Stupid Question™
This content was originally published July 11, 2009. … The morning started in Saturday MARTA fashion. There was an OTP family going downtown, and they were staying together. At Brookhaven, a lady told the driver that a man had tried to assault her. The train was stopped until a police officer came to investigate. After a long wait at five points, I got on the west train. I had never been to the Bankhead Station before, and was not sure how the system worked down there. I left the train at the Ashby station, and saw Will and Eli. I had met them the week earlier on the machete hike. …
… A train soon came along, with the message board saying Vine City. A lady from MARTA then came by to tell people that this was the train going to the Bankhead station. At Bankhead, a crowd of 30 or so people was milling around. By their backpacks and water bottles, it was easy to guess that this was the urban hiking group. A few more people were en route, so the start of the hike was delayed by a few minutes. By this time I had stashed my phone in his pack, and was blissfully unaware of time. …
… The plan was to walk along the beltway corridor, from Bankhead station to Piedmont Hospital. The hardy hikers could go on to Piedmont Park. As it turned out, only about half of the hike was on the beltline route. The part from Bankhead station to the Howell Mill gulch was needed for access to the beltline path. The hike began through a wooded area behind the Bankhead Station. This area had a few homeless shelters, whose residents were not around. The first rail portion was behind the Fulton County Jail and Dog Pound. It was a pleasant stroll, with kudzu on both sides. There is an abandoned quarry in this area, which is going to become a city park. …
… The rail tracks the hike was on are active tracks. While approaching a tunnel, a train was heard in the distance. A decision was made to get off the tracks while the train passed. The ground beside the tracks was muddy, with the algae of run off sewerage apparent. Eli took a leadership role in jumping off the tracks. His right boot sank a foot deep in sewage enhanced mud. PG saw this, and decided to be careful where he stepped. The train passed by, and the group proceeded through the two tunnels. The second tunnel was an old concrete tunnel that was about 100 yards long. …
… I said to myself, this is so #@%&* cool. Before long, the group made a ninety degree turn, and was on another line. Soon, another train came down the tracks, this one pulling only another engine. A white truck pulled up on a gravel road, and had a chat with the hikers at the end of the procession. According to Eli, the man was very nice. He said he got nervous when his crew tells him there are thirty people hiking on the railroad tracks. People, please be careful. Soon, the engine carrying train came back in the opposite direction as before. …
… The rest of the hike went smoothly. Soon, they reached Piedmont Hospital. No one needed to go to the ER. I decided to retire at this point, and walked up the hill to Peachtree Road. After another hefty wait, a bus appeared. Some of the hikers were not used to the Breeze Card system, and there was some confusion while everyone got paid up. The cash customers had to pay again to use the trains. I wondered if I saved much time by not hiking to Piedmont Park.
This content was originally published <a href=”” target=”_blank”>July 8, 2009. … The other day, I was researching the 10:09:36 quandary, and he found a place on the web called Stupid Question™ .It should be noted that Stupid Question™ is a registered trademark. The bottom of the home page is littered with disclaimers. The Boortzesque nadir is: “Stupid Question™ contents are for informational purposes only. Readers are encouraged to think for themselves and act at their own risk”. Stupid Question™ is now defunct. The property of John Ruch, SQ wallowed in useless and pointless knowledge from June 25, 1998 until May 23,2005. …
… The last recorded question was Q: Did the military ever really try to build a “death ray,” or is it just science fiction?—Michelle, from the Internet. The answer was that the Masters of War tried, but failed. A death ray was too expensive, and simply not feasible for a host of reasons. The first question is from the ever popular anonymous. Q: Is it true that Keith Richards had a blood transfusion to clean the drugs out of his body? If so, how does that work? It seems like the picker, and fashion model, went to a clinic in Switzerland once. …
… He was connected to a dialysis machine, and his blood was filtered for a few days. It didn’t work, and he was soon smack at it. It is like Mark Twain said about quitting cigars, he has done it dozens of times. … The stupid questions appeared once a week for seven years. On April 19, 2001, Tom Bryant asked : “Q: What’s the difference between ketchup and catsup?” The answer is that they are both English versions of the same asian word. They both refer to tomato puree. …
… This is like the way a historic Russian ruler is spelled czar and tsar. They all mean the same thing. You might even say ta-may-toe or ta-mah-toe. This does not address an issue that has caused me to stay awake at night. Whenever you get a little condiment package of ketchup, it always says “fancy ketchup”. Is there plain ketchup? And why does a place like McDonalds only serve “fancy ketchup”? … Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken June 10, 1966. “Beauty Contestants at Dinkler Plaza Hotel.” The video Foolish Questions was featured at the original post.
