I think some people have the misimpression that treasonous plots that succeed look like some sort of well-oiled machine composed of coldly rational and capable actors.
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) January 14, 2022
I mean, yes, but it’s also important to remember that they were a rogue cell of Confederate intelligence agents, so… https://t.co/A0Kw5QC0n5
— Peter Wolf (@peterawolf) January 14, 2022
They had been plotting to kidnap Lincoln! For a while! Laying the groundwork and everything with the help of other Confederate agents in D.C. and Virginia and Maryland.
Was not a huge leap from “stalk and kidnap Lincoln” to “murder Lincoln.”
— Peter Wolf (@peterawolf) January 14, 2022
Perhaps related: Teach the controversy!
So I was approached by Fox Nation to appear on a program exploring the “theory” that #JohnSurratt was the one who actually killed Lincoln and not #JohnWilkesBooth?!? Here’s the reply I sent back. pic.twitter.com/8Dic8DIxZ7
— Dave Taylor (@LinConspirators) January 13, 2022
All the ‘classic’ assassination conspiracy theories, resurfacing like scum in a backed-up sink…
Instead of assassination conspiracy theories, it would probably be more helpful to talk about how a largely apolitical two-bit lowlife became enraptured by George Wallace and the promises of white supremacy.
— Let's not, Brandon (@agraybee) January 14, 2022
laura
Had Lincoln not been assassinated at Ford’s Theatre – or kidnapped, he would likely go on to debate Fredrick Douglas.
trollhattan
Something I learned in “Grant” by Chernow was that Booth was probably stalking the general, to the point of riding a horse alongside Grant’s carriage and peering at the passengers before riding away.
And had Grant’s wife not so disliked Mary Todd Lincoln, they would likely have been in the theater box with the president.
trollhattan
@laura: I hear they’re talking more all the time.
germy
HumboldtBlue
If any of you far more learned folks than me would like to help me out in convincing my adult nephew to get vaxxed and boosted please let me know. I could really use someone with a lot more knowledge on what we’re experiencing in an effort to get him vaxxed and boosted.
Humboldtblue65 at gmail dot com
germy
@HumboldtBlue:
Maybe send him this link?
https://www.sorryantivaxxer.com/
NotMax
Brutus was out picking up an order at Starbvck’s on March 15, also too.
;)
Ohio Mom
Don’t forget that group of big shot businessmen who wanted to overthrow FDR but asked the wrong military guy to help them — Smedly Butler (did I spell his name correctly)?
My memory is hazy on the details, too lazy to google at the moment but I always thought that name, Smedly Butler, was out of a children’s chapter book. That’s why I still remember it.
For some reason, I am thinking of a story that Erica Jong told about her childhood. She was horrified when she learned about the Nazis but her mother assured her that was long, long ago and things like that didn’t happen anymore. Then she grew up and realized “long, long ago” was when she was born.
trollhattan
@germy:
Sounds fun. Like the Red Cross using mosquitoes for blood drives.
germy
@trollhattan:
I wonder what Rand Paul is thinking:
“Hey! They arrested a friend of my dad!”
HumboldtBlue
@germy:
Thanks, but that’s not what I’m looking for, he think because he recovered he’s good despite catching covid again. His critical thinking is shit and his army of strawmen is strong.
Baud
@HumboldtBlue: do you have a will you can cut him out of?
HumboldtBlue
@Ohio Mom:
That’s him, Smedley Butler is a two-time Medal of Honor recipient and is best known for “War is a racket”.
Ruckus
@HumboldtBlue:
I have no answer for you, just a question you won’t like.
If he’s an adult who won’t get vaxed after all that’s gone on over the last 2 years, and has been thoroughly proven, what could you possibly say to change his mind?
I doubt logic would work, otherwise you’d have the answer, as most of us would. He’s a grown ass adult so would threats work, I doubt it. Possibly explaining that he could kill someone close to him, murder by pandemic might work. But really if he is an adult and can’t see the rational behind vaccinations, after he’s had a bunch of them growing up, I don’t see any logical way to convince him, appealing to his instincts of preservation of others around him is all you’ve got. Maybe finding someone with polio might work, because anyone who caught it before the vaccines existed, if they are still alive can show the effects of living through a disease that vaccines have for the most part wiped out in the vast majority of the world. I grew up with 3 victims, have a 4th as a neighbor. Two of the 3 had polio in the upper body and had iron lungs in their houses and I imagine that they are dead now, because the last surviver that had needed an iron lung died some time ago. I don’t know about the other I grew up with but my neighbor has been in a wheel chair for the last 30 yrs. She had about 20 yrs of a normalish life, married, kids, now has a 5 yr old great grandson. I often push her around the complex we live in, she’s a hoot.
