Striking a Pose

Donald Trump’s economy is booming. So the UAW decided to call a nationwide strike against GM.

They’re demanding the same things they’ve been demanding for as long as I can remember: higher wages, better pension, better job security, better healthcare (what’s wrong with Obamacare?!), and better profit sharing.

The Dems will all be onboard, since they always side with the ‘little guy.’ In this case the little guys who build cars for a living - the same cars the Dems’ Green New Deal wants you not to buy, not to  drive and when elected they plan to outlaw, along with planes and cows.

So giddy up, cowboys.

You’re gonna need a lot more horsepower.

My Pocket Demon

I’m convinced we all have a little pocket dragon.

Not a demon exactly, more like a wizard who’s sometimes quiet and subdued but always there watching, smoldering – capable of igniting at any provocation. Mine’s name is Tempus Fugit and lately he’s been quite active. I feel him breathing down my neck even when at rest.

As a temporary appeasement Raj and I are going an a vacation “up north” this week so posts will be short. But when we return he will require some form of ongoing accommodation so expect something along the lines of more “open threads” and fewer post-posts.

No need to panic; just pay a little closer attention to your pocket dragon, he may be your wiser self. 

A Sunday Reflection

“Time and reflection change the sight little by little 'till we come to understand.” - Paul Cezanne

Today feels like the end of summer.

And I feel the need for a little reflection.

“But Did It Work, Mommy?”

Samantha Power, top Obama aide and UN Ambassador, tells a story in her new book, The Education of an Idealist about proudly telling her 7 year old son, Declan, how she had verbally bested her Russian counterpart, Vitaly Churkin, in a confrontation over Russian’s invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea.

“I regaled him with my best lines from earlier in the day,” Power writes of her conversation with her son. “I proudly recounted how Vitaly had seemed to stumble in our back and forth. I told Declan that I had made clear that just because Putin had big weapons did not mean that he could take what belonged to other people…”

Her son, eating a cheeseburger and fries, was interested in results. “Did Putin leave Crimea?” he asked.

Or as the Washington Examiner put it: Top Obama aide describes moment she realized reality was more important than rhetoric: Did it work, Mommy? 

My observation: if you are so narcissistic that you need to “regale” your 7 year old child with your moral and verbal (in your native language) superiority, you are one of the people who should NEVER hold a high-level position of power. And maybe you shouldn’t have children.

For those of you unfamiliar with Ms. Power, here’s a short excerpt from Sam, I Am written back in the big butt days of 2011:

Butt let’s talk other qualifications for taking over the second most powerful position in the world:

Graduate of Yale and Harvard, which is almost as good as Columbia and Harvard, or Princeton and Harvard. So that makes her like, what, the 3rd smartest person on earth? 

She began her career as a journalist (200 bonus points), wrote a book about genocide (150 points), is anti-Israel (500 points) worked on Big Guy’s campaign (250 points) where she met and married one of Big Guy’s favorite fellow radicals, Cass Sunstein (250 points),

Cass and Sam, a couple of starry eyed communist idealists

and currently works as special assistant to Big Guy’s National Security Council and head of the Office of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights; aka the office of pro-Palestinian/anti-Israeli affairs.

Men’s Vogue (and they would certainly know) called her a "Harvard brainiac who can boast both a Pulitzer Prize and a mean jump shot.”  Replace “Pulitzer” with “Nobel” and we’ve got ourselves a female Big Guy! Except with a paper trail.

Spoiler alert on The Education of an Idealist: she’s still not, educated that is.

Wizards of the Coasts: Can Dungeons and Dragons Be Far Behind?

My complete thoughts on last night’s debate:

Everything else is irrelevant.

If you missed it and for some masochistic reason wish to relive it I’d recommend Stephen Green’s Drunk Blogging thread, where he summarized the evening thusly:

This wasn't a debate. It was an over-long display of huge egos touting small ideas to well-meaning (but sadly misinformed) kids and preening celebrity infotainment newsreaders.

