…strangely reassuring and well worth a few minutes of your time to read in full.
Western civilization will completely collapse in the next 200 years
Hari Seldon is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series who studied broad patterns of human behavior, and through that study was able to predict the collapse of civilization. The general principle is simple: large masses of humans are similar to large masses of atoms in a gas. Predicting the behavior of any individual atom is nearly impossible, but the prediction of the behavior of a gas–how it will react to changes in temperature and pressure, for example–is simple and deterministic. You don’t need to know how each individual atom will behave, because in the aggregate masses of atoms show statistical properties that are invariant. Isaac Asimov’s premise in the Foundation books is that large masses of people are predictable for the same reason: the large-scale flow of action is driven by statistical factors that will cause predictable patterns to emerge, even if the behaviors of individuals cannot.
So call me Hari Seldon… because I’ve been looking at some patterns recently, and I’m convinced Western Civilization will completely collapse within the next 200 years.
New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has never backed away from a fight with Donald Trump – and he’s tended to win those battles. Schneiderman has succeeded in taking down the phony Trump University and the fraudulent Trump Foundation. He’s also reportedly bringing state level RICO indictments against the Trump organization (link). And today, Schneiderman is also going after Trump over the AHCA.
Here’s the official statement which New York AG Eric Schneiderman released today: “The healthcare bill passed today by House Republicans is a threat to the health and wellbeing of all New Yorkers. In addition to the devastating impact this bill would have on every New Yorker’s access to affordable healthcare, the legislation that passed the House today is unconstitutional in several critical respects—and I stand ready to challenge it in court.”
It continues: “First, House Republicans’ attempt to effectively deny women access to reproductive healthcare services is a cruel and unconstitutional attack on women’s rights – especially the most vulnerable. Further, the Collins-Faso Amendment is a cynical ploy by House Republican leadership and President Trump that exceeds Congress’s authority by interfering with how New York has long elected to fund its Medicaid program. This bill threatens to slash essential healthcare services for millions of New Yorkers who need them the most. For these reasons, if this disastrous and unconstitutional healthcare bill is ultimately signed into law, I will challenge it in court.” (link)
If the Senate votes no on the AHCA, or if the Democrats are able to filibuster it, then it will fail, and Obamacare will remain intact. But even if it does pass, it’s clear the battle will just be beginning. And if New York can get the AHCA ruled unconstitiutional, it would be nullified in all fifty states. If the Democrats then win the midterms, they could reinstate Obamacare. So the fight against the AHCA is just getting started.
Well, we dodged at least one bullet today. 45’s extra super special “Religious Freedom” EO doesn’t explicitly allow discrimination against LGBT folks as previously feared. It’s more of a feel-good-but-has-no-real-teeth-behind-it proclamation that might make it easier for churches and other religious groups to engage in politics without endangering their tax-exempt status. It does not appear to have any backdoor anti-gay discrimination language and its scope would be simply limited to employer-provided insurance and churches which endorse candidates. While the “christian” reich-wing wants full repeal of the Johnson amendment that put the whole church-taxation trigger in place, that isn’t going to happen by way of a simple, crayon-scrawled Executive Order.
It should be noted that if there is anything in the order that runs counter to the Johnson Amendment, it cannot take effect without congressional action to repeal Jonson, but right on cue—because of course—one pencil-neck white male republicancongressman from Indiana stood up today and advocated for a full repeal of said amendment.
Nothing triggers those Whitejesus® freaks like that pesky separation of church-and-state thing.
According to an article over at The Hill, “some social conservatives voiced frustration the order does not include provisions to allow them to oppose LGBT rights on religious grounds.” While an earlier draft of the religious liberty order would have let federal contractors discriminate against LGBT employees based on faith beliefs, Thursday’s version did not include such provisions, so naturally their panties are in a twist. Those “social conservatives” don’t really care about “religious liberty” in any other context, so since this EO doesn’t explicitly let them screw over gay people, they naturally aren’t going to be happy.
Poor babies!
But the question I have (sort of prompted by the graphic above) is what happens when say, oh…I dunno…a Muslim congregation or Imam starts advocating politically? Is that allowed, or will it prompt a visit from Homeland Security?
Oh stupid me…I already know the answer to that! “Religious Liberty” only applies to Christians!