NotMax
Holy holey, Batman, nobody celebrating National Bagel Day?
;)
Ohio Mom
@HumboldtBlue: Have you tried bribing him with money? That’s the first thing that occurs to me.
I read in another thread that he’s your dead brother’s son and you and your sibs continue to look after him. You are all good people is all I can say. Maybe he doesn’t realize what he means to you all.
Maybe for no other reason, he should do it for you. People do all kinds of things they are not crazy about doing for their loved ones.
trollhattan
@NotMax: No wonder everybody was stressing over the schmear shortage!
HumboldtBlue
@Ruckus: @Baud:
He’s worried about ostracization — he won’t be cutoff from contact he’ll just have to sit outside and masked if he wants to visit anyone — and he’s arrived where he is through emotion not logic, so yes it’s near impossible to reason one from a place they reached without reason but we gotta try.
Of course, there are family dynamics at play as well, but none insurmountable or particularly vexatious.
Hungry Joe
The GOP’s decision to require its presidential candidates to refuse to debate the Democratic candidate is pretty savvy. When was the last time (according to polls) a GOP candidate “won” a debate? Obama faltered in the second of three, but as I remember it the consensus was that it was about a draw. In all the others, going back to 2000 at least, the GOP candidate has gotten shellacked, pantsed, lunched (to revive an OLD high school expression). They can slough off any criticism by claiming — as they already are — that the debates are unfair because they’re run, then assessed, by the liberal media.
In short, there’s nothing in it for them. Their guy always get hurt. So, bailing is a savvy move.
NotMax
@trollhattan
Yup, lotta folks cheesed off.
“Let them eat hummus.”
;)
HumboldtBlue
@Ohio Mom:
Sab mentioned money last night and hell, maybe it’s worth a shot.
By the way, you’re the deejay at Goku’s strip club.
Percysowner
@HumboldtBlue: A couple of pieces I have seen. They seem to have some good ideas.
What to Do When You and Your Family Fight About COVID-19 Vaccines
How to convince someone to get the vaccine
I have also heard that getting someone to talk to their medical provider can help.
I have not had to use any technique because my family and their family are all rational, vaccinated and boosted out the wazoo. Having multiple at risk people has kept them on their toes.
SpaceUnit
@HumboldtBlue:
Maybe this:
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/oh-my-fucking-god-get-the-fucking-vaccine-already-you-fucking-fucks
Another Scott
For anyone who needs reminders that Virginia’s new governor is not a “moderate” or “centrist”, he’s jumped right in to show that he’s not.
Similarly with the new Virginia AG:
It’s going to be a long 4 years. We have to fight them every single day.
Grrr…,
Scott.
smith
@HumboldtBlue: Didn’t Mary G convince the teenager who lives with her to get vaxxed by telling him he’d have to move out to the garage if he continued to refuse? If nephew is worried about having to sit outside, then maybe he’s telling you that that’s the incentive that will work.
NotMax
@HumboldtBlue
“Hello-o-o, nurse!”
(Will it it be called The
Boom BoomDoom Doom Room?):)
laura
@trollhattan: back pat’s to you on your Dading today telling your treasure that today is not a Santa Cruz day. Good job, well done.
HumboldtBlue
@Percysowner:
Thanks for the links, and he’s the lone outlier and that can be somewhat understood, he’s alone and separated from the clusters of family we have across the country.
Betty
@HumboldtBlue: I think any strategy has to depend to a large degree on the personality. My husband had to get there on his own with lots of periodic urging and presentation of information on how the vaccine works. He expressed fears that it could be harmful, some fed by misguided friends. Does he believe the vaccine is harmful? If not, would he respond to a plea that getting vaccinated would be reassuring to people who love him and worry about him?
