I killed a man on twitter just to watch him die:
I’m proud of that one. I am just sick of the fucking bullshit from these religious nutjobs. Especially since a shit ton of these fetus fetishists voted for Trump, just like Jesus would do.
This post is in: Just Shut the Fuck Up
I killed a man on twitter just to watch him die:
I’m proud of that one. I am just sick of the fucking bullshit from these religious nutjobs. Especially since a shit ton of these fetus fetishists voted for Trump, just like Jesus would do.
by DougJ| 82 Comments
This post is in: Rare Sincerity
When I lived in Georgia, I had an older friend, a great guy, from nearby to Athens (Greenville) unlike my other co-workers. He will be played by Billy Bob Thornton in the me biopic. We talked about politics a lot because he was the only person I knew who was as mad as me about the 2000 election/selection. One time, I said to him, about all the bullshit Jeb played with voters lists in Florida, “this is just like Mississippi in 1960.” I’d never seen him be anything but jovial before but when I said that he said “you fucking Yankee idiot, you have no idea what it was like down here before Civil Rights. Civil Rights changed everything in the south.”
It’s tough to talk about such an important event without sounding glib, but I’ll give it a try. I think it’s true that most white people, especially up here in the north, don’t appreciate just how enormously important the Civil Rights movement was. I also don’t think most people appreciate how clever a tactician Martin Luther King Jr. was. It wasn’t obvious that non-violence was the right strategy then, I’m not one of those who thinks non-violence is always the answer (and I agree that it’s ridiculous to think victims of state oppression and violence have no right to fight back), but there’s no question that King’s strategy worked brilliantly.
All the great oratory and great music and so on associated with the Civil Rights movement shouldn’t obscure the incredible skill that King and his allies displayed in getting so much ground-breaking legislation passed in just a few years. It didn’t have to happen that way, and it should be remembered a triumph of the mind as much as (or maybe even more than) a triumph of the spirit.
This post is in: John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House"
The last major project was the construction of my custom desk. We stained it today, and are going to put a couple coats of polyurethane on it to make it impervious to coffee stains, and here it is:
I can’t decide if it needs another coat of stain or not. At any rate, this is going to be my main room (other than the bedroom and the kitchen), since I spend so much time in here, and I am really super excited. I put a couple 2 inch holes in the desk for cables, and have pvc piping underneath the desk, AND LOOK AT ALL THOSE FUCKING OUTLETS. Only computer dorks will totally appreciate this room, I guess, but I am soooo excited to get in there.
I am going to mount my older 42″ tv that is in my living room on the wall above on the bigger desk, daddy’s (my grandfather’s- that’s what mom calls him) antique desk against the wall for actual paper work, and my big lazyboy from the current living room will go in here so I can put adult furniture in the living room that fits the house and a new tv when I can afford to buy furniture, end tables, lamps, a desk, and an area rug. For now it will just be two old couches, but I won’t use the room much anyway so no big deal.
Tomorrow the inspector/appraiser comes and when he is gone, we are going to stain the main stairway, Comcast comes on Wednesday, and after they leave, we are going to put two coats of varnish down, and I plan to move in this weekend. Still waiting on one of you to needlepoint this (from the Money Pit) for me:
Also, in the front entryway, I am going to clean up and hang my great great-grandmother’s old mirror:
It needs some love and attention and I want to really have a good brace and support on the wall, so that will be down the road, too. At any rate, I gathered the crew together for a team picture:
And that’s a wrap. For now, because as people have been fond of telling me, you are never done. I’m going to go take a nap and lock my checkbook and atm card in the safe until December.
And That’s Pretty Much a Wrap on the House RenovationPost + Comments (105)
by Adam L Silverman| 59 Comments
This post is in: Silverman on Security, War
I give you the USMC Small War’s Manual. You want to fight a rebellion? Lead a revolution? Overthrow tyranny? Counter an insurgency? Get to reading!
I’m personally going to the gym…
by Hillary Rettig| 69 Comments
This post is in: Faunasphere
There’s been a lot written about “resistance” lately, and I’m all for it, and of course it’s a wonderful topic for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
I’ve done my share, but never anything like what animal activist (and FOIA ninja) Ryan Shapiro describes:
My first arrest was at Ringling Brothers in 1997. We locked ourselves together using steel pipes to prevent the circus from getting the elephants into the auditorium. For a period of hours, our action shut down the circus (and led Ringling Brothers employees to position the elephants such that they urinated on us, resulting in us marinating in gallons of elephant urine both while locked down at the circus and then later in jail in Southeast DC).
Now, after 146 years of abducting, enslaving, and torturing animals for profit and amusement, Ringling Brothers is shutting down for good. I honestly can’t believe it. However Ringling Brothers’ PR team might spin this, there is simply no question that decades of aggressive animal rights activism of all sorts played a critical role in bringing this behemoth of cruelty to its knees. Amazing. We actually did it. We ended Ringling Brothers.
Now we need to end the rest as well. Whatever your style of activism, go do it. Do it now. Do it more. Do it better. Get the fuck out there and keep doing it. I’m so proud to be part of this great struggle for freedom and justice with all of you. Together we just killed a giant. Now on to the next. Animal liberation now.
The point is not to convince everyone to put their bodies literally right on the line (against animal exploiters or Trump or any other oppressor) like Shapiro and his colleagues did. (Although if you can, more power to you!) It’s to talk about implacability, which I think is a key ingredient of any resistance / revolution. Animal abusers and exploiters know we (the animal rights / animal liberation / vegan community) isn’t going away or relenting–in fact, that we’re just going to get stronger–and that gives us a lot of power.
It’s similar, really, to what I see in this community when a nonhuman or human community member needs help. The community galvanizes, everyone gets focused, people contribute their unique talents and resources, and the job gets done.
