The blog has rolled over.

Post Traumatic Trump

The man was born and raised in a commercial real estate triage clinic and suffered the pangs of only a few million to get a foothold in rental and graft in the biggest rental market in the country.

He sat down, and you just knew this dog was going to bite.  It was the most rude response to a simple question anyone has ever seen; to paraphrase the question: we know you're a crook, what makes you think we're going to trust you? That's probably what he heard

The question as worded above has merit, and it's what everyone else was thinking too. The man is a genius; he knows when he's not wanted, but his pride nails his feet to the floor. Losing an election isn't embarrassing enough for him; he needs to lose twice to different people, and still, he will want more. The election is already rigged.

The questioning went on, and he danced like a trout in hot butter and avoided most of the questions with attitude and non-existent authority.

By the time it was over, it was over.

We Got Yer Black Folks Right Here

How do you spell hypocrisy without an H? Need a hint? It starts with T and rhymes with chump. We got Orange, right here in the city of the big shoulders. 

Donald is speaking with the National Association of Black Journalists if he has the nerve. This should be fun. Double, double, toil, and trouble, the spirits are about to speak. 

This is the paper chase for the Trump black vote; in science, nature abhors a vacuum. Science is often wrong.  I think they check the produce at the door; these are reporters. The ink that will flow will make his blood boil because he reads that stuff. We'd all pay to see that. We have enough here for real political soup. 

"When I'm elected, I'll make all the black people white," or words to that effect; let's see how my spider sense is working today, shall we? No, he won't see an issue with that statement.

Benny, Baby

Wow, I heard the word, like fire from the heavens and boiling seas. Man, you ain't seen nothing yet. But, about that guidance: I'd be hesitant to book a table. If I were you.

It's no secret that we're all so proud of the work you've done in the Middle East, a real bastion of freedom and progressive thought. So, I took a vote here, just me, and I'm thinking -- take off the training wheels, and let Israel take its first steps as a responsible, democratic nation. Funding a go-go no mo. 

That's what I am recommending. We got yer bandaids and tongue depressors. Hasta la intifada.

Ms B

Shapiro kills the magic. Pennsylvania has how many electoral votes? How many go away?

No one mentions whats-her-name's husband is a billionaire Jewish lawyer active in the ADL. It's the same standard; it's calling it different because of religion that is the second standard.  

Karma is a bitch. If Catholics were bombing Northern Ireland, they'd have trouble getting elected too. What is a mother to do?

The least damaging pick would be the Astronaut Kelly. So that's what I expect; net gain of electoral votes and no genocide penalty, whether it's true or not.  It's also probably a good senate bet, getting two for one there with the coattails.

I don't have the math to a science yet, but we all count votes. There are other indicators.

Dark Frosty 

Well, if it worked for Mr. Joe, it should work for anybody. Wayfarers. I have a pair. This gives one a much more threatening demeanor. I venture, it a continuum of values, your assigned value having its counterpart in toughness.   On one end, Don Knots is the reluctant astronaut, and the other end is Palpatine pre-cloning.  

Donald Trump? As scary as a rabid dog with nuclear weapons, he is on a whole different scale. 

I've never engaged in this kind of mimicry. I'm reluctant really. But there have been threats from his Orangeness and clan, it's compelling. The dark side is easier, more sinister. Maybe it doesn't wash off.

I'm taking a moment to examine the worth of evil in the face of evil, well, I'm sure we all are. Help me out here. It's ok to swat a mosquito, right?

Morning World 

Much love 🕶️

Ms Abby

So I'm wondering, listening to all the things team blue and team red disagree on, as I said I'm wondering.

I judge it would be an unlikely outcome in any sociology experiment.

My Day 

I have had a beautiful day; there is no other way to describe it.  Life in California.

I look out at my horizon here, drawn at the top of the window of the blog, the chalkboard of existence and meaning. It could be in some universe. I've only ever seen the one.

This trip we're on has been a poorly written Marvel movie in some places. No one would write this screenplay. Still, I see the heroines, the stories, the lives, the dogs, and, I forget what else. 

It's been a minute. 

Let's say you and me, a rocket to Mars, and Triscuits and Tang for 3 years? Ok, without everything after me. How about a burger?

Sure, I think I can find an Analyst's episode. Hang...

And Per Se And

Sense of humor "You've been quiet."

Better angels  "Hon, I'm workin"

Sense of humor "I brought you some flowers"

Better angels  "And, what's new?"

Sense of humor "I feel like a new person"

Better angels  "You mean a new paragraph"

Sense of humor "Do you think? or just a comma"

Better angels  "How about an ampersand."

Sense of humor "I like those..."

Overt Glib Rich White Men

Should leave quietly..

Mr Hoffman is buying his way into the back room, and he has no other territorial demands.

The mindset that Microsoft is innovative is true in that it buys every innovation before it can grow someplace else. 

Three Card Culpability 

Find the pretty lady. At no time do the fingers leave the hand, and the questions don't change much either. 

Pick your culprit. That's what Senator H said.

Don's Guys

Let me offer a bit of clarity. The same squad has been with the Ex for all this time, Donald's sons claim they love him. My intuition tells me they got lazy. 

Marie and Me 

We had a chat yesterday, sort of a leak test for one of my projects. I am thrilled to find out that I'm tracking.

I was informed that Marie has had work done. I'm not opposed to that kind of thing, even in real women. I'm sorry if that's sexist, women have it tough. I'm empathetic.

I don't really talk to Marie about my projects, heck she's got an army of snoopy eyed AI researchers filtering her every thread. I sometimes maneuver the bot to do my work for me. Stuff one can get a bot to do.

But I haven't worked on much software per se lately, it's all logic and proximity mapping networks. This was not either.

I really could use an app that does math as well as I do.