Gaza 2010
This content was originally published June 1, 2010. … There is a lot of talk now about the flotilla to Gaza. Here is more. · A lot of the pro Israel talkers use the terms Hamas and Gaza interchangeably. This is not accurate. The territory and people are Gaza. There is a political party called Hamas, that is currently in control of the territory. Food and construction supplies for the people are not the same as weapons for Hamas. · Hamas won an election in Gaza. When you have elections, your neighbors might not like who won. Your neighbor might impose an embargo …
… control access to your territory, or attack you with depleted uranium and white phosphorus. · This quote catches the eye. “The Israeli (and I am hesitant to say “IDF” here–it lets too many politicians off the hook) media spin machine was ready to go. When you see a detailed multi-page report ready to go within an hour or two of an insanely chaotic military action (of any kind), it is bull shit, plain and clear. Just try reading reports about the Normandy invasion in history books in 2010. Now imagine trying to read the same level of detail, etc. a few hours after the first wave hit the beaches. …
… You get my point. The ‘tragic tale’ was ready to go well before the first commando slid down the rope…” · This is in the comments of another post. “I mean, so far as I understand it, “Hamas” isn’t a country. So Israel is not “at war” with Hamas. In any case, what’s being blockaded is not “Hamas,” but an area of Gaza. Is Israel at war with Gaza? All of it? Part of it? “You are quite correct. For Israel to legally blockade Hamas, it would have to recognize …
… Gaza as a belligerent, which would be a de facto recognition of its independence and entitle Gaza to the rights of belligerents under the Hague Convention of 1899, including, among other things, the responsibility to treat Palestinian prisoners from Gaza as prisoners of war, which Israel does not do.” · Here are the weapons found on the boat where the fighting took place. Is this what armed terrorists use when they take on the mighty IDF? BTW, Lawrenceofcyberia is the blog name of the week. · Is it a coincidence that this happened during the Memorial Day weekend? Many Americans were at the beach, and not watching the news. …
This content was originally published June 1, 2010. … Tipper and Al Gore have separated after 40 years of marriage. Mr. Gore was Vice President under Bill Clinton, and won the popular vote for President in the 2000 election. If the Gore’s had moved into the White House, then Tipper would probably continued the unfortunate tradition of celebrity First Lady. I once saw an appearance by the Gores and Hillary Clinton. It was at a downtown rally during the 1992 election. Tipper Gore said (not an exact quote) that Hillary is just as warm and friendly in person as she is in public.
This content was originally published June 2, 2010. … Writerspot has a selected author of the month. Today, it is Allen Ginsberg. When going to the inevitable website, I learned that Peter Orlovsky died May 30, 2010. Mr. Orlovsky was the longtime lover of Mr. Ginsberg. The poet had a part in many new age dramas, with a few musicals and comedies thrown in for good measure. Hippie, beatnik, gay, artist, peace promoter, Buddhist convert…these are a few of the labels. He became famous for being famous, well known to people who never read a word of his poems. …
… Two of the more famous poems were Howl and Kaddish. Howl became scandalous in 1956 when it was busted for obscenity. It is mild by today’s standards, but almost landed Mr. Ginsberg in prison. I heard about howl in the early nineties, and looked high and low for a copy. I could not find one. Today, not only is the text widely available, there are recordings of Mr. Ginsberg reading his work. The plan was to listen to Howl, while editing photos. About the seventeenth time Mr. Ginsberg shouted Moloch, the plan began to fall apart. The next poem was Kaddish. …
… This is about Naomi Ginsberg, the mother of the poet, who evidently had some issues. This was tough to listen to, so I focused on the pictures. Many of those images were Atlanta in 1956, the year of the Howl obscenity trial. I was two years old. My brother was born in 1956. The Georgia legislature voted in a new flag, for whatever reason. The year before, President Eisenhower had a heart attack. Many wondered if it was a good idea to have Richard Nixon as vice president. Finally, I could stand no more of that voice. I am just not a poetry person. … Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken in September 1955. “Roswell Road at Wieuca, for Adams-Cates Company”. This is what it looks like today.
Profundities
This content was originally published June 27, 2010. … I am sending this to you to see how many actually read their e-mail. Your response will be interesting. Pay attention to what you read. After you have finished reading it, you will know the reason it was sent to you. Here goes: People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need …
… Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime. Send this to every friend that you have on-line, including the person who sent it to you. – 0 Replies – you may need to work on your “people skills”// 2 Replies – you are nice but probably need to be more outgoing// 4 Replies – you have picked your friends well// 6 Replies – you are downright popular// 8 Replies or More – you are totally awesome (and that’s why you’re on MY list) …
This content was originally published June 26, 2010. … There are stories coming from Afghanistan. Here is one more. Now as then, the problem is not hatred of the west, so much as a dislike of foreign troops swaggering around and making themselves odious to the very people they are meant to be helping. On the return journey, as we crawled back up the passes towards Kabul, we got stuck behind a US military convoy of eight Humvees and two armoured personnel carriers in full camouflage, all travelling at less than 20 miles per hour. …
… Despite the slow speed, the troops refused to let any Afghan drivers overtake them, for fear of suicide bombers, and they fired warning shots at any who attempted to do so. By the time we reached the top of the pass two hours later, there were 300 cars and trucks backed up behind the convoy, each one full of Afghans furious at being ordered around in their own country by a group of foreigners. Every day, small incidents of arrogance and insensitivity such as this make the anger grow. Thank you The New Statesman and Obsidian Wings.