BTW, the “Enchantment” card above gave me an idea for the perfect logo for the Democrats 2020 campaign, regardless of their candidate

“They all look like game show hosts to me…”

Some would say I was a lost man in a lost world
You could say I lost my faith in the people on TV
You could say I'd lost my belief in our politicians
They all seemed like game show hosts to me

Throwback Thursday: NotMySocks Edition

Pins reminded me that last year’s 9/11 post was the last time we heard from notmysocks who sadly passed the next day. So for this week’s Throwback Thursday, and in keeping with this week’s spirit of “never forget” I’m reposting the MOTUS Twilight Nocturn Lounge sendoff we held in Sock’s honor nearly a year ago. We miss you, dear friend, along with Bunni, GreetingsFromYonkers, and JanicetheElder – as well as many others who are MIA.

The Lounge is now open

We’re gathered here this evening  to  provide our old friend, notmysocks, a proper MOTI sendoff to her just reward. So no tears tonight - just toasts and fond memories. The mic is open for anyone who wishes to share memories, reminisce or just say goodbye to Socks. As you know Socks was also known at various times, thanks to the vagaries of Disqus, as the lovely Della Street,

the mysterious Deehra:

“Happiness is a mysterious thing, to be found somewhere between too little and too much.”

And also as Sophie, her beloved dog who proceeded her in death by just a few days, and finally by the moniker that we all decided was the best ever: notmysocks. Maybe we can talk Pins into retelling the story of where that handle came from, I think it was one of those old family catch phrases that linger long after people forget its origin.

So for Sock’s wake I baked some cupcakes,

Warning: contains no food groups

and Robin dropped off dozens of cookies.

I know Socks liked sweets because a few years ago she left this confession as to how she procured them when she was young:

“I used to buy crumb cakes at the corner deli and charge them to my mother..I ate the whole thing and never got caught. I was a bad assed 9 year old, and proud of it! Then again, maybe she knew and didn't care, and I wasted my own badassery...”

Is there anything worse than wasting all your badassery when you’re only 9? Lord knows you’re going to need it again some day.

So make yourselves comfy, order a drink if you’re so inclined, Little Mo is right there, behind the bar in his MAGA hat.

Just nod, he knows what you want. Since Socks was originally from New York I’m making the Manhattan tonight’s official drink.

I thought it would be nice to pass on a short selection of comments Socks has dropped here over the years on various topics: they illustrate why she was so loved - she was just like us.

On Anger:

“My outrage has finally reached its' zenith, any more would kill off my soul, maybe forever. I don't know if there is a stage two of outrage, like other syndromes, my mine has segued into wishing for revenge. I sometimes wonder if I would give Chris Matthews CPR if he drowned right next to me.”

Holiday Traditions:

“My Irish immigrant relatives never saw corned beef in Ireland. They were mainly lamb and fish eaters.. We still have lamb stew for St Patrick's day dinner....or pizza and wings, if we are drinking...[[hides head in shame]]

Crafts:

“I once watched a You Tube with a cute and very patient Asian girl carving, sanding, and staining tongue depressors to create the look of wood floors in a little doll house...Consider yourself sane if you have never had that urge.”   

And this, on the dangers of sleep:

“Last night, I fell out of bed, in the middle of a dramatic dream, I clearly remember the dream today, It happened in Ancient Rome and I was racing down a street in a chariot, trying to outrun an enemy in a white and gold chariot, which finally sideswiped me. Then I woke up on the floor, between my white bedside table which holds a brass lamp, and my bed. In the past, I have dreamed I was lying in a lovely field of flowers, only to awaken and realize that a dried flower wreath which hung over the bed, had fallen on me.        

I take drugs at night, can you tell? I don't even know why I posted this, but whatever…Sleeping is dangerous sometimes, isn't it?”

I leave you with this recent comment that Socks addressed to Janice the Elder’s daughter who dropped by to say hello to the MOTI:

“In addition to her awesomeness, your mom was witty and droll, wonderful qualities in a forum like this.. Like everyone else here, I miss her very much...”

Who knew that less than a month later, we would be saying the same to Sock’s daughter? Life’s short my dear friends, don’t waste it matching socks.

Godspeed Socks, say hello to Janice the Elder for us and save us all a seat in your celestial corner. Until then…

So enjoy yourselves. Bartender on duty till 8:00 pm after which you’re on your own. Please behave, I don’t have any bouncers.

- Originally Posted September 21, 2018. Bartender is no longer on duty, but I did bake this cake for us to enjoy in celebration of Pbird’s birthday which unfortunately was yesterday when few of us felt like celebrating.