HumboldtBlue
@SpaceUnit:
Yeah, that’s a classic, and trust me, I’ve gone there too.
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
Everyone knows Lincoln faked his own death.
Abnormal Hiker
@NotMax: so it was an inspired choice to make a pizza bagel for lunch today
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@NotMax:
Damn. It sneaks up on you every year.
Baud
@Another Scott:
He also had the largest inauguration crowd ever.
NotMax
@Betty
Taking a cue from Biden –
“Do you want to be
Abraham LincolnBarack Obama orJefferson DavisHerman Cain?(I’m sure others will have no trouble finding other names to plug in, as needed.)
Yarrow
@HumboldtBlue: Tell him Covid can make his dick limp. Link.
Geminid
@Another Scott: Virginia Senate Majority Leader Louise Lucas is pushing back hard on the Republicans, and people are spreading the word. I’ve noticed that Democrats like Ragnarok Lobster are retweeting Lucas now, and they are not the only ones.
Ohio Mom
@HumboldtBlue: The DJ at Goku’s strip club? I must have skipped that thread, I can’t keep up with all of them. Thanks for making sure I’m updated.
schrodingers_cat
We have discussions and arguments here between those who say that everything is lost and those who maintain that there is still hope if we fight.
A Twitter mutual expressed it better than I ever have.
He is an Indian Muslim, where right now BJP friendly “holy” men have made calls for Muslim genocide in several north Indian cities.
Mallard Filmore
@HumboldtBlue: I have a not so good suggestion. Praise him for his luck in
RussianRona Roulette.In the USA, more than 1 in 400 have died. Would he gt on a commercial airplane flight if even 1 in 1000 dropped out of the sky?
Also, the ‘Rona is not done with us yet. Ask if he is ready for another spin of the barrel.
Ruckus
@SpaceUnit:
That will easily convince one of us that has been vaccinated but I feel it will likely further alienate anyone who is already resisting.
OTOH it is a fun read, cathartic for those of us that have to exist around someone who isn’t vaccinated, won’t vaccinate. And the author uses the word fuck in a manner that I can respect….
Ohio Mom
@Percysowner: Everyone on both sides of my extended family, Ohio Dad’s too, are vaxxed and boosted, except for the three toddlers/grandchildren, but I wouldn’t call any of these sets of people rational.
If only they were! Their quirks, personality disorders, grudges, little competitive urges, snobberies, blind spots — you get the idea — can be on occasion, endless sources of pain to me.
I’ll give them credit for being solid Democrats (with a married-in exception, another land mine to navigate).
TKH
@HumboldtBlue: If he is numerate, then I can strongly recommend the latest Clinical Update (Episode 853) of This Week in Virology.
It discusses the m
”mildness” of Omikron for the unvaccinated and the odds for the vaccinated vs unvaccinated in the current surge.
trollhattan
@laura: Thank you kindly. They eventually walk through that door but do not switch off the lights on the way out. Once a ‘rent, always a ‘rent. :-)
Geminid
@Geminid: I meant to add Sasha Beauloux to those retweeting Senator Lucas. She lives in Northern Virginia. “Black Professor” (@WonderKing82) is also pitching in. He is a Hampton University grad who now works at a NYC public school.
steppy
@HumboldtBlue: Correct. The Business Plot was a conspiracy to overthrow the Roosevelt presidency and install a dictator. Maj. Gen. Smedley Darlington Butler (from West Chester, PA) was recruited to lead the effort. They chose poorly. The threat is never far from the surface. It depends on patriots like Gen. Butler to keep the faith.
P.S. None of the conspirators was charged with any crimes. This cannot be repeated now.
HumboldtBlue
@Yarrow:
Good one, thanks.
Ohio Mom
@HumboldtBlue: Okay, I caught up on the thread where you made your career suggestion for goku (I participated in the beginning of the thread, then went to sleep before it ended). After the initial hazing, people gave him good and very empathetic advice.
I admit I have a soft spot for the lad. I was sorry when the plans for an all-Ohio meet-up had to be scuttled because of Covid (two years ago!). I was hoping to meet him IRL (along with Sab, debbie and a bunch of other Ohio Juicers). Maybe one day…
SpaceUnit
@Ruckus:
I am actually quite happy to alienate them.