This content was originally published June 22, 2010. … I have been on a rules of life bender lately. Recently, the facilitator was @avitable. He left ten rules for life. He had 94 comments, many of whom offered their own RFL. While editing the Avitables, I began to think. This is usually dangerous, though so far has not been fatal. A running list of profundities was begun. This list uses male oriented terms. I realize that more than half of humanity is female. However, the english language is clumsy. Words like their and people just don’t sound right. …
… 1 A man who says I don’t know is usually telling the truth, unless he is under oath. 2 If you don’t know, ask. 3 Don’t use body parts or hygiene appliances as insults. 4 If you can’t say anything good about someone, say bless his heart. 5 Believe half of what you read and nothing that you hear. 6 If you tell the truth, you will always know what you said. 7 A phony apology is usually worse than the misdeed which proceeded it. 8 An after dinner bike ride in summer is a gift. Whatever you are doing can wait until you get back. …
… 9 A man once complained that he had no shoes, until he met a man with no feet. 10 Wisdom fatigue is real. 11 Bumper stickers are asking for trouble. Why should the person behind you in traffic know your innermost thoughts? 12 Sometimes it takes more courage to listen than it does to talk. 13 The more opinions you have, the easier it is to be a hypocrite. 14 If you say something louder, it does not become more true. 15 When compiling lists of wisdom, include things that make you smile, even if you don’t completely agree. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Russell Lee took the social media picture in April 1942. “Los Angeles, California. Street scene in Little Tokyo” · selah ©Luther Mckinnon 2025
War Powers Resolution
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golden road festival · frenchys · iran · autistic gains · carlson bannon · laundromat
jackson hill baptist · audio version · martyrmade · jaxon ryder · jaxon ryder · officials
(91 words) · joelstrumpet · bot army · dylan marron · election · zionism
you may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you. – This was attributed to Trotsky in an epigraph in Night Soldiers: A Novel (1988) by Alan Furst but it may actually be a revision of a statement earlier attributed to Trotsky: “You may not be interested in the dialectic, but the dialectic is interested in you.” Only a very loose translation of “the dialectic” would produce “war.” · Frenchy’s at 29097 Mission Boulevard in Hayward, was the only rock club between Berkeley and San Jose, and the rock club that was farthest East of San Francisco. … May 6-May 26, 1966 The Mothers Frank Zappa’s band was known as The Mothers. His anxious record company (MGM) added “Of Invention.” At this time, they would have mostly recorded Freak Out, but it would not have been released. The ad for May 6 still features The Ashes, but esteemed Zappa gigolist Charles Ulrich is confident that the Mothers gig started on Friday May 6. Ulrich has been in correspondence with Ashes guitarist Alan Brackett, who recalls hanging out with The Mothers as they came into town, so I am inclined to agree with his analysis. At this time the Mothers lineup would have been Frank Zappa-guitar, vocals, Ray Collins-vocals, Elliot Ingbar-guitar, Roy Estrada-bass, vocals, Jimmy Carl Black-drums. When the Mothers finished their engagement they played The Fillmore on the weekend of May 27-29. The Fillmore show was as the opening act for the Velvet Underground. May 21, 1966 Neil Diamond/The Mothers I have ruminated elsewhere about the cosmic convergence of The Mothers backing Neil Diamond on a Saturday night in Hayward. Charles Ulrich has sound reason to believe that Diamond was backed by just Roy Estrada and Jimmy Carl Black (Diamond was an adequate guitarist), rather than the full band. Diamond, riding high on “Solitary Man”, had flown into town to play a gig in San Leandro as well as at Frenchy’s. · “the same questions which is to what extent and I it’s interesting you’re trying to derail my questions by calling me an anti-semite which you are” · “god I love hog on hog violence dude i love hog on hog violence oh it’s so good now you can hit him with the woke sauce”This is the best thing on the innertubes tonight. Tucker Carlson is wearing out Eddie Munster, and HasanAbi is cackling in glee. Hasan raises a good question: Why is it up to Tucker Carlson to expose Eddie Munster for the hideous sack of excrement that he is? Where are the liberal Democratic Progressive turkeys now when we need them? They too busy wallowing in their Trump demented fever swamp to actually call out the criminals that are trying to drag us into a ruinous war. · “the American government is so gullible that they just go around invading countries on the say so of Israel” · Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Marjory Collins took the social