07:58 – Happy Birthday to me. I turn 61 today.
Barbara mentioned last night that it’d be a good idea to stay away from the Wake Forest University area until Angelou’s funeral is over with. I suggested this morning that Barbara take an alternate route to work rather than attempting Reynolda Road, which passes the main WFU entrance. Apparently, WFU will be closed to the public tomorrow for the funeral. It’s likely to be a real media circus, with Oprah Winfrey and Obama’s wife speaking, which of course means the SS will also be out in force. It’s also possible the Westboro Baptist Church nutters will show up to protest because Angelou was a vocal supporter of gay rights. That, of course, means we’ll also have a large group of bikers out to protect the family from the WBC nutters.
HB Bob. At 61 you still have a long way to go.
And don’t you know MA was a saint? If not well you’re just a….. well you know.
Sure it’s just my white privilege showing but all I ever heard from her was blah, blah, blah.
This funeral appears to be another Witch Doctor – Tribal Chief conspiracy.
I have no opinion on Maya Angelou. I’ve never read any of her stuff.
I’d never heard of her. Did she invent something useful? I admit I’d like to see a pitched battle between the WBC folks and a few hundred Hells Angels… 🙂
Happy 75[8]th birthday, ya old fart.
As my 6 year old daughter would say…
Happy birthday to you,
You’re one hundred and two
You look like a monkey,
And you smell like one too.
Happy birthday, Bob. May the kit sales continue to grow, well into your dotage. 😛
RBT wrote:
I have no opinion on Maya Angelou. I’ve never read any of her stuff.
Same here, until I read of her death, and I went to Amazon to buy I know why the caged bird sings. A beautiful book, semi-autobiographical. Not to everyone’s taste, to be sure, but I loved it. Give it a try.
I’ve read some of her stuff and it’s rubbish. She was basically a hustler who parlayed her sordid life story into piles of money and attention at just the right time when academia and media were giddily infatuated with ‘race, class and gender’ as a means of evaluating literature and the rest of the world. Her ‘professor’ job at Wake Forest? When you called the office number it came back to a janitor’s closet; a typical no-show academic sinecure for a pet celebrity. No surprise that the recently race-baiting billionaire Winfrey, who made her billions mostly off white women, and the Mooch are down there milking this for all it’s worth.
Happy B-Day, Bob; you’re six weeks older than me!
I pretty much loathe modern poetry (WS Merwin excepted), but either a title or line from one of MA’s poems sticks out, “When I am old I will wear purple”. I just like that line.
Hey OFD, you called it. I thought you were a little over the top with the Mooch running for Prez but it looks like the setup is starting:
http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Speculation-Builds-on-Michelle-Obama-Senate-Run-262032821.html
Of course, there will be a universal acclaim (except for Lanny Davis) at the 2016 Democrat convention that they must run the Mooch for the good of the country. Do it for the children!
“Warning” (“When I am old I will wear purple”) is a great poem but it’s by the English poet Jenny Joseph.
Happy B’Day Mr. Bob.
A truly slimy article by The New York Slimes on Bergdahl. What a piece of shit rag.
This duck-and-cover response is the result of the outrageous demonization of Sergeant Bergdahl in the absence of actual facts. Republican operatives have arranged for soldiers in his unit to tell reporters that he was a deserter who cost the lives of several soldiers searching for him. In fact, a review of casualty reports by Charlie Savage and Andrew Lehren of The Times showed there is no clear link between any military deaths and the search.
Oh, the face recognition alone could sink that other guy out there right away; like I said before, if she wants it she can have it. They have the demographics now to do that. The Repub half of the War Party can only sit and moan and have no one to blame but themselves, those, that is, who actually believe they’re a valid political entity that ever has a real chance at anything.
They could put her in that slot and then some sort of ‘national security’ crisis can be ginned up to give Barry a third term, like his hero, Pharaoh Roosevelt II, and once that’s over, they’ll just move her into the job. And there is nothing anyone can do about it, nothing. Right-wingers will scream bloody murder here and on FaceCrack and other media to zero avail. Even lefties will be upset, but tough shit. Let it rip.
This can only serve to accelerate the coming necessary re-format and reboot.
Dave, what about the 22nd Amendment?
Mr. Atoz,
I especially love the article that the Republicans planted about two years ago in Rolling Stone about Bowe Bergdahl.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/americas-last-prisoner-of-war-20120607
That Amendment could get repealed:
“According to historian Glenn W. LaFantasie (who was opposed to repealing the amendment) of Western Kentucky University, “ever since 1985, when Ronald Reagan was serving in his second term as president, there have been repeated attempts to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which limits each president to two terms.”[4] In addition, several Democratic congressmen, including Rep. Barney Frank, Rep. José Serrano,[5] Rep. Howard Berman, and Sen. Harry Reid,[6]”
All Dems, I hereby point out.
