Laelth
Laelth's JournalDo we have herd immunity to the common cold?
Do we have a vaccine for the common cold? A coronavirus is much more like a common cold than influenza or any other disease we have attempted to control. The coronavirus is a type of common cold that is more contagious and packs a much more severe punch. Sometimes, the punch can be deadly. I think that Dr. Osterholm is right. SARS-CoV-19 isnt going away. Eventually, were going to have to learn to live with it.
-Laelth
This is what Karen Bass was doing today.
Note the strength and confidence. Biden-Bass has a nice ring to it.
-Laelth
What would happen if Trump tried to arrest the Governor of Oregon?
Recently, Uncle Vlad, in Moscow, arrested Sergei Furgal, the elected Governor of Khabarovsk, a region in Far-Eastern Russia, and had him shipped off to Moscow for questioning (and, probably, re-education). To their credit, the displeased people of Khabarovsk have been demonstrating in the streets for about a week over this assault upon their local sovereignty.
But what would happen in the United States if Trump decided he wanted to arrest a Governorfor example, that uncooperative and ungrateful Governor in Oregon who is a little peeved about unidentified (and unwelcome) federal agents arresting and questioning her citizens?
Here, the idea is laughable. Trump cant arrest a governor. Trump wouldnt even try it. It would never work. Mercifully, our outrageously unwieldy republic is HIGHLY resistant to totalitarianism. The states remain supreme.
Its almost funny. These days you see governors telling the President to piss off (Michigan). You see mayors telling governors to piss off (Atlanta), and you see local school boards telling county commissioners to piss off (Orange County). This is one of those times when I can really appreciate the beauty of this ridiculously complicated, power-diffused (decentralized) system of government that we have.
-Laelth
Imagine that you are the Governor of CA.
You control your states elections. The President cant stop you, so you will hold your election, no matter what the lunatic in the White House says. You will certify your electoral votes, and they will then vote in the electoral college (for Biden, presumably).
Now, imagine that you are the Governor of TX. Your party leader, the lunatic in the White House, has told you that you should not hold an election. He has no power to stop you from holding an election, but, for whatever reason, thats clearly what he wants. For your part, you know that your state will have NO SAY in selecting the next President if you dont hold an election. Even worse, your state will have NO MEMBERS in the House of Representatives if you dont hold an election. Youll also lose one Senate seat. What will you do? You will hold an election, no matter what the lunatic in the White House says.
The idea that there will be no November 2020 election is absurd. The election will happen. Nobody has the power to stop it. Our Constitution actually works fairly well.
-Laelth
I am of the opinion that Cluster B disorders are entirely genetic.
Theyre just born that way. Absent brain surgery, theres nothing that can be done for them.
Roughly 1 in 8 humans suffers from a Cluster B personality disorder. In 2012, British scientists found a link between Cluster B disorders and a brain anomaly known as Cavum septum pellucidum (easily Wikiable). Its also thought that the brain anomaly known as Cavum vergae (easily Wikiable) plays a role in the Cluster B disorders. These are not brain defects. If they were, they would likely have been wiped out of the human genome long ago. Theyre anomalies. Evidently, we need these parasitic, lazy, sadistic, emotionally-retarded agents of chaos for something. What, I do not know.
But it appears that these disorders are genetic. Naturally, most people who have them were abused as children. They had to get the gene from somebodyeither one or both of their parents had a Cluster B disorder, themselves, so we can assume that most people with Cluster B disorders were abused as children, but we can also assume, because the condition is genetic, that they can not change for the better. They cant alter their own genetic code. In addition, tragically, the condition is progressive. They get worse over time. Trump is proof of that. They can only be marginalized and avoided. I certainly wouldnt recommend making one of them President of the United States.
-Laelth
My pledge of allegiance (in honor of Independence Day).
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America and to the republic that was created by it, one nation, and we dont care what you think about God, indivisible (following the Civil War, at which time it was decided that NO STATE had the right to leave the Union), with liberty and justice for some of us (but were honestly working hard to make it ALL of us).
-Laelth
I seldom recall my dreams.
When I do recall them, theyre often like the dream you describe. Theyre about guilt. In them, I am beating myself up for something I DIDNT DO. I have to wake myself fully and remind myself that I didnt actually do what I had just dreamed and that theres no way on Earth I would ever have done such a thing.
