The day begins in the usual fashion:
With perpetually enraged morons shouting for blood.
Apparently the official Republican Party position this morning is: An unhinged president who lost an election should absolutely be allowed to start a global nuclear war if he wants to and anyone who tries to stop him is a traitor.
I mean, let me get this straight, the Republican position is that a lame duck president should not be allowed to appoint Supreme Court Justices because "the people have spoken..."
...but should be allowed to start a nuclear war?
Yeah, they should totally put that on the 2024 campaign bumper stickers.
"Marshal."
Court Marshal.
Lest you think that a typo and not ignorance:
There it is again, court marshal.
Oh boy, we got us a real military law expert here, don't we?
Greene, or more likely some poor intern on her staff, later deleted the first tweet and reposted it with the correct phrasing. The second one is still up. Goddamn, are these people stupid.
A republic is resilient.
It can survive a lot of things, but when those elected to run it become an endless parade of blustering angry simpletons cheered by the proudly ignorant shouting mob, well, then the end isn't far away.
Lot of these dimwits are throwing around the word "treason" today in the wake of reports General Mark Milley called his counterpart in China and assured him that Trump would not be allowed to start a nuclear war as some sort of petulant revenge for losing the election.
That's not treason.
Treason is giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
First of all, China isn't our enemy.
Second, we're not at war with China.
China is, in point of fact, one of our largest economic trading partners. And assuring the military commanders of a country that we are not at war with that we won't let the raging unhinged madman who just lost an election start a nuclear war isn't treason.
It's sanity.
And maybe this about fixing the utterly insane system that led to this situation in the first place. Right? I mean, goddamn, Folks, when it's the Generals who have to go around the president to prevent nuclear fucking war instead of, you know, trying to start one, maybe that's the wakeup call right there.
The problem wasn't the generals, it was Trump.Now, don't get me wrong here, I do have a problem with the fact that the general warned China, but didn't tell us.
Think this guy needs to testify. I think he needs to tell America what happened in detail and why he did what he allegedly did.
BUT
But, it was an unhinged, insane, petulant, child-man with his dirty sticky finger on the fucking button, that was the problem.
It was the fact that the Joints Chiefs, those with the inside track and direct observation of the situation on the ground inside the last days of the Trump administration, thought they had to take this action. That's what we should be concerned most about here. That, right there. Because those guys aren't prone to panic, or hyperbole, or even adverse to war. So if they were concerned enough to risk accusations of treason then there has to be a damn good reason.
And it is every American's duty to know what those reasons were.
And if you insist on trying General Milley for treason, then I will expect you to likewise demand the heads of every single Republican who aided and abetted and signed Senator Tom Cotton's letter to Iran undercutting President Obama and five other allied nations during the Iran nuclear talks in direct violation of the Logan Act. And I'll remind you here that Iran is our enemy.
Otherwise, shut the fuck up.
Heh. Do Mike Flynn next.
Here's the thing:
1. Milley should be neither condemned nor praised for his (alleged) actions.
2. We don't really know if this story about Milley is actually true, and
3. if it is, then the WORLD needs to know the full details of what led Milley to take such action. We need full and complete transparency of the last days of the Trump Administration. All of it.
ONE MAN SHOULD NOT HAVE THE POWER TO ARBITARILY END THE WORLD
Meanwhile...
During a hard hitting interview on steely-eyed Sean Spicer's Newsmax show ... okay, even in jest I can't keep typing that, anyway, Trump was on Newsmax last night predicting the end of the United States.
Trump's brain is like a diseased rat trapped in a hot empty box, going frantically 'round and 'round, faster and faster, little claws scrabbling madly against the bone of his skull. Trump also predicted the stock market would crash if he lost the election and that Mexico would pay for his idiotic wall and that COVID would one day vanish like magic. Trump has made a lot of predictions, none of which panned out.
Maybe this guy doesn't actually know what the fuck he's talking about?
