Sigh...

I don't know about any of you, but it gets exhausting, after a while, looking around at where society has gotten itself, and then, again, choosing the path of keeping your yap shut and NOT screaming into the wind, "I FUCKING TOLD THE FUCK OUT OF YOU FUCKERS FUCKING YEARS AGO! AND NOW WE ARE FUCKING FUCKED! YOU ARE FUCKING WELCOME!"

The bullies pushed too hard.

Bullies, and bullying, come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, color, and gender. Bullying exists in a variety of forms across the spectrum of patho-psychology, from the largest DSM-V-identified conditions and diseases, to the smallest of immeasurable slights in the quantum world that is interpersonal experience.

For decades, we have allowed bullying to fester, under the guise of capitalism and competition, and some vaguely-defined notion of American exceptionalism. Somehow, bullying almost always manages to keep itself just BARELY on the side of acceptability and "plausible deniability" (a phrase given to us by the Reagan administration, go figure). A lot of the time, it is assisted by both the knowing and unknowing fellows of the bullied person or persons. Whether the assistance is recognized or not, it is there, and any lack of recognition is, usually (in my opinion) a sort of chosen ignorance.

The little elementary school student who takes cuts in front of his or her disabled classmate, and the fellow two-dozen classmates who stand by, doing nothing. The middle schools girls who loudly titter and audibly badmouth the unpopular girl amongst themselves in gym class. The high school boys who manage to game the system, working together to cheat their way into multi-valedictorianship, leaving three-hundred other students wondering what THEY did wrong in their honest hard work, and the teachers who never seemed to fucking wonder, "why do these five boys continually surpass all others, by such a large degree, and always seem to be in the same class, and in the same work group in each class? I guess we will never know."

The co-worker who is not above stealing another's lunch from the work fridge, and the co-worker who knows, but dares not risk their income by making a stand. Or, the fellow employee who will "forget" to share crucial workplace information.

The person who buys a Hummer because they stand a better chance at survival if they ever cause, er, I mean, GET INTO, an accident. Or, the driver of the Tesla who believes right turns from the left lane are signs of independence and freedom (certainly not gross negligence and ignorance). Or the buyer of the Cybertruck (no explanation required).

Why in the name of your Lord and Savior does American society ALLOW this continual hailstorm of bullying, safe from balance or recompense? Little bullies grow up to be health insurance CEOs, willing to trade a slow death for a few dollars for every life lost. 

Little bullies grow up to be political leaders, aided by their simps who believe that , someday, with enough grit, hard work, and well-placed bullying, they, too, can be the top bully. 

Little bullies become police officers (but, be honest, you always knew that). Just mentioning this because to leave it off would be irresponsible of me.

And, yes, bullies also have kids. But the kids have been molded in an atmosphere of bullying and cruelty (just like dear ma 'n pa), well-positioned to become the next bullying generation, and stand to inherit their bullying parent's millions of dollars in bloody bully money, so fuck off with that spurious argument. Lots of kids are parentless because of some bully, somewhere (health insurance CEOs are MVPs in the bully world), exacting their small or large measure of bullying on an weak and defenseless fellow human, all for the sake of the almighty fucking dollar.

All the while, society shrugs 350 million pairs of shoulders, and sighs that "nothing can be done, because what can *I* do. Nothing has ever been done, isn't BEING done, and why should *I* be the one to do anything? After all, *I* am doing juuuuust fine, right now. Ain't no one coming for ME. No paycheck-to-paycheck, here; I have at least TWO paychecks between myself and living under an overpass on I-75."

America, you fed, diapered, coddled, mollified, passed, hired, promoted, recommended, encouraged, and elected bullies and their bullying. Do not be surprised when the bullied decide they have had enough. And, please, do not fucking claim that anyone rejoicing is celebrating murder.

Because applauding what Luigi Mangione is accused of doing is not "celebrating murder," it is celebrating a long-suppressed American sense of justice, a long-forgotten self-defense of the bullied against the bully. It is a restoration of balance and order. It is a shoring-up of the fundamental tenets of American freedom.

And, I will celebrate that every fucking time it happens. Each time, I honestly sleep better that night.

Some thoughts... On American Revolution.

The only thing that the ruling class understands is force, and a true threat to their comfy lifestyles. Until you slap their nose, they are willing as hell to drop a boulder on your head over a request from you for five cents. After some slapping, they are more than happy to give you a dime.

All else is simply explanation.

Americans have forgotten--FORGOTTEN--how to do "revolution," and it shows.

Mangione showed us the way. Not Chuck, but Luigi: scion of wealth, well-educated, well-read, articulate, a very productive member of society (by today's up-is-down standards, to be sure), and, face it, an attractive young man, but having that one fatal flaw in, and/or for, the rich and powerful: a soul, and the means.

Restoring balance in an off-kilter, capitalist nightmare.

One denial at a time.

He is the Adjuster.

What are YOU?

The Real Question

The question is not, "why was the UHC CEO walking unprotected in the Big Apple," but, "When is the Aetna shareholders meeting?"

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

The only worthwhile policy debate going forward: de-Trumpification.

What is a REAL policy platform you want to see from a Democrat in 2026?

Personally, I don't care a whit for the standard policy debate, anymore. 

There is no sense debating policy when the opposition has weaponized the electoral system, such that the Democrats are unable to advance ANY policies.* 

That is an exercise in futility, akin to yelling into the wind about the guy in front of you who is, himself, PISSING into the wind, instead of pushing him off your desk so you can enjoy the fan again while calling HR.

