Tag: history

The Lost Tables Dream

This was obviously a dream about change. Anxiety. Confusion.

My wife and I were young people. We had a habit of driving to work together. We were taking turns driving. One would drive one day, the other would drive the next day. The dream showed this happening. Different cars for her and me; my car was a black sports car. Don’t know any details of it. Less is known of her car.

Although always going to the same place, part of our daily drive process was to consult on our phone about where we were going. That’s because the path changed every day. So whoever wasn’t driving was tasked with looking up the destination on the map and give driving instructions.

The dream showed this. I drove, she drove, I drove, she drove, etc. She looked up the directions, I looked them up, she looked them up, I looked them up.

Traffic was busy each day but the weather was good.

Our daily destination was a parking lot by a restaurant. We’d park near there and go on our separate ways to work. After numerous days of this, I was driving. My wife was looking up the instructions. But she was struggling with a signal and I, meanwhile, had made some guesses and found the way. She announced, “Got it,” right as we arrived at the restaurant.

But as I pulled up, I noticed that it was completely different. All of its tables were gone. The usually thriving place was completely empty.

Stunned, I told my wife, “Look. Something happened.” She was busy getting out of the car and heading to work so I repeated myself several times, further elaborating, “There’s no one there. The tables are gone. The place is empty.”

She left for work. I walked over to the area and then walked through the empty place, wondering how it had all changed, seemingly overnight. What I wondered most was, where are all the tables? They had so many tables. There was no sign that any tables had ever been there. As I stood there looking, I saw others hurryng by in the sunshine.

None gave the place a second look.

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Remember

Remember …

I was going to write and post a remember post but Jill has reprised her excellent post. I can’t top it and won’t try.

Over thirty years ago, I predicted to a friend that many in the United States would forget about world wars I & II and the lessons learned. I predicted that people would forget about the Holocaust. Because the more I learn about history, the more I see people forgetting or mis-remembering. Now, with our public education under attack, increased vigilance is needed to think and remember.

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Saturday’s Wandering Political Thoughts

I admire the GOTP’s restraint so far. The Grand Ol’ Trump Party is forcing the United States back into th 1800s. Yet, they’re still allowing modern inventions like aircraft, cars, and electricity. Of course, we are speaking of Trump. We know his sense of history is as broken as a rusted washing machine in a weed-infested front yard. He probably thinks they had these things back in those days. In his mind, the shootout at the OK Corral in 1881 has a different slant.

The gunfight at the O.K. Corral pitted Cowboys against members of a loosely organized group of liberals and Democrats called Black Lives Matter on October 26, 1881. Wyatt Earp was the town’s sheriff. His buddy, Doc Holliday had just driven in and finished checking in at the local Marriott. They were planning to do a few rounds of golf. You know, to relax.

They were big golfers in those days. One of the reasons I took up golf was because my heroes all golfed. Though none of them are as good as me. I’m one of the greatest golfers ever. I was doing a round the other day with Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, and Ben Hogan. You know who they are, right? Pretty good, golfers, pretty good. They asked me, Donald, why didn’t you ever go pro? You could have been the greatest. You are the greatest but your name will be left off the record books because you never went pro. But I had other things I was doing. That’s why I never went pro. I wanted to save America and I knew if I went pro, if I became a golf pro, I might not save America. Not because I didn’t want to or because I didn’t have the time or energy. I always have the time and energy to save America. That’s just how these things go. You know what I’m saying?

Now, meeting with Wyatt, the two were waiting for Wyatt’s brothers, Virgin and Morgan, to get in from the airport. After the men got together, they decided to go have a drink to unwind, before they went golfing. They were walking down the street, minding their own business, when a truck full of thugs drove past, taunting them from the windows and making un-American comments about the Bible. A Black Lives Matter banner hung from the truck’s back window, so you know they’re trouble. They’d just, there had just been a big battle, a war, some might even call it, a civil war, fought over states’ rights to carry guns and worship as they pleased. Led by Dems and Liberals, the Black Lives Matter thugs had fought against the states’ rights, cuz they’re not Christians. The Constitution says to honor thy mother and father, but it also says, obey the good book, that’s the Bible, and the lord, thy God. That’s what that fight was all about, the right to worship like a good Christian as you please. Who wouldn’t want that? Nobody. No American wouldn’t.

Well, Wyatt and the boys saw the thugs park their truck up at the OK Corral Diner. Don’t know if you’ve ever eaten at one of those, but they have really good food there, really great food, all-American offerings like spaghetti and meat balls and pizza. I highly recommend eating there. When the thugs left their vehicle, they tore up an American flag hanging by the diner’s entrance before they went in.