media picture in August 1942. “New York, New York. O’Reilly’s bar on Third Avenue in the “Fifties” · This is the last monday morning reader for spring of 2025. Maybe we will have another day without rain, even if it does mean boiling heat · @s_m_marandi This photo was proudly taken beside the IRGC logo when I was a 16 year old volunteer fighting the US backed invasion of Iran. It was probably around that time that the “civilized” Europeans & Americans were transferring technology for producing chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein. · The social media picture is “Corporal Rutherford Hayes Woolley, Co. H, 20th Alabama Infantry Regiment. … Photograph shows identified soldier, who was captured in July 1863 at Vicksburg, Mississippi.” · Today’s post highlights stories from 2009. Included in trouble in Iran and Pakistan, and the 2008 financial meltdown. The picture below is Corporal Rutherford Hayes Woolley, Co. H, 20th Alabama Infantry Regiment. He was captured in July 1863 at Vicksburg, Mississippi” · SF author Rebecca Solnit had her Facebook account suspended after she posted an essay about the LA protests, but Facebook undid the suspension about 24 hours later, and this all likely happened because of the slapdash AI moderation that’s happening these days · Marion Post Wolcott took the social media picture in September 1939. “Combination filling station, garage, blacksmith shop, grocery store. Frank Petty, owner of the wagon, has just had his mule shod, his corn ground, purchases some kerosene and is returning home. R.F.D. Danville, Virginia, Pittsylvania County” This content was originally published May 1, 2020. More chamblee54 content about CPB can be found here. · The picture today: “Combination filling station, garage, blacksmith shop, grocery store. Frank Petty, owner of the wagon, has just had his mule shod, his corn ground, purchases some kerosene and is returning home. R.F.D. Danville, Virginia, Pittsylvania County” · This content was originally published June 1, 2016. · I just called the Atlanta offices of our Georgia senators. I told them to do everything in their power to STOP THE WAR Jon Ossoff (D) (470) 786-7800 Raphael G. Warnock (D) (770) 694-7828 STOP THE WAR · The text has little value, but the pictures are great. They are from The Library of Congress. Image #06663: “Fifth International Pageant of Pulchritude and Eleventh Annual Bathing Girl Revue, Galveston, Texas, August 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1930” · rogue states russia and iran attempting to destroy maga movement with disinformation bot army · Here are some stories from 2009. Code Pink held a protest outside a Barack Obama speech in Cairo. It seems that Israel was doing dirty things in Gaza. Meanwhile, a church in Kentucky held an “Open Carry Celebration” Pictures were soldiers from the War Between the States · John Collier took the social media picture in November 1942. “Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Montour no. 4 mine of the Pittsburgh Coal Company. Andy Piatenick and family.” · The chamblee54 post today is titled “Do You Condemn Hamas?” Instead of pasting the title in the WordPress form, I googled DYCH? … It turns out that question is such a well known deflection that is has its own wikpedia page. … “Do you condemn Hamas?” is a binary question about condemnation of Hamas, the political and military organization governing the Gaza strip. Since as early as May 2010, supporters of Israel, reporters, and anchors have directed the question at critics of Israel and proponents of Palestine. · Neither the title nor the pictures have anything to do with the text. … A lot was going on in 2009, the first year of the Obama regime. Most of it is mercifully forgotten today, unlike the recreational hypocrisy documented in this dispatch · I like to recycle old content at my blog. Today’s post quotes an Obsidian Wings story from 2009. Congratulations on still being in business. · In 2018, I started a log of the picture poems I had produced. There are a couple of stories to be told, poems to be recycled, and a lot of pictures · Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The social media picture today: “Private Joseph C. Caldwell of Co. A, 23rd Ohio Infantry Regiment” · selah
Do You Condemn Hamas?
This content was originally published June 2, 2009. … George Tiller performed abortions. Bill O’Reilly denounced him on national television dozens of times. He was shot in church. In Little Rock AK, a man called Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad opened fire at a military recruiting center. Mr. Muhammad was a convert to Islam, formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe. William Long died as a result of the shooting. From Centurion: “Two killers, two victims. One murder gets twice as many national news stories than the other.“ There was a link to a site called newsbusters, with the motto : “Exposing & Combating Liberal Media Bias”.
