Seems appropriate. She is covering the Biggest Loser.
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec.bsky.social) May 23, 2025 at 1:45 PM
i continue to think that one of the lasting images that will dog this administration for the next four years is likely to come from this parade
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) May 23, 2025 at 3:32 PM
====
we talked about this on a recent NORMAL MEN episode, but keep in mind that planning for the inauguration takes several months, all of this has been extremely rushed and will have predictable consequences
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) May 23, 2025 at 3:50 PM
====
like, i'm sure city planners, the parks department, and the corps of engineers are doing everything they can to avoid disaster, but large-scale event planning like this is very complicated and rushing things means missing things
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) May 23, 2025 at 3:53 PM
=
I really, really don't think they've thought this one through.
A parade in D.C.? Where literally 90% of the city hates your fucking guts?— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) May 23, 2025 at 3:30 PM
====
This has never happened before. MAGA never shows up. Why do you think they had a private swearing in? It's because the crowd was going to be tiny.
There were all the D.C. area "MAGA" parties after Trump got into office and they were tiny and humiliating.— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) May 23, 2025 at 3:42 PM
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they're talking about something like 6K-7K military personnel vs. what could potentially be a quarter million or more protestors
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) May 23, 2025 at 3:33 PM
=====
The protestors will be everywhere but DC. Deliberately not having any there as part of No Kings.
— Sarah Birnbaum (@sarahvb.bsky.social) May 23, 2025 at 3:43 PM
War for Ukraine Day 1,184: Stage 1 of the Thousand for a Thousand Exchange
Manyakitty
I don’t even know what to say anymore. Does it seem like any of the garbage is breaking through to the normies? Polls mean nothing. Vibes? Whatever. Blech.
Baud
Too bad he’s hiding behind the Army’s 250th.
Jeffg166
The NO KINGS people will far out number any MAGAt who shows up.
They will have to bus the MAGAts into DC to create a crowd where the felon can see them.
JoyceH
When you cram the turnout to a Trump rally into the front of a 10000 arena, it can look pretty impressive if you don’t look around the edges. Spread out along a parade route? Gonna be sparse. I do think there will be protesters, not an organized group but handfuls that come out with a homemade sign.
Meanwhile, caught up in the ban on international students at Harvard? The future Queen of Belgium.
lowtechcyclist
I really have no idea who’s planned what for June 14, but you know what would be really cool? A big protest in some other part of DC entirely, well away from Trump’s NK-style parade. Like along the Anacostia waterfront, maybe.
Point being that a protest actually in DC would draw a lot of people from all over, and the news people might actually have to notice it, and notice the difference in crowd sizes.
Spanky
Steny Hoyer’s birthday is June 14 as well. He’ll be 86. I’m sure he loves a parade, but maybe not this one.
Spanky
The Nationals have a home game that day vs. Miami. A 1:05 start.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
It’d be hilarious if the participants showed up falling down drunk and calling themselves the Kegseth brigade. Except for the guys driving the tanks, they should be stone cold sober.
pluky
What are the odds one of the tanks hits a weak spot, and crashes through the roadbed? IIRC, a good chunk of DC is built on reclaimed marshland. Not exactly the most sturdy ground on the planet.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Spanky: I don’t really want to start anything here but exactly how many older than dirt Democrats are left in Congress? Don’t they have hobbies or some other retirement aspirations they want to get to? I mean, I’m retiring as soon as I can afford to, which depending on what happens with SS and Medicare could be never, granted, but I’m hoping no later than 67.
Liminal Owl
@Spanky: So traffic will be interesting. And the magats will use pictures of the traffic streaming in to claim that everyone is there for the parade.
Spanky
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: We had that conversation yesterday. All I’m saying is that folks could be singing “Happy Birthday, Steny” as the tanks roll past. On their way to the ball game.
Liminal Owl
Free reading course, looks interesting :
thebullshitmachines.com/table-of-contents/index.html
Dorothy A. Winsor
Indivisible is planning No Kings protests across the country. It’s probably best to keep away from DC to make the crowd visibly small, but I still wish folks could line up all along the route and shout “Shame.”
ETA: In my fantasy life, the people shouting “Shame” are also ringing handbells like in Game of Thrones.
