The Revenge on the Thin Blue 11: The Art of Self-Defund starring Candace Owens

One of the saddest things about the on-going Covid Pandemic is how easily misinformation, rightwing memes, Faux News propaganda, and outright lies have so readily been absorbed by Police Officers across the Nation.  It's simple and insidious.  And it's led to Police Officers defunding themselves by dying of Covid.  

Having been conditioned for years to discount the LIEbral Media and place outsized trust and support in Republican liars and rightwing talking heads, Police Officers have allowed themselves to be duped and misled.  Every rightwing antivaxxer social media is festooned with dank memes by Charlie Kirk, Ben Shapiro, Joe Rogan, Faux News, OAN and any of the other low-level rightwing grifters.

This has lead to Police Officers across the Nation dying from Covid.  Looking at the Officer Down Covid page all I can do is shake my head and plead with fellow Officers to get vaccinated instead of posting the Babylon Bee CDC seatbelt gotcha meme and then dying.

One of the amazing feats of research by reddit shows a high correlation of retweeting Candeath Ovens (Candace Owens) and then dying of Covid.  Obviously her most ardent fans retweet Candace because they believe her being black immediately and forever indemnifies them from charges of racism.  But, because of her incessant, non-stop tweeting of anti-vaxx lies, I must conclude Owens is actually a #BLM paid employee or #ACAB sleeper agent getting Cops and whitey to off themselves.  Candace is the grim reaper for fat-faced white dudes with gray goatees.

The Bravery of the Thin Blue Line 10: The Lady and The Lady and the Tramps

There are two tragic December stories of female Police Officers exchanging gunfire with criminals.

In Bradely, Illinois two Officers responded to a call of dogs left in a vehicle at a motel. Locating the dogs owners they learned one of the suspects had a warrant.  So the two black suspects attacked the two Officers.  Initial court proceeding provide a horrific account of the death of Bradley Police Officer Sergeant Marlene Rittmanic, which alleges having already been shot and pleading for her life the murderers, wrestled her duty weapon away from her and executed Rittmanic.  It seems this vile, remorseless murder was all captured on her body camera.

The other exchange in and around Denver, Colorado involved a deranged tattooed White Incel killer traveling to several tattoo parlours, a residence, a Hyatt, and a restaurant shooting multiple people, killing 5, before finally being bravely confronted and killed by Lakewood Colorado Officer Ashley Ferris.

These two Officers both should be commended for their bravery and dedication to service; though one story ends in personal tragedy and one in "triumph".  It also highlights how the bad and criminal actions of other Officers have diminished us all and cast a shadow over every noble and dedicated Police Officer. 

But, has the proliferation of easily obtainable firearms made Americans and police work "safer"?

Guns don't save lives.  A gun has never sutured a wound, applied a tourniquet, performed surgery to stitch up and repair damaged tissue and organs.  Guns have one purpose: To Kill.

We've allowed insane gun nuts to craft a whole lexicon of false euphemisms surrounding firearms turning guns into a panacea which will usher in the Utopia.  Strip away all the NRA talking points and imaginary intruder scenarios and understand the metaphysical nature of a gun; Guns are tools for killing

Now, killing can sometimes be justified.  Defensive Gun Uses (DGUs) do occur.  Though, they are far rarer than the gun lobby would have you believe as they've crafted an outright fantasy about millions of incidents a year.  In the Real World, guns are most often used to murder spouses and for suicide.  Guns are overwhelmingly used to kill and wound innocent people.

This used to be known.  The NRA of the 1950's and Police and Sheriff Departments throughout the 20th century used to know the absolute truisms: More Guns = More Gun Deaths : Gun Take Lives.

But, the damage is done.  The United States is flooded with firearms and the Gun Industry is working on ensuring the US Government and American people can't do anything about it.  Moms Demand Action and other groups are fighting to reign in the political machinations of the murderous immoral NRA.  Police Departments and Sheriff's across the Nation would be wise to reevaluate their support of policy of unrestricted gun violence championed by the immoral GOP, the fanatical cadre of antisocial gun nuts, and amoral gun salesman. 

No Time to Terminate the Dark Fate of Life after Ghostbusters but, that's not how the Fast & Furious Force works

 You can't go home again or Let dead Demon Dogs lie 

So... Ghostbusters was terrible.  Now, this isn't a rant because the little girl was made the prime protagonist.  The directors and producers tried to make her a plucky, gawky, and precocious hero and it was contrived, flat, and unbelievable.  But, there are numerous plot holes big enough to march the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man through in this forced crappy plot and stupid ha-ha homages to the first film but, you know what... who cares?

