Sunday, March 17, 2024

If Your Dog Bites Us, You're In Deep Shit...And That's As It Should Be

 

Among his many "skills", one is downright masterful.

Not...holding the bag.

Ever.

Back to that momentarily.

Here's something that isn't getting said nearly often enough.

If it's being said at all.

Those who support, in any way, shape or form, him or his "candidacy"....

...need to be held accountable, without exception, should he actually become President again.

Because while they have found a way to lie to themselves that his "candidacy" is about policies and issues and a "vision for a direction" for the nation, as a whole, the irrefutable, absolutely easy to prove in court fact is that he is the living embodiment of a danger certainly harmful, potentially fatal, to thousands, if not millions , of people and, very possibly, the nation...as a whole.

It is March, at this writing.

The election, itself, is still eight months away.

Already, he is inciting his "followers" to do damage and harm.

For those whose circulation to the brain is cut off by the loyal wearing of the red cap...

...the word you want to focus in on here....

...is "bloodbath".

As follows....

May be an image of text 

His remarks are not campaign rhetoric.

They are not blunt talk or plain speak or "tellin' it like it is'.

He is not a "straight shooter".

He is a criminally liable, lynch mob leader, continuing to rape the First Amendment by hiding his rousing of the rabble behind the skirts of "free speech."

A narcissistic sociopath who would, literally, throw his own children under a bus to save himself and/or satisfy his personal wants, desires, needs and addictions and who is capable of lighting the fire that would burn America to the ground if those needs are not met.

He is as guilty of potential harm, damage and death as is anyone who yells "fire" in that crowded theatre.

That said...

Chances are those who have been fully indoctrinated into the cult/lynch mob, are possessed of two ears that no longer hear a single word that does not shower him with praise and adoration.

Discussion and debate, for the purpose of changing any of their minds, is a waste of time.

They are what they are. And it is what it is.

So, here's what else needs to be.

If the "bloodbath" occurs, those who did not do all they could to prevent it from happening, be that something as simple as voting against him, need to be labled, branded and charged as accessories to the crime(s) and held liable for any harm and damages that occur.

Up to and including "negligent homicide".

Those with a finger on the "freedom" trigger, ready to fire off rabid defense of him and their own actions.

Don't bother.

You buy him.

You own him.

And all he stands for....and all he does.

Here's the only rule/law that matters...or should.

No one gets to have it both ways.

No one.

Ever. 

This past week, the second of two parents was found guilty of manslaughter for allowing their emotionally damaged son to kill innocent people.

What they experienced was an old traditional trifecta that has been out of fashion for far, far too long.

Accountability. Responsibility. Liability.

Come the "bloodbath"....

Same goes for you, MAGA.

You buy him.

You own him.

And you pay.

Whatever common sense, common decency...and blind justice decide is the cost.

Oh...and by the way.

For those whose knee jerk response to all of this is some form of....

"oh, that's just him talkin'....he wouldn't actually do any of those things...."

First...wake the fuck up.

Second...it doesn't matter if he himself would or wouldn't....will or won't...

He doesn't have to.

Historically, once the mob does their hanging, the fever starts to break, as they are panting, sweating, still trembling from the frenzy, watching the bodies swaying from the trees...lit by the fires burning the town to the ground.....

....the lynch mob 'leader'....is...suddenly..

....nowhere to be found.

Them poor dumb townsfolk...looking around...standing there....

...with a big ol' bag in their hands.

Among his many skills...

...one is downright masterful.

 


Thursday, March 7, 2024

Celebrating A "Man of the People"...Depends Entirely on "the People"

 

The problem with the whole issue of Donald Trump isn't the exhaustion felt by almost everyone when it comes to the issue of Donald Trump.

The problem is that the problem has been misidentified pretty much from moment one.

Moment one being defined as the moment that he 'descended from the tawdry, cheap gold plated escalator symbolizing (in his own egomaniacal mind) Mount Olympus' and announced that he was going to make America great again.

At N.H. rally, Trump supporters don't want to miss the show - The Boston  Globe

And there can be no solution to any problem of any mind until, and unless, the problem is accurately and correctly identified.

Allow me.

Because I'm one of those willing to go right to the head of the line/class when it comes to being exhausted by the issue of Donald Trump.

But I've only recently finally, and accurately identified the problem.