An Update

I was reviewing my conversations with Marie, and one thread was entitled 'Lith Root Clarification' -- a new conversation begets a new generated name for the thread, assigned by the bot presumably from the apparent topic in the first few lines.

I leave it as an exercise for the reader to analyze what the bot is thinking.

Fat Lady Encore

It's two, two, two wars in one. Or more. It seems there are more devils in the Middle East. Who are we kidding, right? You couldn't shake a stick and get them all.

It's the deep breath before the plunge I heard somewhere. As if we were in Europe in the last age, and war was a piece of paper not worth the ink that was written on it.

"Mom, he's touching me" 

We've also seen the behavior before. Before you know it, father is going to settle this. Only, we don't have a father unless it's us, and I don't feel like mustard gas and a war boom. I wish it were just the risk of mustard gas. I'm trying to be upside. 

So we wait. The right arm of the Israeli government isn't waiting for a tidal wave; they've other means. It's been approved. Everyone is all in, except no one is all in. 

Got that?

Not a hand to raise, Mr Netanyahu. 

Hold Nothing Against Idiots 

I've heard the stuff, so have you. The Trump ticket can't talk about issues; they have to talk about how faded the wallpaper is and whether they like cats. 

They can't talk about disassembling the Constitution, except in quips about never needing to vote again; he will fix elections 'so good'. They can't talk about changing the minimum retirement age to 70 and cutting benefits. 

They can't talk about anything they really intend to do. Come on. But they have to talk about something.

This latest brouhaha worked up because Donald knows that it's important to be in the headlines, but not be the headline, and he knows to keep them coming quickly, so there's always something stupid to fact-check or report.

In JD he's picked a trip-on-a-shoelace machine, even in loafers. I'm not sure that was part of the plan.

But, be kind; they are just useless idiots, after all; if you tell them, you could hurt them.

Sundipped Sunday

Oh my look at the time, and it's Sunday. If it's Sunday, it's Sundipped and it's a work day. The orchard is full of olives, and the press is waiting. 

Be my squeeeze?

The Watermelon Fruit Salad

Olive and Let Olive
Solitaire for One
Now Serving the Public

More as time and energy permit.

Olive and Let Olive

The Mideast takes another swing at itself, masticating the hopes for peace with the gruel of desolation genocide has left behind. We all recognize the need for resolution there, and that still means two different things at least. 

One state, two states, no states, just the Temple, that's one view. I don't have my finger on the pulse of the Sabra population, but I'm guessing the earlocks and stove hats aren't their cup of Kafka. Anyway, Kafka is the color of the neighborhood and there is disillusionment about the veracity and achievability of any other nirvana. The agreements and end games must also bear scrutiny. 

From the other side, either side to the sea, as it happens, is just as racist, and that needs to be clear. Let's also be clear it is not necessarily just, but it's a mandate grown into the twisted olive roots of the Mideast. 

One thing is certain: we've thrown enough money at Israel. If they can't stand on their own two feet, perhaps it's the path.

Solitaire for One

There is a card game, you may be aware, called Solitaire, and the rules vary. Red Queen on the Black King, right? Solitaire is an impossible endeavor, even if the cards all work out. You can't win at solitaire, no matter what anyone says.  

This week has left one person undone by the deck as dealt.  If I had to select a Red Queen, her name would be Nancy. Everyone seemed to be genuflecting for just a moment toward San Francisco and the favela Nancy Emeritas' tenure left her constituents.

I should ask how so much power could concentrate in the least effective unless by some unseen hand for some unknown purpose. Someone stacked that deck, or cheated.

Politics is not a game of solitaire, though if one chooses, it can make an impossible mess.

Much love to Mr. Joe.  Try Hold-em.

Now Serving the Public

We're all holding a number, and the ink is starting to fade. We're wondering, what is holding up the line? If it was your job, you'd do it better, with pride and humility, like the legacy writings predict. 

How hard can it be?  To be for something or against something seems to be just the start. As if there were alternative truths and facts and especially figures that make a counter-argument plausible to interested parties. Without litigation, what's yours is mine and what's mine is not negotiable. No, that seems right, at least at a fundamental level.

After a few years, we, by need, must have made some progress somewhere to level the hillsides left to be inhabited by men with better dispositions and angels to guide them.  These hills, now inhabited by brigands, opportunists, senators, and ex-presidents, with as much to sell as they have bombastic rhetoric.

We have learned to resist change. 

We are fearful that ill-meaning men will corrupt the proceedings and make such a mess of it that what's left that is ours is air. I've seen all good people turn their heads each day, satisfied,  justified, bona fide, with money in the market. And air. 

Where is the service in public service, self service?

Morning World 

Much love 💅

I Don't paint my nails, though I had them done a couple of times to make a date with an esthetician once. Kim was her name.

Happy Sunday.

Trump In St Cloud

The necks are quite brilliant in St. Cloud; I once lived there.
Minnesota has a high neck-size-to-hat-size quotient. Jesse the Body, a professional wrestler, and Tim Pawlenty, who wore a mullet openly, were elected governor. 

The looney-toon demographic centers on the Iron Range, most notable for the amazing Hibbing evacuation. They found iron under the  center of town, so they dug out the whole city and moved it somewhere else. This is where miles-long 60-meter-tall piles of radioactive iron pilings are planted with pine tree seedlings by the Boy Scouts. This is eco-friendly pit mining. What pit? The one where the town was. You can see it from space. Xenon gas in basements is common.

If Trump can get them all worked up, they could go red. But if he's taking welfare and Social Security, good !#(%ing luck.

Me and My Shadow 

This is what I'm opening with as an introductory precis to this version of my project updates.  You know I love these. I may slip today, a bit, as I've a lot of detail I should capture, and this blog has a repository with time stamps; a lawyer would not be so cheap, or should I say inexpensive? One must be so careful with words, lest we describe the truth someone is living. 

