Draft
What we need now is something to drag us down from the precipice and into the gutter where we belong. Another plague, a real economic collapse, a global war or two, and a new aggressive religion ought to do it.
Friday, May 1, 2020
What The World Needs Now
Draft
What we need now is something to drag us down from the precipice and into the gutter where we belong. Another plague, a real economic collapse, a global war or two, and a new aggressive religion ought to do it.
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Will the USA Drag Down the Western Alliance?
draft
The USA has proven beyond doubt that it is an unreliable ally, capable at any time of devolving into a racist and self-destruction quasi nationalism, a nationalism as conceived by the most literal and ignorant of people. And as its economy craters due to the hard work of the bipartisan globalist morons, most Americans will find themselves on the short end of the stick. Impoverished and unemployed or working at stupid menial jobs while the elite jetsets around the world. I doubt that Americans will enjoy living in this world they so diligently created. As their self-impoverishment becomes more apparent, I think they will be shocked. And that they will lash out, I predict, with some truly insane late-imperial militarism.
And yes, any country that is affiliated or allied with us will no doubt be drawn into stupid military adventures, expensive as well as ill-conceived, demonstrating the most crass and shallow understanding of the situation even as it uses some clever but expensive new munition.
Historians will write for centuries about the stupiity of the USA and perhaps also of the west, of their (or at least the USA's) self destructive behavior but they wont have any answers. It is not much more complicated than it appears. People are not pretending to be shallow. They are shallow. The USA self-destructed out of greed and dumbness.
But we may not have to worry about the judgment of history as everyone may be dead due to global climate change. Go methyl hydrate! Go polar ice caps! Yay!
The USA has proven beyond doubt that it is an unreliable ally, capable at any time of devolving into a racist and self-destruction quasi nationalism, a nationalism as conceived by the most literal and ignorant of people. And as its economy craters due to the hard work of the bipartisan globalist morons, most Americans will find themselves on the short end of the stick. Impoverished and unemployed or working at stupid menial jobs while the elite jetsets around the world. I doubt that Americans will enjoy living in this world they so diligently created. As their self-impoverishment becomes more apparent, I think they will be shocked. And that they will lash out, I predict, with some truly insane late-imperial militarism.
And yes, any country that is affiliated or allied with us will no doubt be drawn into stupid military adventures, expensive as well as ill-conceived, demonstrating the most crass and shallow understanding of the situation even as it uses some clever but expensive new munition.
Historians will write for centuries about the stupiity of the USA and perhaps also of the west, of their (or at least the USA's) self destructive behavior but they wont have any answers. It is not much more complicated than it appears. People are not pretending to be shallow. They are shallow. The USA self-destructed out of greed and dumbness.
But we may not have to worry about the judgment of history as everyone may be dead due to global climate change. Go methyl hydrate! Go polar ice caps! Yay!
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Pride and the Endless Pit!
draft
It is pride, false pride, that lead the righteous to their inevitable doom, destined by the Gods to rot for all eternity for their failure of character. No amount of experience can prevent those who are predestined for eternal torment will prevent them from making that fateful mistake on that fateful day. And so it is with me, two days before a self-generated intermediate deadline, I say "Now is a good time to use a modern HTML / CSS layout technology, I had read about how CSS Grid works and it looked straightforward. And with that single decision, all forward progress halts, and his soul is thrown into the endless pit! If anyone out there happens to have used this technology and can answer some simple questions, please let me know.
It is pride, false pride, that lead the righteous to their inevitable doom, destined by the Gods to rot for all eternity for their failure of character. No amount of experience can prevent those who are predestined for eternal torment will prevent them from making that fateful mistake on that fateful day. And so it is with me, two days before a self-generated intermediate deadline, I say "Now is a good time to use a modern HTML / CSS layout technology, I had read about how CSS Grid works and it looked straightforward. And with that single decision, all forward progress halts, and his soul is thrown into the endless pit! If anyone out there happens to have used this technology and can answer some simple questions, please let me know.
[ So I nearly have this fixed. It turns out that there are too many ways to do everything and anything in CSS and I pity those who must implement this in a browser. So, I am taking the time to learn CSS more or less from first principles. I have the problem about half solved and I am sure I can get where I want to go. ]
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Authentic Southern Vegetarian Sweet Potato Pie
draft
This recipe is completely authentic except that it isnt.
1. We use the Trader Joe's frozen to-be-baked crust and a glass pyrex pie baking dish. 2. Bake about 2.5 - 3 lbs of sweet potatoes at about 450 F for over an hour or until the sweet potatoes are squeezable. Use a baking dish. Insert a knife or fork into each sweet potato so it doesnt explode. 3. In a dish combine the (cooled) sweet potatoes with 1 cup sugar, vanilla, some corn starch, the peel of one orange, the juice of 1.5 - 2 oranges, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix well. Add cornstarch until you get the consistancy you are willing to live with for the rest of your life. Is it sweet enough? Too sweet? 4. Cook bottom of pie crust in oven for 10-12 minues at about 400 F. 5. Let pie crust cool a little bit and then add filling. 6. Make the executive decision about whether you want a crust top to your pie and add it if so. 7. Bake for about 30 minutes but do not let the crust burn. 8. Be careful not to burn the sh*t out of yourself.
