December 1, 2021

Yea, thanks. But the internet/we/DU shall always have these with us!

Bullying, self-righteous, herding, pretentious, pedantic, condescending, nannying, self-aggrandizing, gate-keeping, inciting mob swarms of flamefests.

Worse, they claim to be more Democratic than anybody, telling others what to think and post - oblivious to their complete violation of Democratic values of:

* free thought
* able to hear/monitor wingnut, or just opposing, voices without being contaminated
* (adding: ) THEIR demand that THEIR "freedom of speech" trumps everything


*********Worse again, they prefer to waste energy attacking fellow DUers instead of wingnuts out there

Stopping here before I turn into them.

November 20, 2021

Beautifully, eloquently expressed. As others said, we all do. Here's an excerpt

from a prominent author, and you have matched that level of insight and writing.

*******QUOTE********* 

By Paul THEROUX, G.P.Putnam’s Sons, Copyright 1995 by Cape Cod Scriveners Company 
“The 7:20 Express to Latakia” pp 430-431
    
p. 429  Nothing held me in Tartus.   Wishing to see the great Crusader castle known variously as the Krac de Chevaliers and Qal’at al-Hisn, I made a deal with a taxi driver named Abdallah, who said he would take me there and then on to Homs, where I could get a bus or a train to Damascus.    “Lebanon!” he cried out after twenty minutes or so, gesturing towards the dark hills to the south.  ….   

p. 430  Just before the darkness fell the engine faltered and Abdallah cursed, and the car replied, coughing one-syllable complaints, and then we were stuck.    “Okay, okay,” Abdallah said.  To prove he was confident he took my picture and he screamed into the wind.    His high spirits unconvincing.  It was an electrical fault, he said.  He waved to a passing car and said he would be right back.  Then he was sped into the failing light, and dusk fell.  I sat in the car, tuning my shortwave radio -- news of the Israelis shelling southern Lebanon and blockading the fishing ports.  Every so often a large truck went by, and the thud of its slipstream hit Abdallah’s car and shook it, and me.    Cold and unsettled at the edge of this desert, feeling thwarted, this enforced isolation filled my mind with memories of injustice -- put-downs, misunderstandings, unresolved disputes, abusive remarks, rudeness, arguments I had lost, humiliations.  Some of these instances went back many years.  For a reason I could not explain, I thought of everything that had ever gone wrong in my life.  I kept telling myself, “So what?” and “Never mind,” but it was no good.  I could not stop the flow of unpleasant instances, and I was tormented.    From time to time, I laughed to think I was so removed mentally from Syria, but then I concluded that being in the middle of this desert had something to do with it.  It was pitch dark and silent except for when the occasional trucks thundered by.  I supposed that I was fearful and disgusted; I disliked the desert, I had been abandoned by Abdallah in this howling wilderness, where there was darkness and no water.    A pair of oncoming headlights wobbled off the road.  Abdallah got out and approached the car laughing, carrying a gas can. Saying it was an electrical fault had been a face-saver.    It was late.  Returning the gas can to the town of Deir Atiyeh, he stopped the car and I told him I was bailing out.  There ensued a great whining argument, as he pleaded, berated, complained and demanded more money than what we had agreed on.  I bought you oranges! he howled.  I thought: I hate this nagging man.  Then I said: Do I care?  I gave him what he wanted and swore at him, and afterwards realized that the whole incident irritated me because I had been planning to tip him the very amount he had demanded. 

*********UNQUOTE**********

November 19, 2021

Catholic convert Laura INGRAHAM missed the spiritual memo, full blown racist on Kamala

*******QUOTE******

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/laura-ingraham-kamala-harris-race-card_n_6197943de4b0451e54f8afe5

.... “She is completely incapable of stepping in to take over as commander-in-chief, should Biden be incapacitated,” Ingraham said on “The Ingraham Angle.” “She has problems delivering simple remarks. Because, I’m sorry, she knows nothing except how to play the race card to get ahead.”

Ingraham continued her racist takedown, focusing on Harris’ election victory speech in which she rightfully celebrated becoming the first Black and first female vice president.