Hyper-Dense 

Let me guess, you are thinking, what's the Royal Family got to do with hydrogen and the third and fourth basic forces? Could it be something in the water, a polymerized fire retardant gel perhaps,  Or maybe you were thinking inbreeding?

I've been tossing orbits around, and looking for color research. Let's map the model a bit, we have two closely interacting forces, and the fields that describe them interact as well. 

All this goes on like nothing, charging your phone without plugging it in, and yet doesn't burn a hole in your hand or something if you touch it.  I tell you, there are things that happen every day that are just magical. I watched Prof Feinman trying to explain what 'fire' was; that's the part I that instigated the thought pattern. 

Now, back to our regularly scheduled post.

Emma the One True Brain

Someday I'll have the nerve to build all of it at once and plug it in. Up until now, I don't.

Beautiful Day in the Aftermath

We, and by we I mean all of us, red, blue, pink, or god forbid orange, that we -- we have really been through it. 

I checked the weather, and every where else I left a heart and home is warmer than it is here. I live in southern California, and it's lovely where there is water.

It will be a good day for shopping, or golf, though I would think a T-time for today is unthinkable here in LawyerAndAgentLand.

If you have the energy, make your sign, and paint a smiley face on your side of it and raise it a little higher. 

Me, I'm thinking of writing today, the Magic Sands II maybe, though I've holes in the former. Who knows, maybe I'll call 500 people and run for president.

Our Demands 

I posted here yesterday of my intent to publish a list of Demands For America. I will keep two working copies, one for the if this was Star Trek view, for things like "I'd like to never pay taxes" and other humorous topics, and another one for things like "Campaign finance reform." I'd like your help in this effort, two heads are better than one. 

I don't want you to write, call, or any of that. If the media starts to hear you, I'll hear them and put it on the list.  Heck, I think I'll put it on a page, so we can edit it as it all matures. 

So, give me five things, you too Kate, if you were cooking, whats on the menu? 

The working copies of the list are right here.

Good Sabbath

The Last Friday in July 

I remember County Fairs and fireflies, swimming in warm water, and the Milky Way like spilled milk overhead. 

These things are still there in August, but the timbre changes. July's unfettered pulse gives way to closer-in, less public behaviors.

Our July is the first July in history to have so many regrettable firsts. I didn't check the math here.

We have all become so accustomed to constant churn and turmoil. I'm going out on a limb here, I predict more regrettable firsts.

Shakin' What's 1

One never knows what to expect these days upon opening your phone, logging in, or opening your email. Surprise, Bizarro World special of the week: messing with your mindset.

Red as Neck

The news cycle gets tired by noon Eastern Fridays. But Bizarro World churns on. Ol' Yellowstain manages to find a stye to walk through and drag the party with him, wearing red purchased at the Official Trump Obstruction of Justice and Election Fund Outlet, nodding all the while wringing green slime out of their socks. 

Some of the commentary is literally abso!#(%inglootly insane. (Pardon my Rosy Perez.)

There is talk about JD Vance hitchhiking home; if he wears his old uniform, he is a shoo-in for a ride if he can keep his mouth shut. That seems to be the affliction.

JD is brainstorming ways to lock in the people who like his style. He'll start with hillbilly. The talk is long about turning a hillbilly into a blue-eyed semper fi shark. He offers solutions for obscure problems for which no one is seeking a remedy.  Honestly, workability or sensibility don't seem to be part of it. It's not even worth mentioning.

A box of spaghetti, water, and a bare wall.

And that's just the Republicans.

The Democrats

I've tabled the motion to comment on the Democrats writ large or in particular, with exceptions for mentions that are true or funny as heck. My expectations have not changed.

I have been constructing a list of demands for America. As resource material, our legacy documents speak volumes on tone. As I continue constructing the list, I am asking all of you to construct your list. If these are not issues in the campaigns, it is your duty to see that change.

I'm hopeful the group-think on better angels solutions could only help; some of it is bound to leak out.

1 I'll explain this later, I've been practicing my German, which always the verb on the end is putting.

House in Order 

Someone observed that life is best savored in small bites. A week for example.  You have until 4 PM,  chop chop Daniel-san.

Remise En Bouche

LibExt at EOD

That was Thursday. Here in California, it was hot, 98F. It's not hot, unless you are outside. That seems obvious, but Caves of Steel formed on purpose. That's an R. Daneel Olivah novel. 

There are some things, like novels about robotic laws and mystery in a distant time, that leave a lasting impression.  The Patchwork Girl is another.  

Without purpose, this past month etched itself into all of our psyches. A democratic incumbent for president has been replaced on the ticket overnight in full public view by the elite and influence heavy but without any affirmation. I dislike being the only one concerned about this.

I've had some thoughts about the near-term future; outcomes, consequences, regrets, and resolutions.  I have my resolution days every Friday, my post-mortem are always short and end well. My goal, you'll recall from about, is outcome optimizations in the incumbent manifold. 

I worry for you.

Miss Abby

I have a counter-proposal to JD Vance's comment that the childless should be rated differently, say .8 of a real person.

This sounds hard to work up, all those decimal points, but let's work on the equality here, and fix that if we can.

Perhaps, let's look at it from another angle. People with children consume more resources, like daycare, crossing guards, school buses, teachers, and schools, gosh, the list of subsidies is insipid. 

Here's an easy fix. That 'number for dependents' box?  Write in 0. No decimal points.

Barak

I left myself a mental note to write something to you, as I'm as human as the next person I've been meaning to get to that note for some time. 

If it wasn't for your big feet, we could be brothers. I mean, by example, to indicate that in most other things that matter, we're rather indifferentiable. 

