can be fleeting.
Watch your back, Ms. Alqunun and for God's sake don't go anywhere near a Saudi Consulate, or the American border. Neither bode well for you. One has proven to be a death trap and the other, since our guy can cite that 1945 handshake, is a place you will get deported from, if for nothing else the slogan on his fucking hat.
1-12-19
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
One Week In: What We've Learned So Far During 2019
Here are some things we've learned during the first week of the Year of Our Lord, 2019.
On the 29th of December, after a nightmare first quarter against Alabama, many on the southern plains realized Oklahoma did not have the year's best college football team. Last night everyone in the country found out the Crimson Tide didn't either. In fact, from half time on, Clemson's 44-16 dismantling of fabled Alabama was so complete, Nick Saban's team appeared to be about as competitive as Georgia Tech, which finished the season at 7-6. Think not? Tech lost to the Tigers 49-21 earlier in the year.
Proving murder doesn't take a holiday in Oklahoma City, early in the morning of January 6th 24 year old, Christian Rodell Bilbro became OKC's first homicide of the new year. It didn't take long for others to join him on the list. The Oklahoman reports police found a man and two females who were victims of apparent foul play in a house on the City's east side just after midnight Sunday night/Monday morning. One of the two women discovered was 15 years old. In a grim coincidence the rental property was also the scene of a still unsolved murder committed last February. Oklahoman writer, Robert Medley quoted an anonymous neighbor as saying tersely, "It's time to move."
Since the local body count has now risen to five in seven plus days, the obvious question is, where to?
On Friday in Rochester, NY, Television meteorologist, Jeremy Kappell went on the air and called the town's Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Martin Luther Coon Park. He immediately corrected himself, but quickly found out once a Freudian slip of that magnitude is spoken, you can't rebury it in the subconscious. He was fired Sunday. On Monday he posted a Facebook apology of sorts. In part it read, "In my mind I knew I mispronounced, but there was no malice. I had no idea the way it came across to many people." He added, "I had no idea what some people could have interpreted that as and I know some did interpret that the wrong way."
That's the ticket Jeremy. Some people just interpreted it the wrong way.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted over the first seven days of the new year. It showed, 51% of those asked believe Donald J. Trump, "deserves most of the blame," for the current government shutdown. 32% believe congressional democrats are mostly to blame and 7% say it is congressional republican's fault. In addition, while 41% say they support additional fencing on the southern border, only 35% say they want congress to pass a bill funding a wall. That is opposed to 25% who want The Big Orange Guy to keep the shutdown going until he gets what he wants.
So who is Don Trump playing to? The Great and Mighty Base of course, along with those silver tongued devils, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. The poll shows 77% of republicans want more fencing along the border and 54% of them think shutting down the government to get a wall is the right way to go. Reuters reports the poll has a plus-minus 2% margin of error.
Speaking of The Great Wall--last week The Leader claimed the former presidents still around had endorsed it. He also mentioned that, "some," of the four living past presidents had told him they wished they had built it. Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all immediately issued statements saying, metaphorically anyway, Trump was full of crap. Today, VP Mike Pence addressed the discrepancy by telling NBC News that when it came to the alleged support, "I know the president has said that was his impression from previous presidents."
Well, Mr. Vice President it is our impression Don Trump just made that horseshit up and now you're trying to clean the stable for him as best you can.
Yes, it has been an inauspicious beginning to 2019 and signs are not good it will improve any time soon. Tonight DJT will go on TV to make his pitch for The Wall. On Thursday he will travel to the border. The odds are good that while there he will declare a, "National Emergency," in an attempt to circumvent congressional funding.
Why not? It doesn't take much to know the fucker is thinking something along the lines of, Hey, I can do whatever I want. Even if the House impeaches me, the Senate will never convict.
Tragically, he's right.
sic vita est
1-8-19
On the 29th of December, after a nightmare first quarter against Alabama, many on the southern plains realized Oklahoma did not have the year's best college football team. Last night everyone in the country found out the Crimson Tide didn't either. In fact, from half time on, Clemson's 44-16 dismantling of fabled Alabama was so complete, Nick Saban's team appeared to be about as competitive as Georgia Tech, which finished the season at 7-6. Think not? Tech lost to the Tigers 49-21 earlier in the year.
Proving murder doesn't take a holiday in Oklahoma City, early in the morning of January 6th 24 year old, Christian Rodell Bilbro became OKC's first homicide of the new year. It didn't take long for others to join him on the list. The Oklahoman reports police found a man and two females who were victims of apparent foul play in a house on the City's east side just after midnight Sunday night/Monday morning. One of the two women discovered was 15 years old. In a grim coincidence the rental property was also the scene of a still unsolved murder committed last February. Oklahoman writer, Robert Medley quoted an anonymous neighbor as saying tersely, "It's time to move."
