A Brief Reminder
PG received a forwarded chain email. The first line was “I think this is bullshit, do you know any way to confirm?” Here is the text. “On Monday, September 7, 2015 10:37 PM, Gullible Gus wrote: I trust this info is true. Sent from my iPad Begin forwarded message:”
“As a brief reminder for those who forgot or for many that didn’t know. Here is what happened,quietly, on January 1, 2015. Medicare tax went from 1.45% to 2.35%. Top Income tax bracket went from 35% to 39.6%. Top Income payroll tax went from 37.4% to 52.2%. Capital Gains tax went from 15% to 28%. Dividend tax went from 15% to 39.6%. Estate tax went from 0% to 55%. A 3.5% Real Estate transaction tax was added.
Remember this fact: These taxes were all passed solely with Democrat votes, Not a single Republican voted for these new taxes. These taxes were all passed in the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. If you think that it is important that everyone in the U.S. should know this, the many millions who don’t yet, then pass it on.”
The phrase “These taxes were all passed in the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.” was pasted into google. Before you could say fox news hairdo, there were 97k results. Snopes rated the email a “mixture” of truth and fiction. The example email used by Snopes, received August 2014, began “Those that think this is the way to improve the economy might as well delete now.”
Politifact rated the email “Pants on Fire.” Factcheck.org titled their version Return of the False Tax Claims. Most of these tax increases were included in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. This instrument was passed, with bi-partisan support, by the lame duck Congress after the 2012 elections. So much for “not a single Republican.” Maybe all the Republicans who voted for ATRA were married.
What the message does not mention is whether of not the tax increase was sufficient. The current budget deficit is estimated to be $474 b. This is almost a trillion dollars less than the $1,413 b in 2009. The national debt is estimated to be $18.1 t. A trillion here, a trillion there, and soon you are talking about real money. Saint Ronnie didn’t think big enough.
The email PG received had a post script. “You know, when Senator Isakson was here, why wasn’t Congressman Bishop with him in bi-partisan support for Ft Benning?” An inefficient military is the number one reason for runaway government spending. And yet, in this message decrying taxation, the local congressman is denounced for not bringing home the bacon. If you are going to cut spending, you have to start somewhere. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Labor Day
@UberFacts 86% of graffiti in men’s bathrooms is erotic in nature, compared to just 25% in women’s bathrooms, according to a study. ~ There is a logical fallacy there ~ Why did you steal his eye shadow? ~ When you want to spread a message, the first step is to earn the trust of the person you are speaking to. ~ How does someone that ugly get married four times? ~ Maybe we should rename the Lester Maddox Highway, behind GA Tech near Northside Drive, the Chattahoochee Freeway. ~ To say that G-d is dead presupposes that she ever existed ~ @EdDarrell @TIMENOUT maybe we should take a break from using the labels liberal, conservative, racist, terrorist especially racist ~ The road to heaven is paved with bad intentions. ~ The church sign said “Pray like a grown up” ~ I basically like this thought. However, the “with the lord” part is a problem. There are other ways to express that thought. ~ Two sentences in a row where Mr. Drezner says Scott Walker, and respect, in same sentence ~ @duchessgoldblat I’m laid up, friends. I slipped and suffered a plot twist. The doctors are baffled. Send flowers and love. ~ At least on FB you can say what you like without being interrupted. Ok, now that I’ve said something good, now for what I really think ~ Is it cultural appropriation to use “ass” as an adjective? ~ I wouldn’t know. I don’t consume corporate media. ~ “clusterfuck of frustration” ~ the wine kicks in ~ i hate when that happens ~ Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth Marcus Aurelius ~ There is a discussion at wikiquotes, “Is This a Real Marcus Aurelius quote?” Since Mr. Aurelius died in 180 AD, there is probably room for conjecture. This quote is definitely a translation, which could be a third level of confusion. ~ There is also Southern Fried Queer Pride. One of their events was a T-POC only cookout. ~ How many Syrian refugees has Israel taken in? ~ @TrivWorks Update: Kentucky county clerk refuses to accept Tom Brady’s suspension release #deflategate ~ @TooMessedUp I just got banned from Christian Mingle. Apparently “Hung_Like_Jesus” isn’t an appropriate user name! ~ Hey kid you wanna buy some candy? ~ guess tin is easier to say, and spell, than aluminum ~ Is this what people mean by giving head? ~ Why do they call this thing a status ~ Mr. Drezner ~ 5 Valuable Ways to Use Your White Privilege to Fight Anti-Black Racism ~ WTH, LAMESTREAM MEDIA! STAY OUT OF MY BIBLE ~ 25 Emotions People Feel, But Can’t Explain ~The following is a turn of words I thought of today, and this may, or may not, be a good time to say it … with social media contacts like that who needs deletions. ~ I want to see Jon Stewart debate Bill O’Reilly in front of a Fox news audience. Their last encounter was before an audience sympathetic to Mr. Stewart. On second thought, I am not interested enough to watch. ~ Not only has JMG been under DDoS attacks this week, last night haters flagged my Facebook account. Just now I had to login to a suicide prevention page before being allowed to continue. ~ #KimDavis has better hair than #BernieSanders. ~ Sparklez I looked for your “last comment” and could not find it. ~ realizing he is