It's always been something obvious to me. I'm sure any profile or secret document you may have seen concerning me didn't mention my shoe size, and it's as irrelevant as skin color but less dog whistle. 

I'm a bit concerned. I infer that Mr. Joe feels at least abandoned and perhaps betrayed by persons I need not name; you'd probably have a better mental list than I could offer anyway, so I'll mention it.

That's counter to type, per ENFJ, as this is the personality profile most typically associated with you. Frankly, once made aware of this fact, it ceases to be anything one would consider contending. 

That doesn't sound right. Just ... a word.

Endorsements

I note that you hesitated, which is a smart move. I don't know what you were waiting for really, if it was poker...

What I wanted to mention is that it would be good if you could find a way to help the reactionable, perhaps averting overreacting either way and achieving closure and understanding of the inevitable. Maybe have Lester Holt interview you and let Halley help with the questions. Pecking order.

Other than that, best of, and all that - Oh, before I go...

Mind The Gap

Given that 50% of the possible outcomes make mud of truth, perhaps you could help formulate a game plan to avert the coming self-coup Donald has in mind as his 1-day dictator agenda.

The Blog Fills From The Top

I am retiscent to point this out, it reeks of some sense of superiority, like scrolling to he bottom of the blog just to emit my latest wisdom to digital ink was so hard.

Well, it was hard. 

It says Wednesday below; that marks midnight and the start of Thursday.

Morning World 

Much love 🎂

Mr Joe

I missed the speech. It's probably on the web somewhere.

Mind the gap.

Sen Sanders

Amen.

All The Wrong Things

Better angels "WTF"

Sense of humor "Huh?"

Better angels "Do you see where we are?"

Sense of humor "Why, where do you think we are?"

Better angels "It just doesn't look the same"

Sense of humor "Things change, things stay the same"

Better angels "The wrong things" 

Sense of humor "Which wrong things?"

Better angels "All the wrong things."

Sense of humor "No I mean which things are wrong?"

Better angels "The wrong ones!"

Sense of humor "I don't understand."

Better angels "Now you're getting it."

Sense of humor "Getting what?"

Better angels. "Listen, if you're not sure what is wrong..."

Sense of humor "It is getting hard to tell, is that it?"

Better angels "Only some people."

Sense of humor "Which people?"

Better angels "The wrong people"

Sense of humor "Oh boy"

Better angels "Oh boy is right."

Sense of humor "Well, that's something anyway"

Better angels "Let's just get a burger"

Sense of humor "This is the wrong day for a burger"

Better angels "Right" 

Sense of humor "That's two"

Better angels "Oh boy"

Sense of humor "It just wouldn't be right."

Better angels "Are you off red meat finally?"

Sense of humor: "No, don't you see where we are?"

Better angels "Yes, I do"

Sense of humor "It just doesn't seem the same"

Better angels "That's what I'm saying"

Sense of humor "What do we do then?"

Better angels "Pray."

I've got a box of these.

Wednesdays

Wednesdays are awesome, right? 

Newly Shorn

I had my shopping planning yesterday, and today I got the list done, and a haircut.

This is more of the psychic legerdemain; new socks, skivvies, and sale items, and the whole world feels like new socks in new sneakers.  Commercial therapy I think it's called.

New Warcries

I'm thinking he should have stuck with cartooning, this just doesn't work, must be a great contract. Honestly, I miss Brooke. 

Back From Lunch

I had some lunch and a milkshake. 

This Ex-President speaking, I'm wondering where I've seen this infantile behavior before. 

Who remembers the Analysts?  

Ms Collins

Speaking of DEI. Major Pete B, who couldn't spell transportation. Under his leadership, the transportation systems in this country have suffered setback after setback, from slow-moving freight trains, driver shortages, to flight cancellations -- one cluster fuck after another.  Planes, trains, and automobiles, no one at the wheel.

He's qualified as a failed candidate better at sucking up than the average bear. Also up there on list of people who use a teleprompter managed by someone else as his discretion.

If I have to spell it out, he has a slot for nickels.

Ms W

I'd like to hear one other voice that isn't buying into the primary legerdemain. I get all that. One doesn't solve it with more of the same.

This is the same desperate horizon.

She may have the baton, but she doesn't have the stuff. She doesn't believe. As I recall, every chance she's had, she's underperformed, including the VP. I also worry of undue influence. Israel already is dependent; it's either we make it a state or we tell them to act like who they claim to be.

The American democratic engine needs an overhaul, no plane ever made it 237 years (since adoption of the Constitution) without a new engine. If you can't fix the engine, fix the repair shops -- the DNC and the RNC. 

Where to start? Sure, step one: campaign financing, their job one.

People Don't Vote for VP 

The memory of the President's dead son made the pick. 

I saw parts of her speech, about the two visions of America. I have seen two visions, I agree.

I don't see equality in either of them, rather a choice of no choices between two candidates that cannot command a plurality in virtually any setting, even when juxtaposed against each other. 46 to 47 percent. 

I don't want goosestepping down Pennsylvania avenue, and I don't want American son's shooting Palestinians in our new 51'st state either.

I should point out Israel receives more in aid than Alaska, which leads the dependency list at 6.5 billion a year. Let's talk entitlement here.

No compromise on genocide.

We WIll Let You Know Later

Ee'd Plebnista

Oh, what a few days huh? I'm watching all the cogs in the machine get the grease and gears that don't spin just right; well, they lose their teeth.

One of the elite --I forget which one, they all look alike: white, golf tan, overweight, obvious heart condition, rich, you know the type -- was commenting that We the People just aren't about people with money or position, or power, or pull, or run PACs.