It came to me today, after just one final, too many comment thread 'trump'etings of a mindset voiced continuously, seemingly endlessly, by those who feel it necessary to both publicly pledge their undying loyalty to the orange and /or feel it necessary to try to get it to through millions of thick headed "libtards" why that loyalty is so total, unconditional and undying.

 "President Trump identifies with the American people"

Put simply for those who need in simply put....

Donald gets us.

And, of course, 'identification' of this nature is an automatic reciprocal.

Ergo...if Trump identifies with the American people....

...then the American people identify with Trump.

And there....right there...is the bedrock problem that has eluded  me for damn near ten years now.

And with that reciprocation in mind, it cannot be refuted or argued against that, accordingly, the American people (as least 'the American people' referred to by the thread commenter)...

  • think we should buy Greenland
  • believe we should nuke hurricanes to put an end to them
  • would change the course of a hurricane with a map and a Sharpie
  • would order peaceful protestors tear gassed so they could pose outside a church with a Bible
  • have a rock solid, passionate, daresay romantic, opinion of, and relationship with, Vladimir Putin
  • want to withdraw the U.S. from NATO regardless of the stupidity of such a global chess move
  • believe raking leaves would prevent forest fires because "the floors of the forest...very important"
  • recommend injecting bleach to kill COVID
  • recommend ultraviolet light to kill COVID
  • believe climate change is a Chinese hoax
  • built a tiny bit of wall that doesn't work and for which Mexico has not pitched in a single peso.
  • throw ketchup against the wall when they don't get their way
  • see no problem with lynching the Vice President of the United States.
  • stare directly at the sun during an eclipse
  • lied bigly about how many people showed up for their inauguration
  • think Americans who serve in the military and die in the line of duty are "suckers and losers"
  • got out of military service by claiming "bone spurs"
  • pass "ewwwooge" tax cuts for the rich and multiplied the national debt
  • purposely torpedoed a bipartisan immigration plan because it might help Democrats win votes
  • have been accused of sexual misconduct, assault and/or rape by over TWO DOZEN WOMEN
  • believe white supremacists to be "very fine people"
  • believe that president should be completely immune from any kind of criminal prosecution
  • dismiss ANY news that doesn't please or agree with them as FAKE
  • have been described by various Cabinet officers as "fucking morons"
  • start trade wars that cannot be won, costing millions of Americans...millions
  • believe the FBI, CIA, the court system and education, in general, should be eliminated
  • lie about almost everything almost every time they open their mouths
  • incited a riot that resulted in fatalities and very nearly brought the Capitol of the United States down to a pile of smoldering rubble

and....have announced that if re-elected, the second term will be "all about revenge" 

 Not even to mention the hundreds of other things that would fill line after line after page after page after volume after volume....

Occam's Razor offers that when we are faced with a myriad of solutions/answers to any given problem, it is, almost surely, the simplest solution/answer that is correct.

Turns out that the identification of a given problem can be determined, so to speak, in much the same way.

The problem with the whole issue of Donald Trump....it turns out....

Is that the problem....isn't Donald Trump at all.

The problem...

Is the "American people".

At least the American people who  "publicly pledge their undying loyalty to the orange and /or feel it necessary to try to get it through to millions of thick headed "libtards" why that loyalty is so total, unconditional and undying."

"President Trump identifies with the American people"

The problem, it turns out, is not the first two words of that sentence.

The problem...is the last three.

 

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Snubbing The Ladies of Mattel....Not At All Swell.....

 

 Whatever else, Mr. Castanias is undeniably insightful.

May be an image of 2 people 

Then....along comes a FB poster...a Mr, Nemo Fett.

"...I keep seeing this meme and it's just dumb.
 
First of all, that wasn't the plot of Barbie, a summation of the plot of Barbie is "you don't have to get into the box"
 
But also, it's not like Gosling got the nomination in spite of Margo and Greta. They're not competing. It's like saying it's bullshit that the US lost the pole vault because they won the high jump. 
 
There's still a best actress award going to one of some fantastic candidates. As well as an award for best picture which barbie is nominated for. Robbie just didn't surpass those candidates according to the judges..."
 

Unasked, but never letting the absence of invitation prevent a point of view...I responded as follows...

...given all that needs fixing in this country, let alone the world, this whole discussion seems coupla levels below trite.....
 
that said....for my friends who are up in arms about all of this....
 
poster Fett's POV that the meme is dumb is an opinion to which he is, of course, entitled......
 
