Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
Stuff from around the web.
Ha, ha, remember when Kristi Noem said this? My goodness, those Trumpers really lack memories, conscience, and principles, don’t they?
More of the same, Stephen Miller edition…
Trump’s actions are not popular. Is the country heading in the wrong direction? You bet! Will that stop him? No, because he’s locked into an alternate reality.
Priorities, priorities, priorities.
I don’t understand. Why would ICE agents go to a restaurant in a war zone?
Once again, from Trump’s alternate reality…
The New York Times featured interviews with Trump supporters to see what they said about current events such as ICE tactics, the protests in Los Angeles and deploying the National Guard there. This fellow had me wondering and laughing.
Brian D. Kozlowski, a lawyer who supports Mr. Trump, said on Thursday that the president responded appropriately to the protests in Los Angeles.
“It was necessary, given the riots,” he said.
“If you’re the governor of a state and you’re not cooperating with the law and federal agents, who are then getting attacked by citizens of the state,” he said, “then at that point, the federal government has every right to step in.”
“I don’t know what world you live in where you think you can attack a law enforcement officer,” he added.
The demonstrations in Los Angeles were generally peaceful, but there were pockets of violence, including protesters who kicked and threw objects at law enforcement vehicles, and officers have used tear gas.
Mr. Kozlowski said it appeared to him that Gov. Gavin Newsom of California was playing politics with the protests, allowing them to continue without requesting help from the National Guard so that he could cast himself as a foil to Mr. Trump.
“It certainly seems like there’s a lot of politically motivated decision-making taking place — or lack of decision-making,” he said.
Mr. Kozlowski said Americans should not be surprised that the Trump administration was following through on aggressive immigration enforcement, since Mr. Trump promised during the election campaign to do so.
“How did you not see this coming?” he asked.
So, Brian Kozlowski saw it coming. As the riots seemed to be important to Brian, I wonder how he felt about those Trump-inspired riots on January 6?
You know, the ones where Trump didn’t call out the National Guard when the police were being attacked.
I think you’ve shown your true colors, Brian.
The headline is startling.
Urgent manhunt for former Arkansas police chief imprisoned for rape, murder It’s a gritty tale, thick with drama and hyperbole.
As law officers search Arkansas’ rugged Ozark Mountains for a former police chief and convicted killer who escaped prison this weekend, the sister of one of his victims is on edge.
Grant Hardin, the former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape and became known as the “Devil in the Ozarks.”
I’m surprised that he’s on the run. Trump just pardoned another convicted sheriff. His own DOJ was behind the prosecution and sentencing for former sheriff Scott Jenkins. Jenkins was found guilty and sentenced for bribery. But Scott Jenkins is a Trump supporter. Naturally, Trump pardoned him.
I figure that Grant Hardin should turn himself in, declare himself a massive Trump supporter, and ask for a Trump pardon. All he’d need to do is make a few speeches about how Biden was behind his prosecution and wax about how brilliant Trump is, and how the mango one is the greatest president ever, and a Trump pardon would surely be forthcoming. The violence shouldn’t matter. Trump is not that far removed from accusations of rape, and he eagerly pardoned all the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, even though people were killed through their violence. I figure another pardon for another convicted rapist and killer is fitting for Trump, the ‘law and order’ president.
It’s the kind of nation we’ve become.
I enjoyed the Trump Univision town hall meeting from the other day. Here was a chance for voters to ask questions, and Trump could directly answer them, all unembellished by liberal media, teleprompters, ghosts, or voodoo. Of course, he didn’t dance for them as he did at a recent rally, so you know, they lost from that POV, I guess.
A man asked Trump about Jan. 6 and Trump’s role. Trump replied, “You had hundreds of thousands of people come to Washington. They didn’t come because of me, they came because of the election—they thought the election was a rigged election and that’s why they came.”
“Some of those people went down to the Capital. I said peacefully and patriotically, nothing done wrong at all, nothing done wrong. Action was taken, strong action.”
I like the video pan of the crowd as Trump is answering. Stern-faced, arms crossed, the people listened. When Trump says, “Ashli Babbitt was killed, nobody was killed,” a woman did a double take.
The camera caught it. She was clearly listening to what Trump said and heard the doublespeak inherent in his response.