Looking forward to people’s thoughts about implacability and other aspects of resistance. One thing that helps is that you don’t focus too much on the opposition and how big and scary it is. You focus on the job, and on supporting your comrades.
by Hillary Rettig| 79 Comments
This post is in: Faunasphere, Vegan
First, in honor of the holiday, I’ll mention that Dexter King is, and the late Coretta Scott King was, vegan. Both saw veganism as a natural extension of Dr. King’s nonviolence philosophy.
Now, onto the victory:
On Saturday, officials of the company that owns the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced that it will close in May, ending a 146-year run that dates back to a time before automobiles or airplanes or movies, when Ulysses S. Grant was president and minstrel shows were popular entertainment.
What killed the circus? There are many suspects: increased railroad costs. Costly court battles with animal rights activists that led to an end to elephant acts — and the fact that some people didn’t want to see a show without elephants.
Or with any other captive, tormented creature.
Although some may feel a nostalgic pang, keep in mind that:
1) Ringling was an egregious serial animal abuser and violator of the Animal Welfare Act.
2) Even absent “official abuse” the circus is truly the “cruelest show on earth,” subjecting beautiful wild animals to kidnapping and family separations, prolonged confinements, and cruel “training” methods.
3) You can have some good circus fun absent the cruelty and abuse.
This is a particularly sweet victory coming mere months after SeaWorld’s announcement that it will cease orca breeding and performances, and TripAdvisor’s announcement that it will delist many animal-themed entertainments. One day–and probably sooner than we all think–live-animal entertainment will be considered an embarrassing relic, and we’ll all be grooving on virtual attractions and wondering what all the fuss was about.
There’s been some effort to dilute the role of animal activists in this victory–talk about transportation costs, etc.–so I’ll let Kenneth Feld (chair and CEO of Ringling’s parent company, Feld Entertainment) have (almost) the last word: “In the past decade there’s been more change in the world than in the 50 or 75 years prior to that.”
Thanks to the decades of activists that made this happen, and thanks in advance to the activists who will open even more cages in the future.
Historic Animal Rights Victory – Ringling Brothers Circus Shutting DownPost + Comments (79)
by Betty Cracker| 221 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity, Assholes, General Stupidity
Institutional momentum is a hell of a thing. Even desiccated institutions that have proved too hollow to perform the functions for which they were designed — e.g., to prevent an unstable, unqualified puppet of a foreign power from ascending to the office of the U.S. presidency — have a heft that keeps them rolling in their well-worn grooves toward a predetermined destination.
That’s why, though we can hope for deus ex machina in the form of a CIA bombshell, etc., we will almost certainly see Putin’s poodle sworn in as POTUS at noon this Friday, with most Democratic lawmakers in attendance. That’s when the real work of the resistance will begin.
But in the meantime, between calling our reps to try to save the ACA, I don’t see why we can’t have a little fun at the expense of the brittle narcissist who is almost certainly furious at the prospect of his inaugural becoming a very public flop that is insufficiently staffed by celebrities and attended by citizens.
How bad is it? We know Trump has been unable to get A-list celebrities to perform, even after reportedly dangling ambassadorships to sweeten the pot for talent bookers. When that failed, he stomped sour grapes on Twitter: “The so-called ‘A’ list celebrities are all wanting tixs [sic] to the inauguration, but look what they did for Hillary, NOTHING. I want the PEOPLE!”
But it’s looking like “the PEOPLE,” who previously expressed that they don’t want Trump by giving his opponent nearly three million more votes, are now staying away from the inauguration in droves. That apparently compelled Trump himself to hawk tickets via video on Twitter yesterday (and his team to place banner ads all over the web today), less than a week out. Via the site linked from the inaugural ticket infomercial:
On Friday, January 20, we celebrate a new day for America as Donald J. Trump and Michael R. Pence are sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States. Because you played such an important role in our movement to Make America Great Again, President-elect Trump wants to personally invite you to the Inaugural Welcome Concert and Inaugural Swearing-In Ceremony.
You will receive a limited edition, commemorative ticket as a keepsake to frame and remember this historic event. This ticket IS NOT required for admittance. To register for your tickets, complete and submit the form below.
It’s like they’re selling Ginsu knives or knock-off Fabergé eggs. In contrast, this was the inaugural ticket situation in November 2008:
If you’d like to attend President-elect Obama’s swearing-in ceremony, you’ll need to contact one of your U.S. senators or your representative to get tickets. You can identify your representative and senators online and find out how to get in touch with their offices. Be realistic about your chances, though: These offices have already received tens of thousands of requests, and only about 240,000 tickets will be available. For example, aides of Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, told the Washington Post that they had received 40,000 requests for tickets by the Monday after the election. Many offices have already stopped taking names of constituents who call in hopes of attending. Some offices plan to draw names to decide who gets the coveted tickets.
3. Be wary of scam artists trying to sell you inauguration tickets. Tickets for the swearing-in are free, and they won’t be sent to the congressional offices until the week before the ceremony. If you are lucky enough to get one, you’ll have to go to the office to pick it up in person. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, is even proposing legislation that would make selling inauguration tickets a federal crime.
I don’t doubt there will be hundreds of thousands of MAGAssholes in DC for the event. It’s a watershed moment for white supremacist groups and haters of all stripes, getting one of their own into the Oval Office. Even if it did take an assist from partisan malcontents in the FBI and a hostile foreign power.
And make no mistake, while Trump’s ascension may be a black swan event that makes the majority of our fellow citizens queasy, the fact of it has damaged this country’s reputation incalculably, internally and externally. We’re a fucking joke now. All the more reason to take our amusement where we can, I guess.