This recipe is completely authentic except that it isnt.
1. We use the Trader Joe's frozen to-be-baked crust and a glass pyrex pie baking dish. 2. Bake about 2.5 - 3 lbs of sweet potatoes at about 450 F for over an hour or until the sweet potatoes are squeezable. Use a baking dish. Insert a knife or fork into each sweet potato so it doesnt explode. 3. In a dish combine the (cooled) sweet potatoes with 1 cup sugar, vanilla, some corn starch, the peel of one orange, the juice of 1.5 - 2 oranges, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix well. Add cornstarch until you get the consistancy you are willing to live with for the rest of your life. Is it sweet enough? Too sweet? 4. Cook bottom of pie crust in oven for 10-12 minues at about 400 F. 5. Let pie crust cool a little bit and then add filling. 6. Make the executive decision about whether you want a crust top to your pie and add it if so. 7. Bake for about 30 minutes but do not let the crust burn. 8. Be careful not to burn the sh*t out of yourself.
Monday, April 20, 2020
Vocabulary in the Age of Trump
draft
Words to know in the time of plague and the collapse of our government and our society:
-- supine, n. failing to act or protest as a result of moral weakness or indolence
-- boogaloo, n. right-wing term for a coming civil war
Words to know in the time of plague and the collapse of our government and our society:
-- supine, n. failing to act or protest as a result of moral weakness or indolence
-- boogaloo, n. right-wing term for a coming civil war
Friday, April 17, 2020
On Civil Disobedience in a Dictatorship
draft
A friend who will remain nameless asks a reasonable question: is it fair or right for us to use civil disobedience to protest the right wing dictatorship in Washington. Well, if you have faith in the system or in our elites, then possibly the answer is no. But I have no faith in our depraved elites or in our system. I think that ICE/Gestapo is going to keep murdering children, that Devoes is going to keep destroying people's lives and ignoring court orders, that the right wing DOJ will exonerate russian spies and that our Republican representatives will do anything to defend an obvious criminal and traitor in the white house. In other words, I think the question is nonsensical and could only be asked by someone who is in total denial of the situation they are in. Your government is probably murdering children right now and you dont know about it but your lack of knowledge does not make you innocent in these circumstances. You are complicit in their crimes unless you take every possible action to stop and defeat them.
A friend who will remain nameless asks a reasonable question: is it fair or right for us to use civil disobedience to protest the right wing dictatorship in Washington. Well, if you have faith in the system or in our elites, then possibly the answer is no. But I have no faith in our depraved elites or in our system. I think that ICE/Gestapo is going to keep murdering children, that Devoes is going to keep destroying people's lives and ignoring court orders, that the right wing DOJ will exonerate russian spies and that our Republican representatives will do anything to defend an obvious criminal and traitor in the white house. In other words, I think the question is nonsensical and could only be asked by someone who is in total denial of the situation they are in. Your government is probably murdering children right now and you dont know about it but your lack of knowledge does not make you innocent in these circumstances. You are complicit in their crimes unless you take every possible action to stop and defeat them.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Picture from Benton Jew
draft
Many years ago, Benton Jew and Josh Pines came to town and I guess we all went to Griffith Park Observatory.
Many years ago, Benton Jew and Josh Pines came to town and I guess we all went to Griffith Park Observatory.
Purchase Stamps from the USPS
draft
Since the Trump weirdo is trying to destroy the USPS, now is a good time to purchase stamps from USPS.com or from your local post office. The more the merrier.
Since the Trump weirdo is trying to destroy the USPS, now is a good time to purchase stamps from USPS.com or from your local post office. The more the merrier.
HI Trump Weirdos! Hey!
draft
One of my few comments from a Trump weirdo.... deleted. Yay! Totally fucking bugnuts. I hate these people and I want them to die.
One of my few comments from a Trump weirdo.... deleted. Yay! Totally fucking bugnuts. I hate these people and I want them to die.
More on Operation Paperclip
draft
[Excerpted from a letter to a friend regarding Operation Paperclip]
I think you might benefit as I have from reading this book. The CIA made public a book review on it:
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol-58-no-3/operation-paperclip-the-secret-intelligence-program-to-bring-nazi-scientists-to-america.html
It wasnt just rocket scientists, it was much more than that, and complicit is not the word. In many cases these are the leaders of the projects that killed 10s of thousands of slave laborers (100s of thousands?). I am not aware of the Manhattan project being even close to what happened in Nazi Germany. We are talking about some of the worst people of the Nazi regime when it came to such things as medical experiments with a 99% death rate on non consensual subjects. And it was after the fact and we hired these people because we did not believe that we could compete with the Russians with their German scientists any other way. I say, bullshit.