For example: Trump predicted California Governor Gavin Newsom would be unseated in a landslide recall.
And it was a landslide yesterday.
Just not for Republicans.
But honestly, I can't believe famously diverse and liberal California voters didn't totally embrace the guy who said slave owners should get reparations for losing their property after the Civil War, that we should get rid of the Americans With Disabilities Act, who thinks George Zimmerman is a hero and we should have more like him, that sawed-off Henrich Himmler wannabe Stephen Miller should be president, minimum wage should be $0 (which does go hand-in-hand with the idea that slavery was a good thing, so at least he's consistent), and that we should just let the free market sort out who lives and who dies from a completely preventable disease.
I can't believe California didn't elect that guy, right?
(Note; Given the state of this country, the previous comments are only mostly sarcasm)
At this point: Republicans have tried blatant fascism.
They tried cheating, they tried to disenfranchise voters, they tried to limit voting, they tried voter IDs, they tried to cull voting lists.
They tried to frighten voters with "communism" and "socialism" and "Antifa" and the "BLMs" and "They're comin' to take ur gunz!"
They tried audits.
They tried lawsuits.
They tried a recall.
They tried to violently overthrow an election via sedition and armed insurrection.
They failed over and over.
I dunno, maybe they should try democracy?
Seriously though, well done, California.
But like the man said: Great shot, Kid. Don't get cocky.
Meanwhile...
A Bunch of bumbling dipshits in discount camo who can't even get laid are going to "hunt" people who've been at war for their entire lives?
Yeah, ooookay. Let's see how that goes.
And what kind of person would "hunt" those seeking refuge from a murderous regime?
Think about that. Think about how goddamn shitty you have to be, how much like the fucking Taliban itself you have to be, to even joke about something like that.
I'm happy to welcome Afghans as my neighbors.
And the Proud Boys can fuck off.
Meanwhile...
A prominent male Republican member of Congress called a congresswoman "young lady" in an attempt to dismiss and belittle her and conservative pundits are losing their shit over the dress that same congresswoman wore to a costume gala to help raise funds for an ... art museum?
Oh, yeah, wow. Boy, we better get on that.
The economy, healthcare, climate change, infrastructure, a global pandemic, forget that stuff. Congress should focus on some junior congresswoman! Seriously, you gotta wonder here because all day, every day, it's Republicans shouting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez IS A JUST A KID, A YOUNG LADY, A STUPID STINKY GIRL! LOOK SHE DRIVES A FANCY CAR! SHE'S WEARING A FANCY DRESS! SHE'S GOING TO A FANCY BALL! BUT ALSO SHE'S LIKE TAX THE RICH! OOK! OOK!
Yet those same Republicans obsessively follow and comment on everything AOC does, her dress, her car, her tweets, where she goes, her friends, everything. Every day. Not a day goes by they aren't tweeting about her.
Sure seems like Republicans got a bit of an obsessive crush, but like every immature socially awkward schoolboy they don't know how to handle their raging hormones. So they pull her hair and call her names.
That dress? Donated by the designer.
The tickets? Paid for by the sponsors.
The gala? The Met Ball? A fundraising event for Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. Lot of famous people show up wearing designer apparel that makes a political statement, that's kind of the whole point.
The political statement? Consistent with AOC's political ideology. And so is the car she drives by the way. And if you think there's some hypocrisy going on here, well, maybe you don't really know what that ideology is.
Maybe you should shut up and go find out.
And while you're at it, maybe grow the fuck up and learn how to talk to women without being an ass.
Meanwhile...
Antivaxxers have taken to gargling ... betadine?
Betadine.
Also, I saw an article yesterday about how people are flocking to abandoned uranium mines in the American northwest to breathe in radioactive gas and to soak in radioactive pools of water as some sort of fountain of youth.
Because radioactivity works like in comic books. I guess.