THAT said.....
 
the farily obvious intention of the meme is to point out the "irony" that the two primary women (and, props to America Ferrera, the two only unconditionally necessary women) are not to be invited into the Oscar limelight and the primary man is.
 
in other words, men first and always....women...every now and then, if at all....
 
which is, of course, the philosophical ground zero of the entire piece.
 
at best, "you don't have to get into the box" is sub plot (text)....(and gently toes the line between insight....and chauvinistic condescension...in itself quite the irony) 
 
so the "totally accurate" meme should conclude.....
 
"this is actually the 'primary' plot of "Barbie"
 
all of THAT said....
..
this is this year's "empirical" that these awards, like pretty much all awards, are, first, subjective...one's meat, another's poison, et al......second, subject to influence by what has always been, is now and will, for the immediate future, continue to be......
 
the 'good ol' boy' culture/society/nation/world in which we all, all races, creeds, colors and...genders....live.....
 
it's also worth noting that "genderless politics" also, and always, play a part in the process when it comes to award "worthiness".  A politics that comes in all shapes, sizes and flavors. From envy to jealousy, pettiness to outright nastiness...

from "hey, you vote for mine and I'll vote for yours"...

and let's not totally disregard simple laziness.

in my Nashville years, I saw one too many secretaries being told by their producer/publisher/record company bosses to "here...I don't have time for this....fill this thing out and mail it back...." to totally disregard simple laziness.

parting thought.....good on Ryan Gosling for speaking up and out.

and saying "really? what the fuck?" as graciously as it can be said without actually saying it.....

meanwhile.....next week....on "Artistic Lives Matter".....
 
how does any movie get nominated for best actor/actress/picture and NOT get a director nom.....?
 
you want dumb? 
 
there's ya dumb.....


Wednesday, January 17, 2024

"...Other Than That, Mrs. Kennedy...."

 

We all make mistakes.

We are, after all, "only human".

That's a generous, compassionate and, frankly, convenient "out" when mistakes are made and liability, accountability and/or responsibility suddenly seek assignment.

What that Hallmark Card-esque bromide fails to factor in, meanwhile....

...is one often ignored but critically important irrefutable in the societal scheme of things.

There are mistakes we can make.

And mistakes we simply cannot.

We can accidentally pour salt into our iced tea or sprinkle sugar on our scrambled eggs.

We cannot accidentally sprinkle rat poison into the kid's Cheerios.

We can forget to bring baby's pacifier along when we head out to the grocery store.

We cannot forget and leave baby in the back seat after parking the car and walking away on a blistering hot day.

We can carelessly let ourselves be distracted and point our weapon and fire at another's target at the range.

We cannot carelessly let ourselves be distracted and allow another living soul between our gun...and our target.

There are, simply, mistakes that we cannot make.

The people interviewed above, as well as millions of others, are making a mistake.

And it's not the conclusion to which you're likely already jumping.

First, let's narrow the focus a bit by thinning the video herd.

Let's eliminate the young blond giggling that she has "no idea" and her sidekick who is down with Donald "all the way". It's a reasonably safe bet that while both of them could instantly recite all the lyrics to any and all Taylor Swift songs, their political "insights" are mostly likely them parroting what they hear Ma and Pa offering up at the dinner table, Fox News on the flatscreen in the background.

Scratch, as well, the couple who follow the teens in the video...for two reasons. One...it's beyond debate that everyone sees a particular president's policies in a "fer" or "aginst" context. That's to be expected when dealing with muggles (humans) who can't agree on where to have lunch let alone find common ground on the critical issues of life.  But the gentleman invalidates his cred when he shows his "savvy" by firing off the old and tired "we already have a dictator" shtick. Common sense (both in short supply and no longer either common nor sensible) dictates that if there were actually a dictator in the White House, Mr. and Mrs. "real 'Muricans" here wouldn't dare be calling the dictator a dictator. At least not while being videoed and recorded on a public street. Of course, one must always take into account the "X" factor spelled "I.Q."....       

Reason number two? The woman is wearing a 2020 Donald cap. True members of the Kool Aid Korps wouldn't be caught dead out of fashion.

And let's go ahead and take a soft pass on the guy who "likes" the dictator thing and advocates for the elimination of the 'Roosevelt law' that prevents his hero from being President for the rest of his (the hero's) life.