Spanky
@Liminal Owl: I’m thinking the stadium might actually be empty. And it’s “Pups in the Park” day too. Sad!
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Spanky: I saw the post but didn’t follow the conversation. I’m not in favor of a hard age limit and respect the importance of experience but, I mean, some of these folks really should retire already. My dad is a couple years younger than Hoyer and in great shape for his age both mentally and physically but still, he’s, like, retired. He does a lot of volunteer work including teaching math to immigrant high school students at a city high school. That’s enough for someone that age.
vigilhorn
Will Trump be in uniform with an oversized military cap?
Baud
@Spanky:
They’re playing the Marlins. No one will be in the stadium.
Baud
@vigilhorn:
Special guest: Vladimir Putin.
NotMax
Trying out a new acronym for you know who.
GAZ.
Greatest American Zero.
;)
MagdaInBlack
@vigilhorn: He’s probably having his (fake) gold encrusted, ill-fitting, “Master of All He Surveys” uniform made even as we type.
Princess
If you want an effective protest , you need to be in DC. All the attention will be on DC and if you truly want to be effective, and you’re very brave, you’ll go there. That’s where you’ll leave a huge mark and anything else will be ignored. I understand the safety concerns and no shame on anyone who can’t or won’t go to DC. But you’re nuts if you think a thousand people in Paducah will get any attention at all. It’s a feel-good gesture that is a waste of time. Waste of time is too strong. But you get my drift.
trnc
Any protest along the parade route will be broadcast by the usual suspects as spitting on the military. Better for any protests to be elsewhere and for them to explicitly target Trump with Kim Jong Il references. I also like the idea of having as few people as possible along the parade route, as others have said.
stinger
So they’re “honoring the military” by making them march? That’s like, “Happy birthday, Mom!” when she has to make breakfast and clean up after the party.
artem1s
@MagdaInBlack:
Swear to Jeebus eventually he’s heading right off this cliff.
The Last King of Scotland
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@stinger: Yeah it’s like a couple weeks back when Trump declared VE say a “national holiday” to celebrate American contributions to WWII, but said nobody would get the day off work “because Americans already get too many days off ” Like…how is it a holiday if everyone has to work anyway?
zhena gogolia
@Princess: I kind of agree. It’s like the old joke, “Why is an English horn solo like peeing your pants? It gives you a warm feeling but nobody else cares.”
NotMax
@Princess
Hometown local media market coverage ain’t chopped liver. It seeps, however haltingly, into the consciousness of the community.
lowtechcyclist
@Spanky:
OK, how about the waterfront on the other side of the Anacostia from the stadium? There’s a loooong stretch of park along there.
Or Glover-Archbold Park in NW? Or Fort Circle Park in SE? There are a number of places besides the Mall and its environs that can accommodate a crowd. None of the places I’ve mentioned are anywhere near the Mall, or near any plausible route between the Pentagon and the Mall.
Suzanne
@zhena gogolia: Is that an old joke?! LOL!
Agree with you and @Princess: gotta show up in DC, or else stay away and hope it’s the FFOTUS Fyre Festival!
zhena gogolia
@Suzanne: it’s from an old list of orchestra jokes that got passed around
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
Maybe the protest should be a single dude playing sad trombone.
satby
Interesting take in this article (not all of the Biden stuff, but I otherwise agree with) for consideration:
Princess
@NotMax: I mean, it’s a big country and if people want to protest where they are, go ahead because I don’t think anyone really knows for sure what works and what doesn’t.
Matt McIrvin
@Princess: To the extent that protest demonstrations accomplish anything, in the US, I think that doing it in your hometown has a bigger effect than doing it in DC. There were gigantic protests over the Iraq War in DC that got next to no coverage and had no effect on mindshare. But when they happen locally, it reminds local dissenters that there are people in town who agree with them. That’s a large part of the function.
To me, the main reason to stay away from DC is that it’s, as I’ve mentioned, a federal death zone: we saw from the aftermath of Jan. 6, 2021 that Trump can pardon any crime there. He could promise pardons in advance to anyone who does anything to protesters. Counterprotesters stayed away from DC on Jan. 6 and it was probably the right call, because an escalation of violence was what Trump was counting on to create the chaos he’d have needed to really try to stay in office.
zhena gogolia
@satby: “joe Biden’s ego”? Really?