“It’s always a diversity thing,” Ingraham snarked. “How about merit? How about that for a change? Well, it turns out that selecting a VP based solely on diversity criteria and not objective merit is not only stupid, it’s really dangerous. There is literally no situation, no problem that the White House can turn over to her to handle in the place of the president. Like, remember she was supposed to handle the border, remember that? Well, America’s border is now overrun with drugs, illegals, and sex traffickers. Nice job, Kamala.”

The sneery TV personality added: “If her goal was to pump up our enemies and demoralize our own people, then she should be excited.” ....



Remember the early Laura INGRAHAM – one of the “Elves” feeding tips in the background to the Ken STARR and Paula JONES inquisition – the Elves being her, COULTERgeist, George CONWAY, Kellyanne FITZGERALD/Conway-now, Barbara OLSON – linking up DRUDGE and ISOKOFF. And the then wingnut David BROCK who was persecuting the CLINTONs before converting to us and writing his book, “Blinded by the Right”, in which he described his ex-friends’ foibles: INGRAHAM crawling on all fours on barroom floors, posting flyers outing Gays on college campus with boyfriend d’SOUZA, holding a gun to the head of a dude who broke up with her, wearing a tiger striped mini-skirt to get on t.v., etc. How DRUDGE crushed on BROCK with flowers and courtliness. COULTERgeist living on wine and cigarettes.

So she got her dream to be on t.v., and showed herself with pure vitriol, vehemence, hate speech.

Then in the '90s(?) there was a flurry of conversions to Catholicism (Opus Dei? ) within the wingnut “Intelligence” community – CIA spooks and FBI, and connected media types Robert NOVAKula and this INGRAHAM person.

So she sort of took hiatus or something, with her spiritual conversion (sic), and adopted some Russian orphans and had cancer. And when she returned to the monitor, I *peered* at her expressions, noting her very TONED DOWN commentaries, and she did seem to be more moderated in her demeanor, not so MEAN, and she would wear a little gold cross. But in the next couple of years she gradually upped her wingnut rage back to her old self.

On her website she sold the little gold cross with some proceeds supposedly going to The Little Sisters of the Poor. I called the Little ones and asked the Mother Superior whether a convert might be expected to show some kindness instead of harsh beliefs and language, shouldn’t “spirituality” show itself somehow in a convert. She (sounding elderly) was astounded, said she had never heard of INGRAHAM or knew of no donations from her, and would look into it.

So I don’t watch her but the tidbit news tells me she is as far gone to her original full vitriol and worse.

The link below selling the little gold cross doesn't go there anymore. I chatted a message, "What happened to the little gold cross and The Little Sisters of the Poor? She's back to her old hateful self."

********QUOTE**********

http://www.lauraingraham.com/p/Jewelry/4-Way-Cross-Necklace/23125.html?dispid=214



59.95

This is a replica of the one Laura wears.

All net proceeds go to support the work of The Little Sisters of the Poor.

Yearly Premium Member's Price: $53.96

(A savings of $6.00)

********UNQUOTE*********

November 15, 2021

K&R for, Beto, can you hear me?!1

Mishmashing several of the posts in this thread. NOT Debbie Downer, just from the broken part of the heart after his loss to Cancun Carnival CRUZ.

Then came other things - whachamacallems, baggage, lapses in judgment, just *tired*?!

Items:

* Running himself ragged to every one of the 254 counties on the "judgment" that he wants to talk to *EVERYBODY*. Uh, ain't it basic that there is a definite segment of people/voters who have *ZERO* interest in talking relating to any given candidate, who will *NEVER* vote for said candidate, and that it is basic smarts to funnel time, energy, and money into places committed and places with a chance of relating/voting for the given candidate.

* So all that "wasted" time and energy spent in the out of reach places wears you out and diminishes the performance for the long haul.

* Baggage: The gun thing. There are things not said because 1) they are NOT going to happen and 2) the place (guns in Texas) is not hospitable to saying it. Guns and Texas. An alternative phrasing can be things like "common sense registration" or "like a Driver's License. Not: Take'em away (in Texas).