By the way, the 'Roosevelt law' he refers to is actually the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1951. Six years after FDR died in office.

It's kind of surprising that this guy wouldn't know that. After all, any TrumpMAGA member lights up like a kid on Christmas morning at any mention of the "2nd Amendment".....

Even if there's a "Twenty" in front of it.

That leaves the couple kicking off this "on the street" presentation. And a few moments of comments by a gentleman who doesn't seem to fit "the profile" at all.

He is, obviously, wearing the obligatory Red Cap. One of this whole historical sagas most "amusing, if not hilarious, because of its screaming irony" moments btw, showing the passionate support for making "America great" (again...and, if they get their wish...again) by sporting the campaign apparel most likely manufactured...in China. (Yes, of course, the "candidate" denies that 'bigly', but telling the truth...about anything..doesn't really make much of a showing on his CV and everyone..and that means e v e r y o n e ...damn well knows it)

He is also clearly educated, articulate, even thoughtful in his responses. ("Thoughtful" not as in he remembers loved ones' birthdays but as in 'he pauses for a moment after each question which means he's actually listening to the question and considering his reply...a rare quality in pretty much anyone these days...and that means a n y o n e')

And, on first listen, his comments seem measured, considered, hell, even reasonable.

Beginning with a far too lenient consideration of which Trump has long been a beneficiary.

The ol' "you may not like what he says or how he says it.....BUT...."

In this case...."you don't have to like the words that come out of the man's mouth (WAIT FOR IT)....but....sometimes in life, we all need a good paddling from the principal to...set our life on the right ...track".

It's worth noting here...and I give the man credit...that he ends that sentence with an upward swing, "to set our life....on...the right track?"

"...on..the right track?" as if he were either looking for some kind of validation of what he was saying...or...he was doing what he could to insure that the questioner understood that his answer had been pondered and considered and not just fired off as is standard operating procedure in what is sardonically referred to as "discussion and debate" at this place on the mankind timeline.

Again, I give the guy credit...and choose to believe that his intention is the latter.

He continues..."and this country does need a little paddling..." to which he adds that his youth benefited from "leadership" (that) "set me straight".

Wow. Just when you think that you can rely on MAGA minions to babble mindlessly, lip sync shit they heard on Hannity and/or come off so moronically that only a fellow moron would give them a second thought, let alone possibly see their point of view....

...along comes a voice of reason.

This guy's demeanor and observations impressed me sufficiently to motivate me to cut him some (slight) slack as he then starts to wander down "Stolen Election" Street. Something that seems to be required recitation on the part of Trumpsters when appearing and commenting in public.

In my humble o, the whole 'election steal' nonsense is silly. Not to mention bullshit. And the only reason I didn't lead with that is that 'silly' is an 'okay for family viewing' way of saying 'bullshit'. 

And it's 'silly' (wink wink) because of my (spoiler alert...it gets both amusing and ironic here) absolute faith in both 'government'...and my fellow muggles (humans).

Something as complex as the "stealing" of a general presidential election involving fifty states and nearly one hundred and sixty million votes is, to put it in as simple a metaphor as I can muster, not like hot wiring a Corolla off the lot in the dark of night. 

When's the last time the 'government' did anything...that didn't make you think "can they do anything without fucking it up?"

Exactly.

As to my fellow muggles (humans)?

Let's just sum up their collective skills at intricate, delicate, complicated task accomplishment in two words.

Traffic.

Circle.

"....you gonna go....I'm gonna go...oh...you are gonna....no? okay...well, then, I'm gonna....:"

Exactly.

But changing the outcome of an election involving fifty states and nearly one hundred and sixty million votes?

Piece of cake.

Candy from a baby.

Sweet Jesus, already.

All of this (that) said, here comes a dramatic twist in the plot.

(cue 'dramatic twist in the plot' music)

Where you think I'm headed here is not where I'm headed here.

Not by a long shot.

Or even nearly one hundred and sixty million long shots.

For here is where I'm headed.

I'm going to concede pretty much everything our articulate friend who had his life set straight has to say.

Yes, the country needs a "paddlin'. Yes, leadership can make a significant, if not a critically essential, difference in the life of someone...even the lives..of millions. 

No, you get no concession on the election steal 'silliness' (wink wink).

Don't get me started on the traffic circle rant again.

And, articulate, insightful and reasonable man wearing the red cap of conviction (the 'strong belief' conviction...not the conviction(s) theoretically coming up next on "The Adventures of Covfefe"), I'm going to go you one better.