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
Rex is the hero we need.
Betty Cracker
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I recently learned that Shame Nun in GoT and Ted Lasso’s boss were played by the same actor. Mind. Blown!
Glory b
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: Aboutique the same number as Republicans, who WE DONT SEEM TO BE TALKING ABOUT, just like Jake Tapper & Friends intended.
As they say in my community, don’t start none, won’t be none.
Of you didn’t want to start something, you could have just googled it.
Betty Cracker
@Princess: I respectfully disagree. Hundreds or thousands of protests nationwide might not get as much national media attention, but they’re covered locally, and even people who live in very red areas (like me) see folks in their towns opposing the fascist takeover. That can be a powerful message!
Betty Cracker
@satby: Was also nodding in agreement with most of that analysis. It’s not (or needn’t be) about blaming the party or Biden, imo. It’s about accepting that the political consensus that existed for our parents (and grandparents, if you’re white, and male great grandparents, etc.) is gone.
That’s a big thing, and it’s not surprising that it took a minute to sink in. Now it’s about rebuilding something functional to move forward as a democracy. Or else being engulfed by fascists. That’s the choice.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Glory b: I mean, I think the Republican geezers should get out too but the difference is if that side wants to prop up a bunch of dotards I’m fine with it. I want them to fail. But for the folks in both parties, I just don’t understand what keeps any of these octogenarians coming back. There’s experienced and then there’s “lost my fastball a decade ago” and it’s clear a lot of these geezers are in the latter category so why not bow out? What keeps them thinking they’re irreplaceable or that nobody could do the job as well, or hell why don’t they have any interest in enjoying their golden years with the freedom to do what they want rather than fundraising and campaigning and then legislating in between?
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Princess:
That certainly drives the national mainstream media but get enough turnout in any given decent-sized metro area and it’ll get folks attention *and* get local media coverage.
That local media coverage remains very important despite what “legacy media” critics would have you think.
MagdaInBlack
@Baud: I foresee an incoherent all caps truth social post coming out around 3 am
(I need commas, don’t I, Betty?)
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
It needn’t be but it will be IMHO because people can’t resist it IMHO.
martha
My MIL’s birthday was June 14. She was a tiny Irish woman, hated hated hated Republican politicians of all stripes. She’s one of those people that we are happy is no longer here to witness the degradation of our country. My husband always flew the flag on the 14th (both for flag day and for her) but he’s so torn now. I think, for now, he’s going to fly the Irish flag, in her honor. UGH.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: It’s nauseating. I hate Democrats.
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone😊😊😊
Baud
@rikyrah:
Good morning.
randy khan
@Spanky:
Just changed in the last couple of days from 4:05 to avoid overlap with the timing of the parade.
randy khan
@Liminal Owl:
Nats Park is pretty far away from where the parade will be, so it will be evident that people going there aren’t going to the parade. (Also, it’s not that much traffic by D.C. standards.)
Glory b
@Betty Cracker: I’m reminded of the quote I mentioned before:
Republicans like being Republicans, like other Republicans (at least in public) and like those supporting their party, because they think their right.
Democrats hate being Democrats, hate other Democrats and hate the people supporting the party.
For the potentially persuaded, which group would appeal the most?
Note that Wisconsin swing voters who voted for Biden in 2020 & Trump in 2024 are sticking with Trump. Not one of the participants would change their votes, even today.
Constant infighting, with no resolution in sight, isn’t appealing.
axios.com/2025/05/23/trump-focus-group-wisconsin-swing-voters
Denali5
@artem1s:
The things I learn in this blog! I knew Idi Amin was a depot, but I had no idea how off the wall he was.
Suzanne
@satby: Thx for sharing that piece. I follow Osita Nwanevu on social media and I usually find his takes worthwhile, even if I don’t always align. I am not sure where I stand with this one.
Glory b
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: Seeing that young people are voting more Republican and more are calling themselves conservative, it doesn’t seem to matter, so I suggest we stop getting all exercised about it.