* Mixed signals: Wants to talk/relate to wingnuts who will *NEVER* (repeat *NEVER*) vote for him, then talks a few very Lib points (not in Texas) like the gun thing and traveling around for days in the company of Joe KENNEDY III who went on to challenge Ed MARKEY, a perfectly good Dem in a Dem place (WHY?).

* A post above said he needs to run for something in a state he can actually win - like RFK and Hillary running in, oh I don't know: NEW YORK!

* He's run in one and a half races, the former lost, the other pulled out. The stench of losing is catching up and must NOT be allowed to. It's like lawyers only asking questions they know the answers to. Granted, there are rarely sure things for winning races, but losing too much is a deadly stench.

**********And as others also said, I'll be a fair weather friend and rejoice IF he wins.

November 11, 2021

I hated it as a wingnut meme started by Shrub-CHEENEE during the Iraq Attack

The big lesson the war monger racketeers learned from Vietnam was to fuel their war All Volunteer and not by the Draft that would rile up anti-war protesters. So they reversed course on the stigma of Vietnam and pretended to value military by emphasizing the positive.

In the war jingoism at the revving up on Iraq, I started getting the meme and didn't want to be associated with Shrub-CHEENEE-Iraq. I wear my ship's cap, one of my dogtags on a chain, and in cool weather my VFW windbreaker - and why shouldn't I since these things are emblematic of four years of my life. These items triggered the wingnuts but why should I quit them because of what wingnuts think they mean?

But besides the origin of the meme, it was immediately clear that those approaching/assaulting me with it were mostly wingnuts, with the occasional sprinkling of sincere ones. It was easy to tell the difference.

So in that Iraq phase down through the Drumpf years (with the MAGA caps), I would reply, "Oh, it was nothing." When I told the local wingnuts this, one of them who is more of an old line Country Club Repuke said, "Can't you just be gracious and say you're welcome."

No. In fact I take credit for having kept one fellow from reenlisting. He was a six-years vet, Airborne with 30+ jumps and was planning to go back in. He was running a bar started by his father and was the sole support for a very young brother and their mother. He had a date set to start the process, and we had a talk. I told him that he had already done his part and was more needed by his brother and mother.

Meanwhile, at that business there was this dude in his late 20s who worked in a bank and seemed to be hopped up on something, over the top. He took it upon himself to do the meme on me while I was at the urinal, which was annoying in itself. I said it was nothing. He raised his voice and said yes it WAS. We went back and forth a few times and then outside, when the Airborne happened by, I said to the hopped one, "If this guy comes back in a box, I don't want you to talk to me, shake hands, anything!" He said, "I didn't do it (Iraq)." I said that his wingnut support did it and that instead of "thanking" others he should enlist himself.

I don't know whether my talk kept the Airborne home, but he didn't go.

*** Then in the Drumpf MAGA hat years, those idiots with their trademarked ignorance somehow got the idea that anybody veteran or military were fellow Drumpf zombies. A mystery connection given Drumpf's insults of veterans and their families, his contempt for veterans in cemeteries, calling the dead "losers" - not to mention his complete disdain for democracyl So at the height of the MAGA caps, I was accosted/assaulted in the grocery store parking lot by a MAGGAT running up to me with hand stuck out to shake and doing the meme on me. I said, "No (Drumpf) for me." He was STUNNED, stopped in his tracks, took back his hand, then recovered by saying, "No AMERICA for YOU!!!!!!!1"

Huh - Drumpf equates with "America"?!

Another time at the grocery store (always the grocery store), a WW II vet greeted me while wearing something Drumpf. I said something about don't-tell-me/Drumpf and he said that Drumpf was saving the country. I walked off and said over my shoulder, "He's a traitor to the country."

*** In recent times that things have *somewhat* cooled down, I'm not memed that much, and they tend to be more of the sincere type. One young cashier said it innocently and sincerely, and I said, "Thank you for YOURS." He was shocked, blushed, and said, "I'm not a veteran, sir." I said, "When you look out for others, act responsibly, and do your best, you are serving." You could see the wheels turning.