And it’s pretty clear from that RS story two years ago that Bergdahl was always a strange agent with many odd things going on in his head. He’d be a primo candidate for psywar and dope modifications.
In any case, Bob’s suggestion still stands for me as the ideal fair exchange.
like a good malt
age brings out the best
Have a great day and many more to
HB, RBT!
RBT, it’s a testament to your frequent use of non-decimal numbers for ages that it took me three tries to figure your age: 61(hex)=97(decimal) – no, that can’t be it, he’s about ten years older than I. 61(octal)=49(decimal) – no, that can’t be it, he’s about ten years older than I. Oh, right, 61(decimal) is, in fact, ten years older than I.
Regardless, happy whatever-th birthday.
“Where are we now, June 6, 2014?”:
http://thediplomad.blogspot.com/2014/06/compare-and-contrast-june-6-1944-and.html
Happy 61st (decimal) birthday. Wow, just seven years and three weeks ahead of me. 61 does not sound old at all to me.
All good points in that article/blog about the 1944/2014 comparisons; however, it did not get said by anybody, so far as I looked through most, if not all, of the comments, that we had no business in that war, either, or the Great War. We can wax sentimental and weep copious tears for the Good War and the Greatest Generation until the cows come home, but the fact remains we were suckered into it by Roosevelt and the Brits. And after those beaches, too many of the Greatest Generation went on to pillage and rape throughout Normandy, which has only recently had more light shed on it.
Check out Pat Buchanan’s book on “the unnecessary war,” and the late Paul Fussell’s “Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War.”
We’re also not taught in school the level of the effort and contributions by the Red Army to defeat the Germans in Europe, nor are we taught that the Nazi atrocities pale beside those of the Lenin-Stalin regimes.
I do not know if USA involvement in WWII was unnecessary. Certainly, all of Europe including Britain would have been under German control by 1945. The big question is whether or not the Soviet Union would have also fallen if the Lend-Lease program had never been activated. Probably would have fallen.
The world would certainly look different today. Plus, we probably would have fought Japan no matter what. Pearl Harbor was too big a hit to dismiss.
Yes, WWII was caused by the war reparations of WWI. And many, many other mistakes. What is the definition of war but the last stage of diplomacy?
Here is your Buchanan book:
http://www.amazon.com/Churchill-Hitler-The-Unnecessary-War/dp/0307405168/
Looks … verbose.
BTW, if the USA separates into a continent of many little nation states, expect wars, a lot of them. The nature of leaders is to disagree and then solve those issues with rifles and bayonets. Nukes in the Cumberland Gap, shudder!
I’ve read Buchanan’s books, all of them; most of them outstanding, too; met him and his wife and brother some years ago during the campaigns in the great Granite State next door.
Hitler and his generals and admirals did not want to fight or invade Great Britain. A settlement could have been reached, in both wars, actually. And good riddance to the Soviet Union, too; oh how much human misery could have been spared us.
And we needn’t have fought Japan, either; Roosevelt and his cronies, with major assists from Britain and the Soviets, kept poking a sharp stick in their eyes until they were desperate and launched their attacks, a fine job of it, too, by their general, who we all know told his bosses that it was a big mistake.
Hopefully the U.S. can more or less peacefully break up into a loose confederation of regions, based somewhat on Joel Garreau’s “Nine Nations of North America.” I would expect most of the violence to occur during initial stages as Leviathan is writhing in its death throes, and in the major cities, which will become death traps for most. We’ll have to figure out what to do with the nukes, just as the Russians have had to figure it out, and also how to safely shut down the remaining reactors, since we’re clearly never going to move in the direction of nuclear power that we should already be doing.
I plan on adding to our long and short emergency supplies a decent Geiger counter.
And we needn’t have fought Japan, either; Roosevelt and his cronies, with major assists from Britain and the Soviets, kept poking a sharp stick in their eyes until they were desperate and launched their attacks, a fine job of it, too, by their general, who we all know told his bosses that it was a big mistake.
Gotta disagree with you here. Just because somebody antagonizes you does not justify attacking them and killing thousands of their citizens. The USA was poking Japan in the 1930s (actually withholding scrap metal and other things) because Japan had invaded China and Indonesia. It was our typical heavy handed nonsense that the USA is famous for and almost never meets our goals but does upset everyone in sight. We are poking the Russians right now and I suspect that will not go well either.
And yes, it was a highly effective attack, projecting themselves 5,000 miles in 1941 with 500??? planes was a major feat.
And Britain was winding down the infamous British empire and the Soviets, well, they have had many wars with the Japanese over those northern islands for the last 200+ years.
Split Texas in three parts and join the gulf coast with San Diego! So not gonna happen! We may hate each other when the legislature gets together but we are united otherwise. Somebody has got to keep the Union moving along.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Nations_of_North_America
Did you see that Texas gets to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 39% by 2030 instead of the nation’s 30% average? I figure that all 24 of our coal and lignite power plants in Texas are toast. That is our reward for boosting the economy of the USA so much in the last couple of years. We are back up to 3 million barrels of oil per day and appear to be headed to 7 million barrels of oil per day in the next 4 or 5 years.