Imagine the world’s biggest frat party, filled with even more closeted former jocks and assholes a plenty. Times by N. That’s the current GOP.” ~ Oscarlating Wildely
Trumpism is a movement built on victimhood. It holds that Americans are unemployed because immigrants stole their jobs. It argues that people of color are diluting the culture of America and that LGBT people having rights is an attack on the traditional family. Its slogan, Make America Great Again, speaks to that victimhood. We were great once. We aren’t anymore, because of those people.
Saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is enough to inspire a meltdown. Nando’s, a chicken chain, recently “triggered” multiple Trump supporters by simply handing out “#everyoneiswelcome” posters in their DC stores. The act of simply existing while transgender sends some into a tizzy.
The reality is that, yes, we actually are all unique, no matter our political leanings. Having strong reactions to things does not necessarily imply weakness or fragility, and is not the same thing as being triggered. The phenomenon of living in an ideological bubble where opinions that align with our own are considered good and opinions that challenge your beliefs are considered bad is not unique to either party or any movement. It is also not the same thing as a safe space.
Not every protest is a tantrum. Using speech to criticize speech is not censorship. Dismissing the struggles of marginalized communities as “identity politics” is intellectually lazy. Sometimes, something just is racist or sexist, and if describing it as such is enough to make you have a meltdown, then maybe you’re the fragile one. I’m talking to you, Donald.
We cannot allow Pence and the rest of the Trump team to get away with decisions that the right-wing would have burned Hillary Clinton at the stake for – but of course, she would never have made those decisions because Clinton is a true patriot and is not beholden to the oligarchs in the Kremlin.” ~ Natalie Dickinson
I’m very positive about California, but then again, the rest of the country, you have to realize that just under 50% of the population are very racist. They voted for their racism. That’s why the polls were never accurate because no one wanted to admit their racism. Before the election, I said they would go into the voting booth and say ‘Fuck Transgender bathrooms, Fuck Black Lives Matter, Fuck those Mexicans! I want mine!’ And that’s exactly what they did. And don’t think gay marriage didn’t have anything to do with it! That was the last gasp of the white, heterosexual male.” ~ Zoey Tur
This is a discussion Ben and I were having the other day while driving home from lunch. We’ve both noticed an increase in the general assholery of our fellow Americans lately, both on the road and off.
We used to quickly dismiss it as just plain stupidity (left turns from right hand lanes, etc.) but the thought occurred to me the other day that it’s more than just stupidity. I think that with everything going on in the world over which they feel they have no control, a lot of people have just developed an entitled, fuck-it-all mentality when it comes to the little things they can control.
“Why should I follow traffic rules when no one else does?”
“Why should I actually have my fast food order sorted before I get to the head of the line?”
“Why should I do x, y, z and maintain basic civility toward people when it’s obvious no one else is and they’re getting away with it?”
Now granted, there have always been self-important, entitled assholes:
But it seems that until last November this douchebaggery was just kind of simmering there, for the most part held in check by civil society.
Not any more!
The “election” of the Cheeto-faced Jizztrumpet and the ongoing train-wreck that has followed has unleashed all that pent-up effluent and has allowed it to run freely in the streets with its head held high. People who would otherwise be muzzled by basic standards of civil behavior can now be flaming douchebags to anyone and everyone without any fear of repercussion. Because if the President can get away with Treason, why do I have to play by the rules?
BECAUSE FOLLOWING THE RULES AND TREATING OTHER PEOPLE WITH RESPECT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, MOTHERFUCKERS.
So I would suggest start playing a game when you’re out and about and see something that leaves you shaking your head in disbelief. Try and figure out if someone did something out of sheer stupidity or out of a misplaced fuck-it-all sense of entitlement.
A day after Watergate reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward issued a stirring call for the press to hold Donald Trump to account, the president’s chief of staff said the White House is actively considering a change to libel laws affecting news reporting.
“I think it’s something that we’ve looked at,” said Reince Priebus, appearing on ABC’s This Week. “How that gets executed and whether that goes anywhere is a different story.”
On the campaign trail last year, Trump responded to reporting on his policies and background by floating the possibility of a change to libel laws. Such a move would in reality require a change to the US constitution, which enshrines freedom of the press in the first amendment, the supreme court having ruled on the issue.
No, not those kind of furry friends. (Although I will readily admit I’ve had many of those over the course of my life.) I’m talking about the four-legged variety.