It's the 2nd decade of the 21st Century and Americans are gargling topical disinfectant, soaking in radioactive hot tubs, consuming horse deworming paste, speed-balling Lupus meds, shoving lightbulbs up their butts, injecting bleach, chugging aquarium cleaner... but won't get vaxxed.
Won't take a safe and effective vaccine. Won't do it.
You know, I'm old enough to remember when conservatives were the clean-shaven serious men in dark suits and brush cuts, the scientists and doctors and engineers and steely-eyed missilemen who took us to the moon and back home again...
...and liberals were a bunch of moony-eyed hippies who smelled of cat piss and burning rope daydreaming about the Age of Aquarius, magic crystals, and Pyramid Power. Peace, love, and drugs, man!
What the fuck happened?
Anyway, here's a picture of a hummingbird tongue:
Bravo, Jim. And once again, thanks for all the fish.
ReplyDeleteH/T to Jim for Andy Weir shoutout.
DeleteThat was awesome, Thank you.
ReplyDeletewonderful essay - we should all be concerned that Miley felt he had to take that step. too much power in the hands of one person.
ReplyDeleteYou nailed it again, and with deadly accuracy. I'm at a point where I'm side-eyeing anyone with an American flag on their car or apparel these days. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteWow, I thought I was the only one!
DeleteThis is the best work I have read all year. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jim, well done.
ReplyDeleteNicely done, again.
ReplyDeleteBravo. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteHey, Jim, I sent you an email in hopes you see it, as I hope you'll see it here too.
ReplyDeleteI apologize.
Hey, Jim, Sorry about that tweet that got me airlocked. I should have provided more context. It wasn't my intent to imply that Milley committed treason, but to draw attention to his failure to inform us. I apologize. Love your content, I'll still try to follow your blog. And maybe snag a mug for my brother, if you start selling them again.
Rawrbat84
Exactly what I needed. Your short stuff is always on point and helpful. Your big picture assessment brings it all into perspective. Thank you Jim.
ReplyDeleteWell said...
ReplyDeleteThank you, sir, for saying that in terms I'd have called clear and impossible to mistake - if not for the fact that every nut on the interwebs is sure to be able to misinterpret it as attempted theft of their pearls. Being able to keep giving your message in the face of so much obstinate, mule-headed, stupidity is a difficult thing - and needed.
ReplyDeleteEven Pepperidge Farms remembers when conservatives chomped at the bit (yes an Ivermectin joke) to label the vaccine the "TRUMP VACCINE". Yet now it seems to be some kind of sinister plot when Biden's in office.
ReplyDeleteSpot on as always, Jim. "If this goes on" is where we are headed unless we do indeed figure out a way of keeping morons of any stripe, in particular any religious zealots, from becoming leaders in Government, and have a PLAN on what to do if one slips through again.
ReplyDeleteAnd it should be said, if @potus decides, for whatever reason, that General Milley must resign, I have no doubt that the General will snap a salute,say,"Yes,sir" & follow the order.
ReplyDeleteHe may not agree with it, but he'll follow it.
I followed your post many years ago. I believe you lived in Alaska. I am now an ex-pat living in Central America. Couldn´t stand living in a shithole country. love that colibri tongue.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this. After doom-scrolling through Twitter today, I needed your clear-eyed, no bullshit, bracing commentary.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this here, I enjoyed checking in regularly @ the Station in the pre-FL days. The disjointed nature of twittland gets difficult to follow sometimes, and I lost my stomach for FB years ago. Your word craft, woodcraft, and photo craft are inspiration to my own efforts in those endeavours. Really, hummingbird tongues? What next, fornicating fleas?
ReplyDeleteLove this!
ReplyDeleteLove your pictures of the hummingbirds as well!
I have followed you Jim from way, way back. So many of us say the same thing but it is simply true. Your way of words, the laser accuracy of what you write and your constant call to us to do our part as citizens has and continues to make a positive difference. You are appreciated beyond words. My way to show that appreciation is for each and every day practice and promote what you articulate so well.