I’m surprised that Texas hasn’t already split into five states, as they reserved the right to do when admitted to the US. They could have North, East, South, West, and Central Texas, and have 10 US senators instead of just two.
Of course, any state could do that with approval of the US Congress. Assuming the Republicans end up holding both houses after this coming election, I suppose it’s possible that Texas could do just that.
I once held out hope for Texas leading the secession, but too many damn progressives have moved in. Dallas is almost indistinguishable from an East coast city, Austin has turned into a mini-California. Add in our homegrown USA-rah-rah types. Lynn can correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t see any chance…
I love how Las Vegas is in “The Empty Quarter.” How appropriate. I’ll run for Gov of Emptiness! Gambling, liquor and prostitution will be my platform. What else do we have. Oh, yeah, that big ole dam is worth sumpin.
“Warning” (“When I am old I will wear purple”) is a great poem but it’s by the English poet Jenny Joseph.
Ohhh, I didn’t know that. Thanks for the correction, Keith.
I’m surprised that Texas hasn’t already split into five states, as they reserved the right to do when admitted to the US. They could have North, East, South, West, and Central Texas, and have 10 US senators instead of just two.
Nope, we lost that ability when we seceded with the rest of the South in War of Northern Aggression. We got an entirely new state constitution written by the carpetbaggers after the war.
I think that we have the distinction of having the most amended state constitution in the Union. 483 amendments to date. We typically have 6 to 10 amendments per state election of all sorts of petty little things.
I once held out hope for Texas leading the secession, but too many damn progressives have moved in. Dallas is almost indistinguishable from an East coast city, Austin has turned into a mini-California. Add in our homegrown USA-rah-rah types. Lynn can correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t see any chance…
No argument here. Too many people sucking on the federal teat. And Austin is just as crowded as California nowadays.
I used to see a lot of little Beemers zooming around the place with California license plates as the smart ones are quickly moving here. They’ve all changed their plates now so you have to watch them driving like a maniac to see if they came from Callie.
They’ve all changed their plates
They changed their plates to avoid paying CA state income taxes. In order to get out from under the thumb of the CA tax machine you have to change everything to another state. Voter registration, vehicle registration, auto license, drivers license and insurance. Any part of that information that still remains with a CA address will get you a nasty letter from CA if you do not pay the income taxes.
Of course there is also that really nasty practice that CA uses to determine registration costs of a vehicle. They use the value of the vehicle which can result in substantial registration fees. I personally like TN where it is $24.00 a year regardless of the cost of the vehicle.
I got slammed for taxes when I was in the military because I failed to change a drivers license which was still listed in another state. A really nasty tax bill, penalties and all along with a nasty letter.
Rest assured these tax “loopholes” will be rendered null and void soon; they’ll set it up so you can never escape endless confiscatory and punitive taxes no matter where you live in the world, let alone just the U.S. The tax vampires will keep bleeding us until we’re bled out. Count on it.
BTW, if the USA is split into 9 parts, or 15 parts or 7 parts, the problems are not over. In fact, things will be worse as people come to collect their money (USA tbills). With no standing army to protect the coasts, we will be back to using the world’s biggest moats (the Atlantic and Pacific) for protection. I can bet you that many countries, including our current “friends”, will come here to collect the spoils and anything else they can find. It is a rough world out there and the weak get their lunch money taken away every day!
Ray wrote:
“They use the value of the vehicle which can result in substantial registration fees. I personally like TN where it is $24.00 a year regardless of the cost of the vehicle.”
Oh man, can I register my car in Tenn? I’m expecting to pay around $600 this year.
Of course there is also that really nasty practice that CA uses to determine registration costs of a vehicle. They use the value of the vehicle which can result in substantial registration fees. I personally like TN where it is $24.00 a year regardless of the cost of the vehicle.
Texas is about $65 to $80, based on the age of the car. Of course, our newest vehicle is my 2005 Expedition so the newest cars may be a bit higher.
I am not sure how TN makes any money from $24/year. I suspect the embedded expenses are that much, if not more.
It’s around the $600 range here in Vermont, too. Outrageous. Taxes, fees, forever and ever, world without end, Amen. They’re gonna bleed us dry and kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. But they’ll have theirs and probably enough for succeeding generations, providing they don’t mind living in gated and alarmed fortresses surrounded by legions of guards. Even that won’t save them; there are enough people out here with military and cop training who will be tough enough and clever enough to take them out and grab everything they own, one way or another.
As was just said, the weak get their lunch taken every day.
But we’ll have a standing army and police forces for quite a while yet, and those oceans do, in fact, make dandy moats. As usual they’ll be swarming from the south, and our states in the Southwest will become de facto Aztlan, with the exception of those gated fortresses in the big cities. Habla Espanol, Senor?