reality nonconforming was liberating now if only people would believe he does not miss jesus ~ Kids is gender neutral ~ Hey guys we really shouldn’t attack Kim Davis based on her terrible appearance. There are plenty of reasons to hate her that have nothing to do with how ugly she is. ~ We can always talk about how ugly BS is. ~ trash comments say more about the commenter than you. this is not always comforting to know ~ my pc keyboard was found on the street when someone threw it away ~ @nihilist_arbys Aaaand the weekend has begun! Enjoy your last quickly dwindling moments on this earth being herpes free, & please enjoy arbys. ~ Maybe Israel can take in some refugees from Syria. ~ According to wikipedia, Amen is a Hebrew/Greek derived expression meaning “so be it”. The resemblance to the plural word for male human beings is a coincidence. ~ New Orleans Radical Faeries is a good acronym ~ You get the workout going uphill and have fun going downhill. ~ ~ @janetmock @chescaleigh Funny non judgmental honest are not words I would use to describe MTV decoded ~ Some people would say that liberal minded is an oxymoron. ~ What is it about religion and politics that makes people produce so many words? ~ What is frustrating is people who do not listen. If you try to say anything, some people will not hesitate to interrupt. This is the one advantage I see to online discussions. ~ same reason poc get upset when pwoc mention black on black crime ~ when you wrestle with a hog, you get dirty, and the pig has a good time ~ seeing #SarahPalin as the top trending subject wondering what she has done now ~ insert meaningless words here to even out things ~ pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
An Old Farmer’s Advice
Many of you have heard “An Old Farmer’s Advice”. This is a repost. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong. Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance. Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor. Words that soak into your ears are whispered…not yelled. Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight. Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads. Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you. It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge. You cannot unsay a cruel word. Every path has a few puddles. When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty. The best sermons are lived, not preached. Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway. Don’t judge folks by their relatives. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time. Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t botherin’ you none. Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance. If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’. Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got. The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’. Always drink upstream from the herd. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment. Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in. If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to G-d!
Know one knows who the old farmer is, or what he grew. Some say he really worked in an office writing ads for Massey Ferguson. Some say he had a bull farm, and believed in the product. In this age of industrial strength commodity wisdom, or glurge, the first reaction of some is to look to google. In this case, you can go to a forum at Snopes. No one claims to be the grandson of the old farmer.
My father in law is an old farmer. He’s given me some advice. It was more like: Don’t try to fix a broken porchlight in a rainstorm. corrolary: Disconnect power to the sprinkler system before fiddling with the wiring. If you wear longer socks, the chiggers won’t bite you. Cool Whip makes everything taste better. Do whatever your mother in law says.
quote: A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor. ~ Yeah, but you try getting a bumble bee to plow your fields. With the tiny little plows attached to their wings, it could take days.
quote: Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly… ~ And above all else, verb adverbly … There’s my problem, I’ve been living deeply, loving simply and speaking generously.
quote: Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. ~ I’m not sure of the lesson here…you should leave a bunch of tree stumps in your farm fields? But then you lose valuable real estate, the crops have to compete with the tree roots, and combine harvesting is significantly more dangerous. Maybe, if you take just a little time to remove the stump properly, it pays dividends and saves you time and energy in the long run. … But life is a lot cooler, and more productive if you go down to the general store, buy a few blasting caps, and blow that mother to kingdom come.
The sentiments aren’t too bad, but they missed “Now get orf moy laaand!” from the end…
quote:Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway. ~ Oh, so I shouldn’t worry about not being able outrun a bumble bee on my John Deere tractor? Thanks.
quote: Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. ~ But not when the waitress is asking what you’d like on your pizza. … Unless the question is “what’s the maximum decibel level a human can stand.” … Especially if you are passive-aggressive.
quote: Always drink upstream from the herd. ~ But, unless your at the absolute source of the river, there’s always another herd further upstream.
This reminds me of the episode of Frasier where he first got paired up with the Standard Issue Sassy Black Woman (SISBW) who kept trotting out mindless aphorisms from her fictional uncle. Never have I felt so much sympathy for the character.
quote: The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’. ~ I knew it. I knew that SOB had a camera in there. I’m going to the police.