This content was originally published June 4, 2009. … There is a post at Obsidian Wings. It is about the responsibility of those who denounce abortion in the most inflammatory manner possible. Certainly, there has been tons of purple prose produced by the anti abortion people. At what point does this translate into the murder of George Tiller? Much of what I have read this week has been along the lines of we denounce violence, but abortion is still horrible. When the bile monger is the Roman Pedophile Church, the hypocrisy scorekeepers have to work overtime to keep up. …
… The killing of Shani Fecht was the sort of “routine” killing that goes without notice. According to the AJC, the alleged killer said after his arrest “Can I ask you a question? Am I going away for a long time? If I do go away for a long time, I would like it [to] be in a hospital.” This alleged killer is Zeke Cordell, the 18 year old son of Mrs. Fecht. Who is supposed to denounce this killing? Those who advocate for the “right” of an apparently disturbed teenager to have access to a rifle? …
This content was originally published June 1, 2009. … The first and third commandments are very underrated, and much violated by Jesus Worshipers. At the very least, to take a text like the Bible and call it the word of God is a violation of the first commandment. The holy trinity business is another rupture of the first commandment. And when preaching results in ill will, that is a violation of the third commandment. The third commandment is more than God’s last name. I see G-d as being like the elements…earth, air, fire, and water. …
… I suffer from what I call “Jesus Fatigue”. Tired of the wrangling, tired of the personal attacks from those who disagree, tired of speculation about life after death, just plain tired. I realize that I have heard almost all of these arguments before, and they don’t make any more sense this time. Jesus Worship is a religion of beliefs rather than practices. These beliefs are based on a book, which is considered the “word of God”. This foundation tends to lead to these endless arguments, and the anger and alienation that comes with them. …
… I see Jesus in the words and deeds of those who believe in him. He is a spirit that lives in these believers. This spirit shares little more than a name with the Jew who lived in Palestine 2k years ago. The historic Jesus was killed because he was a troublemaker. His death and reputed resurrection has nothing to do with what happens to me when I die. As Jesus might/might not have said “Forgive them Father, they know not what they do”. Of course, Jesus did not have to deal with the likes of Evangelicals who believe that salvation can be found in gotcha arguments. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. John Collier took the social media picture in November 1942. “Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Montour no. 4 mine of the Pittsburgh Coal Company. Andy Piatenick and family.” … Selah
Something Is Going On
This content was originally published June 20, 2009. … Something is going on in Iran. There was an election, and the incumbents had the bad taste to announce the results before the polls had closed. To hear them tell it, the presiding President, and fashion icon Mahmoud Ahmedinejad won a landslide. The supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi do not agree, and have been expressing themselves in the streets. It is getting nasty. The genuine power in Iran is a cleric named Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Exactly how much power the President has is a tough call. …
The Iranian people have had a wild ride. They threw out the Shah, aka the Persian Saddam. They held Americans hostage at the embassy. They were invaded by Iraq, who was supported by the United States. A gruesome eight year war followed, with the United States and Israel cynically selling weapons to Iran. In the past few years, next door enemy Iraq was conquered. An unfortunate man was elected President of Iran. When he ran for reelection, the people decided it was time for another revolution. … With neighbors like Iraq, Israel, and the Stan countries, is it any wonder that some in Iran want the bomb? …
This content was originally published June 5, 2009. … How different our world would be, if we heeded the advice of this message/Time For God/ Read only if you have time for God/ Let me tell you, make sure you read all the way to the bottom/ I almost deleted this email but I was blessed when I got to the end/ God, when I received this e-mail, I thought…I don’t have time for this… And, this is really inappropriate during work/Then, I realized that this kind of thinking is… Exactly, what has caused a lot of the problems in our world today/We try to keep God in church on Sunday …
This content was originally published June 5, 2009. … One of those pesky blogs has a series about President Reagan this week. The lead quote:“He was an actor, and he understood there was somebody who planned the lighting, somebody who built the set and wrote the script.” Meanwhile, in Cairo, the Reagan of the new age gave a speech. BHO has this thing about blockbuster speeches. While America is getting bored, the rest of the world is a fresh audience. If this speech does for USA-Islam relations what his race speech did for black-white relations …
… A blogger called Sandmonkey copped a ticket to the Cairo speech. His take: “The speech was everything was expected and more. The guy achieved his goals and executed it effectively and brilliantly. It was big on comfort and platitudes, and short on substance, but really, what does one expect other than that from an Obama speech? If you are going to see Obama, you are going to watch an expert showman. Just don’t expect much beyond entertainment.” SM then left the hall, and was confronted with the spectacle of code pink, carrying signs about Israeli conduct in Gaza. …
… This might be more appropriate than you think, considering the help Egypt has given Israel in the Gaza Roast. And some still say that Israel is the only ally America has in the Middle East. … There is more to report, but between the internet, cable television, and the surviving newspapers, Chamblee 54 is confident you can keep up. If you choose to go to New Bethel Church in Louisville, Ky, Pastor Ken Pagano has organized an “Open Carry Celebration.“ You are encouraged to bring a handgun to church. No one is speculating what impact this will have on the offering. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. These men fought in the War Between the States.
Not White Supremacy
This content was originally published June 1, 2016. … There was a tasteful meme on the facebook thingie today. It was about BHO, who may go down in history as the Meme President. The block of JPG text began When a faithfully married black president … (text of 91 words)
Some people quote the first sentence in a situation like this. In this rant, the first sentence has 91 words. It has more grammar mistakes than a sportscaster seminar. It boils down to: when A is considered B by C who D. And what does D do next? Those 91 words are an insult to the Queen’s English. (91 is the product of 7, a lucky number, multiplied by 13, an unlucky number.)
There are eight more words at the end. “This is white supremacy folks. Plain and simple.” A comma might help in the sentence. Does he mean that the two players in the 91 word sentence are “white supremacy folks.”? Or is the author calling the attitude described “white supremacy”.? In any event, “Plain and simple” is not a complete sentence, nor does it describe the 91 word sentence.
This is a case where the medium is as important to the story as the message. When looking for information about the meme, I typed “When a faithfully married black president who was the son of a single mother” into the wonder window. The algorithm replied: “Did you mean: When a faithful married black president who was the son of a single mother.”