All of this lays at the feet of the current Studio system and Movie Making process.  There are seemingly only two types of films made by Hollywood studios these days; grotesque billion dollar blockbusters and remakes.  The moderate and mid-sized movie project or non-reboot is fading and seen as too risky; as proved the case with the ill-fated The Last Duel which is going to lose some $50 million dollars.  So, in studio accountants eyes it makes sense to green-light remakes (another version of Little Women perhaps?) or reboots or long delayed sequels and prequels.  Because there is believed to be a natural floor of support or a rabid enough fan-base to make the film profitable.

What no one wants to admit and no Hollywood executive wants to understand or confront is these film franchises (and I'm sure there are others I'm missing) are finished:

• Jurassic Park
• Alien
• Terminator
• Star Trek
• Star Wars
• James Bond
• Fast & Furious
• Harry Potter
• Pirates of the Caribbean

Those films had their day.  They told their stories.  But, like legendary aging athletes their day is done.

Now, maybe I'd be willing to watch films set in those universes; Rogue One, which told a story of characters you never heard of was the "best" film to come out of the Disney Studios Star Wars Era (and it wasn't that good) and the best scene was still Darth Vader murdering Rebel scum. 

Films as a story vehicle had their great runs before World War 2 and in the gritty, grimy story telling America post-Vietnam.  There's always been an appetite for serialized content.  From the olden days of radio to the mythical 1930s mini movie series, Americans have loved long form story-telling experiences.  But, we are now in the Era of Serial Television Series, which are afforded greater production value, content latitude, and story telling time which was not available to the sitcoms and soapy dramas of yesteryear.  And now (especially Covid influenced) viewing habits are vastly different; trending towards Binge watching and allowing the watcher to set the time for breaks and intermissions.

Of course, the biggest counter-point to my entire argument is everyone of those remakes, reboots, and sequels is still making big, big bucks for the film studios.  Ghostbusters: Afterlife has made about $185 million thus far on a budget of $80 million.  So, even as individual brick-and-mortar theaters and their parent companies suffer and go bankrupt expect another thoughtless, witless literally juvenile Transformers movie.

Prolonging the Pandemic; the Conservative Covid Killing Fields (Where's Ron DeSantis?)

"Now you go in for the Kill Shot. The kill shot [woof] with an ambush... it's deadly. Cause he doesn't see it coming," Fox News propagandist Jesse Waters incites the traitors at Turning Point convention to kill Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The Right is starting to get better at comedy and is making Lefties nervous... a meme first as comedy then as tragedy...

Conservative Covid Killing Fields is literally is all about increasing their political power...

MSNBC rightly called the Turning Points USA convention a "Celebration of Violence".  Worse than that it's past time to realize the right has declared a civil war on American society; I say a civil war specifically, because it's not The Civil War and will not, most likely, ever resemble the 1860's.  Instead a quarter of the American population are wedded to using whatever means available to achieve their thwarted political goals.  This includes outright political violence, of course, but, over the past 2 years of the Pandemic has manifested itself as disseminating lies and encouraging their deluded followers to get sick and fight against any means adopted to curtail or stem the spread of Covid.  It is ghastly but undeniable to conclude the leaders of the American Right believe by prolonging the Pandemic and sacrificing some of their voters, they can secure power in 2022 and possibly 2024. 

The liberty secured by the Constitution of the United States does not import an absolute right in each person to be at all times, and in all circumstances, wholly freed from restraint, nor is it an element in such liberty that one person, or a minority of persons residing in any community and enjoying the benefits of its local government, should have power to dominate the majority when supported in their action by the authority of the State.  It is within the police power of a State to enact a compulsory vaccination law, and it is for the legislature, and not for the courts to determine... Jacobson v. Massachusetts, Volume 197 U.S. 11 (1905)

Antivaxxers are Reactionary Nihlists, Anarchists, or crass conniving curs, who are violently stupid or actively ignorant.  But possess the ability to spew bad faith far faster than your ability to rebut or debunk it.  I've found no avenue of approach that they can not ignore or disingenuously elide.  

Like an armor all arguments bounce of their nihilistic brains.  They've created a fantasy belief about "Liberty" which is I May Do as I Pleases and there is no such thing as Society, Government, Your Fellow Man, etc...

 

Conservatives long ago voided the Social Contract and jettisoned listening to authority and experts.  Conservatives are the experts now on every topic because they "do their own research".  Conservatives find facts to confirm their opinions.

