Republican Family Values 0
“Republican family values” have always been nothing more than a grift that keeps on grifting.
The Me Veneration 0
Freud postulated that persons have an id, an ego, and a superego. Here is superego on steroids (though perhaps not as Freud would have defined it). From USA Today:
(snip)
George Washington refused to have his image printed on currency during his lifetime, believing it was “monarchical.”
Q. E. D.
The Rule of Lawless 0
Thom discusses how Pete Hegseth, in violation of the law, propagates propaganda to promote publicity perpetuating perfidy.
The Needy Narcissist 0
For some fool reason, this article reminds me of someone in the news.
Impartiality
0
At Above the Law, Joe Patrice follows the trail of oil droplets.
What’s in a Name? 0
You might ask this Florida man.
A Tune for the Times 0
Warning: Language.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
At AL.com, John Archibald looks at some hate-ful rhetoric directed at Moslems in Alabama’s on behalf of Senator Tommy Tuberville and hears a rhyme from another hate-filled time.
_______________
*Mark Twain.
The Lake Effect, Name Gamers Dept. 0
The Ring of Fire’s Josh Gay discusses the adsurdity of Trump’s order to rename Lake Ontario.
The Me Veneration 0
At the Kansas City Star, Fred Wellman points out that there is a dark side to Donald Trump’s me veneration. A snippet:
That should alarm every American, including those who consider themselves conservative.
(snip)
We do not have kings. We do not pledge ourselves to rulers. Public officials are not supposed to ask whether citizens “remain loyal” to the person occupying the White House. The government exists to serve the people under laws that constrain the people who wield its power.
Culture Wars and Mongers of Culture Wars 0
It never occurred to me that, in the eyes of the Trump maladministration, bike lines are somehow “woke.”
Recommended Viewing 0
On Tubi, I stumbled over a Looney Tunes series.
I’ve always enjoyed the Warner Brothers cartoons, and I think that Bugs Bunny is maybe one of the greatest cartoon characters of all time. I remember watching the Bugs Bunny Show when I was a young ‘un. I can still hear the theme song in my head.
But the reason I mention this series is this: In the later seasons (there are 13 seasons in the collection), they show older cartoons, many of them black and white, from the late 1930s and early 1940s. In them, you can see the characters that later became the Bugs, Elmer, Daffy, and Sylvester that we know in their earlier incarnations.
In some cases, it’s rather disconcerting.
A Tune for the Times 0
From the Youtube page:
This song treats the Trump shenanigans in recent days as he has escalated a trade war with Canada and – when faced with defiance and the threat of counter tariffs – indulged in petty statements and pathetic acts such as sanctimoniously renaming Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America’. We have been inundated with requests from Canadian followers for something on this topic (including plenty of suggested lyrics and songs) – but we’ve stuck to our own model and selection, which we nearly always do. We wanted to use an iconic Canadian musician for the parody, and opted for the cutting tongue and clean spiky sound of Alanis Morissette – whose show Danielle loved seeing live in London recently. “Jagged Little Pill” was one of our favourite albums – coming out in 1995 when we first met at uni – and “Ironic” (co-written and produced by Glen Ballard) topped the Canadian chart for six weeks when released, thanks in part to a memorable music video that showcased different characters/versions of her.
Hoist on His Own Petard 0
Veteran journalist John Young seems to think that Donald Trump’s war of choice on Iran may not be going quite as Trump expected.
Here’s a bit from his article; follow the link for context.
By March: “I think we won.”
Come April: “A whole civilization will die tonight.” (Fortunately for civilization, TACO was cheap.)
In June: “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable.”