I dont think that the Manhattan project makes us equivalent to the Nazis even a little bit, in any way, whatsoever. I could argue this persuasively for 100,000 years and some people could not hear me, so I suggest we dodge it. They dont want to hear what went into the decision to drop those bombs, what went into the decision to stop dropping those bombs, and so forth. It is way beyond their capability to put themselves into the mindset of those who were there. Even the simplest historical issues are beyond their capability to hear. If it were me, I would not have dropped the bombs directly on those cities, I would have deliberately dropped it offshore, for example. The city would have been wrecked, many people would have died although not as many who did, and the point would have been made. But would the Japanese leadership have heard the message if they had done that? I dont know, but I know that the people who were there and whose job it was to save American lives did not think that it would. Hiroshima was not a civilian target, not even a little itsy bitsy bit. Some scholars wrote a nasty letter a few years ago (10?) comparing Hiroshima to the beautiful and innocent city of San Francisco not realizing how insanely stupid and ignorant their argument was (and these were people who studied the subject), because even a stupid moron who studied the war in the pacific would realize that San Francisco was one of the eseential cities in our war in the Pacific. Perhaps people in academia in this subject are by definition stupid, I dont know, but they sure did not enhance their credibility in this discussion. The Manhattan project is one of the great achievements of our civiilization and really is not comparable in any way with the use of Nazi scientists who deliberately killed people in their charge.
There is an important issue here: we can not trust our government to uphold our morals. We must realize that we must take action and at the very least punish those who, for example, by government policy use torture to achieve policy goals. We have used torture in our nations past, but never by policy to the best of my knowledge. Is this an important point, yes I think it is.
We are all complicit today in the destruction of our government and the murder of innocent people, whose number we will never know because unlike the Nazis we deliberately do not keep and destroy the records (see EPA and Gestapo/ICE). Every day that Trump is in power, every day that McConnell puts right wing nuts in the court system means our system failed. The courts need to be sanitized at once, failure to do so means that we live in an oppressive right wing dictatorship. There is nothing those people wont do to achieve their bizarre right wing goals over the wishes of the majority of the people in this country (which is obvious to everyone in the world except maybe Americans in denial).
The game is over. Its time for a new government.
[Excerpted from a letter to a friend regarding Operation Paperclip]
I think you might benefit as I have from reading this book. The CIA made public a book review on it:
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol-58-no-3/operation-paperclip-the-secret-intelligence-program-to-bring-nazi-scientists-to-america.html
It wasnt just rocket scientists, it was much more than that, and complicit is not the word. In many cases these are the leaders of the projects that killed 10s of thousands of slave laborers (100s of thousands?). I am not aware of the Manhattan project being even close to what happened in Nazi Germany. We are talking about some of the worst people of the Nazi regime when it came to such things as medical experiments with a 99% death rate on non consensual subjects. And it was after the fact and we hired these people because we did not believe that we could compete with the Russians with their German scientists any other way. I say, bullshit.
I dont think that the Manhattan project makes us equivalent to the Nazis even a little bit, in any way, whatsoever. I could argue this persuasively for 100,000 years and some people could not hear me, so I suggest we dodge it. They dont want to hear what went into the decision to drop those bombs, what went into the decision to stop dropping those bombs, and so forth. It is way beyond their capability to put themselves into the mindset of those who were there. Even the simplest historical issues are beyond their capability to hear. If it were me, I would not have dropped the bombs directly on those cities, I would have deliberately dropped it offshore, for example. The city would have been wrecked, many people would have died although not as many who did, and the point would have been made. But would the Japanese leadership have heard the message if they had done that? I dont know, but I know that the people who were there and whose job it was to save American lives did not think that it would. Hiroshima was not a civilian target, not even a little itsy bitsy bit. Some scholars wrote a nasty letter a few years ago (10?) comparing Hiroshima to the beautiful and innocent city of San Francisco not realizing how insanely stupid and ignorant their argument was (and these were people who studied the subject), because even a stupid moron who studied the war in the pacific would realize that San Francisco was one of the eseential cities in our war in the Pacific. Perhaps people in academia in this subject are by definition stupid, I dont know, but they sure did not enhance their credibility in this discussion. The Manhattan project is one of the great achievements of our civiilization and really is not comparable in any way with the use of Nazi scientists who deliberately killed people in their charge.
There is an important issue here: we can not trust our government to uphold our morals. We must realize that we must take action and at the very least punish those who, for example, by government policy use torture to achieve policy goals. We have used torture in our nations past, but never by policy to the best of my knowledge. Is this an important point, yes I think it is.
We are all complicit today in the destruction of our government and the murder of innocent people, whose number we will never know because unlike the Nazis we deliberately do not keep and destroy the records (see EPA and Gestapo/ICE). Every day that Trump is in power, every day that McConnell puts right wing nuts in the court system means our system failed. The courts need to be sanitized at once, failure to do so means that we live in an oppressive right wing dictatorship. There is nothing those people wont do to achieve their bizarre right wing goals over the wishes of the majority of the people in this country (which is obvious to everyone in the world except maybe Americans in denial).
The game is over. Its time for a new government.
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