I'm going to concede that a lot of what Trump "accomplished" during his last play date with democracy resulted in positive results and/or outcomes.

You'll need to spot me a healthy dollop of "even a broken clock" here, but you catch my drift.

My problem with what you have articulated, the support you and millions of other continue to offer and with the entire sordid saga that is Donald Trump is that it's all built on a faulty premise.

And, at this point, to save us both time and energy in digesting any more minutiae in my mentions here, I'm gonna skip the line item box checking and sum it up simply and specifically.

If a lot of the policies that were put into place....if a lot of the attitude of 'straight shooting, no bullshit'...if even the sometimes seemingly illiterate, uneducated, crude, rude, by any measure embarrassing spew coming out of a mouth......were put, expressed, spewed by anyone...a n y o n e....but Donald Trump....I'd very likely be standing, if not right beside you, then just a few steps away, nodding in unconditional agreement.

Hell, I might even put on the ol' red capster, from time to time.

But it's not coming from anyone but Donald Trump.

It's coming from Donald Trump.

Whose entire life....e n t i r e   l i f e....right up to, and including this moment, has been a textbook case of clinical narcissism with, at the very least, a sassy sprinkling of sociopathy.

 And not....n o t....because I say so.

Because he is.

And you damn well know that.

You watched and heard him act like a spoiled two year old throughout the 2016 "campaign".

You watched him openly mock a disabled reporter in front of a large public "rally" and broadcast all over the world.

You heard him give childish, bullying nicknames to his political rivals.

High road?

High roads are for pussies.

Speaking of pussies....how 'bout he grabs your lovely wife by the crotch while we're having an amiable chat about 'what this country needs is a little paddlin'...."?

You're seen the videos, you've seen the speeches, you've seen and heard the "Inaugural" 'address'.

You watched him stir up an obviously angry mass of 'worshipers' and send them up the street in full lynch mob mode....to crash through, tear down, burn down.....

...even hang the freely elected Vice President of the United States.

His.

Own.

Fucking.

Vice President

You've seen it all.

You've heard it all.

I know you have.

Because I've watched and listened to you. And I see you as an articulate, thoughtful, intelligent guy.

So, the question practically asks itself.

How in the name of any God you choose, can you justify your support of him?

If the answer is, and I not only suspect, but assume that the answer actually is, that you sincerely, even confidently, believe that he shows by his bluntness, his "no bullshit" approach....his wrapped in red, white and blue, take no crap or prisoners supposed grasp on the wheel of the ship of state, ready, willing and determined to navigate that ship to authentic greatness...with liberty and justice...for all.....a l l......

...you're making a mistake.

A grievous, catastrophic,  extinction level event mistake.

At least an extinction of the democratic process.

Because Donald Trump doesn't give a single, miniscule, micro-millimeter...fuck....about anything...or anyone....

...a n y t h i n g....or  a n y o n e....

...but himself.

He has demonstrated that, exhibited that, shown that, spoken that....p r o v e n....that.

Time and again...and again....and again....

...as in "Make America Great .....a g a i n..."

I know.

That you know.

Don't you.

Of course you do.

And I know.

That you are making the mistake of all mistakes.

"A beaut"....as offered by New York City's legendary, once upon a time mayor, Fiorello LaGuardia.

There are mistakes we can make.

There are mistakes we cannot make.

The continued survival of "the land of the free, the home of the brave"...

...absolutely depends on recognizing the difference.

And acting accordingly.

Most especially....

Most essentially...

...on Election Day.


 


Tuesday, January 9, 2024

You Think THAT'S The Stupidest Thing We Could Ever Do? Here...Hold My Flag....

 

Growing up in the 1950's and 1960's, my generation witnessed, via the primitive media means available in the day, a number of these kinds of 'riots'...

Without exception, we came to recognize them as the attempts of the "common, everyday citizens" of one oppressed nation or another to put an end to tyranny, cruelty, authoritarianism, totalitarianism and whatever 'dictatorship' was inflicting those inhumanities on the general population.

It never occurred to us that we would ever witness such an act in our own "backyard".

But here we are.

And saturating the entire experience is an irony arguably unequaled in American, if not world, history.

This is not the action of a citizenry under tyrannical, cruel, authoritarian, totalitarian dictator rule, inflicting inhumanities on the general population.