ReplyDeleteDamn!
ReplyDeleteMy daddy was a conservative until one day he wasn’t. He always said “you’re a republican as a child, a democrat as an adult”. Mama said to my sister and me, through her advanced Alzheimer’s, when a picture of the WH was on TV, “Is that MAN still living there?”. Spit that sentence out like a bad olive. Late stage dementia and she still knew.
ReplyDeleteGood read, great points, and a little tongue. My first question to MTG would be along the lines of, "Court 'marshall'" for what exactly. Exactly. Show your work."
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jim. (Sigh …)
ReplyDeleteA great read!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jim. Your blog is a haven of sanity where I come to read gratefully and with confidence. Also, pictures of hummingbirds taking refreshment are always welcome.
ReplyDeleteI am currently constantly finding (and dismissing) conservative pseudo "news" sites (aka clickbait outrage humbug) being "suggested for [me]" on a certain well-know social media site whose name shall not be mentioned, whenever if I happen to go visit, and am wondering why because I have never followed this sort of content. The brainwashing is rampant on that site, and they don't even bother to try to hide it.
Started reading this as I was walking to work. Big mistake. Almost died laughing. The drivers were not amused.
ReplyDeleteSpot on as usual, Jim. Dammit.
ReplyDeleteI remember the liberal engineers who also had short hair and suits. My father was one of them. A pacifist who specced high strength, high temperature alloys for Sandia. The '60's were a bit strange.
ReplyDeleteWow
ReplyDeleteIs it just me, or do the GOPs actions toward Representative Occasio-Cortez echo how they jumped on every single thing that Hillary Clinton did when she was first lady?
ReplyDeleteThey harped on her every move, including the infamous "Hillary-care." The end result? Their base was primed with 20+ years worth of anger and conspiracy theories. They didn't -need- to stir up hate toward her, they were already stirred.
I see the same thing happening now. They're preparing for her eventual presidential run by priming the hate pump now.
I think you are correct. They seem hit any woman who gathers a political following on the Dem side the exact same way. Somehow Warren escaped the worst of it, maybe because AOC made a bigger target for them.
DeleteYes, to borrow the gaming term, AOC "drew aggro." Warren didn't escape all of it (see the repeated "pocohontas" comments from DFT)
DeleteA fantastic piece Jim.
ReplyDeleteWay to go Jim! You hit ALL the salient points with incisive humor & wit! A breath of fresh air & clarity in the midst of a boatload of bullshit from other quarters. You martial/marshal your resources & resources well!😜
ReplyDeletePerfectly stated. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteDead on.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, MTG up there at the top is clutching her pearls about "those poor Afghans" while the PBs at the bottom want to hunt them.....
ReplyDeleteExcellent piece Jim! Your unique perspective has again brought a perceived crisis to its knees. Thank you for embracing the crazy and bringing some ( and I use this term loosely) sanity.
ReplyDeleteHey Jim, personally I like the longer format, though I'll miss you popping up on my Twitter feed if you quit doing that. I just wish the news weren't always so fucking depressing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for another great article!
ReplyDeletei got locked out of twitter for 12 hours because I commented on MTG's tweet regarding monoclonal antibody and ivermectin availability in Florida. I said "don't forget your betadine and tide pods." twitter assumed I meant self-harm. I appealed with: I know what betadine and tide pods are used for. It's not self-harm or treating covid, they unlocked my account 20 minutes later.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it obvious? MTG wants to court Miley [Cyrus] because Peter Marshall told her to (her pea-sized brain hadn't registered that he is long gone,). I'm shocked that you didn't see this@
ReplyDeleteSo glad to be able to comment -- I missed that in FB.
Well said, chief, I couldn't have said it better. But what I really wish is that it didn't need to be said at all.
ReplyDeleteHave you published a book of your essays? Because if you have, I seriously want to buy it.
ReplyDeleteVery refreshing to read your work without algorithms breathing all over it. I'm going to like the "chains are off" Jim.