Well, that was too much for the Earps and Holiday. They were strong men. Powerful men, patriotic men. They weren’t going to let thugs like those desecrate the stars and stripes. No way. So they marched right into the diner and confronted the Dems and told them they needed to apologize to everyone for what they’d done to the flag. Of course, the others refused, and there was a shoot-out. And Wyatt and his brothers killed them. It became a famous shoot-out, very famous, very well-known, one of the greatest moments in American history, the shootout at the OK Corral Diner. And that’s what it was about, respecting the American flag. And the Bible.

So that’s Trump’s view of history in America. Next: the GOTP is putting forward a bill to change the names of the months used in the United States. January will be renamed Trumpuary in honor of Trump’s inauguration and the way he saved America. July will be renamed Donald.

That way, we can all celebrate the 4th of Donald.

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Frieda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

I’ve written this before, and I’ll probably write it about three hundred forty-one times more this year: Donald Trump is a fucking idiot.

His latest is that President Zelensky of Ukraine should not have fought back when Russia was attacking them. Should have ‘negotiated’ with the Russian bully. Essentially, Trump advocates rolling over for terrorists, as that’s how Russia has been acting.

What is that World War II word that can be used in this context? Oh, yes: appeasement.

Of course, never short on words while bankrupt on thinking, Trump also claimed he would end the Russia-Ukraine War before he was in office. “Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, shortly after we win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled,” at a June MAGA rally in Philadelphia. Yet, here he is, days into his term and the war goes on.

What a bullshit artist he is.

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Tursda’s Theme Music

Sunshine is booming here in Ashlandia on January 23, 2025. It’s 46 degrees F. ‘They’ say that it feels like 51 F and that 52 F is possible, which, when it arrives, might feel like 55 or even 56! The big question pulsing through our small town is, will we see any snow this year? Smart money says it’s not happenin’ in January. Although people got a little titallated when a NextDoor poster shared news that’d spotted a snowflake the other day. I think she meant that in a meteorological sense and not the political sense.

Today’s theme music is dedicated to all those Trump voters and supporters out there. The ones so sure that the felon stands for law and order who he’s overruling juries and the judicial system and releasing killers and other criminals. This is for the Blacks who voted for the PINO who is rolling back civil rights. I’m sure those Black voters who didn’t like Kamala Harris because <fill it in> and instead voted for Trump are happy about that, right? As are those immigrants, illegal and otherwise, who will be affected by his campaign to turn America white. Those people who voted for Trump who love the outdoors and get out there to enjoy the fresh air might be sorely surprised as Trump’s deregulations darken the air with pollutants. This song is for them, too, cuz they probably won’t be going out there much any longer.

Yes, this song is dedicated to all the rights that will be gone in the name of freedom, all the religions which will suffer in the name of religion, all the justice that will flounder in the name of justice, and all the poor who will grow poorer in the name of, um, also freedom, the freedom of capitalism and greed unchecked. This song is dedicated also to logic and critical thinking, which are being tossed aside, and the history and heritage being trampled underfoot. This song is dedicated to opportunity which manifest from being educated in a good public school system. These things are all being undermined by Trump and his wealthy reactionary rogues as they pursue the enshittification of the United States.

Here, dedicated to all these things and more, courtesy of The Neurons, live from my morning mental music stream, is the late Dolores O’Riordan and the Cranberries with “When You’re Gone”.

Coffee and I have again worked out a balance, and the fluid is going in without interruption. Hope you enjoy the video and that you have a strong day in your personal life, wherever you may be. Cheers

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Tursda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

Good morning! Hope you’re doing well! Probably not feelin’ too good if you’re a senior citizen watching their mone who voted for Trump!

Over on Crooks & Liars, Red Painter offers a nice FAFO summary of how Trump is looking out for seniors and the poor by wiping out former President Biden’s drug price cuts! Well, they were warned. And, like many others, they are reaping what they sowed.

Of course, eliminating these price cuts will mean less money for other important things, like food, utilities, housing, and clothing. But no worries! Trump is fixin’ inflation, so all that will be coming down. Yes, he’s ordering the Federal Executive Branch to lower inflation! Will it work? Well, he’ll claimed it did! Who will the MAGAts believe, him or their pocketbooks? Why, him! Of course!

Part of his plan is to just order more housing! Yes, he make it happen. The Federal government can’t create those houses, so it sounds like this free-market capitalist is planning on using the Federal gubmint’s power to make it so.

And those tariffs he’s ordering? That won’t affect inflation at all, no sir! Cuz, he’s ordering the rest of the world to pay for them, setting up a new agency, the External Revenue Agency, to collect the monies. Sure, it has everyone confused because it’s bizarro land in its thinking. And sure, it will increase the size of the government and add to the cost of government, because he’s adding more — another department, more people, more technology. And yes, it probably won’t be an effective agency, because it’s Trump! Just like Trump Air, Trump Steaks, Trump University, and all those other Trump-failed endeavors.