Steeplejack
I don’t know who needs to see this, but . . . Wordle resources!
The original (one a day, posted at midnight EST).
New: A playable archive of all Wordles so far (200+ words).
The ultimate: Unlimited Wordle. (Addiction alert!)
schrodingers_cat
@Steeplejack: I did today’s Wordle in 3 tries! Yesterday it took me all 6. My average is 4 guesses. Thanks for the links.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ohio Mom: Do not ask.
schrodingers_cat
@Ohio Mom:
@HumboldtBlue: Wait whut?
Omnes Omnibus
@Ohio Mom: I am still upset at his casual dismissal of my suggestion.
HumboldtBlue
@schrodingers_cat:
Just some comment silliness from last night.
japa21
@schrodingers_cat: I did in 3 tries as well. An appropriate word for BJ.
Suzanne
@HumboldtBlue:
I see the career counseling took a turn after I went to bed.
Gummy bear update from the last thread: Mr. Suzanne has informed me that the gummy bears from Whole Foods “have the wrong texture” because you can chew through them. This said after making a bunch of noises that might have caused you to believe that I made him eat out of the cat box. I think they are totally adequate. I won’t buy them again, but I also don’t find them bad.
In all seriousness, I don’t know how to convince anyone once they’re dug in on this stuff. It’s become such a tribal marker. One of my clients was saying that her nephews live in South Carolina, and the anti-vax sentiment is so strong that they are vaccinated but won’t tell the school because they know that none of the adults will keep it confidential and it will literally lead to them becoming social outcasts. In cases like this, I resort to incentives. Bribery.
Starfish
@Ohio Mom: Goku is having woes around deciding what to do with life. Goku does not like the path he went to school for. Goku’s current vocation does not pay enough. Balloon Juicers are super helpful ?and suggested goat herding and stripping as possibilities.
HumboldtBlue
@Suzanne:
That may the route to take.
Almost Retired
@Steeplejack: and if you go to settings, Wordle has a “color blind” option. Before discovering this, I couldn’t play. I’m not black-and-white color blind like a dog or a Lucy rerun, but sufficiently impaired that my shirt and tie color choices are more appropriate for a rodeo clown than a court appearance. But now I can lose hours of productive time on Wordle just like my color-abled friends, even if my outfit clashes.
Alison Rose
@NotMax: Hey, hummus on a toasted sesame seed bagel with sliced tomatoes is pretty damn good. I’m a Jew so no one is allowed to question my bagel preferences.
JoyceH
@schrodingers_cat: Today I finally gave in and did a Wordle. Got it in three. And how utterly WHOLESOME of them to only present one word a day! If they allowed people to play word after word in a row, it would be so easy to get stuck in there and never get out.
Chief Oshkosh
@Ohio Mom:
Absolutely everyone is different. Every family is different. BUT, with one of my nephews, my sister-in-law finally just said: “Please just do it for me. For no other reason. I really want you to get it. Just do it for me.”
It worked, oddly enough.
Suzanne
@HumboldtBlue: This probably gives you insight as to how I am as a parent. We’re starting to potty-train Spawn the Youngest. She can have SO MANY M&Ms and ALL THE GOLDFISH if she does what I want.
HumboldtBlue
@Starfish:
well, when you put it that way…
debbie
Why is Fox throwing Surratt under the bus?
debbie
@HumboldtBlue:
Has he given any reason besides recovering from COVID? Maybe sell it to him as insurance or like a seat belt. Just an extra layer of protection. He means too much to his family to be so reckless.
debbie
@NotMax:
I happened to have one this morning! Not an H&H, alas.
Baud
@JoyceH:
Maybe Balloon Juice should allow only one comment per day.
debbie
@Another Scott:
Yeah, but he EO’ed CRT on Day 1. //
Benw
@JoyceH: my whole fam is addicted to Wordle. If you haven’t done the day’s word before the “Did everyone do Wordle?” message hits the fam channel, you gotta get the “NO SPOILERS” reply in FAST.
zhena gogolia
@schrodingers_cat: Good line.
zhena gogolia
@Ohio Mom: I have a soft spot for him too.
zhena gogolia
@debbie: I was wondering that too.
debbie
@Steeplejack:
Suzanne shared Word Master the other night. Endless rounds every day!