ReplyDeleteMinor correction: It was a Democratic (sort of) senator, Joe Manchin, who called AOC "young lady."
ReplyDeleteThank you for addressing Milley. This shows the foolishness of having the president able to unilaterally start a nuclear war. In my mind, Milley technically usurped the chain of command but bravely adhered to not following illegal commands. Apparently Alexander Vindman is not able to see that greater obligation in claiming Milley was wrong. I remember hearing reports of the Pelosi plea and the public orders to the military that they must not obey illegal commands and had no part to play in elections and the transfer of power and hoping that meant that the brass would stop the worst from happening. It appears that it did.
ReplyDelete"The tickets? Paid for by the sponsors. "
ReplyDeleteIIRC from my years living in NYC, all persons elected at a state level (D, R, I, or anything else) are given tix to the event by the event, in no small part because the museum and the costume institute is heavily funded by the state and the feds, so...yeah.
Bravo, Chief. And I think moving this sort of discourse to the blog is a very wise move. I'll enjoy your photos and other musings on Facebook but come here for the best stuff.
ReplyDeleteNice to have your voice back. I didn't realize how much I missed it.
ReplyDeleteAccording to WaPo, Milley is planning on telling his whole story to Congress late this month. Assuming the reports of the conversation he had with his Chinese counterpart are true: In my mind, I'm glad he did NOT go public with what was said - at least until AFTER Trump was out of office. Can you imagine what Trump would have said/done if it had come out while Trump still held political power? I can think enough to set up that question and then I start shuddering so badly I can't chase that path any further. I'm just glad that in the end there was an adult in the room with the fortitude to stand against it.
ReplyDeleteAOC has the decency to care about inequality...Melania and her wardrobe statement "I really don't care do you"? says it all when it comes to deference's of the Democratic Party and the GOP Republican Trompements.
ReplyDeleteI’m super curious to know about the morons bathing in radioactivity but I haven’t been able to find an article. Can anybody help me? I’ll save it for a really bad day when I’m down on myself, then read it to boost my self-esteem.
ReplyDeleteMinor nitpick: "averse" to war.
ReplyDeleteSuggestion: post some of your photography at the top of your post. When I linked you on facebook, the image of MTG's tweet posted with the link. I am happy to amplify your always spot-on commentary, but not wishing to post her ridiculous twaddle as collateral damage.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Thank you for saying what I'd like to be able to say. Thank you for making it available to us--the people who need to know that things are not as bad as they sometimes look and won't be, as long as most people continue to reject the attempts at destruction from the political right. Thank you for examining under a microscope the actual threat out there. And thank you for pointing out that sometimes--General Milley, for example--the news media get their reporting all wrong.
ReplyDeleteOh, at last. Found the comment box.
ReplyDeleteAfter scrolling past a zillion comments.
Just want to say, I'm not really a liberal and I don't smell of cat piss. Usually smell of red onion, sorry, I use a lot for stir fry.
Saw a tweet by Richard Seligman "What a scary deliusional perspective."
Becuz this blog was linked for Stephen King's comment, "What has to be understood about Gen. Milley’s call(s) to the Chinese is that he was dealing with an un-precedented case, where the President of the United States was paranoid and not in his right mind."
I am not perpetually enraged and I like it that way.
But I do have moments of anxiety when I consider that being kind to other humans is not a political priority.
Texas is against voting, brown people, pregnant people, trans people, dealing with the pandemic, stable electric power.
But Gov Abbott pushed a bill to protect dogs from being left out with heavy chains.
Sigh. I don't even have a point. The last couple years have weighed on me.
What in the ever living f uck? Breathing in radioactive gas and soaking in radioactive pools of water? Good lord crazy conservative morons seem hell bent on finding ways to kill themselves, catching COVID, ingesting poison, exposure to radiation, trying to foment a Civil War.... Unbelievable.
ReplyDelete