• It doesn't matter if you argue from Legal Precedent as with the above quoted Jacobson SCOTUS case or similar laws adopted throughout American history.
• You can not argue Morality, that antivaxx villains should embody the Christian principle of helping their fellow man because their Jesus wants them to oppress and dominate their fellow man.
• You can't argue Political Theory about the role of Government; because they don't believe Government can constrain them.
• You can't argue The Simpsons Reductio ad Absurdum by informing them their rights end at other peoples' lungs (an adapted analogy of the fist and nose).
• You can't Argue from Expertise because they can find their own "Doctors"/ Joe Rogan/ Candeath Owens who falsely tout Hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin or Colloidal Silver or whatever chemical cocktail is fashionable at the moment.
• You can't argue Personal Experience known friends or family members who are immune-compromised, or have contracted Covid, or are suffering from Long Covid effects, or worse yet died, because they blithely avoid basic humanity and compassion for work colleagues, spouses, or family.

Because they don't care.  They don't care. They lie with statistics. 1,000,000 dead out of 330,000,000? Pffft! Big Deal!  Greater than 99% Survival Rate, which isn't true, but even if it was it would mean another couple million deaths.  Thus, proving once again a single death is a tragedy but, a million is just a statistic.  

They trot out the old propaganda falsehoods that the evil government (every Democrat and some Republicans except for New Messiah Ron DeathSantis or the Nebraska Ricketts) counts everyone who dies as a covid death! Car Accidents!  Terminal Cancer!  Fat!  Diabetes!  COMORBIDITIES!!! 

So, as the Christmas Covid infection rate ramps up we'll see Hospitals and medical professionals stressed to breaking, read about more Herman Cain Award recipients, and Antivaxxers will claim that since they are alive and don't know anyone who has actually died of Covid it's all a Plandemic. 

Update:

Over at the Best Website on the Internet Lawyers, Guns, and Money they ask Where is the Back-to-Back 2020 and 2021 Pandemic Champion Ron DeathSantis as Florida spirals up out of control with cases once again.  I'll point out that DeSantis knows by simply ignoring the dead he wins favor with Conservatives across the Nation.  In fact, right-wingers routinely claim by ignoring any mitigation, mask or vaccine mandates Florida is doing great and DeSantis is a Hero.

If your Insurrection lasts 12 months or longer call your Senator or Representative

First, I recommend reading this excellent piece Insurrections, Ancient and Modern by Bret Devereaux at A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry on how the Ancient Greeks (the inventors of Democracy) would clearly have understood the January 6th Insurrection as a clear attempt to overthrow the United States Government.  It doesn't require an Epiphany to understand Trump's goals, tactics, and motivation.  It also doesn't take a prophet to recognize a large segment of the American people are fully wedded to the Big Lie and very much want to engage in political violence, including the rounding-up and systematic execution of the Non-MAGA.  

So, any case brought against Traitor Trump, and the organizers of the Jan6th Coup needs to be as perfect and air-tight as possible, otherwise Trump will just pantomime an orgasm on stage again to belittle the investigation.  And the 139 Congresspukes and 8 GOP Senators who voted to overthrow the 2020 Presidential Election and dismantle the Nation will do everything in their considerable power to undermine the prosecution of Trump & his Criminal Cabal.

But, the Very On-Line Community (VOLC) is exasperated with the Democratic Party approach and the Dept of Justice slow grinding of arrest and trial of January 6th criminals, I am, to the contrary, very pleased with the constant drip-drip-drip release of news, evidence, video and convictions of those thus far arrested.    

One of the things the Republicans grasped is how to control the News Cycle.  Besides flooding the media with constant streams of Rightwing bullshit, to obfuscate and provide grist for the #bothsides mill, Republicans know the crimes they committed on January 6th would only dominate the News for a short, short while.  Then the Media having dutifully spoken about the attempted overthrow of the United States Government in the most blasé, prosaic way possible would pretend some anodyne Biden literal dog bites man story is equivalent to the GOP destruction of the Nation.

If 6 months ago much of the gathered evidence had been released en masse the Corporate Media would have discussed it for a day or two three and then moved on to their hyperbolic Afghanistan nonsense.

So, here is a newly released video of 3 hours of Trump Traitors attacking the Capitol Police.  Here's how we know the Trump cabal stalled and planned to give conservatives and Rightwing embedded Kill Teams every opportunity to capture and execute Speaker Pelosi, AOC, and as many of the recalcitrant members of Congress as possible.  3 hours with no Quick Reaction Force response.  No K-9's or Horse mounted Officers.  Horses and Dogs control crowds effectively, exerting far more control per pound than any person can. 