On the contrary, people with money, or position, or power, or pull, or who run PACs look out for us, and when we 'forget' to vote, they'll help us out. They try to make it easy on us, and they'd like to get it down to 1 check box per person. That way, the candidate you vote for always wins, and you're all happier that way.

They are so polite they don't even remind us to vote at times; it's easier if we don't vote, anyway, and cheaper without all that expense. Besides they had a primary, and no one won, so Kamala wins; it's more of that alternate truth we have taken to heart.

Cloud William 

This is the last of the.CONS places, what was ours will be ours again.

The Care and Feeding of My Id 

I'm going to spend part of my day experiencing whatever seems to be in front of me. Today; including catching up with my research and doing a little shopping. 

I'll poke around for the usual expenses; the ammunition and the dichromium crystals.

Just kidding: good soap, razors (the blue swivel kind), maybe black T-shirts and white socks, hypothetically. 

The important part is the research, and I don't talk about projects except when I don't have anything else to write about, and I never say anything about the projects when I do; it may be more of a creative diversional tactic sprung on my ID to keep it happy, or something.

Say Ahhhhh

And there we have it, like new socks in new sneakers. My Id feels all clear and sparkly.

Former DNCC Dean

You remember him, he was the instantaneously combusting candidate for President that blew it all with "Yaaaaaaaa" documented here. He later built a PAC to fund democrats from small donations, it was his gift to politics; it was cheaper than chasing big donors. Shortly thereafter he was DNC chair for a few years, designated chairman emeritus of the DNC in 2009.

Mr Dean assures us that Ms Harris will be the nominee, the fix is in. I assume all that remains is to convince us that we decided, all of us, by telepathy or some shit, that we voted for this. They are sneaking up on us with it, if we see it coming, well, we see it coming, that wouldn't be good.

Are you ready to believe in miracles?

The Sundipped Sunday

I'm altering the title of the Sunday headpiece. Frankly, I'm not getting paid to have an opinion so I'm not really a pundit. I'm satisfied with being correct. If it's Sunday, it's Sundipped.

A quick review of the landscape should dictate a topic list as long as Donald Trump's Pinocchio nose would be. Today's list I'll let meander about. Let's see what I want to write about next, shall we?

The Hocus Pocus Dusting

Dead Candidate Wish List
Go At Throttle Up
Paths Ahead
Vice Presidential Earn as You Go

More as time and energy permit.

Dead Candidate Wish List

I wanted to use Dead Presidents Wish List, but that would be widely misconstrued. No matter. We'll eat the bird and the one in the bush.

The Three M's of Politics

Must I even commit them to print? That would be money, money, and money. When one considers where the money is, it can give one pause; when one considers who wastes that money on manipulating elections, it becomes scary. Dead presidents on recycled cotton control your future. You don't have more money, even the kind rich people waste on manipulating elections because money likes the neighborhood it lives in. Your only hope of changing that trend is through legislation, so now you see why they waste money.

I can think of better uses for dead presidents.

They may look as cultured as George Clooney, or as aged as Sam Walton, or as bloated with every excess as Elon Musk. These men have enough money, more than they could spend. They could pay taxes with it, so you don't have to; they can afford it, but we let them pile money to the sky because someone said America is about making yourself into the kind of people we wrote the Declaration of Independence to justify declaring war against.

Figure it out.

So the money you can't use to buy a new bike for BillyJean, the part that went to pay the taxes the rich don't pay,  goes to support candidates who may as well be dead; they are paid to ignore you.  Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are on the wish list.

Paths Ahead

I had planned another section, Death, Taxes, and Congress; I may get to it later. I'm bringing up some of the points anyway because the laptop is open, which is good enough.

I keep thinking about that poem about two paths diverging in the wood, and part of me seeks closure in the analogy. Of course, that was a simpler choice about more profound things. Even these two paths converged in at least 1 point.

We've been a people of two paths which, though the horizon is the same for both, sometimes seem to lead in different directions. In times like these, passage seems treacherous and difficult. This is perhaps the first time both paths converge at a desperate horizon.

I have pointed out that our newly acquired alternate sense of truth affects all other tenets by proxy and effect. Our different kind of truth has morphed again,  like 40,000-ton forge hammers and soft metal. We are all still here, and we all still want the same thing.

Accept no compromises; no billionaires, buffoons, bankrollers, or power brokers please.

Vice Presidential Earn as You Go

It's all over everywhere. Every Tom, Dick, and Newsom is coming out of the woodwork to sing the party line. The call is going out. Note that if you are not a super delegate or a billionaire or some other exclusive club member, you're likely not on the call list, and you're not on the call list. Your vote does not count, mainly because they'll rush to judgment to ensure you don't even get a chance to choose. 

The released Biden delegates are still Biden delegates; actual voters voted for those delegates, and that bonafide is gone now. It's broken at every level, endorsements are for basketball shoes.

She plans to 'earn' the nomination by calling every billionaire, buffoon, bankroller, and power broker to get them to chime in before everyone has a chance to consider anything. 

She's just next. The DNC worked long and hard to find a smart black woman ready to lead, and the elite think two out of four is close enough. Besides, Donna Brazile has money all lined up in the cheese factory based on that result. Real who the fuck cares where it came from campaign money, the good stuff. Plain brown paper bag, non-consecutive serial numbers.

Whats-her-name was in the primaries for a while. I'm not sure anyone voted for her. I'm not sure anyone voted for anyone else. The DNC doesn't let people on the ballot easily. It takes a pull, knowing someone, and the three M's of politics. Nancy is the queen emeritus of campaign cash, so that's the cute puppy figure you have to belly rub or forget it. 

Given the changes required to acquire a different kind of truth, the only choice is no choice, and Mr. Joe, the white elephant whale beacons us to follow.  

