Random Thoughts

Li’l Donnie Trump wants a military parade and it looks like the Pentagon is looking into it. So Trump’s transformation into Kim Jung Un continues. Nobody showed up for his inauguration. Now he can have a big party because he can order people to be there. This is just about feeding his ego.

 

Under the subject of “never under estimating stupidity”, about 75% of Trump voters think the FBI is plotting against Li’l Donnie. The full court press by Trump and moron minions like Devin Nunes is working, at least on the dumb ass base that put Trump in office.  Fox “News” is really banging on this drum pretty damn hard. And guess where the Trump base gets 95% of its news?

 

Meanwhile, the Russians are helping. A number of pro-Trump, anti-Mueller hash tags trending on Twitter have been directly linked to Russian created bots and programs or individuals with strong sympathies to the Kremlin.

 

If the world seems too crazy and you just want to get off the planet, here's some good news: SpaceX successfully launched a rocket and sent Elon Musk’s Tesla roadster into space.  The rocket did not blow up on the launch pad so that was a good thing. The rocket blasting through the upper atmosphere did look pretty cool which was another goal for SpaxeX. Did not explode? Check! Look cool? Check! Good job, guys! Take five, smoke 'em if you got ‘em. 

 

Looking towards stepping off this mortal coil are a number of musicians who have announced farewell tours. Paul Simon will be getting underway with his “See Me Before I Die” tour and Elton John has stated his next tour will be his last.  Ozzy Osbourne is also on a farewell tour although I think he might be about 20 years too late; I think Ozzy has been dead for a while but is in too much of a drug induced stupor to actually fall down.  

Tammy Duckworth Is Totally Awesome!

So get a load of this load of shit from our Moron In Chief, Li’l Donnie Trump:  

 

“Even on positive news like that, really positive news like that, they were like death and un-American. Somebody said ‘treasonous.’ I mean, yeah, I guess, why not? Shall we call that treason? Why not? I mean, they certainly didn’t seem to love our country very much.”

 

As you know, Trump can’t let go of any slight and took issue with Democrats not applauding him during his State of the Union address last week, you know, the State of the Union with the highest TV ratings EVER. (No, it wasn’t).  

 

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told NBC News that Trump was speaking “tongue in cheek” and was simply saying that all Americans, regardless of party, should celebrate positive news.

 

So Trump was just kidding? Well, fuck him and the weird hair thing that lives on his shit filled head.

 

Here’s what Democrat Senator Tammy Duckworth from Illinois had to say about that.

 

“We don’t live in a dictatorship or monarchy. I swore an oath — in the military and in the Senate — to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap!”

 

“Cadet Bone Spurs”? God, I think I love this woman. 

Duckworth’s nickname for Trump references his claim that he was granted medical deferment during the Vietnam War after bone spurs in his feet were diagnosed.

 

Duckworth, who lost her legs in 2004 while serving in Iraq as an Army helicopter pilot, has zero chill when it comes to Trump’s inane conduct and more power to her.

 

In addition, Sen. Duckworth had this to say: “Thankfully, there are better quotes from better Republican Presidents. Here’s one from Theodore Roosevelt—a Republican who earned the applause he received—that Trump might want to consider.

 

Theodore Roosevelt wrote this during World War I: “To announce that there must be no criticism of the president or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

 

OK, we need a time go back in time to bring Theodore Roosevelt to the present where he can kick Trump’s ass and the collective ass of the capitulating Republicans who enable him. 

 

In a Senate floor speech last month, Duckworth called Trump a “five-deferment draft dodger” who had no business accusing Democrats — like herself — of not caring for the military. “Does he even know that there are service members who are in harm’s way right now, watching him, looking for their commander in chief to show leadership, rather than to try to deflect blame?”

 

The speech was prompted by a tweet in which Trump accused Democrats of “holding our Military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration.”

 

The junior senator also accused Trump of trying to bait North Korea into a war by escalating his rhetoric against Kim Jong Un.

 

“I have a message for ‘Cadet Bone Spurs: If you cared about our military, you’d stop baiting Kim Jong Un into a war that could put 85,000 American troops, and millions of innocent civilians, in danger.”

 

God, I think I love this woman. 

 

Tammy Duckworth from Illinois, you are totally fucking awesome!

 

This (Non) Sporting Life: My Super Bowl Post

welcome to an installment of This (Non) Sporting Life, a sports themed post by a guy who doesn't know much about sports. Today's topic: the Super Bowl  

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles for winning the Super Bowl in what was a really good game with the New England Patriots. I don’t know a lot about football, but it seemed to me there were two well matched team out there that played a competitive game for four innings quarters. 