This is a lynch mob. Incited to attempt the reversal of a free election, the overthrow of an incoming freely elected leadership and the destruction of the foundation upon which a democratic Republic has rested for over two hundred and fifty years.

And the irony?

A lynch mob incited....by a freely elected "President of the United States" who, upon being defeated for a second term in another free election, was determined to rule tyrannically.

Who IS determined to rule tyrannically.

The ultimate embarrassment in a "land of the free"?

Not that the citizens of an authoritarian ruled nation are rising up to cast off the shackles of oppression and insure freedom for all....all across the land....from sea to shining sea.

But that those same citizens are rushing forward, directly into the chains, locks and shackles of just such an authoritarianism.

You can't find it in any dictionary.

But here's a 2024 word to be added to the American sociopolitical lexicon.

"Backasswards".

 

 

 

Monday, January 8, 2024

The 8th Month....'Trumped' Again....

Legends are born in august T shirt Design Funny Birthday T-Shirts for  Men's, Women's & Kids Gift - TshirtCare

 

 

August is like the third or fourth kid in the calendar family.

Theoretically, it gets all the attention of its sibling months, but, inevitably, if unintentionally, it tends to live on the periphery of the spotlight, not to mention the limelight, that bathes the eleven others. 

January..how about Times Square, ball dropping, party on, Garth....not mention a little pigskin, punt, pass and kicking get together known as ....the....Super.....Bowl.....I mean, hello....

February...three words, Benjamin.....Valentine's. Day. Chocolate.

March...thanks to that snake banishing superstar, St. Patrick, malts and hops, in an assortment of colors, flow like the uber healthy bladder of a teenager...

April...Tax Day tries to buzzkill, but, those sweet 'showers' and, for many, the main mama of all rocks rolled away from tombs make April a family fave....oh...not to mention three words, Benjamin.....Easter. Bunny. Chocolate.

May...probably comes closest to the obscurity that August endures, but, hey, if nothing else, we're talkin' the psychological, if not official, "start of summer"....surf's up, dudes....

June...four words, Benjamin (courtesy of Alice)....school's. out. for. summer.

July...well, if the spectacular, sparkling explosions filling the night sky over the nation's Capitol don't rattle your heart's windows, July also marks the first real opportunity we have to fulfill that nasty yearly health insurance deductible with that hurried race to the ER in an effort to get one or more of those fingers reattached....courtesy of unwise fuse lighting decisions involving Black Cats....

September...Labor Day ..symbolically, the end of summer ("boooooo", said the kids)....officially, the beginning of the new school year ("yaaaaaaay", screamed the parents....)....

October....again, need we even bother with two more words when...."chocolate" sums in up like Jamie Lee screaming down the block? okay, here's two other words...pumpkin. spice....  Sorry you couldn't let it go with chocolate, now, aren't ya.....

November...the first of the two calendar kids who are, regardless of what anybody says and/or denies, the "favorites"....after all, turkey...and stuffing/dressing....mashed potatoes....pie.....not to mention more punt, pass and kicking....and hey......again, HELLO.....giant SNOOPY floating through downtown Manhattan???

and, of course.....

December...frankly, it's embarrassing to think we even have to think about listing anything here....but, if you insist, December, obviously, brings with it the family tradition that supersedes and usurps all the other family traditions, hands down, no joke, we ain't kiddin......the kabillion hours long marathon repeat showings of "A Christmas Story"..... up on the housetop, I triple dog dare ya....down through the chimney...only to end up shootin' your eye out.....

Meanwhile....alas, poor August.

Summer? Mostly only dog days. 

Any possibility of a holiday we could justify and/or rationalize copious candy consumption? Not likely given that the fifth through the eleventh is "National Smile Week' and nothing yanks the reins in on Reese's Cups like seven days of focus on good dental hygiene.

Of course, there is the 3rd, which is National Watermelon Day. But our parents only got away with that crap they pulled about watermelon being a "dessert" until we got wise...sometime around two years old, give or take.

Now, admittedly August holds its own in the calendar pecking order when it comes to 'historical observances.

6th, 1945....the first atomic bomb persuaded Japan to rethink their plan to expand their borders.

6th, 1965....the Voting Rights Act passed....permanently awarding that right to everyone who was qualified....'permanently' as in, right up until MAGA went from fad to standard operating procedure and its mob members realized that titanic turnouts almost always mean sinking ships...