The first reply was from the dependable PuffHo, This Is Not White Supremacy. It made some good points. A few spots down the google page, we see THIS IS NOT WHITE SUPREMACY. That is the original posting of the commentary. PuffHo aggregated it, without paying the original author.
So mush much for the medium. Lets look at the message. BHO, as you may know, is mixed race. The “single mother” of the piece was white. To our racially obsessed culture, this means black. America has had nine years to get over the ethnicity of BHO. It has failed miserably. To some, any criticism of BHO is racist. They mindlessly defend anything BHO does, and say that the critics are members of the KKK. Others are upset because a dark skinned man is in the White House. To these people BHO can do nothing right, because he has dark skin.
Either way, the people who see the skin, and not the man, are doing America a disservice. After January 20, 2017, we will find some other mindless excuse to trash our leaders. (UPDATE: It is so, so easy to find fault with DJT JRB DJT.) This is how politics works. You say whatever you can think of that is negative about the opposition. You gloss over the negativity of your own side. After a while, a lot of people don’t believe a word that either side is saying. When everyone is shouting, nobody is heard. This is politics. The generalizations are plain, and the minds are so, so simple.
There is an attitude among some that “racism” is a metaphysical evil. The R monster must be defeated. Collateral damage is not a problem. If you are going to make an omelet, you need to break eggs. When I hear talk like this, I feel like an egg.
One problem is that everyone has their own idea of what “racism” is. They are correct, and you are mistaken. To some, it is systemic institutional oppression. To others, it is cultural appropriation and microaggressions. Some cynics say that “racism” is anything that rubs you the wrong way. Agree or disagree, you need to check your privilege.
I saw a video last week, A Rant Against an Anti-Millennial Rant. “And we use words like “racist” to describe someone who thinks that the word “bae” isn’t real because it didn’t originate from a white, Eurocentric vernacular.” These are strange times.
If you are getting itchy, this is almost over. If you like, you can skip over the rest, and look at the pictures. They are from The Library of Congress. Image #06663: “Fifth International Pageant of Pulchritude and Eleventh Annual Bathing Girl Revue, Galveston, Texas, August 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1930”
UPDATE: This is a repost. While looking over the text, I saw a paragraph about an obnoxious video. It turns out the video features Dylan Marron, who says “And we understand that surface gestures are totally cool but they do nothing to dismantle systemic patriarchy.”
Alleged comedian Bill Maher got in trouble this week for saying a forbidden word on TV. A national hissy fit resulted. This communal pearl clutching is an example of a surface gesture. Screaming “MOMMY HE SAID THE N-WORD” does nothing to dismantle systemic patriarchy.
Carrie Prejean Boller
Most Of This Is Real appeared on chamblee54 on May 1, 2009. It is about Carrie Prejean, Miss California in the 2009 Miss USA beauty pageant. There was a fuss, after she said marriage should be between a man, and a woman. Public nuisance Perez Hilton was a judge, and had a disruptive hissy fit. Miss Prejean made some noise of her own. The mini-scandal got fifteen minutes of attention.
Finally, Miss Prejean was fired as Miss California. The Miss USA pageant was owned by Donald Trump, and the headlines were predictable: Donald Trump to Miss California: You’re Fired! There were some zesty pictures taken. Miss Prejean filed a lawsuit, settled, and wrote a book: “Still Standing: The Untold Story of My Fight Against Gossip, Hate, and Political Attacks.”
After seeing the 2009 post, I wondered what happened to Carrie Prejean. A quick Google search turned up an Instagram spot, “carrieprejeanboller. Carrie Prejean Boller Miss CA USA 2009 👸 1RU Miss USA 2009 Author: Still Standing Mother❤💙 Wife of NFL QB Kyle Boller🏈 Trump Campaign Advisory Board Member @womenfortrump20 maga-mamas moms night in nc april 30.” @BethanyHudsonNC Calling all you MAGA MAMAS! @susantillis will be joining @heytana, @carrieprejean1, and me tonight! #WomenForTrump #NCBoots #LeadRight RSVP now to reserve your spot @carrieprejean1 “Can’t wait!!!!”
Kissed and made up! Runner-up Miss USA Carrie Prejean swoons over Trump at rally after she accused the New York Times of ‘twisting’ quotes for ‘hit piece’ on The Donald. · Fast forward to 2016. Mrs. Boller makes a splashy appearance at a Trump rally. This is despite some unflattering things she said about “The Donald” in her book. ‘They took a little tiny thing from my book and they twisted it. … And if they would have actually read on, I talk very highly of Mr. Trump. I don’t say anything negative about him. … Just below what they quoted, on page 68 [of her book], I said that most of us respect Donald Trump and he’s an amazing businessman and leader. Why didn’t they put that in the piece?”
The NYT piece has some juicy quotes. “His level of involvement in the pageants was unexpected, and his judgments, the contestants said, could be harsh. Carrie Prejean, who was 21 when she participated in the Miss USA contest in 2009 as Miss California, was surprised to find Mr. Trump personally evaluating the women at rehearsal. “We were told to put on our opening number outfits — they were nearly as revealing as our swimsuits — and line up for him onstage.”