I don’t think it’s as important to the voting public as we think.
Bernie Sanders said in a podcast that Democrats, not Republicans, are the biggest threat to democracy. I’m starting to think he’s right, but not for the reasons he thinks.
Nukular Biskits
@stinger:
This.
sab
@Betty Cracker: I agree. There have been large protests in very red Ohio suburbs. That is shockingly unlikely and they do get noticed. I drove by one outside of Strongsville city hall and it was blocks long. It made the Cleveland evening news on all channels.
gene108
Protesting in D.C. will be very easily depicted as a protest against the U.S. Army on its birthday.
Since there are no military parades that I am aware anywhere else, local protests will be clearly protesting Trump.
Betty Cracker
@Baud: & @Glory b: I suspect y’all are right due to the nature of our coalition, the homogeneity of our opponents’ base and swing voter ignorance and susceptibility to demagoguery. But I don’t think there’s anything we can realistically do about that except adjust and move forward as best we can, debating legitimate concerns amongst ourselves because that’s what citizens in a small-d democracy do, apparently even when their opponents stop doing that. Open to suggestions otherwise!
lowtechcyclist
@Matt McIrvin:
OK, but we’re already doing lots of those. April 19, May 1, upcoming June 6, all local all over the place. I think there’s also times to do big-ass protests in DC.
You really think that if we have a big protest on June 14 at, say, Fort Circle Park on the far side of the Anacostia, that they’re gonna come and crack heads there?
I agree with the logic of staying away from Kim Jong Trump’s parade, but I think this time it would make sense to have a large protest somewhere in DC, but way the fuck away from Dear Leader’s parade.
@Betty Cracker:
Same thing I said to Matt: why not both? We’re doing multlple ‘local everywhere’ protests already.
linnen
@pluky: There a couple of major trunk lines for the DC subway crossing under the path of the parade route.
I would be unsurprised if the Blue and Yellow lines had to be rerouted to go the looong way around that day.
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
You and I don’t matter, except to each other.
Nukular Biskits
WRT to the parade, everyone should be lighting up the phones of their Reps & Senators at least once a week, demanding to know why they support the expenditure of millions of federal dollars for the purpose of boosting Trump’s ego … all at a time when they keep demanding the federal budget for critical programs like Medicaid be cut.
And, since you’ll probably be talking to a staffer, don’t let them attempt to correct you that the parade is to celebrate the Army’s 250th b’day: While there was a celebration planned for the Army, #1, it wasn’t originally this size/scale; and #2, it STILL does not explain how it can be justified in light of Medicaid, etc, cuts.
PJ
GHW Bush’s victory parade in 1991 left tank tracks in Constitution Avenue that cost millions to repair. IIRC, it took months/years for the military to pay DC for them. Given the administration, I imagine this will be a much bigger fiasco that they will refuse to pay for.
Nukular Biskits
@Baud:
You mean the world to me, Baud. ;>)
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Glory b: Bernie is 100% so full of shit on that point it’s hilarious. Seems like another version of blame the Democrats for everything because Republicans have no agency.
Betty Cracker
@lowtechcyclist: Fine with me. I was pushing back on the notion that local protests are pointless, not saying DC area protests shouldn’t happen too.
As things get worse, which I believe they will, lots of us will probably will have to put our bodies on the line in a huge DC protest, and when that day comes, I will do it if I’m able. I also think conditions may get bad enough that a general strike becomes feasible even in this notoriously blinkered country.
Glory b
@Baud: You will always matter to me!
Glory b
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: I hope the notion that he should do anything related to Democratic voter outreach has been destroyed now.
His rallies make no sense except as his own fundraisers.
They have QR codes for donations to his next campaign, no voter registration.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Betty Cracker: I was startled by that too! Hannah Waddingham.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: Well, that’s something! You do cheer me up every day.
zhena gogolia
@Dorothy A. Winsor: She’s really good in everything she does.
lowtechcyclist
@linnen:
So long as they don’t have to be rerouted for weeks or months afterward. That would be a disaster. Good luck with expecting people to come in to work at their offices if that happened.
Professor Bigfoot
@pluky: I wonder if anyone is taking bets on that…
lowtechcyclist
Oh, this is hilarious: you will need a ticket to attend the parade.