So get your party hats out and let ‘er rip.   (h/t Greenspots, also missed)

Happy birthday pbird! Hope this goes with your new chair.

9.11.19

New York City, 1985Opened in 1973, the Twin Towers was a massive complex of nearly 10 million square feet that was home to 430 companies and 35,000 workers. Closed permanently on September 11, 2001

It seems impossible but it has been 18 years since 9/11. The children who were in school that day are now all young adults. You would think that the cataclysmic events that unfolded during and after the worst terrorist attack on American soil would have been the formative experience that shaped the worldview of this cohort. But that is not the case. While many children were too young to comprehend the impact of that day’s events, the four horsemen of the apocalypse - educators, politicians, media and Hollywood – banded together to ensure they never would. As a result, the iPhone was more impactful to their understanding of the world than was the hate-driven mass murder of nearly 3000 Americans.

You see, the illuminati did not wish to have the minds of young or old “poisoned” by “Islamophobia.” We were to ignore the fact that the attacks that changed everything forever were driven by a deep-seated, religious based hatred for Western values in general and America’s in particular. This truth was deemed too dangerous to share. Plus they had a more important global agenda to pedal.

May God forgive these self-anointed elitists who have propagandized and brainwashed an entire generation. They are now working on a second generation, undermining the very foundation of America. They teach that Islam is good, Christianity and Judaism are at best questionable, patriarchy has victimized women and minorities for centuries and climate change caused by white privilege is destroying the planet.

Their answer for all these ills begat by Western culture? “Diversity is our strength.” And in order to promote it we need open borders, sanctuary cities, mass transit, bike lanes, a massive transfer of wealth and a carbon tax intended to eliminate fossil fuels. Their global vision sounds very much like the stone age, a place not unfamiliar to many Muslims.

Ancient hatred and modern weapons, my kind of show man! – George Carlin

So instead of using the occasion of 9/11 to teach what we face in America’s long war, our elites would have us commemorate it as a “day of service.” That is nonsense. Do they want more 9-11’s? Because that’s how you get more 9-11’s.

So as I always do on this day, I ask you to reflect on the meaning of pure evil and hate. Neither are embodied by people in red hats proclaiming that they want to make America great again. They are manifested by this:

And although there are many who would just as soon we not remember, we will never forget.

This New York urban renewal project brought to you by the Al Qaeda arm of Islamic terrorism

The horror of this image should be burned into the heart of every American; not so they hate but so they understand the nature of liberty’s arch enemy

These hateful ideologues didn’t just attack America on 9-11, they attacked the idea of America. They hate the very values that made America the great nation it is, the champion of freedom and the light of liberty in a very dark world.

In my wildest imagination I never dreamed that 18 years hence we would still be waiting to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to justice. Nor did I imagine that school children would have absolutely no idea who Khalid Sheikh Mohammed even is. Our social, political and cultural “elites” have failed our country spectacularly. That’s why we have President Trump: to help us preserve the American Idea:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

And to remember that the government derives it’s powers from the consent of the governed – not the other way around. So we will continue to fight the onslaught of tyrants and ideologues - be they foreign or domestic - who seek to destroy that idea and with it the concept of American exceptionalism.

May God bless America, and preserve her freedom to seek that blessing.

Regular programming will hopefully resume shortly. Please stay calm and carry on.

No, Rachel, there is no Russia Russia Russia!

I see that a little bit of karma has been visited on Ms.NBC: Rachel Maddow slapped with $10 million lawsuit over 'paid Russian propaganda' accusations.

As reported earlier this year :

For the past two years, Rachel Maddow has been a hero of her own spy thriller.

She has written, directed and starred in a hit production based on the unlikely premise of a prime-time cable TV show host unraveling the most dastardly plot in American history — one opening monologue at a time.

Only the story had a surprise twist at the end — she was completely wrong.

It was like being in kindergarten all over again, with somebody telling you there is no Santa Claus. And all you want to do is believe, so you seek the input only from others equally willing to maintain the delusion.

VIRGINIA RACHEL, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see (on Fake News). They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible  by their little minds…

Yes, VIRGINIA RACHEL, there is a Santa Claus Russia Collusion. (It) exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus Russian Collusion…

And alas, how dreary will Rachel’s life be without the $10 million judgement (plus plaintiff’s expenses) she’s about to be slapped with.

Rachel Haz a Sad