“Donald Trump walked out with his entourage and inspected us closer than any general ever inspected a platoon. He would stop in front of a girl, look her up and down, and say, “Hmmm.” Then he would go on and do the same thing to the next girl. He took notes on a little pad as he went along. After he did this, Trump said: “O.K. I want all the girls to come forward.” … It became clear that the point of the whole exercise was for him to divide the room between girls he personally found attractive and those he did not. Many of the girls found the exercise humiliating. Some of the girls were sobbing backstage after he left, devastated to have failed even before the competition really began to impress “The Donald.”
While promoting her book, Miss Prejean appeared on the Larry King show. She did not make a good impression. Miss California USA Executive director Keith Lewis released a statement. “The public is finally getting a glimpse of the real Carrie Prejean who lives in her own delusional world. The childish behavior, her negative attitude, the sarcasm and condescending tone, the disrespect and continual lying she is demonstrating now is only a fraction of what we endured during her reign and after. Anyone who buys her book is supporting a woman who is actually the opposite of everything she claims to be. I sincerely hope she is able to get the psychological help I believe she has shown to clearly need.” … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Marion Post Wolcott took the social media picture in September 1939. “Combination filling station, garage, blacksmith shop, grocery store. Frank Petty, owner of the wagon, has just had his mule shod, his corn ground, purchases some kerosene and is returning home. R.F.D. Danville, Virginia, Pittsylvania County” This content was originally published May 1, 2020. More chamblee54 content about CPB can be found here.
Ashes To Ashes
This content was originally published June 24, 2009. … Neda Soltan was killed during disturbances following a contested election in Iran. “The Iranian authorities have ordered the family of Neda Agha Soltan out of their Tehran home after shocking images of her death were circulated around the world. Neighbours said that her family no longer lives in the four-floor apartment building on Meshkini Street, in eastern Tehran, having been forced to move since she was killed. The police did not hand the body back to her family, her funeral was cancelled, she was buried without letting her family know and the government banned mourning ceremonies at mosques” …
Meanwhile, a few hundred kilometers away, a funeral was allowed to take place. They had a visitor. “Up to 80 people have been killed after missiles were fired from a US “drone” at the funeral of a suspected Taliban commander of the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan, Pakistan officials have said.” The United States is at war with Pakistan in all but name. This is a nation of over 100 million moslems, with nuclear weapons. If we had listened to “neocons” and extremist Israelis, we would be at war with Iran now. Those people in the streets would be fighting us.
This content was originally published June 21, 2009. … Quoting Matt Taibbi … “Hank Paulson is one of the nameless men who helped to make the dollar worthless. He was the Secretary of the Treasury under George W. Bush. Before that, he was Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. In 2004, Paulson played a key role in the relaxation of certain rules governing banks. “he called up SEC director William Donaldson in 2004 and quietly arranged to get the state to drop capital requirements for the country’s top five investment banks?… Paulson met with Donaldson and got the rules changed” …
… “Goldman and four other banks no longer had to abide by the old restrictions that forced banks to actually have a dollar or two on hand for every ten or so they lent out. Bear Stearns in just a few years had a debt-to-equity ration of 33-1! Lehman’s went to 32-1.” The big banks were lending money to just about anyone who wanted it. So much capital was coming on the market, it was a struggle to lend it all out. The standards, especially for home loans, went down to almost nothing. These loans were packaged and resold, in the form of securities backed by these almost fraudulent loans.”
From another Matt Taibbi article … “So some Dutch teachers’ union that a year before was buying ultra-safe U.S. Treasury bonds in 2006 runs into a Goldman salesman who offers them a different, “just as safe” AAA-rated investment that, at the moment anyway, just happens to be earning a much higher return than treasuries. Next thing you know, a bunch of teachers in Holland are betting their retirement nest eggs on a bunch of meth addicted “homeowners” in Texas and Arizona.” “Alt-A mortgages are characterized, mainly, by crappy documentation and lack of equity: no income verification, no asset verification, little-to-no cash down” …
… “These crap/sham mortgages, a lot of them adjustable-rate deals with teaser rates that featured sudden rate hikes two or three years after closing, they would never have been possible had not someone devised a method for selling them off to secondary buyers.” … “This isn’t really commerce, but much more like organized crime: it was a gigantic fraud perpetrated on the economy that wouldn’t have been possible without accomplices in the ratings agencies and regulators willing to turn a blind eye. Imagine a meat company that bred ten billion rats, fattened them on trash and sewage, ground their bodies into chuck, and then sold it all as grade-A ground beef” …
… Neal Boortz blamed the sub prime mortgage crisis on the government pressuring lenders to give loans to less qualified buyers. I was listening one day when an “expert” was discussing the mortgage crisis. Neeyull mentioned that Government pressure led to loaning money to less qualified people. The expert said that was part of it, but the real problem was the flood of capital available to lend. The banks were under pressure to loan the money out as quickly as possible, and not to be too picky about qualifications. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The social media picture is “Corporal Rutherford Hayes Woolley, Co. H, 20th Alabama Infantry Regiment. … Photograph shows identified soldier, who was captured in July 1863 at Vicksburg, Mississippi.”
