Like most of you, and all good Republicans, I was both saddened and outraged to hear that Paris Hilton was attacked last weekend thanks to President Wimpypants’ woefully inadequate protection of American broads. So I was greatly relieved when I realized that it was not Paris Hilton, but Paris, France that was attacked, and while it was actually Americans abroad that were in danger, only one of them (and Donald Trump’s deportation storm trooper force would have probably sent her back to Mexico anyway) was killed.
Since no self-respecting conservative Republican gives two whits for those cheese-eating surrender monkeys over there, I guess Obama is off the hook once again, because….
Wait, what’s this? Republicans are outraged over this? I don’t understand. I mean, I know they’re good at being outraged, but I had no idea they cared so deeply about France. You’d almost think they were politicizing a tragic event. How unusual. Maybe they’ll even go back to serving “French” fries at the House cafeteria again.
As the week went on, of course, we found that not only are Republicans suddenly now Francophiles (except, presumably, for their healthcare system, their 35-hour work week – which, by the way, they can volunteer to work up to 39-hour weeks to earn up to 22 days off above and beyond the 5 weeks they get by law, and their ridiculous coddling of women with newborn babies), but they seem to be terrified of Syrian refugees (or, as President Obama refers to them – “women and orphans”).
I guess it’s no surprise they don’t like women, and any child past the fetal stage is on his or her own. Let them pull themselves up by their own bootstraps the way Donald Trump and Mitt Romney did.
The best argument for keeping out Syrian refugees came from Texas (no surprise) state legislator Tony Dale (R – also no surprise): it’s just too goddamn easy to buy guns in his state.
This flap over allowing refugees into the country is a prime example of the hypocrisy of modern day Christian-America. Especially when you consider they’re trying to prevent folks from Jesus’ neck of the woods from moving into their neighborhoods.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Just kidding.
Claims of American exceptionalism, yet again, are not reflected by Americans.
Here’s a depressing story.
That is depressing but not surprising. Don’t worry, at some time Syracuse will become the new up and comer. Hopefully sound minds and planning will trump the money when it is addressed and they just don’t try to get rid of the poor.
On the bright side, I’m white and live out in the sticks. And my place of work has decided to be part of the urban renewal, and is moving us from a nice safe setting in the ‘burbs with free parking and lots of businesses around. For instance, at lunch I can easily run (walk, even) to Home Depot, Wegmans grocery store, Trader Joe’s, the Homebrew shop, Airgas (to get my CO2, O2, or acetylene), Harbor Freight, etc. My dentist is about a tenth of a mile away, so I can schedule an early appointment and then go to work.
Instead, we’ll be moving to a space downtown where people get shot or mugged, we’ll have to pay to park (farther away), and there isn’t much around. Personally, I’m going to start taking the bus (which I’m kind of looking forward to), so I’ll have to take a day off to do the things I can do at lunch or before/after work now.
Oh, and instead of having a windowless office, I’ll be in a windowless cube farm (we’re going from a place where we don’t have enough space to a place with less space than we have now). Apparently our CEO cut some kind of a deal with the County Executive. Not that we’ll save money or anything after the costs of redoing the space and moving all the network infrastructure. But I’m sure he got something.
Needless to say, nobody’s exactly elated about this.
On the bright side, it turns out the grocery store in the village can get craft beer kegs at about the same price (slightly less, even) than the craft beer store by where I work now, so that’s been working out well.
For the most part I have tried to spare people of my travails of the last 2 years having been tossed out of SF and moving to Vallejo. However, while in ‘recovery’ from the whole matter, I have been even more aware of this phenomenom of gentrification. It has been going on for years in Frisco but I guess I was on the white side of it for the first 40 years. My new town of Vallejo is not yet in the cross hairs but it is probably inevitable. Meanwhile there is a host of relocated folks of all stripes in V-Town and not many swells yet. The city is considered ‘ghetto’ by some, bad schools, and is a little rough around the edges and I like it.