But we’ll just need to wait for the next issue of FAFO to emerge for us to know. Shouldn’t be long, though.

Should not be long.

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Munda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

Maya Angelou wrote On the Pulse of Morning for President Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration and read it during the ceremonies. I particularly like several specific lines from the poem.

Lift up your eyes upon
This day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.

Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands,
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts
Each new hour holds new chances
For a new beginning.
Do not be wedded forever
To fear, yoked eternally
To brutishness.

Yes, “Do not be wedded forever to fear, yoked enternally to brutishness.”

h/t to Poets.org.

Sometimes we need to look back to look forward. Thank you, Maya Angelou.

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Sunda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

Okay, I made a BFM* today. I read a Ross opinion piece in the NYTimes.
“How Democrats Drove Silicon Valley Into Trump’s Arms”.

This was a conversation with Marc Andreessen. Andreessenwas supposedly explaining why he went from supporting Democrats to supporting Trump. Puke-inducing? You betcha! Andreessen made this flat-out statements and ‘lo, without any supporting information or explanation. This is his view and that’s just how it is. Say, isn’t that how Trump and Musk operate, too? Sure, you betcha! It’s the MAGA GOOP way in this century. Say some bullshit and ice it as fact.

BTW, I worked for a Fortune 500 company under three different CEO. Honest to god ‘blue chip’ company. Not one of those CEOs ever struck me as someone trying to convince the rest of us that they were a ‘good person.’ They cut and cut products, benefits, and headcounts, all trying to increase and optimize profits. But that’s just one company, right? Sure! But if Andreessen can make his statement and declare it as fact, so can I!

So here you go, some tasty *not* nuggets out of the Andreessen revelations.

“The most privileged people in society, the most successful, send their kids to the most politically radical institutions, which teach them how to be America-hating communists.”

***

“First of all, let me disabuse you of something, if you haven’t already disabused yourself. The view of American C.E.O.s operating as capitalist profit optimizers is just completely wrong.

“That’s like, Goal No. 5 or something. There’s four goals that are way more important than that. And that’s not just true in the big tech companies. It’s true of the executive suite of basically everyone at the Fortune 500.

“I would say Goal No. 1 is, “I’m a good person.” “I’m a good person,” is wildly more important than profit margins. Wildly.”

***

“But there were lots and lots of underground peer-to-peer discussions from 2018 through to 2021 saying, “OK, things are off the rails.” And my point is, we were softened up for the Biden radicalization. Then when the Biden administration turned out to be far more radical than even we thought that they were going to be then that’s what generated the response that ultimately — “

***

“Government-mandated enforcement of D.E.I. in very destructive ways. Some of these agencies have their own in-house courts, which is bananas. Also just straight-up threats and bullying.“

You can read the conversation. Ensure I’m not taking stuff out of context. That’s always possible, isn’t? Also, I quit reading. These pretenders had me ready to regurgitate everything I’d eaten so far in 2025.

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Grenday’s Wandering Political Thoughts

I read a note on Mastodon. Here it is:

I wondered about the veracity. Because anything on the net is suspect these days. So I searched on the G spot, “Did meta donate to biden’s inauguration fund”. As you can imagine, the results came back with pages informing me about how the Z guy and Meta donated bunches to Trump’s inauguration, and others’ reactions to that. Didn’t answer the question, of course. Search engines rarely do these days.

Tried Finecomb. Even worse results.

Bing came closer to the answer on page two of its results. FoxBusiness reported, “Biden inauguration bankrolled by corporate donors like Amazon, Google, Boeing”. Check out the story. Other than that headline and a qualifier that’s it’s not that unusual as a business practice for corporations to donate to inauguration funds, they didn’t cite any company’s actual donation.

Finally, I tried DuckDuckGo. Sadly, their results were about the same as Alphabet’s search engine.

What is funny in a sad and bitter way is that FoxBusiness barely covers the fact that corporations and oligarchs are pouring money into Trump’s inauguration fund after that headline grab about Biden’s inauguration fund, that I could find. That just doesn’t seem like news to them.

BTW, I did learn through FoxBusiness that Robinhood donated $2,000,000 to Trump’s inauguration fund. So while there’s a lot of shrieking about Meta & Z guy, the B guy and Amazon, and Google, others are rushing in with little fanfare.

Ann Telnaes sure had it right, didn’t she?

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Munda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

The 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, passed away this week at the age of 100. Andy Borowitz had a simple, short statement about President Carter, and what he represented to the nation, and to voters, and contrasted it to what the Republicans keep offering us. The GOP seems to want to take us and keep us in a cesspool.

“Jimmy Carter Deserved Better. So Do We.”

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