HumboldtBlue
@debbie:
That’s been my tack, interspersed with mockery and a bit of annoyance. He owes it to himself and more importantly to others and he struggles with that.
Baud
Just tried wordle. Didn’t get the word. It sucks.
James E Powell
@debbie:
They want John Wilkes Booth to be declared innocent so they can name some schools after him.
The Dangerman
@JoyceH: I did it in 3, too. Does everyone get the same word?
debbie
@JoyceH:
The guy who created the game did it for his daughter and he made it only once a day so she wouldn’t spend all day playing.
Starfish
@The Dangerman: Yes.
Baud
@debbie:
They need to feed the GOP base new realities to question.
debbie
@Chief Oshkosh:
Oh, jeez. Mother guilt. It got me every time.
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us
@Yarrow: Whose the cuck now you RWNJ assholes?
Redshift
@HumboldtBlue: The only thing I can offer is the info from a social psychologist (don’t have a link, sorry) that humans tend to give more weight to the consequences of active decisions (getting vaccinated) than that if things that just happen to us (getting COVID), even if the chances of that happening are strongly altered by active choices.
So maybe do your best to frame not getting vaccinated as an active choice (choosing to put yourself at risk) which has serious consequences (getting COVID, infecting others, being excluded.)
zhena gogolia
I will say that teaching Pushkin is a lot easier now that students know what a cuckold is
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
@James E Powell:
Booth is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more.
Suzanne
@The Dangerman: Yes, everyone gets the same word, and there is only one word per day. Mr. Suzanne and I are very competitive about it.
Redshift
@Baud:
I started off with a streak of nine straight, and only lost it when I got busy at work and missed a day. It’s great.
Cameron
I see that comments are going in a variety of directions, so I might as well add one more. Haven’t been following the news for a few days and decided to catch up – big mistake. What the hell is going on in eastern Europe? Russians toss out demands, US/NATO reply with threats, and Ukrainians are caught in the middle. Does not sound promising.
Baud
@Redshift:
I am dumb.
debbie
@HumboldtBlue:
Honestly, he’s lucky he survived. I’ve seen a number of interviews on local news with survivors of severe cases (“I was coughing up pieces of plexiglass”), and every single one of them regretted not having been vaccinated. Tell your nephew he may not be so lucky the next time and that he’s playing Russian Roulette.
Steeplejack
@Almost Retired:
The link I provided might be in “dark mode,” which is obnoxious. No idea how that happened (if it did).That also can be changed in the settings.
Mike E
@steppy: Behind the Bastards podcast did a good job on the Business Plot, especially setting up Butler’s mindset at the time he was approached.
mrmoshpotato
@debbie:
How the fuck?
mrmoshpotato
@Steeplejack: You know what you did!
Anotherlurker
@Suzanne: Gummie Bears are such a silly thing to argue about.
Twizzlers vs. Red Vines, however, are the hill I choose to die on.
For the record: Twizzlers are the superior confection!
Red Vines taste like they are made from rancid tallow and moldy sawdust. I have it on good authority that Red Vines are the go to confection for anti-vaxers, evangelicals and all trump supporters.
Fight me!
raven
7 degrees in Buffalo!
Suzanne
@Anotherlurker: Oh FUCK. Red Vines are better than Twizzlers. Absolutely no contest.
Mr. Suzanne and I actually discussed this very early in our relationship. Like, by Day 5 or something. I mentioned Twizzlers for some reason, he asserted that Red Vines were much better, and I agreed and said that they are better when they’re a little bit stale. He agreed and looked at me like I had discovered Atlantis or something. Courtship is odd.
Mike E
@raven: I’m thinking the tuck rule isn’t gonna save the Pats today!
Anotherlurker
@Suzanne: LOL! You 2 sound like you have a great relationship. I’m glad there is room for discussion in your marriage.
Here in California I need to buy my Chocolate Twizzlers from Amazon.
Suzanne
@Anotherlurker: Eh, well, we are about to be snowed in for a couple of days, and about an hour ago, he turned to me and said, “I want to do a remix of that Billy Joel song where the ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK part goes on for about half of the song,” so we’ll see how good our relationship is in a couple of days. ?♀️
Chacal Charles Caltrop
@Redshift: a former client had a friend who didn’t want to get vaxxed, back in May, and asked for help. So, in my capacity as the lawyer who’d kept the landlord at bay, I talked to the friend. Turns out he hates needles, so I emphasized how much his family didn’t want him to be sick or miserable & the J&J was just one shot, so he agreed to that.