So, it's up to Us, the People to constantly highlight, discuss, and agitate for Justice and to guard against the Next Attempted Trump Golpe de Estado because the Corporate Media is not going to do it and Faux News  and the rightwing media is going to justify, promote and support the next Coup.

Dinosaur Quarterbacks and the RPO Short Life of Glory

 It's a bizarre time in the NFL, as we are beset by two peaks far outside the standard deviation: Ancient Quarterbacks and the flood of the Young Rushing QBs.

Tom Brady is not the only old man playing QB and playing at a high level.  Aaron Rodgers is still playing and with the help of the NFL Referees, putting up MVP numbers.  Matt Ryan and Ben Roethlisberger are still effective.  

At the same time, the Run-Pass Option QB are taking over the the play calling and dreams of General Managers throughout the league.  While it would seem obvious to place your best athlete into the most important position in all of sports; Quarterback.  It's also a mistake.

College coaches will only have a QB in there system 4 or 3 or even 1 year.  General Managers, Owners, and fan bases hope and expect a Franchise QB to last 10 years (and as we've seen recently with the recently retired Philip Rivers and Drew Brees) even longer.  Every RPO QB, except Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, has been injured this year;

• Kyler Murray
• Justin Fields
• Jalen Hurts
• Tua Tagovailoa
• Taysom Hill
• Cam Newton
• And reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson

The RPO is turning QBs into Running Backs and giving them the same shortened careers.  QBs even the fastest and the toughest can't take open field hits and continue to be effective.  This is in no way to call them soft or pampered, it's just QB can' play the way a defensive lineman can with a club hand or with a stinger or an achy joint.  QB's in the pocket have special protections but, even the slide rule adopted a while back doesn't protect them out in the open.

Now, where does NFL quarterbacking go in the future?  College has been using the option system for decades.  But, a Steve Young or Michael Vick level fast, agile QB making the NFL and running with ball has always been more of an outlier.  Players like Donovan McNabb, or Steve McNair or John Elway were mobile and would run but, also moved away from the running style so embraced as of late.  Clearly, the current crop of Quarterbacks who can run and run well are going to keep playing even if the occasional ones, like a Mitch Trubisky or Marcus Mariota get relegated to back-up status.  But, I think it's going to be a short-lived experiment because NFL franchises can't invest draft picks and big money in players whose pro careers mirror their college ones, in terms of longevity.  

Running as a QB, is the fastest way to shorten your career.

As the Coronavirus bill comes due; will the Trump led Republican Party stiff conservatives?

Only the ghost of Tamerlane is responsible for more deaths than Ron DeathSantis, Major Traitor Greene, Donald Trump, and the Republican Party.  The Republican Party has, through fits and starts, slowly but, inexorably become Pro-Covid Death Cult.  The Masque of the Red Brain Dead... but my natural immunity! (There is no such thing)

Trump's entire life has been about him not paying his bills.  His rabid base doesn't have that luxury when it comes to Covid.  In fact, many dire warnings concerning Omicron (Oo) seem to indicate the unvaccinated are going to be killed off in continued climbing numbers.  

A large cohort of so-called Republicans are not vaccinated and do not plan to be.  And even the bloated Trump himself can not convince them to get vaccinated. 

The coming post-Christmas bill of Coronavirus will kill thousands of deluded rightwing drones.  It's already exacting a heavy toll on elected Republicans.  But, it's also clear that some Republicans are marks and some Republicans are making a killing. 

Here's Sarah Palin telling the Turning Point Traitors she'll be vaccinated "over her dead body".  Ironic hilarity aside, Palin allegedly had Covid in April of 2021 and since then she's had the epiphany there is money and power to be made in telling conservatives the very mild, incredibly sensible, hardly inconvenient, and life-saving vaccine & mask mandates are the height of tyranny.

There's no point in being coy; Republicans see a huge political upside to the continued Covid Pandemic and are willing to sacrifice large number of their voters, some small fish Republicans, and conservatives writ large to reap the reward.

And apparently, Rose Twitter (A Twitter Account with a Rose is a Magat by any other name), has lost their minds when the WhiteHouse.Gov website put out an entirely accurate post those who choose not to get vaccinated will face the likelihood of death from Omicron (Oo).  Rose Brocialists are going to be FORCED to preemptively declare they don't support Joe Biden AGAIN and are being forced to vote for the Fascists as they did in 2016 and 2020 YET AGAIN!