My other favorite segment of that town hall came when Trump was asked about climate change.
Trump responded with one of his ‘beautiful, rambling weaves’. Yeah, that’s my snark showing through.
I want to highlight how he veers into his standard alphabet cereal answer. “So I always feel that with the climate and I have been a great, I have been an environmentalist. I built many things. I own Doral next door — ”
Point of order: Trump did not build Doral so it has nothing to do with his environmental record when it comes to building things.
But Trump goes on to make you think he did, “I own Doral next door and we did that in a very environment way — “
‘Environment way’? Where did Trump get his great, beautiful degree again?
“I got awards, environmental awards, for the way I built it, for the water, for the way I use the water, the sand, the mixing of the sand and water.”
Trump didn’t get involved with Doral until 2012. Fifty years after it was built. If he won environmental awards for Doral, I can’t find it on the Internet. They seem to exist in much the same way as his healthcare plan: a concept promise of what could be.
Or an outright lie.
Vote blue in 2024.
Mood: jubtimism. (Yes, that’s a weird combo of jubilant and optimistic, weird in face of the dark news that keeps spitting in my face.)
Hey to all who are doing time with me on the third rock. Today is Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. Completely gray on gray today, again, with sunshine shifting and sliding through cloud breaks when it can. Daffs have broken out to spread their color across the sprinter landscape. 50 F now, no snow on the ground in the valley or nearby peaks. If you need to see some snow, hop onto I5 and drive a few miles south to Mt. Ashland. If you don’t turn off for Mt Ashland but keep going toward California, Mt. Shasta, just fifty miles away, will present a postcard image for you as the Interstate rises and falls.
I watched the Super Bowl last Sunday and saw some NFL commercials about bullying. That woke up some Neurons, who came up with a 1989 Chris Rea song, “The Road to Hell”, and have it playing in the morning mental music stream (Trademark coming in two weeks). See, these big NFL players quoted children and adults who were bullied. The survivors talked about facing daily fear. Terror. Likewise, we have this election campaign where fear and terror are being employed in lieu of policies or intelligent discourse. If Trump wins, he promised to be a dictator. Some of his followers tried overthrowing the election results back on Jan 6, 2021. They now promise greater violence if Trump loses, as do members of Congress who carry his water. Contrary to all presented facts and evidence, they insist that Trump win the 2020 election, but was cheated out of staying in office.
And now, facing all manner of trials and criminal charges, which seem to be stacking up, Trump wants to be declared immune from anything criminal he did while President. As the first judicial panel ruling on his claim noted, that would remove the POTUS from the checks and balances built into the Constitution. If that happened, what, beyond his character, would stop President Biden from saying, “Gosh, if Trump is immune, so am I.”
So there are fears out there for our democracy and republic. Hence, The Neurons pulled up the lines from Chris Rea’s 1989 song, “The perverted fear of violence chokes the smile off every face. Common sense is ringing out bells. This ain’t no technological breakdown. Oh, no. This is the road to hell.”
Sorry if I’m as dark as my coffee this morning. Been reading Rachel Maddow’s book, Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism, yesterday and today. Illuminating, of course, but sometimes history can be depressing. She traces the efforts of paramilitary groups trying to end democracy in the US back in the 1930s to give fascism a chance. They worked under names like The Christian Front, the Silver Legion, and the American White Guard. These were lunatics with powerful friends, which aptly summarizes much of the MAGA movement and QAnon. In summary, both in the past and now, I didn’t realize that so many Americans harbored an authoritarian mindset. Being a Star Trek fan, I though boldly heading toward a new era of equality, freedom, and justice. I didn’t realize that a block of people exist who abhor those things.
On the flip side of my dark street, Jamie Lee Curtis’s performance as the matriarch in The Bear was powerful stuff. Yes, we’re just catching up with the second season. I’d heard about the hit series, and decided to check it out. Glad on did.
Also on the bright side, the house painting is moving closer to fini. That’s pretty darn exciting. Looking back, the project’s genesis was in the early months of 2020. We were just collecting names for bids when COVID landed and the shutdown commenced. In 2021, we moved toward getting quotes but supplies were limited because of supply chain issues in response to the COVID shutdown. Not much was done in 2022 about the painting because…(cough, cough) COVID. Finally, in 2023, quotes were gathered and agreements made, but the painting backlog pushed us back to this year.