I’ve never heard of needing a ticket to be able to watch a parade.
Seriously, how does that even work? Do they cordon off the entire parade route, and only let you in if you have a ticket? How many police would it take to manage that?
An’ me, I nearly got busted
An’ wouldn’t it be my luck
To get caught without a ticket
And be discovered beneath a truck
gene108
@satby:
Disagree very strongly with this passage.
Systems and institutions ARE no better or worse than the people running them.
Institutions are people.
This gets overlooked when people talk about “fixing” institutions. It does not matter what the law says or what the “norms” are, if the people running an institution don’t give a damn about either.
The higher up the institution is in society the harder it is to hold anyone accountable for anything they do, because there’s nothing else with that kind of power to counter it.
Public pressure can work to correct an institution, but the problem we have against Republicans is the overwhelming power of right-wing propaganda.
I think the biggest single factor in the 2024 election was the power of right-wing propaganda, from Trump on down, to redefine reality. Trump’s criminal and civil trials were a witch hunt by a weaponize federal government gone wild. The 2020 election was rigged and Trump won. J6 convicts are freedom fighters and patriots.
I honestly do not know what to do against that level of propaganda that is readily believed by, what it seems to me, most white people.
I disagree with this conclusion.
The problem Democrats have and one reason they can’t govern like vengeful Republicans is because the majority of Democratic voters are out groups: Women, non-white people, LGBTQ+ people, and so on.
The core of the Republican electorate is white men. White men have always been the very serious people in this country, whose issues are by default the most important, and who are automatically given a presumption of competence for any job they do.
The acceptance of white men like this means they can fuck shit up at epic scales to committing vigilante murders, and a large chunk of society will either consider it normal or cheer them on because they want to fuck shit up and get away with it or murder someone*.
This means electorally Republican’s core voters can support crazy ass conspiracy theories like President Obama was born in Kenya, and instead of dismissing them as nuts, President Obama had to respond.
This never happens when black people, the core of the Democratic party, complain about discrimination or a majority black city like Flint, MI gets their water supply contaminated with lead or how health outcomes are worse, in part, be the medical establishment only focused on white men, etc.
There’s usually aggressive pushback that all amounts to white dominated society telling blacks to get back in their place, and be grateful they were brought to America.
This vulnerability can be expanded to any other group that usually votes for Democrats. Republicans started calling COVID the China-flu, and East Asians were getting attacked in public. Calls for Republicans to stop calling COVID the China-flu were brushed off.
*All the gun nuts thinking about what they’d do if someone broke into their home, or if they carry in public are thinking of murdering someone, if the opportunity arose.
Nukular Biskits
@lowtechcyclist:
Hmm.
What would happen if millions requested tickets … but never showed up?
Harrison Wesley
@Nukular Biskits: Sounds like a plan for those who can’t get to DC.
gene108
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
Some people love their vocation to the point they want to die being employed in their chosen vocation.
I don’t get it, but clearly those people exist.
zhena gogolia
@gene108: You are correct.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@gene108: I’m not advocating for driving them out if the voters elect them. I’m just saying I want everyone over 80, especially those with serious health conditions that constrain their life expectancy to less than their term in office or who are in serious cognitive decline, to think long and hard about whether running again is in their constituents’ or the country’s best interest. If they do that thought experiment I think most would retire.
And people in certain fields that love their vocation? More power to them. But politics? Millions may suffer if you’re not up to the job. IMO you have a higher duty than just your love for politics.
LAC
@randy khan: also, there is the metro. Driving into DC is not the only option.
Betty Cracker
@gene108: I don’t think reasonable people would dispute the challenges as you laid them out. But I do disagree with the notion that institutions are just people; they are more than that because they operate around structures and norms that can and must be changed.
The solution can’t be white people overcoming racism or men suddenly eschewing sexism en masse because that’s not going to happen within the short timeframe we have to salvage a badly foundering democracy.
What may be possible is to build a vision of a better future that would attract enough of a movement to institute much needed reforms. It’s either that or succumb to fascism. I think the choice is that stark.
Nukular Biskits
@Harrison Wesley:
I’d like to see it happen.