So once again I found myself wide awake at 4 am this morning. This time however, it is not from worry about Trump’s bombastic pronouncements to Korea; it was from a dog with diarrhea.
Bobo, our little pirate (so called because he has only one eye) came to live with us a couple years ago via Ben’s mom (a story any longtime reader of this blog is well aware of).
He has a crack habit.
His crack is the canned, wet version of Natural Balance Duck & Potato dog food.
We initially started purchasing this as a means of delivering a daily medication in a balled-up teaspoon of the stuff to Sammy, our other dog, since I’d read that peanut butter (our prior delivery system of choice) really isn’t all that great for dogs. Of course, we can’t give something to one without giving it also to the other, so that’s how it started.
More recently Bobo’s turned into quite the picky eater (it’s allowed, he’s an old man at 11 years). We discovered that mixing a bit of this wet food in with his kibble in the morning ensures that he eats it all before Sammy swoops in and finishes off what ever Bobo’s left. (According to Ben, Bobo has always been a grazer, eating when he wanted to and not being forced to wolf down the entire bowl at a single sitting. Living with Sammy, however, has forced him to “eat it or lose it” when it’s put down.
Well, occasionally as a treat we’ve been giving both dogs just the wet food for dinner. It’s literally gone in 30 seconds, even when Bobo’s portion goes into one of those special slow-eatin’ bowls.
We’d been giving each of the critters about an ounce and a half of the wet food; the same amount of the chopped log variety we normally give them in the evening. Upon reading the can, however, it was recommended for dogs of their size, they be given an entire can plus.
Ah, no. That isn’t going to happen. Last night, however I did give them each half a can. BIG mistake. All was well and good until sometime in the middle of the night I was aware of Bobo trying to get back on the bed. The poor lil’ guy doesn’t have the strength in his back legs that he used to, so most of the time he has to be picked up. I didn’t think too much of it; he gets down occasionally to go relieve himself (finally trained to use the puppy mats we have put down), but the fourth time he got down I figured I better get up and see what was going on.
As I headed down the hall in the dark in my bare feet (you know where this is going, right?) I stepped in it. Twice. I turned on the light and saw a string of deposits leading to the den door. It was obvious the way Bobo was dancing around that he needed to relieve himself again, so I turned off the alarm and he rushed outside while I cleaned up the mess (and Ben slept blissfully on).
Now anything that comes out of Bobo has never been particularly aromatic, but this…I almost hurled. When he came back in, we went back to bed and I slept—fitfully—until I heard him jump down again around 6. This is the normal time they get me up so I let them both out. Ten minutes after coming back inside Bobo started doing his “I have to go outside NOW” dance in the den. Let’s just say I still didn’t get him back outside quickly enough.
After cleaning that mess up it was then that I discovered his initial middle-of-the-night deposit on the new living room rug…because of course where else would he do it?
I’ve reached that point in our absence from Denver that when looking through photos of our time there I find myself feeling a bit wistful and catch myself thinking, “Was it really so bad?”
Human memory is a funny thing. We tend to remember only the good times and tend to gloss over or outright forget the bad ones. It took me years to get over San Francisco—and that departure was forced by circumstances, not something I particularly chose. Even now, officially absent from Baghdad-by-the-Bay for longer than the sum total of the time I lived there, I still occasionally feel a pang—albeit brief—of homesickness when running across a particularly beautiful photo of The City. (Curiously, my own photos from my time there do not elicit such feelings.)
So I’m sure the same thing will happen with Denver as time goes by. “Was it really so bad?” YES, Mark. Yes it was. Remember the night you got stuck in the snow on the way home from work? How about the continual, hellacious traffic and the horrific drivers? Remember all those times waiting at a bus stop (because you finally wised up and refused to drive to work when it snowed) in -8°F weather? For chrissake if nothing else remember the abysmal employment that both you and Ben had to deal with!
As I’ve mentioned before, we wanted an adventure, and Denver certainly provided that. And Sammy. Mustn’t forget that Denver is where Sammy came into our lives! Sometimes I think that was the sole reason the Universe put us there in the first place.