And its often just a minor thing. Borrowing somebodys computer to send an email is NO BIG DEAL, right? Nobody really got hurt, but you still felt enormous guilt about having invaded someones personal space (and you need to remember that you didnt actually do that). You just dreamt that you did. Youre beating yourself up for NOTHING that you actually did. The dream pattern you describe is very familiar to me.
My guess is that one or both of your parents and one or more of your siblings suffers from a Cluster B personality disorder. You have been punished for things you didnt actually do all your life. You were the family scapegoat. When anything went wrong, you got the blame. You still blame yourself for things that are not your fault. You are subconsciously working through a lifetime of injustice.
Just wake up and remember. You didnt do what you dreamed. You are innocent of MOST of the crimes people have accused you of committing. The ones you actually did commit, you have apologized for and have tried to make amends. You do not have to be perfect. Nobody is. You have had one or more perfect people (only in their own minds) criticizing you all your life, and that is an enormous weight to bear. You are simply working through that lifelong (and possibly continuing) trauma.
-Laelth
Friday, August 21, 2020
This is the Friday immediately preceding the Republican National Convention. Trumps bowing out before the convention will give them the opportunity to nominate someone elseprobably VP Pence.
The reason will NOT be his health. Hes incapable of admitting weakness. It will be for the good of the American people because the Fake News Media, the deep state, and the evil Democrats never actually gave him a chance to govern. He, and the American people, were ROBBED of what could have been a golden age by bitter, petty people who couldnt stand to see him succeed.
Personally, I dont think that hes dropping out, but, if he does, I think it will go down as I described, above.
-Laelth
"Law and Order" is a losing strategy for Trump.
It only works if you are the challenger, not if you are the incumbent. Nixon was able to pull off a victory in 1968 because he was the challenger. LBJ and the ruling Democratic Party were held responsible for the civil unrest that rocked several American cities that year. Nixon won, in part, on his promise to restore law and order.
2020 is different. The civil unrest that we are experiencing is far more widespread and far more disciplined than it was in 1968. Trump OWNS this civil unrest. Because hes a moron, he also now owns his defense of memorials to people who fought to protect slavery. Talk about being tone-deaf!
But now hes running on the law and order platform, and he cant do anything to stop the civil unrest we are seeing. Hes just proving himself to be impotentissuing unenforceable orders left and right but having NO EFFECT. He looks weak. He looks impotent. He cant stop the civil unrest, so his law and order strategy is backfiring on him.
Right now, hes promising something that he cant deliver. Why would anyone give him a second chance to accomplish something that he cant accomplish NOW?
He has, because hes really stupid, chosen a losing strategy.
-Laelth
I didn't know she was Jewish. Interesting.
But I want to add a fictional conversation, here, between Gibson and his agent that immediately followed this interview:
Mel: Yeah? What did you think?
Agent: I think youre an absolute, friggin moron who just made my job ten times harder. Thats what I think.
Mel: Now, wait a minute. You work for me.
Agent: Thats right. I actually WORK FOR YOU. I got you that appearance so that you could get some public exposure, look good, and remind everyone out there that you are still available for acting gigs. And you screw it all up by accusing Winona Ryder of being an oven dodger. An oven dodger? How am I supposed to work with that?
Mel: I was just joking.
Agent: Oh, I know. Hardy har har. Look, moron, that shit aint funny, and nobody is gonna care that you were just joking. You said it. People heard it, and now I am stuck with it. Its gonna be MUCH harder for me to get you acting roles again.
Mel: I dont have to listen to this shit. You work for me.
Agent: At this point, I will be lucky if I can get you a commercial gig peddling depends underwear, but Ill try.
Mel: I can fire your ass, you know.
Agent: Go ahead! I doubt you could find another respectable agent at this point.
...
Mel thinks about it.
...
Mel: Fine. Im going out for a drink. Ill talk to you in the morning.
Agent: You do that. Just keep your mouth shut when youre out in public, OK? That will be best for all concerned.
CLICK
-Laelth
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Wills Point, TX
Home country: USA
Member since: Sat Oct 16, 2004, 02:36 PM
Number of posts: 32,017