16th, 1896...the first Gold Rush....of course, that sort of faded into the history books once Black Friday came along and the Canadian Yukon took a back seat to every Wal Mart and Target from sea to shining sea....

and the 21st, 1959...Hawaii became the 50th state in the Union....yeah, okay....except that things being what they are these days, the term "union" is fast becoming an oxymoron....and a case can be made that had Hawaii remained a distant paradise, we mainlanders would never have had to dealt with this pineapple on the pizza profanity.....

Still, years of being a bastard calendar stepchild notwithstanding, August 2024 promises to be a spotlight/limelight grabber in a bigly way.

Hold that thought.

We'll save the date shortly.

Paul Blumenthal is a senior reporter for the Huffington Post, his primary area of attention being politics.

He posted a piece this weekend on what the (inevitably) overly melodramatic headline offers is "Donald Trump's Most Dangerous Argument Yet".

Here's some excerpts.


Donald Trump is trying to quash his indictment for the attempt to steal the 2020 election by arguing before a federal appeals court that presidents have an “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution, even after leaving office.

Trump’s claim of absolute immunity comes in the federal case charging him with four felony counts related to his efforts to overturn his reelection loss that led up to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. The former president also faces a state prosecution in Georgia over attempts to steal the state’s election, a federal case related to illegally taking classified documents, and a trial in New York over hush money payments to a porn actor.

In his appeal in the federal election theft case, Trump makes two arguments. The first is that he has permanent absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for any acts undertaken during his presidency. The second is that under the theory of double jeopardy, he cannot face criminal charges for acts upon which he was impeached but not convicted.

“The structure of our government, the text of the Constitution and its early commentators, common-law immunity doctrines, our political history, the Supreme Court’s analogous immunity doctrines, and the policy considerations rooted in the separation of powers all dictate that no President, current or former, may be criminally prosecuted for his official acts unless he is first impeached and convicted by the Senate,” Trump’s appeal brief states.

But his arguments run counter to centuries of judicial precedent and constitutional interpretation, as well as the intent of the Constitution’s authors and the very conception of the United States as a democratic republic governed by the rule of law enshrined in a constitution.

Aside from flying in the face of the nation’s history and system of government, both of Trump’s arguments would create perverse incentives for presidents to break the law to stay in office, and for their partisans in Congress to immunize them from criminal prosecution by impeaching but not convicting them.

“The defendant’s sweeping immunity claim threatens to license Presidents to commit crimes to remain in office,” Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith argued in a brief filed with the appeals court last week.

Under this theory, a president would be immune from prosecution if they directed “the FBI Director to plant incriminating evidence on a political enemy” or instructed “the National Guard to murder his most prominent critics,” according to Smith’s brief. And a president could avoid an impeachment conviction by “inciting his supporters during a State of the Union address to kill opposing lawmakers—thereby hamstringing any impeachment proceeding—to ensure that he remains in office unlawfully.”

Taken to its most extreme logical conclusion, the theory would allow President Joe Biden to abduct Trump and hold him in a black site prison or kill him, and potentially face no legal consequences, as Huff Post’s S.V. Date writes.


That last example, however absurd it might seem to the average knee jerker, brings a specific and critically important matter into focus.

The rule of law. What is essentially the foundation upon which "the Republic" stands.

And the question that has historically never been asked, let alone answered.

Finally coming around to being asked.

And absolutely in need of a written in stone, no bullshit allowed answer.

Is anyone....A N Y O N E.....above the law? 

Actor Bill Mumy, famous for his childhood work on "The Twilight Zone", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and his teen years as "Will Robinson" as in "....danger, Will Robinson" in the hit Sixties series, "Lost In Space", is a Facebook friend. Artistic and articulate, Bill often coda's his sharings with what has become a sort of 'unregistered trademark'....

"time", he offers, "is a bizarre river."

As does the legendary Smokey Robinson, I "second that emotion".

And Bill's insight strikes a particularly poignant chord for me this new year.

This year I turn seventy three.

Which means, of course, that I am currently living out that seventy third year.

And while it's not exactly Robert Frost poetic, a commonly recognized phrase has taken up, of late, some rental space in my synaptics.

"...I know a thing or two....because I've seen a thing or two..."