Keep It Safe And Simple
There is a formula for simplicity. Keep it simple, stupid. This saying is an acronym for kiss, which is a popular human activity. The saying is good for things where complications can cause problems.
PG first encountered this expression in Sports Illustrated. Some old quarterback, maybe Yelberton Abraham Tittle, was talking about how to score touchdowns. One illustration of the concept was when Mr. Tittle became known by his initials, Y.A.
The saying has a few flaws. Some people think stupid is a bad word. Others take the saying personally, and think they are being called stupid. It can get complicated, which defeats the purpose.
Yesterday, PG sat in on a “heart weaving workshop”. The idea was to create gimmicks to bring people closer. One of the things say was the intimacy breaks down into “into you I see”. At some point, someone started to write down stuff on a message board.
The words safe and simple were written down. Safety is a big deal these days. The idea of not being in harm’s way is very appealing.
At this point, the idea lightbulb went off in PG’s head. People in the room started to blink, and shield their eyes. Maybe KISS stands forKeep It Safe and Simple.
The KISS epiphany was on a saturday. The next day was the type of glorious sunday morning that was meant to be spent outdoors. In the outdoor office, the coffee ran out at the same time as the pictures to be processed.
But not before PG found one of the 10th Street Art Theater. This was on the strip, next door to the A&P. It was on Peachtree, between 11th and 12th. Or maybe it was between 10th and 11th. It was tough to tell the difference sometimes.
The 10th Street Art Theater showed dirty movies. In the sixties, pornography was gentler, and more innocent. This was the age of Russ Meyer. His flicks graced the screen at TSAT. When “Vixen” played, you could call a phone number and get a personal invitation to come down and see the film.
This is the part of the strip that is conveniently forgotten. There was an urban grunge factor. It was a transitional downtown area, with a lot of sleazy characters. As the summer of love faded into the winter of methedrine, it got worse. The strip became dangerous and complicated.
This is a repost. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. This was written like William Shakespeare.
Hocus Pocus Part One
There was a copy of Hocus Pocus on the shelf. It had been there a while. The fancy, cut out cover was half torn off. The Book Nook stamp, from the old location, said it been a while since it was purchased. The old Book Nook is a McDonalds now. The gentrification of the neighborhood marches on.
PG was not sure if he had read HP. He decided to start, and read until he was either bored, or saw that he had already read HP. It is about half way through now. The only familiar joke is prisoners calling AIDS the pb, or parole board. Since Kurt Vonnegut recycles his jokes, that may be in another book.
KV likes to refer to his other books. There is a text in HP, “The protocol of the elders of Tralfamadore.” At the point of HP where this book report is written (p.159 paperback, p.71 .pdf ) there has been no appearance by Kilgore Trout. The three word mantra, “so it goes,” does not appear. The paperback has 165 pages to go.
HP does not have much of a plot. The central character is Eugene Debs Hartke. Gene was born in 1940, which was fourteen years after the politician Eugene Debs died. PG was born in 1954, or fourteen years after Gene Hartke was born. Of course, PG is writing this book report, so he is probably a legitimate human being, whereas Gene Hartke is almost certainly a fiction.
Gene Hartke is not covered in glory. He stumbles into West Point. During his post academy military service, Mr. Hartke (his military rank is not easily available) goes to Vietnam, and kills a bunch of people. After leaving Saigon in a helicopter, with the American adventure crashing around him, Mr. Hartke gets a job at Tarkington College, in Scipio NY. Any relation to Fran Tarkington is ignored.
The college professor thing works well for a while. Unfortunately, Mr. Hartke enjoys adultery, and people want to get even with him. Mr. Hartke is fired by Tarkington College, and takes a job at a prison nearby. (The prison is called Athena, which sounds like Attica.) After a breakout, Mr. Hartke is accused of being a ring leader, and becomes an inmate. This is where the book stands now.
HP was copyrighted in 1990. (The mandatory New York Times promotional piece, written by Jay McInerney, is dated 09/09/1990.) The firing of Mr. Hartke takes place in 1991, and the book is set in 2001. HP was written during the last days of the cold war, and set at the start of the war on terror. This turn of events was not predicted by KV.
The late eighties were interesting times. There are lots of jokes about that era in HP, some of which will seem mysterious to younger readers. At the time HP was written, Japanese interests were buying large chunks of the world. In HP, they own the prison. Local debts are paid with yen, and fellatio.
The Reagan-with-Alzheimers era was also the time of leveraged buyouts, and hostile takeovers. The concept of buying stock in a company, in hopes of selling out for huge profits in a hostile takeover, was known as arbitrage. In HP, many rich people lost their money by investing in a flimsy company, Microsecond Arbitrage. This probably is not a joke about Microsoft.