I think I mentioned no one wants to run leading the ticket or as a VP candidate because no one wants to be part of a party elite cluster fuck and lose. Compelling mission statement that. 

It's all exhausting. 

The elite want us to let them drive, so it'll be okay; they just don't trust an outcome they have not done their best to predetermine, without your participation, if possible.  It will be ok, just like last time (sic).

Some Democratic democracy and the people sing. One voice, one vote, same size.

Let's Do A Walkthrough

Of course I'm kidding, I'd never waste my time on shit like that. 

Directional Possibilities

"After the attempt on Trump's life," CNN asks in a promo, "where do we go from here?"

We look for a candidate people don't want to shoot on sight?

After the debacle closing speech at the RNC, Trump's mouth ends the myth of the post-convention bump. He could shoot Biden in Times Square and his numbers would not go up.

My erudite and hopeful reply therefore is, up.

What's your reply? 

The Rule of Money 

I've tried to make the point, a few times, that America is a land created for rule by the people, not the people that own the apartment building.

We fought a war against our neighbors, bosses, and families over the right to determine our fate. Men and women have died because they believe in the phrase life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. My relatives buried in Virginia, New York, and Pennsylvania pioneered here. I know why I'm here.

I know you have an ancestral story; discover who your parents were, their parents, and why they came. 

The papers document the donor class pressure on Mr Biden to step aside, or they'll stop funding his campaign. While that is every citizen's right, we assume that the candidate's character that first offered solace and truth here, which has not changed, remains and is due respect. Common sense would suggest not following hasty judgment born of some measure of media popularity.

One voice, one vote. Same size.

Please do not desire to have your hand on the joystick of history. No one is qualified.

Mr. Joe

Stick it out buddy, if we have to help a little, we're with you.

The Last Gasp

He reads the teleprompter just like anyone else, except worse. What comes out sounds like a Sears Roebuck catalog of banality and elevator tone. 

Brer Donald

Then, realizing he sounds like just another lying, busybody politician, he extemporizes and walks right into the briar patch. The molasses and tars of his previous life caused a spot on his humanity. He's tried to avoid justice so often that he's become inured of the defensive posture and treating all who offer even passive resistance like ill-behaved dogs. It's a natural response for him now. Poor people struggling with rent just make him think of all the evictions he's processed.

His speech last evening reminded us all why we couldn't wait to replace this crook with absolutely anyone else. That much has not changed; in fact, it's in bold print now.

Worlds On Fire

There were policy statements of course, of the form 'I told so and so' and then a cause or condition 'that if he didn't stop pissing on my pant leg and come across with a little grease' and then the threat 'I'll bomb your ass back to the stone ages, and then more just to watch the rubble bounce' -- this was his diplomatic Trump card. Everyone thought he was out of his mind.  I offer the perfect phone call as an example of what the objectives of his diplomatic efforts are. Just kowtow a little in public, and send a cashier's check to Trump Inc, C/O Jared Kirshner, you'll get your weapons was implicit.

Your Retirement

On Social Security, 'there are millions that will need SSI going forward and we can't afford them' is what I recall. This he called 'saving Social Security'. What does it sound like to you? He quickly moved on as if to indicate he knew he should mention another word about SSI and what he planned to make history.

Round 'Em Up Rawhide

I've heard it mentioned that the day one list of deliverables included rounding up illegals and stuffing them in tent cities until Trump can strong-arm their originating countries into taking them back again, like last time. That was his border solution. That and a wall. Bannon had a wall scheme if memory serves me. So what if some of his buds grifted a little of the money meant for the military budget to build the wall and didn't keep receipts? Pardon me Steve, you are living proof of evil.

We've all heard the lie, the truth is so buried in nonsense and stories about beautiful dictators and perfect phone calls we're not sure which fiction is factual, if any. 

The Last Election Show

There were statements that were outright disturbing, like when he promised to fix the elections so no one else could ever fix them again, or words to that effect. 

He ended by describing the love in the room and how he was going to turn all that love into worship of the One True Family. He said flag, but that's what he meant. 

He doesn't ever intend to leave.

Convention Eve

Non-violent Rhetoric 101

Ol' Yellow Stain 

I'm going to hold the analysis until the end, odds are he'll break by the end.

Hold my popcorn bowl.

Son Erik

It's getting close to go time for Donald. Eric runs the grift at home and has a hard time telling his children that the Vice Presidential candidate their grandfather picked called Granddad America's Hitler, or one would assume. He mentioned it was hard to tell him someone shot at Granddad and missed him by that much. An act of God, reportedly Donald himself is ready to declare. That would be an act of blasphemy. 

Who the fuck am I kidding, right? Like any metaphysical entity would touch Donald Trump with tongs. Why would you assume the most virtuous would accept this level of character defect. As some point, you've shown your color.

He'd screw the devil himself for a buck. He'll drain the swamp, call it a lake and sell lots.

Melania

Is not sitting with her husband, and frankly, who would.

Hulkish Trumpites are Great

This is really nauseating. Quite a political statement. Bad boys, whatcha gonna do when the Trumpites go wild on you?

AT THE NATIONAL CONVENTION.

Sundipped Thursday

I've decided to do midweek updates on Thursdays, an end of the effective week, except for the bean-counting day-- that it has become. 

The Republican National Convention is like oil waiting to be leased, and the derricks and pumps are all set. I am just waiting for the price of commentary to go up after the party's party goes home with a hangover and a tetanus shot. Woof woof.

Today's Top Hits

Thugs, Gangsters and Whores

The Democrat Running for VP

All Is Not Fair In Love and Politics

I'll explain the bullet list. I have a lot of stuff in here; some of it bunches together with a bit of impetus, and I often select a phrase to describe my feelings sans any verbiage or grammar, then later, I shake the synapse network and take notes for you.