I’ve had coffee, thanks. Be strong, remain positive, lean forward, and voOte. Register first, of course. Pitter patter, get ‘er at her. Here is Chris Rea with his slide guitar. Cheer
Saturday has sauntered in like he owns the day. It’s July 2, 2022, part of the four day holiday weekend to celebrate Independence Day, aka July 4th or the 4th of July. All those phrases are employed to recognize the nation’s birthday. Of course, many are disappointed by the years SCOTUS rulings and attempts by GOP legislators and supporters to undermine our principles and drag us backwards. Scoffing at the holiday has grown stronger, especially after Hutchinson’s testimony at the Jan. 6 hearings in the past week. “How long can this nation remain united?” many ask. Others point to the long arc of history and change and remind people that it takes time and perseverance. History will judge it all.
It’s only 18 C right now, but it’s very pleasant. With thunderstorms and showers creeping through the area, projections for today’s high are mild, 78 F. Sunrise cameth (is too a word) at 5:39 AM while sunset cometh at 8:51 PM. Again. That sunset time has been unchanged for a week.
There won’t be fireworks in our town, BTW. Though we had more rain this year, overall, the land and vegetation was deemed too dry and too great a danger.
“Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles from 1989 was deposited in the morning mental music stream. My wife and I were watching television and saw a cute child give a sweet smile. After we talked about it, The Neurons were hooked on the words, “and that little boy’s smile.” I argued with The Neurons, pointing out that it was a little girl I saw. The Neurons don’t care ’bout no stinkin’ logic. They just turned up the volume and kept the song going.
So, anyway, it’s stuck in the mental music stream and must be shared to be dislodged. Them’s the rules. Not a problem, though. I enjoy Myles’ dusky style – it’s a vocalizing that I find attractive in many singers – and the song’s moodiness.
Here’s the song. Tell you what, you listen to it, cogitate on it, let me know what you think, and I’ll go get a cup of coffee. You stay positive and test negative, right? Right.
Cheers
Saturday. February 6, 2021. 32 degrees F and foggy.
I was working the morning shift when the phone rang. A woman on the other end had called me with a warning. My car’s warranty had expired. I took down her details and told her I’d check it out.
Oh, sorry, began channeling Sergeant Joe Friday for some reason. Today’s sunset is at 5:32 PM. Sunrise was at 7:19 AM. In history, a month ago, Jan 6, 2021, insurrectionists stormed a session of Congress to ‘stop the steal’. Egged on the sitting POTUS, they were acting on fake information that he’d spread that his defeat was a result of massive fraud and that he had evidence. He’s never revealed his evidence. Nor has any of his mouthpieces.
Five people died that day, based on his lies. More have been arrested. Even more are being pursued be the FBI.
For some reason, “Karma Chameleon” by Culture Club (1983) gushed into my mental stream in an egregious ear worm incident, where it remains steady. I kept hearing, “You come and go, you come and go,” but the song doesn’t come and go. “Red, gold, and green, red gold, and green. Every day is like survival. You’re my lover, not my rival.”
Sorry. It took over. Little control over my writing thoughts seems in evidence today.
I thought then, that’s just the way you are, which invited the song, “Then the Morning Comes” by Smash Mouth (1999) into the stream. It successfully displayed Culture Club, so here we go.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask (unlike good ol’ Alfie Oakes).
Are you familiar with Alfie Oakes? Owns a grocery store in Florida where no one wears a mask. Says the pandemic is a hoax. Here’s an NBC News story snippet to introduce you to Alfie.
‘The store’s owner, Alfie Oakes, could not be reached for comment on Thursday. He told NBC’s “TODAY” show he knows masks do not work and doesn’t believe the coronavirus has killed hundreds of thousands of people in the United States.
“That’s total hogwash,” Oakes said, later adding, “Why don’t we shut the world down because of the heart attacks? Why don’t we lock down cities because of heart attacks?”‘
Yes sirrr, we have some veeerrry impressive thinking happening in that head.
Don’t be an Alfie. Wear a mask. Get the vaccine. Dance to some music. (Oh, no, I think I hear Sly and the Family Stone firing up.) “Then the Morning Comes”, stat!
Michael Seidel, writer 