Update:

I can only hope this Reddit story from two weeks ago about a Doctor of 30 years, a 38 year old father dying of Covid and his pyscho wife is fantasy.

Secret recording show the NRA loves School Shootings and Dead Children

Because dead children make the NRA and the Firearm Industry millions of dollars.

In April 1999, faced with the immediate aftermath of the Columbine Mass School Shooting, the NRA leadership had an emergency meeting to decide how to proceed.  NPR investigative journalists acquired those tapes.  Not once did leading NRA figures pause, stop and consider maybe... just maybe... we are wrong. That the NRA position on gun laws, gun proliferation and gun culture was wrong.  That more guns does not make America safer.

No.  The NRA immediate reaction was how do we spin this, control the narrative, and what about the money.

Because the Money...

Because the Money...

Because the Money...

Glorified spokesmodel NRA President Charlton 'Moses' Heston (right-wingers do so love to put actors into politics) was paraded out in late April 1999, to read a script as the NRA continued to push the United States down the path of unrestricted but, exceedingly profitable gun violence. The NRA doubled down and fought viciously to ensure Columbine was just a precursor of mass shootings to come. 

After Columbine the NRA also decided to also empower "the nuts", "the fruitcakes", "hillbillies", "the wackos" (their words!) and decided more guns, lax enforcement, and less gun laws were the way to go; especially going after the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban and celebrating its' demise under the Villainous George W. Bush regime.  Since that inauspicious day, the AR-15 has factored in almost all the spectacular bloody murderous school and mass shootings.

But, AR-15 platform is a fucking goldmine for the NRA and their Weapon Making masters.  Fragile white men rush out to blow their social security checks getting the gun, getting the hardware, getting the accoutrements...  

Because the Money...

Because the Money...

Because the Money... 

Happy National School Shooting Day!

Of course, everyday is Nationwide School Shooting Day, in the United States of the Holey Gun.

Because of the conscious actions and unconscionable plans of the NRA, GOP, and Firearms Industry to subvert gun laws, undermine regulations, and flood the Nation with Hundreds of Millions of weapons.  They have ensured guns are readily accessible and easily obtainable by everyone.

In early 2002, I theorized Al Qaeda could defeat the United States by staging school shooting Nationwide by infiltrating shooters into communities and having them pull off a Columbine 9/11.

Little did I know that an entire immoral power hungry political party, coupled with a small cadre of zealous antisocial gun nuts, funded by amoral gun salesmen would fuel such a crisis. And worse respond to it by pushing more guns, less regulation, and no enforcement. 

Update:

Thousands of parents were panicked today and hundreds of Officers spent the day perched outside schools.  Because the United States can not have sane gun laws and restrictions.

Some Theft (Chicago smash and grabs) is worse than others in the Neo-Feudal United States

It was not by gold or by silver, but by labour, that all the wealth of the world was originally purchased; Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, Chapter V

The current freak out over the smash-and-grab thefts at high end retail stores ivo Chicago and out in California highlight the Corporate Media's obsession with a very small segment of thefts in the United States.

Retail theft isn't the biggest loss of money going around but, it's in the open and strikes right at White society's fears and prejudices.  Normie society sees those people getting away with it and get all indignant and righteously aggrieved!

Meanwhile, no one in the Corporate media is thinking ahead.  After the thieves who strike malls in Oak Brook or Northbrook and swipe dozens of Louie Vutton bags; what do they do with them?  No one is selling them at half off on Mag Mile.  No one is setting up hidden shops in their home to sell them to other poor people.  

No, it's part of a sophisticated Organized Crime ring; most likely involving smuggling, drugs, and according to the Illinois Attorney General's Office human trafficking.  The black thieves grabbing the merchandise and running are low-level criminals.  Who's funding their operations?  Who's the "fence" to use an antiquated term?  Where's the merchandise going?

But, the scope of such criminal enterprises are too massive for most people to take in and the difficult task of consuming pages of data and require too much detailed report analysis.  Humans evolved to think in much simpler terms one or more than one.  It's why most old languages have distinct terms for 1or 2 but, required work to come up with greater numbers and often resorted to vague terms beyond counting for really big numbers.

It's why one death is a tragedy and a million is just a statistic.

Of course, besides the sensationalist media coverage o these dramatic grab-n-go thefts is the lack of coverage of theft which impacts a vast number of Americans and dwarfs the money lost from retail theft; i.e. Wage Theft. 