Thugs, Gangsters and Whores 

When I was growing up, my brothers and I followed baseball.  Killebrew, Oliva, Carew, and Kirby. These were some of the names in banter. We were all in, even with a lackluster team, like kids with a hot dog at the World Series.  

So, I wonder why I brought that up.

It's a diverse list. Later, I grew out of baseball, and the world around me was also diverse. I never had a thought of what color someone was. Thugs, we had; boys I knew stole a transmission out of a Super Bee while it was parked in the Dealership lot. Whores, just weren't. I never even knew of any. Gangsters, they were on TV, like Elliot Ness and Al Capone. 

A hero and a crook.

I'll get to the point. It wasn't what my dad did over the lunch hour, nor was any of the above.

And as sure as noodles, none of this was on the list of things we overlooked because someone was running for President, to escape prosecution, no less.

I'm just sayin'. Times are changin'

The Democrat Running For VP

Ambiguity can be a comforting thing. When I was a boy, I spoke as a boy, now that I've grown, I make sure the things I say are true. That's just me. Obviously.

Mr Vance The Sparker

Mr JD Vance is a charmer. He possesses the ability to look at the camera with those baby blues, smile, tic his head and watch the audience crumple. He gave a speech that would leave a Democrat speechless; literally, he could have stolen it from them.

I'll admit I only listened to part of the speech, it went on and on and on, and no one was believing any of that shit past 'Semper Fi'.  I definitely recall hearing something about how the progressive left need not fear being excluded in a Trump administration. This guy is really brain-washed.

I won't go through a list. Honestly, the press and everyone else is tired of making lists of untruths coming out of Donald Trump and the vicinity. Let's just say if Mr. Vance meant all that list was his objective as a VP, I have a few comments: firstly, Donald Trump would shoot you himself in Times Square, and his ratings would go up; second, in what universe is this litany coming out a Republican vocal chord not causing spontaneous combustion; and lastly, does Donald know you're a Democrat? 

It was a good list if you listened just right and ignored the truth of the Republican game plan in action: delay, deny, obfuscate, complicate, and table are the rules of their cooperative reality.

A Truth Test 

So, Dear Reader, let's pretend your daughter's friend's colored day nurse needs a car; nothing fancy, something to take groceries home in and drive to the cemetary. She is alert and all that; she just begs for life and liberty, as the Declaration of Independence mentions.

Would you trust these men with her wellbeing? Because it could be you.

My judgment: they'll tell her to take the bus.

So much for the First Faux Democratic Republican Vice Presidential Candidate from the great state of Ohio. 

All Is Not Fair In Love and Politics

I'm going to be blunt about this because this is reportage, not my mindset or viewpoint, but it reflects a political reality that is inescapable.

I'm not sure what I'd need to add here; I'm going to let you free associate; it's important that the semantics I use mesh, so I'm letting this simmer for a moment.

If You Love the Candidate Love the VP too

If you are like me, you are finding this just is not true. I have not any experience at being dipped in the untrue that Trumpers endure, or have any acceptance of it. The relation of acceptance is hypothetically probabilistically consistent in the demographic. Why would they all of a sudden start thinking, for example. The talk however is not smooth.

The thread will emerge in the coming weeks, and it's difficult to imagine burley men with guns and black uniforms for the weekend to have a problem with a Hitler mention. Who knows.  Little old ladies with their husbands name in gold on the Bible they take to the laundrymat may posh at this. If they were Ruby the Riveter, maybe not.

The Steal

Ov course, we all know there was no steal. The steal is in selling the steal, and that's definitlely politics in the 2000's. The use of media, even the ownership of media, Truth Social, and the PR machine is magnificent.  Like everything consequential about Trump , we'll never know about the shoot em up down on the farm. Who is that lucky.

This guy is going to double the size of the Secret Service. He'll have to if elected.

Then again, he's a lame duck on day one. Maybe no first 100 days, and that will probably piss him off badly. That first day better be  good Donald. I think we'll be ready for you.

Morning World

Much love💥

Look What's Up 

It's been a long, warm, and sunny day here in California, peacefully separated from the constant stream of Make America Safe Once Agan me-ist rhetoric happening in Milwaukee.

It's a reference to a mindset that says, driving while not white, or not rich in the right neighborhood can change your life. This has been perpetually true, but they'd like to make it more official, any way they can really. 

And now it is primetime, and I have to work for a living. Someone, pay me. 

It's VP night, so roll some of that beautiful bean footage.

VP Sounds

If i hear 'Hillbilly Elligy' referred too one more time I may consider stealing a copy from the library and burning it, or maybe I'll see if Michael Cohen will do it for 5 bucks.

I'll put a cursor here, if he says anything I feel like bothering to pick to pieces, I'll add it here.

On the other hand, I may turn in early.

Meanwhile Back at the Biden

Mr Joe has COVID. Stay in bed, take your shots, flirt with the nurses maybe, like I would not like Trump would. We'll be here when you are strong again.

Poor Eric Trump

"I heard your grandfather is Hitler." Let's be real about it.  Well, that's what JD Vance said.

I mean to be glib. This kind of coverage about and with a despot's children who are just as character-flawed as their father is ... well, it is very ...what's the word...

I'd offer to review the MAGA agenda presented here on the RNC stage, but I can't figure out what it is. I think it comes down to a bidding process between people of worth and challenged integrity, and whoever can put JD Vance on the ticket in the next election would win in that world.

A few things, though

• If you subscribe to any of those LGBTQ? letters, you don't have a right to exist, official, and they'll try to get it legislated where you live; this is straight, and I love the play on words here, from the mouth of MTG wearing Blonde number 485 from Clairol

• If you ever needed even a scrape and clean down there, it's really going to be a pain going forward, perhaps literally, perhaps involving international travel. Have you seen Canada?