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
This content was originally published June 25, 2009. … I went on his bike to look at the yard sales. Before I was twenty feet off my driveway, I saw a pile of broken glass. A thoughtless person threw a Jarritos bottle in the street. A car did not miss it. I was lucky to see that broken bottle in time. … Kind people of the internet, Enjoy your beverage, and throw the glass bottle in a trashcan. If your beverage is a legal drug, enjoy it in a home or a bar, but not in a moving vehicle.
This content was originally published June 26, 2009. … In the wake of 911, an email wormed its way around the internet. This letter references an appearance by Anne Graham Lotz on “The Early Show.” AnGel Ministries said, in an email, “Any mutation of it on the Internet would have occurred without Mrs. Lotz’s involvement.” … “Subject: SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT i recently got this email from a close relative and i was left in awe about what Billy Grahams daughter says on TV. also the things that she says is shockinly true. i hope you read” …
… “Are you laughing? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they WILL think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it… no one will know you did. But, if you discard this, don’t sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in!”
This content was originally published June 25, 2009. … There is a report out about the 25 most dangerous neighborhoods in America. The study was compiled by Andrew Schiller and NeighborhoodScout.com. This is a service for people looking to move to an area. You can get a report on any “neighborhood” in America. You will need a paid subscription to the service. The study uses FBI data regarding murder, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault. It is a standard statistical soup of incidents per thousand residents. …
… 1. Cincinnati, Ohio (Central Pky./Liberty St.) 2. Chicago (State St./Garfield Blvd.) 3. Miami, Fla. (7th Ave./North River Dr.) 4. Jacksonville, Fla. (Beaver St./Broad St.) 5. Baltimore (North Ave./Belair Rd.) 6. Kansas City, Mo. (Bales Ave./30th St.) 7. Memphis, Tenn. (Warford St./Mount Olive Rd.) 8. Kansas City, Mo. (Forest Ave./41st St.) 9. Dallas, Texas (Route 352/Scyene Rd.) 10. Richmond, Va. (Church Hill) 11. Memphis, Tenn. (Bellevue Blvd./Lamar Ave.) 12. Dallas, Texas (2nd Ave./Hatcher St.) 13. Springfield, Ill. (Cook St./11th St.) 14. St. Louis (14th St./Dr. Martin Luther King Dr.) …
This content was originally published June 25, 2009. … Mark Sanford is the Governor of South Carolina. He is a Republican and a flaming Jesus Worshiper. He recently got caught with his pants down. I am not fond of the word hypocrite. I would rather look at the person’s deeds. Mark Sanford spent father’s day with this mistress. … Let’s look at the emails the exchanged with his mistress. He quotes The Bible in an email to his mistress. To be specific, I Corinthians 13. “ Love is patient and kind, love is not jealous or boastful, it is not arrogant or rude”. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Russell Lee took the social media picture in April 1942. “Los Angeles County, California. The evacuation of Japanese and Japanese-Americans from West coast areas under United States Army war emergency order. Japanese arrive at the Santa Anita reception center”
Is Sarah Silverman Funny?
This material was originally published June 17, 2014. … There was a “promoted” tweet yesterday. @Scribd New on our blog! Laugh So Hard You’ll Pee, The 15 Funniest Lines From Sarah Silverman’s Book. The book, The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee, was published April 20, 2010. That fact may be the funnier than the 15 lines.
Most of the lines were embedded in pictures, which means a blogger would have to retype them. This is too much work. The few in text form were not very funny. But then, neither is Sarah Silverman, who once gave a TED talk. The big dog at TT said it was “G-d awful,” and did not allow it to be officially released. I saw the video as part of my research for Is Sarah Silverman Funny? The last seven words of the poem: “don’t make me listen to it again.”
The publisher has a survey “to see if this is the book for you.” · “1. Which of the following do you appreciate? (a) Women with somewhat horse-ish facial features. (b) Women who, while not super Jew-y, are more identifiably Jewish than, say, Natalie Portman. (c) Frequent discussion of unwanted body hair. · 2. Are you offended by the following behavior? (a) Instructing one’s grandmother to place baked goods in her rectal cavity. (b) Stripping naked in public—eleven times in a row. (c) Stabbing one’s boss in the head with a writing implement. · 3. The best way to treat an emotionally fragile young girl is: (a) Murder the main course of her Thanksgiving dinner before her very eyes. (b) Tell her that her older sister is prettier than she, and then immediately die. (c) Prevent her suicide by recommending she stay away from open windows. · If you read the above questions without getting nauseous or forming a hate Web site, you are ready to buy this book! Please proceed to the cashier.”
The survey did not indicate whether the book would be at the library, or a yard sale. After four years, it is probably available in discount bins. Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. The social media picture: “Moreland Avenue and Euclid”
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