For example, out in California a restauranteur Golden Gate group swindled low-pay Burger King employees out of $2 million in wages from 2016 to 2019.

Wage theft is often invisible to normie society though.  And, of course, bad actors on the right fully endorse a wage slave society with a permanent underclass paid subsistence wages.

Then Covid-19 hit and a large segment of the working class decided working 3 jobs at minimum wage to simply pay the rent and phone bill wasn't worth it anymore.  The Great Resignation struck directly at the US wage slavery system and perpetual corporate bondage.

Now, of course, Faux News and the Corporate Media's job is to advance the rightwing agenda of oppression, intolerance, and adulation of the rich so they've adopted a Blame Biden, freakout over Kamala's cookware, and Inflation fear monger to distract their rightwing drones from the reality of the American economic system; it's designed to afflict the afflicted and comfort the comfortable.

Will President Joe Biden and the Democrats get the credit they deserve for the help they've passed through the recalcitrant Republican opposition?  I don't know.  I know conservative bad actors consistently try to blame everything on the Democrats and the Corporate Media eagerly regurgitate rightwing agitprop, but all I can ask of the President, VP, Speaker, and Democrats in the Senate and House is they try and that they have and continue too. 

The United States 2021: A Break the glass moment.

Representative Sean Casten held a small event in which he spoke about the threat we are facing from the lawless authoritarian Republican Party.  While Congressman Casten highlighted the bureaucratic roadblocks he did not shy away from invoking the Civil War.  Specifically, uttering the chilling phrase "break the glass moment". 

The Trump administration and their Republican allies planned a Coup, with a snappy Powerpoint presentation, outlining multiple methods of bureaucratic chicanery in their planned attack on Democracy and to overthrow the US Government.  On Jan 6th, Trump roused his hand-picked mob, to give his crimes a sheen of a popular uprising, as he hoped Pence would overthrow President Biden's November victory and if Pence wouldn't do it on his own accord well then his wonderful Insurrectionists would make it legal.  But, this isn't just about the Trump Golpe de Estado attempt (which everyone around Traitor Trump knew was a massive MAGA crime) but, also about how the Republican Party long ago jettisoned their commitment to elections or representation to the Nation.

Faced with losing elections, Republicans made the time honored authoritarian decision to pick their own voters, since voters won't pick them.  Faced with the problem of legislation, Republicans decided to let special interests and lobbying groups for the Rich and powerful write their legislation.  Faced with the will of the people being completely against them, Republicans have stolen the Supreme Court to ensure, their 5 Injustices undermine any future limitations upon them and retroactively undo past achievements. 

I have no doubt the Democrats in Congress understand the danger they, the Nation, and We the People are facing.  I also think Democrats are afraid.  And rightly so.  Because many Republicans are waiting, yearning, begging for anything they can use as a Casus Belli and begin slaughtering the Non-MAGA. 

Everyone is mad Merrick Garland, Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leadership et al haven't announced the expulsions, Impeachments, and arrests of Trump, his cronies and Republicans in Congress and the Supreme Court.  But, it should be obvious that those moves are the Casus Belli Republicans are waiting for and will usher in violence from the right.

So... we wait.  The current election is always the most important election.  Republicans think their legerdemain and voting suppression will garner them the House and Senate in 2022 and they can quash the investigations.  Democrats hope the steady flow of damning evidence will lead to more and more arrests and prosecutions.

But, the Republican Party is a fully Fascist organization now.  The current young Republicans are third generation to grow up, fully immersed in the non-stop barrage of rightwing lies and propaganda.  Republicans are growing more and more comfortable with the prospect of Violence to achieve political power.  There are thousands of conservatives who want to drop liberals from helicopters, who want to go to any rally or demonstration and shoot people.  There are millions more conservatives who would willingly go along.

Republicans already launched the first salvo on January 6th...

The Great Resignation vs. The Amazon Edwardsville Disaster (Update)

“I also want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer because you guys paid for all of this.” - the wages of American Capitalism are death...

It's been 110 years since the Triangle Shirt Waist Factory disaster.  After revising initial fears of hundreds of trapped employees it appears the Edwardsville Amazon disaster will thankfully not reach that level of tragedy.  Of course, this is scant comfort to the families of the 6 thus far confirmed killed.

I know everyone loves Amazon but, it certainly seems like Jeff Bezos' new fangled Fulfillment Wage Slavery is just a retread of the old 19th century sweatshop variety.  Hopefully Jeff Bezos can eventually get around to addressing the families of his dead employees, whom he so recently thanked, instead of wistfully staring off into space.