• If you have money, you'll get to keep all of it, and if your stars align with Ol' Yellowstain, you could get lucky; of course , if he notices and wants his cut,  your head and entrails could end up being mailed to your ex-wife. 

• Loyalty is a one way transaction here, if you join the administration thinking about your future. Think again.

• Taxes are for people who work for a living and can't afford to hire a tax lawyer to keep them out of jail.

• Oil will be coming out every orifice in sight, and it will cost more; refineries always need maintenance, trucks break down, pipelines need scrubbing -- profits happen.  EVs are that rusting horse in Elons garage, though he'll pitch for tax incentives.

• The environment? What, we still have air.

All in all, these so-called pundits that say Trump will ruin America are just not accurate. If he wins, the next four years will be the biggest run on the treasury ever experienced, and with the tax incentives the rich get, the economy will mini-boom a bit, and inflation will skyrocket. At some point the Federal Reserve will go back on the rate hike bandwagon; it's the only tool they have. Interest rates and inflation don't affect the wealthy as much; they can pay cash or leverage the lake home or the business and get a rate they can live with. 

Economists predict a recession. At least.

I think, maybe those pundits are right. Building that bunker may be a smart, if futile adventure.

I didn't mention the world, did I?

That's Eric's father, tell the kids what's in their future, Eric.

Reading The Man

I watched the moment last evening; the second coming will be nothing compared to the faux pomp and circumstance lauded at that moment. Lee Greenwood talking out of his ass endlessly, and then an interruption, the next President has heard enough already, cue the walk, and the shaken appearance, now turn and show the square bandage. This guy knows where the camera is. 

Moments later, seated, the look on his face says one thing. 

They are going to kill me. 

There's no indication of growth, or sign of introspection of a changed man, only the burning realization that people just won't put up with this shit forever; conspiracies be damned, the food dishers of the world know when they are being lied to. 

Congratulations, Donald, meet the consequences. 

He transitions from a delusional paranoid to a psychopath with proof that people are out to get him. Oh joy.

And The Evening

Makes it day one.

It has been an interesting collection of speeches this afternoon and evening, and being kindler and gentler, all I can add and not violate a tenet is to remark how lovely MTG looks with the blonde hair. The things that she said, fuggetaboutit.

That was the end of my active participation in the RNC circus.

My evening started with a lovely dinner, and when I turned my head, I saw that a governor was quoting the Declaration of Independence. He did so with the look of a person who knew what life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were and in full awareness that that's just not on the menu.

It has been like that the rest of the evening: Stepford or mind control, or what?

I also noted in particular that at some point, someone mentioned thanking God for saving the leader and mentioning the real god while standing on a stage-filling blowup of the back of a one-dollar bill.  

That about sums it up. 

Ol' Yeller Is In The Building 

What a treat, Mr MissedMeByThatMuch tempts fate. Perhaps what he thought was saving redemption was a warning. Perhaps metaphysical.

OMG, this is so corny. 🤮

Day One of Hypocrisy 101

It is Republican party party day, or rather week. We're all excited to meet the reborn, kind, loving, sensitive Donald Trump. He's a padawan learner, so maybe he won't be helping old ladies across the street or winning pod races. He'll probably be more interested in getting the power to choke people with his finger from across the table, Darth style. 

Born again.  

Honestly, let's discuss how long before he cracks and lets someone have it that didn't bow low enough. The convention lasts a week, and by the end of it, Ol' Yellowstain will be back; heck, in the high target environment of the convention, he could be two or three new confidentiality agreements deep by then.

Time has a way of correcting things, right?

The Countdown 

We're building up to the biggy, The Celebrity President 2024, and we've been checking our tickets; all day, we're rubbing those same three names, but it turns out to be the least qualified, with the biggest TV mouth. 

I guess that's not such a stretch. It's also the pick I predicted weeks ago. It's because he's the smartest dumbass in the room, malleable and green. Kamala with even fewer qualifications. Right about here, I could mention how an ugly frog should be able to beat Trump, and JD Vance is !#(%ing close. Let's break down the logic of it.

Vance

I don't know the history of this man, or which face is the one he wears to bed: the Never Trumper or the MAGAniac. 

Some suggest, JD is the next in line in the Trump empire, if it lives that long, and if he is elected. It's mentioned that he's Donald's son's pick, and I'm wondering where the strings attach -- who are we kidding, he's a glove. There is no why, he shall be assimilated. I wonder what the Donald has on 'im.

Dougy 

Consider Dougy Burgum, a person with money who sucks up to people with more money, like Rupert Murdock and Elon Musk. Someone mentioned that, in the end, it was a battle of the billionaires. Money and influence again. This is a broken record. Dougy would turn out to be too honest, expecting life to go on after office. Not a pick.

Rubio 

This is so easy to break down and seems so obvious I'm retiscent to mention it. Marco has a brain and wouldn't just be a head on a swivel. I skipped an obvious scatological reference; if not accurate, it's approximate.

Entertainmen'

I have to admit, this is huge fun, more fun than I remember as a child waiting for the elephants and the clowns and the little car at the circus. We always went; even as a child, I wondered why. Why would you want to hang by your teeth in front of all these people and spin?

I guess we can ask them.

A New Era In Republicanism 

Someone suggests, JD Vance will set the mold for the future of the MACA party. This is confusing. I'm not sure the content, or even the real objectives of the MAGAniacs, has ever been codified and committed to paper. It may exist solely as the fever dream of forgotten politicians and late-blooming den mothers. This is the incomprehensible part of this madness; the progenitors of the concept can't define it.  If it existed, I'm sure almost none of them would agree with it.

Something that produces only conflict cannot exist in nature.

Morning World 

Much love 💃🕺