We are blessed with technology that would be indescribable to our forefathers. We have the wherewithal, the know-it-all, to feed everybody, clothe everybody, and give every human on Earth a chance. We know now what we could never have known before-that we now have the option for all humanity to make it successfully on this planet in this lifetime. Whether it is to be Utopia or Oblivion will be a touch-and-go relay race right up to the final moment.” ~ Hanging Up My Spurs
Since January 20th, it’s seemed like every goddamned day it’s been something with the Cheeto-faced Shitgibbon currently occupying the White House. It’s almost as if he’s set a personal goal to totally dismantle the last hundred years of progress in this country via crayon-scribbled Executive Orders within his first hundred days in office.
If that’s his agenda, he’s doing a fairly good job at it.
I mean, I can’t even open Twitter, look at my News Reader, or listen to NPR without being constantly assaulted with some felonious act that he, one of his Children of the Corn spawn, members of his demonic inner circle, or the Release the Kracken Republican Congress and Senate is doing, has done, or is planning on doing; things that if Hillary Clinton had even so much as fantasized would have already gotten her Impeached, removed from office and thrown in prison.
But yet with 45 for some reason all we hear is crickets and the sound of Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan fighting over who gets to lick the Toupeed Jizztrumpet’s anus next. Why the fuck is that? WHY THE FUCK IS THAT?!?
I mean at this point, it’s easier to name people in Pussy Grabber’s immediate family or his administration who aren’t being investigated for one thing or another—and yet nothing seems to come of those investigations. WHERE ARE THE INDICTMENTS?!?
I suppose I should be thankful that we at least still have the ability to honestly report on and criticize the fucktard, and that brown-shirted thugs are not roaming the street pulling people from their homes in the dead of night to be shipped off to concentration camps—things that I can no longer say with any degree of certainty we will continue to enjoy if he continues on his present course of dismantling everything about this country we thought inviolate and immutable—all the while the parts of government created to prevent this from happening and prosecute them if they do are turning a blind eye to these transgressions.
And despite the egregious daily lies, the broken promises, and the abject failure that his first hundred days in office have proven themselves to be, a recent survey quoted something like 96% of the people who voted for the Shitstain-In-Chief would DO IT AGAIN.
Seriously, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE—and in fact the rest of the world who seem hell-bent on instilling their own versions of Cheetolini?
All I can figure out is that indeed, we have been taken over by shape-shifting aliens from Zeta Reticulii, à la Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
If that’s not it, I would then have to admit that some parts of the Bible—notably the Book of Revelations—are true, and that 45 (despite his utter and complete incompetence) is the Anti-Christ so famously written about. I mean think about it: the ongoing cultural narrative is that this person would (at least initially) be popular and a leader of business or industry. Neither points can be outwardly dismissed with the Shitgibbon, and never before has one man so completely lacking in empathy for his fellow Americans and at odds with basic human decency—not to mention reality—held in his tiny orange hands the ability to start a conflagration that could wipe out all life on earth. And yet his Bible-toting followers fail to see the parallels.
Being the rational atheist I am, however, I cannot concede that this is his true identity (although he still could easily kill every living thing on the planet). I find it far more believable that while his ego orgasmed at the thought of assuming the title “President of the United States” when he announced his candidacy, I doubt he ever considered the duties and responsibilities that went along with it—or that he even seriously believed he would actually win.
But since he did win, it’s obvious he discovered pretty quickly (although I’m sure he’d never admit it to anyone) that he was so ill-equipped for the job (remember that deer-in-the-headlights look he had when he met with Obama?) that he immediately surrounded himself with sycophants who stroked his fragile ego and told him he’d be the greatest president ever—but (unbeknownst to him) at best viewed him as nothing more than a puppet to enable their own aims that were far darker and posed a greater threat to the country than he would ever be on his own. Couple that with his obvious hatred of the Clintons and Obamas and all they accomplished—and the Presidency has given this sociopathic, narcissistic personality and his handlers (because there’s no other word to describe them) full rein to destroy everything his predecessors created and freely loot the coffers of the country in the process.
Leaving Russian interference in the election out of the equation for the time being, the fact that he was elected at all—much less that he still has support—leaves me absolutely speechless. I’m sure future historians (whoever and whatever they may be) will undoubtedly point to our increasingly-poisoned (and soon to be more so with 45’s gutting of the EPA) environment as the source for this mental aberration.
My freshman yearbook photo.
Imagine the world’s biggest frat party, filled with even more closeted former jocks and assholes a plenty. Times by N. That’s the current GOP.” ~ 
My sister and I, 1980