Since the local body count has now risen to five in seven plus days, the obvious question is, where to?
On Friday in Rochester, NY, Television meteorologist, Jeremy Kappell went on the air and called the town's Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Martin Luther Coon Park. He immediately corrected himself, but quickly found out once a Freudian slip of that magnitude is spoken, you can't rebury it in the subconscious. He was fired Sunday. On Monday he posted a Facebook apology of sorts. In part it read, "In my mind I knew I mispronounced, but there was no malice. I had no idea the way it came across to many people." He added, "I had no idea what some people could have interpreted that as and I know some did interpret that the wrong way."
That's the ticket Jeremy. Some people just interpreted it the wrong way.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted over the first seven days of the new year. It showed, 51% of those asked believe Donald J. Trump, "deserves most of the blame," for the current government shutdown. 32% believe congressional democrats are mostly to blame and 7% say it is congressional republican's fault. In addition, while 41% say they support additional fencing on the southern border, only 35% say they want congress to pass a bill funding a wall. That is opposed to 25% who want The Big Orange Guy to keep the shutdown going until he gets what he wants.
So who is Don Trump playing to? The Great and Mighty Base of course, along with those silver tongued devils, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. The poll shows 77% of republicans want more fencing along the border and 54% of them think shutting down the government to get a wall is the right way to go. Reuters reports the poll has a plus-minus 2% margin of error.
Speaking of The Great Wall--last week The Leader claimed the former presidents still around had endorsed it. He also mentioned that, "some," of the four living past presidents had told him they wished they had built it. Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all immediately issued statements saying, metaphorically anyway, Trump was full of crap. Today, VP Mike Pence addressed the discrepancy by telling NBC News that when it came to the alleged support, "I know the president has said that was his impression from previous presidents."
Well, Mr. Vice President it is our impression Don Trump just made that horseshit up and now you're trying to clean the stable for him as best you can.
Yes, it has been an inauspicious beginning to 2019 and signs are not good it will improve any time soon. Tonight DJT will go on TV to make his pitch for The Wall. On Thursday he will travel to the border. The odds are good that while there he will declare a, "National Emergency," in an attempt to circumvent congressional funding.
Why not? It doesn't take much to know the fucker is thinking something along the lines of, Hey, I can do whatever I want. Even if the House impeaches me, the Senate will never convict.
Tragically, he's right.
sic vita est
1-8-19
Friday, January 4, 2019
Sandy Ocasio-Cortez Gets Busted--Sort Of
Here is America's favorite commie know it all acting like the clueless nitwit she is...High School video of "Sandy," Ocasio-Cortez.
A tweet by, Anonymous Q @Q Anonymous 1776, which accompanied a heavily edited version of a Boston University video meant for incoming freshman shot in 2010.
It is a new year, but our pals on the lunatic right are still up to their insane lies, deliberate misinformation, and faux outrage. At the moment their target is the freshly minted representative from New York's 14th district, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
She gained national attention during the 2018 primary when she beat out long time democratic congressman, Joe Conway with a full on 21st century liberal blitz. It was one which emulated the passion, goals, and utopian visions on display during Senator Bernie Sanders' run for the presidency two plus years ago.
The video itself is billed by Boston University as a, "Brat Pack Mashup," featuring a, "cast," of 15 different students, one of whom is Ocasio-Cortez. It is set to the song, "Lisztomania," by the European band, Phoenix. The new congresswoman is also listed as one of four producers. Most of the dance moves and camera shots are straight out of John Hughes' 1985 film, "The Breakfast Club." You know, that series of quick takes in the library when the five students serving detention are left alone, then fire up a stereo and begin dancing.
Apparently all those kids having fun is subversive shit, or, at least, as, Q Anonymous 1776 would have us believe, cluelessly, um, nit witic. Well, what do you expect from the same people who claim there is world wide conspiracy of child sex trafficking run by democrats and Hollywood elitists such as, Tom Hanks.
The ultra right media machine immediately latched onto the video, although they don't seem nearly as concerned with Ocasio-Cortez's dancing chops as they do with the fact she went by the nickname, Sandy when she was in college and high school. Indeed, their reaction, so far, has been akin to Joe Conrad's line, "The horror, the horror."
A current YouTube channel screams Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is, "busted," because of it. Other right wing social media loons are running around waving their arms over their heads like McCaulay Culkin did in the film, Home Alone. That's right, to them it is shades of, Barry Obama and Kenya all over again. The channel's mechanical voice quickly informs us she once went by a, "completely different name," Sandy Ocasio-Cortez. Ah, quite the clever ruse.