As always, KV is up to his clever wordplay, and humanistic outlook. A devious conservative media star “gave him his supercilious, vulpine, patronizing, silky debater’s grin.” The recipient of this grin wanted to carve, on the walls of the Grand Canyon, “WE COULD HAVE SAVED IT, BUT WE WERE TOO DOGGONE CHEAP.” This was during a debate about the environment. When HP was written, there was concern about nuclear winter, and a coming ice age.
There are lots of factoids in HP, many of which check out. Napalm was, indeed, invented by Harvard researchers. Later,a minor character said the battle of the Alamo was about slavery. A google search was ordered. When you type in “the Alamo was abo” the two choices are “the Alamo was about slavery” and “Alamo abortion clinic.” It turns out that Mexico did not like slavery, while Texas did.
At the half way point of Hocus Pocus, it is still entertaining. PG will probably finish it, unless the Chamblee library has something entertaining. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
The Golden Calf
When PG was a kid in sunday school, he heard about the the golden calf. It turns out that, splendid allegory aside, he didn’t really know much about the story. With the help of google and Bible Gateway, the text of Exodus 32 showed up. G-d bless public domain, and copy paste. The Bible is the main source for this tale. It doesn’t really matter if it is the inerrant word of G-d, it is a pretty good story. And much of the message rings true today.
1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
This is a modern story. The church is begging the people for gold. The sons are wearing golden earrings. The church takes these ill gotten gains, and forge a make believe G-d. This time, it looks like a cow. Billy Graham will come much later.
7 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Moving down a few verses, the story gets good. 19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. 20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. 21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? 22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. 23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. 25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies) 26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. 27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord G-d of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. 28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: there fell that day about three thousand men.
Lets get this story right. Moses comes back from somewhere, and sees a naked party by the golden calf. He has a hissy fit, threw the golden calf into the fire, and tells people to start killing each other. Over three thousand men are killed. This is a repost. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Paul Krassner
Paul Krassner is alive at eighty three. He survives Lenny Bruce, Abbie Hoffman, Groucho Marx, and Lyndon Johnson. His magazine, The The Realist, is now available as an online archive.
PG was recently looking for background noise to compliment his photomongering. Somewhere along the way, he found episodes of WTF podcast to be available on Youtube. He made a list of shows he wanted to see, including Paul Krassner. When Mr. Google was recruited to find the show, other things floated to the surface. This is how Mr. Google operates.
An onion is more than an internet namesake. It lends a lively flavor, both cooked and raw. The onion consists of many layers of thin skin. These can be peeled off, as you get deeper and deeper into the root. A thin skinned root that gives you bad breath…. an aromatic symbol for the sixties.
When you go looking for WTF/Krassner, you are directed to issue 74 of The Realist. The feature story is the missing segments of a John Kennedy biography. On page 18, Jackie Kennedy saw more of Lyndon Johnson than she needed to see.
“That man was crouching over the corpse, no longer chuckling but breathing hard and moving his body rhythmically. … And then I realized – there is only one way to say this – he was literally fucking my husband in the throat. In the bullet wound in front of the throat. He reached a climax, and dismounted. I froze. The next thing I remember, he was being sworn in as the new President.”
Page two of issue 74 is the letters to the editor. The featured scribe is John L. Timmons, Secretary, Mattachine Society of N.Y. He wrote “Letter From A Homosexual,” in response to a cartoon page in issue 69, fag battalion. Using KY to lubricate a rifle is not a good idea.
At the time, America was fighting a war in Vietnam. Young men were given the choice of go in the army, or go to prison. It was ugly. There was a group, “The committee to fight the exclusion of homosexuals from the armed forces.”
The Mattachine Society was neutral. Some members supported the war, and some were opposed. It distracted from the overall agenda to take sides in other disputes. The editors at The Realist agreed. “… homosexuals who don’t want to be drafted will no longer be able to exploit their deviation rather than face the consequences of conscientious objection.”
When issue 74 was published, Walt Disney was still alive. This may account for the action on page 12. Maybe Uncle Walt did not want his animated actors to be drafted for active duty. The activities on page 12 might not be sufficient to have the players excused from active duty, however. By this stage of the war, the local draft boards were not accepting excuses.
Getting back to Paul Krassner… he founded the YIPPIES with Abbie Hoffman, took LSD with Groucho Marx, and published a satiric magazine without advertising. Only the last part can be confirmed. After the description of Lyndon Johnson’s post mortem dentistry, who knows what is real, and what is fake. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. The opinions expressed in this repost are in no way, shape, or form connected to that fine institution.
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