Unbelievable. Amazon unable to account for Employees trapped inside.  Employees denied cell phones to ensure they don't take 5 minutes out of their time fulfilling orders to waste scrolling twitter or Facebook. Did Amazon have a nice carve-out on building regulations which allow their "warehouse" to be regulated under different building codes and safety regulations (h/t Naked Capitalism) than an office buildings or retail space?

Walls on both sides of the building collapsed inward and the roof fell down. Officials say the concrete walls were 40 feet tall and about the length of a football field.

Now Republicans hate Bezos because he doesn't do what Rich people are supposed to do; i.e. aid the Republicans in enforcing oppression and intolerance.  However, Bezos does believe in enshackling the American People into perpetual, unending Corporate Bondage so that is a saving grace for Amazon.

I don't know what the future of work for Amazon or in general will look like nor the fate of cities.  But, the Great Resignation coupled with the abandonment of office work looks to entail a massive restructuring of American work life.  Would it be on par with the Industrialization and the creation of metropolis?  Or the near doubling of the workforce post-World War 2 with women entering the workplace en masse?  I don't know and I don't think anyone else does.

Updated:

"I can hire half the working class to kill the other half, " low level warehouse managers were instructed to threaten workers with being fired if they left their jobs during the deadly tornadoes.  Company owners defend themselves by saying company policy is to not let workers leave during a tornado.  Of course, it is not company policy to have a hardened tornado shelter at their facilities because "human capital" is easily replaced.

Republican Thomas Massie takes aim at Kentucky Tornadoes

 Fuck you I got mine - Republican maxim.

Kentucky and several other states got hammered with tornadoes in December and yes tornadoes can happen at any month in the United States but, December tornadoes are rare.  And tornadoes this extreme and destructive are even more rare.  As with all extreme weather events, fueled by climate change, this 30 plus funnels, 4-state wide, 200+ long mile rampage has eclipsed or set records.  And sadly, this event proved deadly, as 70 or more people are feared dead.  

In steps Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, famous as of late for his Rand Paul hair, thin prick gun waving Christmas card.  Massie throughout his 10 year tenure has made a name for himself by voting against every federal disaster relief package for any US community.  Except for Kentucky because then like a good Ayn Rand cultist he smugly proclaims its' not cheating when I take government money.

President Joe Biden is a good and decent man.  He's not going to play games, make snide comments, or delay any federal funding needed for disaster relief.  But, I don't know how a society can survive when people continue to vote into office despicable pukes like Massie who are more than willing to try and submarine disaster relief to others while knowing the Representatives of communities he stabs in the back will not play tit-for-tat because this isn't game theory but, peoples lives and well-being being affected. 

I don't know how Democrats can govern an electorate which is not only willing but, enthusiastic to vote in the likes of Massie. Or Boebert or Greene or Gohmert or Cawthorn.  Republicans are rapidly circling the accretion disc towards the naked singularity of full-on fascism.  "There enlies the problem"...

The Revenge of the Thin Blue Line 9: Damn! They're very slowly getting away!

They're... very... slowly... getting... away!

So, a Tucson Police Officer posted on an off-duty assignment at a Walmart is going to be terminated for shooting a 61-year old wheel-chair bound shoplifter. 

But, but, but! The dastardly shoplifter was committing a crime (he had reportedly stolen a toolbox) and allegedly brandished a knife at the Officer when asked to provide proof of payment.  Clearly, this was a "criminal" with a dangerous weapon, issuing threats, and entering another store with innocent people around.  So why is the Officer not being lauded for stopping a person who refused to follow lawful orders?

First, understand the "just comply" responders are talking about those people complying with Police, conservatives are special snowflakes who can flout law enforcement at will, up to and including, beating Officers who are trying to stop Insurrectionists storming the U.S. Capitol.

Second, this is a Police Department policy failure.  Off-duty Officers shouldn't be working as mall cops.  Carrying his duty weapon?  Call for an officer to respond and identify the man.  Take pictures of the man.  Follow him from more than 5 feet away.  Or... pump 9 rounds into a guy in a wheel-chair.

Third, this is nothing more than a misdemeanor retail theft.  Who the fuck fucking cares?  A fucking toolbox.  But, this is America... and the Gun is the Final Arbiter of the Law.