That being said, yesterday midday I was driving on a ‘thru’ street and and around a blind curve was a stop sign. I slammed on the brakes and ended up slightly in the intersection but I clearly blew the stop. There were no cars anywhere I thought but when I resumed I saw the flashing lights in the rear view and the very brief hope that he was chasing somebody else (it was very sudden he arrived) but that quickly faded and he pulled up behind me where I had pulled over. Of course, I went to the glove box until I remembered you shouldn’t do that until asked. When he came to my window I instinctively reached for my wallet and stopped and showed my hands. He asked me if I was familiar with the road and I told him I had recently moved to V’jo. He then asked for my license and told me I was not on ‘America’s Most Wanted’ and took my license to his car. He returned shortly and gave my ID back and gave me directions to my destination. Nice young guy. I have no doubt if I had not been a 63-1/2 year old caucasian, back up would have been called in and I would have faced some serious shit from harassment to arrest.
As long as I am talking about caucasians, that famous drink from the Big Lebowski made with cream or 1/2 & 1/2 can be adapted for the holidays by substitution eggnog for the dairy component. I call it The Egg-casian.
Glad you didn’t get hauled off to the hoosegow. Or splattered by a cement truck. Sounds like they need one of those “stop sign ahead” warning signs.
Police are scary. Too much power. Too much ego. Too little control. Glad you are OK, Vern.
I have managed not to be angered by Trump’s trumpishness until he spouted the nonsense about cheering Muslims in NJ. It is so blatant a lie that even Trump can’t find the video he says was all over TV. But, it reminds me of 9/11 in Red Hook where one of the bodegas was owned by an arab guy. People who had not been near his store swore that he had been cheering as the towers fell. The fact was that he, like everyone else, was sad and scared. It took a concerted effort by people who were on the street and in the store denying it for weeks before it was accepted as untrue.
For reasons that escape me, Americans love hating groups. The groups change but there is always another to take its place.
The other rumor that went around was that all the Jews who worked at the World Trade were notified not to come to work by the terrorists. A teacher with whom I was working asked me if I thought that was true. The fact that so many jewish folks worked at the World Ttrade and were killed did nothing to squash that rumor.
He also made some dubious claims about watching people jumping from the Twin Towers.
An Incomplete Catalog of Donald Trump’s Never-Ending Fabrications
—By Kevin Drum
Rudy Giuliani was on Morning Joe and tried to say that while he did not see or watch news reports about cheering arabs he spoke to people including police who talked about such incidents. Tom Brokaw had enough at that point and said there is no evidence that anything like that took place and that talks with mayors and police chiefs agree. Rudy then veered off into how wonderful he was on 9/11 telling people there should be no group blame. But, Trump has not been deterred because his supporters really don’t care about facts, they want their version told, true or not.
Lest we forget…
Donald Trump once motorboated a drag-clad Rudy Giuliani
Ol’ Rudy was an amusing show at times. But I have had guns pointed at me only rwice in my life and both times they were sharp shooters aiming at a small crowd because Rudy demanded it for his protection.
Crap, Thanksgiving snuck up on me….
Trump has now moved in to my worry column. Not that I think he will win the general election (I HOPE not.) His visionless idiot followers are what changed his status for me. I saw his supporters interviewed and they don’t care whether Trump is accurate or not. REALLY? The only explanation I can figure out is that Trump doesn’t ask for donations like the others so maybe they like the freebie candidate. Plus, they don’t have to use any brain power to follow the douche-bag. Trump appeals to their caveman mentality. Hey! this guy wants to make us rich like him and we don’t have to do anything! AWESOME!
I don’t believe in the anti-Christ, but if I did, I should think Trump fits the bill rather nicely. I mean, look at the money coveting and hate mongering he whips up and he just loves it when everyone is in a frenzy. His wives must be regular Valium or Xanax users. Money isn’t enough to live with that guy.
These Rethugs are all just bat-shit crazy. What happened to their old merely selfish party??
I think the anti-Christ would have better hair.
Then there’s this: Scientists: Ted Cruz Understands Less About Climate Than A Kindergartner. Not that the other Republicans are much better;
Thank goodness some humans will survive. Probably the rich, climate change-deniers.