After one painless experience it’s been all good so he’s been willing to get jabbed again, so he’s boosted now.
For your nephew, I’d find out exactly what he thinks. Whatever his fears are, address them. For instance, if it’s a tribal thing, let him know you’re happy to help arrange for it to happen secretly. If it’s a young immortals thing, stories of long Covid might do the trick. Etc.
West of the Rockies
@Ruckus:
Dumb asses gotta dumb ass.
TriassicSands
Suzanne — two things.
First, you responded to a comment of mine about Sinema yesterday and I hadn’t really given any thought to Sinema pursuing celebrity. I think you could be right. Her narcissism would be better fed by a gig as a celebrity (making millions) than in a position related to politics directly.
Second, there is only one legitimate kind of Gummi Bären — Haribo. I first encountered them in Germany in the 1960s. All others are phony and toxic.
Jay
@Cameron:
Putin held massive “exercises” to pressure Ukraine and NATO over the fall/winter, last year,
but then drew down in December, ( deploying military force in field conditions is expensive and degrades their effectiveness),
Then in January, both Western and Ukraine intel sources leaked/announced that Putin had moved some “little green men” to occupied Ukraine, to create false flag attacks, to provide justification for a more public Russian intervention.
Then today, major Russian cyberattacks on Ukraine infrastructure.
HumboldtBlue
@Chacal Charles Caltrop:
It was actually me asking for help with the nephew and thanks for your suggestions, we’ll work some of those in.
TriassicSands
@Suzanne:
See comment 105. For some reason the link didn’t come through.
Starfish
@Baud: You can try Absurdle. You probably won’t get the word, but it has a “give up” button.
Just One More Canuck
@Suzanne: Will you need bail money?
Anotherlurker
@Suzanne: I’m sure you 2 will triumph.
Ruckus
@HumboldtBlue:
I think that one of the things that doesn’t work for a situation like this is trying to shame someone. A person going against the tide in their life may be someone who has had a lot of doing for others and wants some of the freedom they have always heard about. This country has a habit of telling each other that they either have all the freedom in the world or that they have to obey no matter the cost. Tell him the cost to him for his unwillingness to be part of the team. And tell him in not a commanding way. Sort of like Mary G telling the teen that there are two options, in the house or in the garage. Give him the adult lesson of choice. Just remember that you have to live with his decision.
Ruckus
@West of the Rockies:
This is true. When you boil it down most people are true to who and what they are and very rarely work above their pay grade, and then only because they were shoved into the wrong pay grade early on and believed what they were told.
Ksmiami
@Alison Rose: in true Israeli style… hummus on bagels is completely OG…
HumboldtBlue
Cats, man.
Anyway
@debbie:
I agree. Wordle doesn’t take that long-it’s usually 3-4 tries. WordMaster is the true time suck. Thanks, Suzanne!
Suzanne
@Anyway: Fuck, that WordMaster is responsible for a fair amount of my distraction this week.
Philbert
@Jay: yup. Also some Baltic action, Sweden is reinforcing Gothberg island due to unusual Russian activity.
dopey-o
While waiting for my transplant, i told my RWNJ sibling that if my wife found out he was unvaxxed, our lifelong relationship would be text-only. The Dutch Uncle technique.
Subsole
@Another Scott: Well, at least Mopsy and Flopsy don’t have to experience the unutterable trauma of reading a book written by The Unwhites.
Subsole
@HumboldtBlue:
The what at the who now?
Subsole
@James E Powell:
Mhm. The whitewashing continues.
brantl
@Ohio Mom: Smedley Butler, was approached by Henry Ford, Prescott Bush and others, and reported them to the Roosevelt administration, there were Senate congressional hearings about it and a BBC podcast you can still get.
brantl
@steppy: FDR gave them a choice, get behind the war effort, or get behind bars. They chose the war effort.
brantl
@debbie: Nope, his SO.
brantl
@Suzanne: To tell you the truth, Mr. Suzanne should be your cross-dressing alter ego.