Not because I suggested it but it would definitely be a form of virtual protest in DC.
stinger
@lowtechcyclist:
Stealing this.
They Call Me Noni
@Nukular Biskits: Excellent idea!
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: I want Democrats to be unapologetic and stop being defensive. The MSM bullies Ds because it works.
Another Scott
@lowtechcyclist: They can block off massive parts of the DC Mall. I went down to try to see Clinton’s inauguration in 1993 without a ticket. It was literally impossible to have a clear sight line to the Capitol for miles because of all the fences, trees, etc, in the way. I gave up and went back home and watched it on TV.
DC has experience with controlling access.
Yeah, doing it for a parade seems really weird, but this is 47 we’re talking about…
Best wishes,
Scott.
stinger
I wonder if one of our problems is that, when someone says they are angry with Democrats, they mean elected Dems. But when I read that, I think they are angry with me.
It gets my back up, and I start to mentally argue with the rest of their statement, whereas if I hadn’t been put off by thinking they hate ME, I might have found many points of agreement.
Ruckus
@stinger:
That’s been how the military is honored and has been for longer than anyone alive today. Take it from someone who served.
And it’s because how else do you honor the military?
You show their numbers and often equipment if possible (difficult to tow a 500 foot ship down the street or a fighter jet/B52 – doesn’t mean that shitforbrains wouldn’t ask for that to be done….) And it’s why there are dress uniforms for all the military.
Citizen Alan
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
What annoys me about people who complain about all the old people in congress is that they display a complete ignorance of how electoral politics actually works. To voters within a district and especially within a non competitive district, where one party is always going to win, so long as the incumbent congressman provides good constituent services, it is to the benefit of the entire district that 8 congressmen stay there as long as possible to get seniority, and this provide more benefits those constituents. Within my lifetime, there were two senators and one congressman from mississippi who all died in office after showing clear signs of dementia. Not coincidentally, all three of them have multiple government buildings named after them all over the state, something that never happens to freshmen congressman in their early thirties.
Professor Bigfoot
@Betty Cracker: I think you’re right, but I don’t think, as a demographic, that white men should be listened to or trusted until they actually demonstrate true allyship to all of us “out-groups” who are really the base of the Democratic Party.
Yes, I’m prejudiced. Life has given me ample evidence upon which to base that pre-judgement.
At this point, unless I already know that white man and have seen for myself that they’re not like the 2/3 that voted directly for white supremacy or the majority of that remaining third that complains constantly about the “fecklessness” of the Black and Jewish and female and LGBTQIA+ led and based Democratic Party… well, it’s like “white dude, your opinion carries exactly zero weight with me.”
I refuse to ignore the demographic nature of our opposition.
Citizen Alan
@Ruckus: As far as the GOP is concerned, the purpose of a soldier is to provide good photo ops for republican politicians and to die without complaint. I think Republicans have less concern for the lives and value of individual soldiers than a pig farmer does for that individual members of he has herd..
Ruckus
@Betty Cracker:
This.
All of this is a bigger problem than just two sides to politics. Because humanity is not two sides to issues it can be hundreds/thousands of sides to issues, because there are a fair number of humans involved. Take people that spend a lifetime in politics. Are they there to serve the public or could it be that they are there to bend things to their position? We aren’t all the same of course and often the cost to one side of any issue is often far greater than to the other side. How many of us are truly wealthy, meaning money to throw around? Maybe 10% or 20% or 5%? How many have to work to provide a roof and sustenance? Most? How many retire as early as possible? Or work well into “normal” retirement age? While we are all individuals, we all fit into, at least roughly, some group(s) that define us in some way. We have Social Security so people don’t have to work till they drop, which is how most managed a few decades ago. This modern world is a lot different than it was in the lifetime of some old farts still with us. And while there are and always will be some that worship money over everything else, that isn’t everyone, it is I believe, far less than we might imagine. But money always has and always will be the most important issue to some and that is never going to change. And in a large population where work is much less growing/raising/hunting food and many other ways of existence there will also be issues that have to do with living, not just existing. That’s modern life. We can do it well or we can do it badly. Well is better. For all of us. My point is that we have to recognize that while we are different, in many ways we aren’t that different – but. There will always be some that want to lead – even if they are incapable of doing it in any way close to reasonable/rational. I give you djt. And others like him. (Please take him!) And yes they do exist, maybe not in his exact likeness but in his sphere of whatever the hell he is. And there will always be those that like what they see there. It is after all – humanity.