 

The halftime show was a bit of a bust. Sorry, Justin Timberlake but there was something a bit rote and soulless about this performance. Even the tribute to Prince was lacking in energy and genuine emotion which is not something anyone should say when evoking His Purple Royal Highness. One problem for JT he kept getting lost in the crowd on his own stage. Apparently he'd going for a muted palette for his outfit in keeping with the theme of his new "Man of the Woods" album (which is not getting good reviews.) I think JT is in need for an SNL spot to get some juice back

 

The ads were pretty cool. I think my favorite was the one for Rocket Mortgage where Keegan Michael Key keeps popping up to explain things. But a close second were the Tide ads where you think it’s add about one thing or another then David Harbour (Stranger Things) pops up and oh yeah, you’re in a Tide ad. The Doritos spot with Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) was funky and frightening. I was scared he was going to burn right through the TV screen.

We got to see a spot for Avengers: Infinity War and <insert fanboy squee!>! I have to say the most epic movie ad I saw during the Super Bowl was for Skyscraper with Dwayne Johnson. Think Die Hard but in an even TALLER building. AND with Dwayne Johnson. 

Anyway, congrats to the Philadelphia Eagles! Fine job, guys! And to the fans in Philadelphia, please don't be total dicks about it, OK? 

What's New With Doctor Who?

Haven't written a lot about Doctor Who lately because there's not been a lot to write about. The new regime under Chris Chibnall seems to be keeping a solid lid on things as production proceeds on Series 11. 

Here are a couple of pics of Jodie Whitaker as the Doctor still in the 12th Doctor's suit. One can presume these are from her first episode.  

The cast and crew have been in Cape Town, South Africa shooting an episode where the Doctor visits America in the 1930s. Here's a pic with Jodie in her costume.

I'm still not sure how I feel about this. Perhaps once I see it in action, the Doctor dashing about pointing her sonic screwdriver at things, maybe I'll come around.  

Meanwhile, I've got a couple of fan fictions rattling around in my head that I would like to get out and written.

That's it for today's post. Until next time, remember to be good to one another.  

This Memo Thing

So does anybody understand this memo thing going on in Washington DC?

 

Does anyone outside of Washington DC even care about this memo thing?

 

OK, here’s the thing: this guy in Congress, Devin Nunes, is on an intelligence committee which is looking into the whole Russia mess (which is its own whole other thing). This committee gets a bunch of information and shit so Nunes writes a book report on it.

OK, he didn’t write it, he got the nerdy kids in office to write it. Nunes and the nerdy kids in his office are all Republicans who are trying to help out their good buddy, Li’l Donnie Trump.

 

So this book report…or memo basically comes to the conclusion that the FBI’s whole investigation in predicated on discredited information and they should leave poor ol’ Donnie alone!

 

The “discredited information” is something called the Steele dossier where this British spy dude named Steele was checking out for any funky shit going down between Trump and the Russians.  Steele’s whole thing was started up and paid for by Republicans during the primaries in 2016 because, damn it, that damn moron Trump keeps winning primaries. Once Trump gets the delegates to score the Republican Party nomination for president, the Republicans dropped the deal.

 

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” said the Democrats as Steele started to put his dossier stuff in a trash can. “Don’t throw that out! We wanna look at it.” So now the Democrats are paying Steele. 

 

In Nunes memo, he only cites Democrats as funding the dossier. Guess which side this is taking?

 

Anyway, the FBI gets a hold of the dossier and they take a look.

 

“Holy shit! Trump had who pee on what?!” 

 

It seems Steele’s report had some good stuff but a lot of other stuff that could not be or had not been proven. So the FBI steps back from the dossier. “No, man. We’re good.” 

 

Nunes in his memo asserts the FBI used the Steele dossier to get a warrant to tap the phone of  Carter Page in 2016.

 

Who the fuck is Carter Page?!

 

Carter Page is yet another Trump guy with suspicious ties to the Russians.

 

I’m wondering, was there anybody in Trump’s circle that did NOT have suspicious ties to the Russians? 

 

Anyway, Carter Page was on the FBI’s radar for years. The FBI knew that Page was up to some bad shit with the Russians way before Steele ever came along.  But they had to prove it! So they got a warrant to spy on Carter Page.