The only thing I want to know from a candidate is how do we get, and stay, rid of MAGA.

This doesn't mean find them and jail them. Nothing of the sort (unless they are currently on the lamb for some conviction, in the which case, arrest away). I am talking about erecting safeguards where we now demonstrably need them the most.

One question I want answered, is what do you plan to do with obstructionist congressman and senators, like Jim Jordan and that Southern goober Senator who blocked all those military promotions. 

Tangible answers I might accept would be eliminating the filibuster, and/or ending the practice of individual Senators being empowered to block nominations.

I would also accept that the candidate will call for Democrats to start a SERIOUS program, within the party itself, to identify and prejudiciously take down opposition candidates for office who have proven themselves unfit for deliberative democracy. Identifying and pushing for the censuring and expulsion of sitting obstructionists would be a good start, as well.

Moving on, what is a candidate's policy addressing the nation's DEMONSTRABLY low civics IQ, which brought us, more-or-less, directly to this point?**

I would entertain a policy of establishing a strongly-enforced national curriculum of mandated civics lessons, k-12. There should be testing as heavy as there is for math and language, with clear implications for failing school districts that receive federal funding.

I am not at all interested in what laws you WANT to enact, when the very idea of your enacting them is laughable from the get-go.

I want to know how you are going to reset things, cleaning up the MAGA mess, so that the bad faith actors are no longer a concern going forward. 

But, no one wants to have that conversation with me.

-----

*This is a whole other conversation in itself, wherein the Democratic Party has, over the years, allowed the GOP to build itself an artificial majority in government, from the Federal level down to the local level. GOP gerrymandering (ignored or enabled by Democrats), a refusal to address equitable and relatable apportionment (a HUGE topic), late-game voter scrubs, operationally disenfranchising entire constituencies (through inadequate voting equipment or precincts, requiring photo ID, etc.). There is a lot to be said about many things related to this subject.

**I find it inexcusable that adults do not know and understand how their government functions. Voters should not go into the polls thinking, "Biden got rid of Roe, because it happened under him, and he would have to sign off on it as President, right?" Similarly, they should understand the authority and limitations of each level of government. Hell, they should know that there ARE different levels of government, each doing their own unique function in society. Just, don't get me started about how stupid Americans are, regarding civics, and/or how I watched civics education fail while I went through it as a child, seeing the enabling of the very type of jackasses that became our later/current blowhards and bullies like Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Matt Gaetz.

Journamalism: it be dead.

 Journalism is dead. D. E. A. D.

A teen's head and hands were found in a refrigerator in a recently-sold house in Grand Junction, CO. DNA confirmed that the girl, missing since 2005, was the daughter of the home's previous owner.

The girl had never been officially reported as missing.

Do any of the stories I have read even TOUCH on the identity of the previous owner, or their current whereabouts?

Not one. Not a single damned one.

Does any reporter ask the simplest question, "Who were her parents, and what happened to THEM?"

Nope.

Journalism, I repeat, is DEAD. 

There are two deaths in this story, and no one is asking the right questions about either. Like, "how do you discover that the girl was found in a fridge in her parent's former home, and NOT CONNECT THE FUCKING DOTS, and STILL have your job as a journalist?" Or, "does your newspaper have an editor who has been identified as alive in the past year, and, if so, have they been in a coma?"

What brain-dead, dirt-eating mouth breathers are they hiring in news rooms, these days? A girl is found after twenty years, dead, in her parent's home, and you don't ask a SINGLE RELEVANT QUESTION?

Sickening, on multiple levels.

A vote for Trump is a vote for Trump

Turnout is the only thing that matters in this election.

You aren't changing any minds at this stage. All you can do is try to get people to vote. Turnout, not impassioned argument, is what will win the election for Harris. Are you driving people to the polls? Organizing busses? Guiding voters through getting absentee ballots?

No matter how much effort you put into nuanced policy arguments or posting mean-spirited vote-shaming memes (which achieve <checks notes> nothing), if a person doesn't get to their voting location, Harris doesn't get that vote. Period.

So forget convincing people to change their minds. Get similar-minded people to the polls in larger numbers. Anything else is a complete and utter waste of time that only strokes your own ego and delivers Harris a great big goose egg.

If you live in a reliably democratic-leaning district but still want to have a real, meaningful impact on turnout, look into helping with GOTV efforts in less reliably democratic districts. If you can afford it, volunteer in another county or state to get out the vote.

Because arguing over the FACT of a fire achieves nothing if you are standing next to an extinguisher and fail to use it.

Graf Drumpf, approaching the berthing mast here, in Lakehurst, New Jersey...

I am awaiting news on the Harris VP front. For once, in my life, I am not as deeply concerned as I usually am about VP. I think Harris, alone, has momentum enough to flatten Trump. Pessimistic and cynical as I can be, I know when I am feeling optimistic, and my brothers and sisters, I am feeling optimistic.

This feels like a watershed moment. I feel as if the fever is about to break.

And, you know what?

I am going to SO enjoy TF out of watching that flaming, racist/misogynist gasbag of a bitch's bastard go down in ignominious defeat.

And, while I would feel HORRIBLY for almost any other life form in the solar system to have to go through it, and I would shrink from viewing their pain, I would happily binge-watch it on repeat if Trump should be found on camera to have pissed his slacks on Election Night.

I am generally a VERY kind person, but I have an asshole waiver that I personally issued myself years ago, that permits me (without guilt) to watch assholes get theirs, and to feel free to laugh my arse off in a great catharsis at seeing their jolly (to me) misery.