Ruckus
@Citizen Alan:
I hate to say this but it reads like BINGO to me.
My lifetime has taught me (at least!) one thing, and that is that we forget that animals have a survival instinct. Some will push that aside on occasion to do something helping others to survive, but for most of us survival is rule one. Because being dead takes away the possibilities. We have a military (and police forces) that trains us to protect others ability to survive, even if it takes away our ability to. It’s called the greater good. Some however take the path of all for one and that one is ME. In some ways that is survival but in most ways it’s greed.
Professor Bigfoot
@gene108:
I think too few of our fellow commenters can really reckon with this white male pathology; and it is very much a white male phenomenon.*
(which is not to say I’ve not seen Black gun owners who salivated at the thought of shooting someone, so obviously there’s a huge component that’s simply male, but most Black male gun owners are very aware of disparate prosecutions and outcomes— that they do not have the same right to armed self defense as the average— hell, the felonious white man)
Professor Bigfoot
@Ruckus: Also, you give THEM a chance to show that spit-and-polish, precision marching skills that have been important to armies since before Caesar marched his legions across the Rubicon.
Basically, “Look how fuckin’ BADASS we are!”
(‘course that doesn’t necessarily translate to effectiveness on the battlefield, but esprit de corps and all that)
Ruckus
@Professor Bigfoot:
Sir, you present as if you have experience in this line of work. And I bet that you do.
I also have to say that humanity is a very large and varied group of animals (who often see themselves above the concept of animals, often FAR ABOVE) and not all of any group of animals are the same in many, many important ways. Yes, whites of either side of the gender aisle are often pompous arrogant believers that they are the top of the heap. And they may be, but I always remember that a lot of heaps are made up of animal waste. And a percentage of those heaps smell a lot worse than others. IOW we may all be a part of one group, it doesn’t mean that entire group is automatically crap or automatically not. Because in all large groups of humans there will be actual decent and actual pure shit. It’s the percentages of each that change. In both directions. And hopefully towards decent. But then it is humanity…
Kayla Rudbek
@linnen: I wouldn’t be surprised if the tunnels for the Blue Line and Yellow Line collapsed under the weight of the tanks.
Ruckus
@gene108:
I liked what I did for a living – in a somewhat dangerous line of work, creating tooling for others to use to make products but I NEVER wanted to be injured, let alone die from it. Now I did get slightly injured on occasion, making things out of metal can do that, but I’ve got all my fingers and toes, all the pieces still work OK and I can still walk upright, and only had stitches a couple of times, one of which wasn’t from work, so it wasn’t all that bad. Now the tooling I worked on or made was used to make a variety of products that most of us would know, even if we NEVER played with some of the toys.
Ruckus
@Kayla Rudbek:
A fully loaded semi truck can weigh 80,000 lbs. A M1A2 army tank weighs 68,000 lbs. The weight is not the problem, the parts that touch the ground/road are. A semi truck has rubber tires, a fair number of them so the road is tougher than the tires. It’s the number of tires and the weight they support that reduce the destruction of the road. OTOH a tank has steel tracks that carry the load and if misused on an asphalt road will tear it up with not much difficulty. It’s that misused concept that is the problem.
RevRick
@Betty Cracker: Hannah Waddingham also has a great singing voice!
Ruckus
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
I worked till I was well into 73 yrs old. Everyone is different, I used to have employees and some are basically done around 60 and others can go a lot farther. We may all look sort of human (some far closer than others….) but we all age depending on how we fill the mold of humanity, IOW how healthy we actually are, how stupid we act and how often we act that stupid, what we eat, what we don’t eat, do we walk/exercise, do we drink alcohol – to excess or at all, our genetics, etc.
Lauryn11
@lowtechcyclist:
10/10 for the perfect Dylan reference.
Sasha
They really should have a competing free Springsteen/Swift concert and watch Trump melt down at the crowd size difference.