 

There’s some hoops the FBI has to jump through to get the OK to spy on a U.S. citizen. Lots of different people have to sign off on saying, “OK, go spy on somebody.”  And among the people who sign off on the order to OK spying on Carter Page are people who are or were investigating Trump’s involvement with the Russians.

 

Devin Nunes stabs the air with a pale crooked finger and shouts, “A-HA! I’ve got them!” 

 

Ipso facto! And Shazam! The FBI is in league with the Democrats to bring down Li’l Donnie Trump! 

 

OK, this is the moment when Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote would show up to tell Nunes to sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up.  Those dots only connect if you’re a paranoid shit for brains.

 

All right, all of this is a broad simplification of the matter but the basic through line holds: the Nunes memo picked certain elements of the intelligence his committee received which supported a narrative that the FBI is out to get Donald Trump for the benefit of the Democrats. Nunes is accusing a historically non-partisan agency of acting for partisan gain.

 

Fuck you, Devin Nunes! The FBI is after the truth about Russian meddling in our election and if Trump is at the center of it, it’s his own damn fault for hanging out with so many idiots with suspicious ties to the fucking Russians! 

All you did with your little "memo" is create an environment of confusion and distrust, using facts you were trusted with to fashion on your preferred fiction. 

Damn.

OK, I'm done. Laters!

Banana Post!

Hello! 

I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You is proud....

...and I mean PROUD!!!

to present the...

BANANA POST! 

And NOW...

...

...

...

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the banana. 

This has been your I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You...

Thank you! 

Bendis, Superman and Other Things

Hi there!

 

A quick check in. I’m doing OK.  My stomach starting doing a lot better when I backed off stuff that was breaded, fried and/or cheese infused.

 

I no longer have a CPAP machine. To be honest, I fought and protested having that damn thing for 3 months. I never did learn to sleep with it. I was required to use the machine on average 4 hours a day over a 90 day period. If I didn’t make that, my insurance would stop paying for it. At best, I may have gotten up to three hours one day; I did a lot of Netflix bingeing so that was plus side to having the CPAP machine, having a an excuse to sit and watch lots of TV. The 4 hour average did not mandate that I had to be asleep.  Personally, I think this whole thing was a scam. And if I die in my sleep due to sleep apnea, well,  guess that makes me a sucker.

 

Speaking of Netflix, I’ve fallen behind on my re-watch of Arrested Development and Episodes. I’m thinking I may want to watch Jessica Jones before the 2^nd season drops.  Andrea watched season 1 because David Tennant.

 

Speaking of Jessica Jones, her creator, Brian Michael Bendis has revealed his post-Marvel plans with DC Comics. He will be writing 2 Superman books. Following his short story in Action Comoics#1000, Bendis will write a 6 issue weekly series, Man of Steel (just like John Byrne did when he left Marvel the first time). After that, Superman will get a new #1 while Action will pick up with issue #1001. Bendis seems to have a deep passion for Superman but I’m a bit concerned over his specific plans No details except there is something big going to radically change Superman’s life.  Uh oh. 

 

Also in the world of comics, Scott Snyder’s taking on the Justice League. Snyder’s run on Batman was outstanding. His Dark Knights: Metal has been almost too trippy. Lots of tricks with what is real or not real. It’s the kind of dense read that I like out of my comics but I admit that I’m not always clear on what’s going on. I love a good re-read but not if I have to go back again to take notes. Anyway, I think Snyder on Justice League is more of a positive than not so I may have to put Justice League back on my pull list.

 

OK, enough about comics. Any real world stuff to talk about? What was my take on Trump’s State of the Union speech?

 

Well, Li’l Donnie put on his big boy pants, stood in one place (which was must be hard to do what with the “bone spurs”) and read what he was told to read. Yes, there were outright lies, exaggerations and despites calls for unity, continued appeasement to his base. But for some reason, I’m not as angry about it as I’m usually about Trump’s bullshit. Trump is spurring me less towards anger and more towards depression. So Trump lied about something? Big deal. Wait five minutes, he’ll have another one. Who really cares.

 

Meanwhile, Republicans are tripping over themselves to discredit or undermine Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Why? Because Trump doesn’t like it; it makes him look bad. He SAID there was no collusion and that should be good enough.

 

Meanwhile, Democrats are tripping over themselves to discredit or undermine Republican efforts to discredit or undermine Robert Mueller’s investigation. Democrats are on their knees sobbing, “No! Don’t stop Mueller! We’re so close! SO! CLOSE!”  

 

Frankly, at this point, it’s hard to care.  I’m more concerned about what Brian Michael Bendis might do to Superman.