It's also part of the Dave Grossman Police Officer Training mantra;  Use more Violence. Murder! Kill! Kill!  Kill!  If you think I'm being hyperbolic, I'm not;  Grossman self-titled his training method as KilLOLogy

Grossman, of course, is highly deceitful about his training claiming his Warrior Training (Grossman changed it to "Sheepdogs" in the last few years) is about saving lives.  The inversion of reality through language is a classic Police technique.  Like when an Officer writes in his report 'he assisted a person to the ground' instead of writing he threw the guy down. 

What Grossman's grotesque training actually does is create fear-driven murder drones over-eager to drop the hammer and kill "civilians" because of their subjective fear which has been trained into them.  The damage the despicable Grossman has done to Law Enforcement is going to take a generation to repair. 

Of course, here in Illinois we have a spate of mob grab mass thefts of high end merchandise.  Now, the thefts themselves are being conducted by black people but, the question is who is funding this and who is the end buyer?  Clearly, the thieves are not selling the Louis Vuitton bags in the alleyways of the Mag Mile.  So where are they ending up?

In the meantime, continue to expect Police Officers to gun down Americans.

Today's School Shooting is brought to you by

For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday.

It's another Tuesday in America.  I'm already well behind on the latest school shooting.  Of course.

The details are more visceral now as one of students sheltering in place captured digital audio and video of the 15 year old(!) shooter telling the students he is a sheriff's deputy and "it's safe to come out."

3 teenage lives were cut short.  8 others wounded and now facing decades of physical and emotional healing.  The shooter taken into custody, of course, because some people are inherently good and just having a bad day and thus aren't shot on sight.  Or "justifiably" killed while resisting arrest.

Gun Humping Extremists have been conducting a massive social experiment: More Guns = Safer Nation.  This is demonstrably untrue.  The United States is awash in guns.  And thus we are beset with deaths and woundings from guns.

There have been other high profile shootings recently as well as little talked about mass killings:

• In a widely-viewed incident in Lubbock, Texas a child custody dispute turned deadly when a little man decided he'd use his big gun to murder a guy.  The responses to this Fox News post calling it self-defense is the whole crux of the rightwing fascination with guns.
• In Fort Wayne, a twenty year old killed his little sister, mother and father and then himself.  His grandmother escaped.  This happened the same day as the Michigan school shooting.
• In Georgia, a domestic dispute ended in 4 deaths including an officer in recruit training.  This happened the same day as the Michigan school shooting.

Gun Nuts want the power to kill at a moment's notice and then claim self-defense.  Conservatives have set up a nice Catch-22 (call it the Rittenhouse-22 if you like) Bring a gun into a fraught or dangerous situation, escalate the incident, then use the escalation as justification for "self-defense".  1) Start a Fight. 2) Kill the guy if he Fights back.  It's basic Might makes Right.  Bring a Gun and say you were in fear of your life and anyone you shoot becomes a "lawful" act.

As a corollary the US has been faced with a large scale Catch-22.  Gun Makers and the NRA have ensured criminals have easy access to firearms and produce more and more everyday.  Flood the United States with weapons and then declare since All the "Bad Guys" have guns only a "Good Guy" with a gun can stop them.  An unstoppable circle. 

Which leads us to public support for stricter gun laws and gun control; the Republican Party is 100% unified against any gun control and when all levels of government are taken into account, Republicans have majority of government.  

Republicans have steadily worked towards making the Gun the Final Arbiter of Law.  When Mad Nazi Cawthorn, Major Traitor Greene, or Lauren Dick Flasher Boebert parade around with guns they are explicitly stating they will use them to settle all disputes.  They don't have to or even try to make any cogent or coherent arguments.  For example:

Famously, Australia enacted strict gun regulations and controls in 1996 after the Port Arthur massacre.  Since then, Zero Mass Shootings...

Meanwhile in the United States, Total killed and wounded by gunfire every year is now approaching 100,000.  The Gun Violence Archive, uses only verified data, therefore it's not subject to the NRA lies and Gun Nut fantasies of guns being used a Million times a year to defend LIFE!

I have always assumed that when you get down to it NRA, gun manufacturers, Republican poseurs and phonies, or ostentatious gun display nuts, really don't believe that more guns, less regulations, and Stand your Ground laws make Americans safer but, do it for the political power, monetary gain and the #OwntheLibs lolz...

But, when you pretend to be something for long enough that's what you are.  In reality, gun nuts don't believe they will ever be on the wrong side of a barrel.  And those killed and wounded by guns?  Well, to get back to The Deserving & The Undeserving they had it coming (for voting for DemocRATs, for being in a gun free zone, for any number of rightwing fantasies about the power of the gun).