While it's reasonable to realize that every life, once it passes a certain age, can lay claim to having experienced things that past generations have not, it's equally reasonable to counter that there are a number of things that have occurred as I've traveled through certain sections of Mr. Mumy's 'bizarre river' that count as "firsts", more accurately "unusual, unique....even once in a lifetime" kinds of things....

Among entries of occurrence in my particular personal travelog....

...the Twenty Second Amendment, limiting a president to two terms....an amendment that is almost surely currently living in the crosshairs of victims of tanning salon overdoses and bad orange comb overs.....

...the first conviction and execution of a civilian couple for committing espionage....the Rosenbergs, Julius and Ethel, not to be confused with Fred and Ethel who were seemingly law abiding but, ironically, these days are surely better known....

...the first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus,  named after the sinister ship in Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"....

...the election of the first Catholic to the office of President of the United States....a world shaking event superseded less than three years later by....

...the assassination of the first Catholic elected to the office of President of the Unites States...a world shattering event that some suggest, from which, the nation, at least, has never fully recovered...

...the passage of the first comprehensive Civil Rights Act....putting on paper and into law, a set of moral guidelines that, arguably, made so much that was wrong right...and, irrefutably, should never have been necessary in the first place...

...the landing of the first human beings on the Moon... one small step for a man...one giant leap for mankind...and, most heatedly in the past ten years or so, still doubted or disbelieved by a large enough number of, theoretically, "intelligent Americans" to be of grave concern for the future of mankind....

...the first American President to resign from office...disgraced, after being all but convicted of approving a third rate burglary in order to gain an advantage over political opponents....and an extraordinary example of 'bad timing'....for had Richard Nixon run in 2016 as opposed to 1968/72, he could have not only scored four years in the Oval, he could have enjoyed the luxury of showing off classified documents to all his peeps, gotten big laughs making fun of disabled reporters, relaxed from the stress of office by grabbing the occasional pussy and, of course, skipped over the silly "enemies list" he was known for and moved right on to the "send the mob down the street and burn the building with the big dome on it right to the ground.....oh...and hang Agnew..."....tough luck, Dick....

 ...the election of the first black to the office of President of the United States....an obviously historic occasion which will, sadly, almost tragically, be remembered in generations to come as eight years of a scandal free, if basically average, presidency....marred only by the catastrophic mistake of the President making fun, at a White House Correspondents Association dinner...of a victim of tanning bed overdoses and a bad orange comb over....who, possessed of absolutely no genetic ability to have a sense of humor or humility about himself, decided, that very night, to run, as retribution, for the office of President of the United States himself....the joke at the time, of course, being that his 'candidacy' was a joke....the joke, as it turned out, was that thinking it was a joke turned out to be absolutely nothing resembling funny....

...the first major attack on the continental United States by foreigners, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Americans, the total destruction of the World Trade Center, the major damaging of the Pentagon and the loss of forty authentically brave passengers who brought down an airliner that was determined later to be on a trajectory to destroy as much of Washington DC as possible....

...the first directed and undeniable attack on the nation's Capitol by a thousands strong 'lynch mob' of "Americans", incited to that attack by a, then, "President" of the United States.

And...come November 2024, the very real possibility that history will, in one of its more cruelest methods of pranking....repeat itself.

At least in terms of re-electing what was a once, and future, joke.

And August?

By August of this year, both of what passes these days for the 'Republican' Party and the Democratic Party will have held their conventions, nominated their nominees and set their nominees loose on an already exhausted nation of "we, the people".... the Democrats, as a matter of fact, meeting in August itself in Chicago.

Ending on August 22.

One week to the day before I turn seventy three.

Which is sixty nine days to the day before Election Day.

And the historic final episode of the historic first time drama of the possible election to the Presidency of the United States...of a very likely convicted felon who will have gotten his ruling from the Supreme Court of the United States as to whether or not he and, as a result, future Presidents of the United States are entitled, by law.....

...to be the only citizen in the entire population of the United States of America....

....exempt from the rule of law....and immune from prosecution, no matter the behavior, act and/or offense.

From amendments to espionage, elections to assassinations to resignations, from the chaos on Earth to the Sea of Tranquility, from the enemy forced collapse of major skyscrapers to the "making America great again" by assaulting the official headquarters of the "land of the free, home of the brave".....

I've seen a thing or two in seventy two years.

Seventy three years come August.

A month that has never really gotten its proper props.

A circumstance not likely to change any time soon.

Most surely not this year.

Given what's coming in November.