Listen, while not being a student of the different moniker conspiracy field, I do have some experience in shifting names. For instance, my legal name isn't Sid Howard. My parents, who decided to call all their children by our middle names, couldn't settle on one for me immediately after I was born. By the time they finally did the birth certificate had already been filed by the doctor, sans Sidney. In addition I had a friend in high school who decided, for reasons all her own, to change the spelling of her first name from Cathy to Cathi. Neither of us thought these things would conceal our real identities, or doubted people would know who we are. I know my mother and father didn't.
In addition to the whole nickname plot, the conservative media is now howling, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez didn't attend school in the Bronx, or live there between the ages of five and 21, but rather suburban Westchester County, NY. This breaking news is hardly a scoop worthy of Woodward and Bernstein. It is posted on her Wikipedia page which can be accessed by anyone.
Finally, the YouTube channel, in another attempt to prove the new representative is a fabulously well to do hypocrite, claimed she attended Brown University, "An Ivy League School with perhaps the most expensive tuition in the country." No, she didn't. Look, if she went to Brown, why the fuck did she produce and appear in a Boston University sponsored video?
Aha! See there, it's just another part of the ongoing left wing conspiracy!
Or, maybe it's because she went to and graduated from Boston U. with a degree in International Relations while she had a John F. Lopez fellowship helping pay her way.
But, who cares about such details when you're a right wing slug spewing lies and half truths in order to disseminate your bullshit to a bunch of vile, like minded, idiots.
Hey, it might not pay much, but someone has to, right?
Obviously so.
1-4-19
A tweet by, Anonymous Q @Q Anonymous 1776, which accompanied a heavily edited version of a Boston University video meant for incoming freshman shot in 2010.
It is a new year, but our pals on the lunatic right are still up to their insane lies, deliberate misinformation, and faux outrage. At the moment their target is the freshly minted representative from New York's 14th district, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
She gained national attention during the 2018 primary when she beat out long time democratic congressman, Joe Conway with a full on 21st century liberal blitz. It was one which emulated the passion, goals, and utopian visions on display during Senator Bernie Sanders' run for the presidency two plus years ago.
The video itself is billed by Boston University as a, "Brat Pack Mashup," featuring a, "cast," of 15 different students, one of whom is Ocasio-Cortez. It is set to the song, "Lisztomania," by the European band, Phoenix. The new congresswoman is also listed as one of four producers. Most of the dance moves and camera shots are straight out of John Hughes' 1985 film, "The Breakfast Club." You know, that series of quick takes in the library when the five students serving detention are left alone, then fire up a stereo and begin dancing.
Apparently all those kids having fun is subversive shit, or, at least, as, Q Anonymous 1776 would have us believe, cluelessly, um, nit witic. Well, what do you expect from the same people who claim there is world wide conspiracy of child sex trafficking run by democrats and Hollywood elitists such as, Tom Hanks.
The ultra right media machine immediately latched onto the video, although they don't seem nearly as concerned with Ocasio-Cortez's dancing chops as they do with the fact she went by the nickname, Sandy when she was in college and high school. Indeed, their reaction, so far, has been akin to Joe Conrad's line, "The horror, the horror."
A current YouTube channel screams Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is, "busted," because of it. Other right wing social media loons are running around waving their arms over their heads like McCaulay Culkin did in the film, Home Alone. That's right, to them it is shades of, Barry Obama and Kenya all over again. The channel's mechanical voice quickly informs us she once went by a, "completely different name," Sandy Ocasio-Cortez. Ah, quite the clever ruse.
Listen, while not being a student of the different moniker conspiracy field, I do have some experience in shifting names. For instance, my legal name isn't Sid Howard. My parents, who decided to call all their children by our middle names, couldn't settle on one for me immediately after I was born. By the time they finally did the birth certificate had already been filed by the doctor, sans Sidney. In addition I had a friend in high school who decided, for reasons all her own, to change the spelling of her first name from Cathy to Cathi. Neither of us thought these things would conceal our real identities, or doubted people would know who we are. I know my mother and father didn't.
In addition to the whole nickname plot, the conservative media is now howling, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez didn't attend school in the Bronx, or live there between the ages of five and 21, but rather suburban Westchester County, NY. This breaking news is hardly a scoop worthy of Woodward and Bernstein. It is posted on her Wikipedia page which can be accessed by anyone.
Finally, the YouTube channel, in another attempt to prove the new representative is a fabulously well to do hypocrite, claimed she attended Brown University, "An Ivy League School with perhaps the most expensive tuition in the country." No, she didn't. Look, if she went to Brown, why the fuck did she produce and appear in a Boston University sponsored video?
Aha! See there, it's just another part of the ongoing left wing conspiracy!
Or, maybe it's because she went to and graduated from Boston U. with a degree in International Relations while she had a John F. Lopez fellowship helping pay her way.
But, who cares about such details when you're a right wing slug spewing lies and half truths in order to disseminate your bullshit to a bunch of vile, like minded, idiots.
Hey, it might not pay much, but someone has to, right?
Obviously so.
1-4-19
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