Hey, if you know anything about the history of this Best Country There Ever Was Or Ever Could Be, anything at all, it's that white men have been killing black men with relative impunity since almost the very beginning.
For one thing, it's the fucking basis of Southern "culture". Strange fruit, y'all.
For another, it's all that some folks mean when they talk about "law and order".
Consequently, we end up with police who are more than happy to oblige.
Dammit, it's our history, and I'm sorry to say, for some of us, our nature.
Face it, we were extremely naive to think that having a black president would change any of that.
Hell, that just served to "energize the base", as the pundits are so fond of saying. Give 'em something to get really mad about. Distract the hillbillies from what is really happening.
And the claim, put forth by the corporate mouthpiece majority of our Supreme Court, including "honorary" white man Clarence Thomas, that we are living in a "post racial" society? I mean, honestly, what a sick joke that is. At least wipe the blood from your hands before you say it, OK?
No, sorry, but you just can't get away from white privilege. And, obviously, to some that privilege includes killing black men.
God Bless America.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
The Comedian
So Robin Williams is finally cornered by the "black dog" and kills himself and Rush Limbaugh says something stupid and cruel about him.
Anybody surprised by that?
I mean, shit, stupid and cruel are the foundation of Rush Limbaugh's career.
Oh and racist and sexist, too. Mustn't forget racist and sexist.
Limbaugh is not clever. He is not funny. He is not profound. And the only insight he provides is a scary peek into the minds of his followers.
The obvious conclusion is this: people who continue to listen to that subhuman piece of festering slime and his form of "entertainment" must also have large portions of stupidity, cruelty, sexism and racism in their character, too.
There is no other possible explanation.
But hey, it's a free country...
Anybody surprised by that?
I mean, shit, stupid and cruel are the foundation of Rush Limbaugh's career.
Oh and racist and sexist, too. Mustn't forget racist and sexist.
Limbaugh is not clever. He is not funny. He is not profound. And the only insight he provides is a scary peek into the minds of his followers.
The obvious conclusion is this: people who continue to listen to that subhuman piece of festering slime and his form of "entertainment" must also have large portions of stupidity, cruelty, sexism and racism in their character, too.
There is no other possible explanation.
But hey, it's a free country...
Friday, August 15, 2014
The Death Penalty
So I guess the penalty for shoplifting now is death.
Selling individual cigarettes on a street? Death.
Running away from a cop? Death.
Running toward a cop? Death.
Resisting arrest? Death.
Being mentally ill in a city park? Death.
(And since the cops are overworked, what with having to learn how to drive tanks and all, thank God for the well armed citizens helping to patrol our streets.)
Wearing a hoodie while carrying some skittles and a soft drink? Death.
Playing your music too loud? Death.
Knocking on someone's door late at night? Death.
Texting in a movie theatre? Death.
Just being "threatening" in general? Death.
Well, it certainly does streamline the criminal code. And apparently we're all OK with that, right?
Right.
Anyway, the fact that a couple of those dead guys were white proves that we live in a post racial society, right?
Right.
Selling individual cigarettes on a street? Death.
Running away from a cop? Death.
Running toward a cop? Death.
Resisting arrest? Death.
Being mentally ill in a city park? Death.
(And since the cops are overworked, what with having to learn how to drive tanks and all, thank God for the well armed citizens helping to patrol our streets.)
Wearing a hoodie while carrying some skittles and a soft drink? Death.
Playing your music too loud? Death.
Knocking on someone's door late at night? Death.
Texting in a movie theatre? Death.
Just being "threatening" in general? Death.
Well, it certainly does streamline the criminal code. And apparently we're all OK with that, right?
Right.
Anyway, the fact that a couple of those dead guys were white proves that we live in a post racial society, right?
Right.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
You Decide!!!!!
So I get this flyer in the mail the other day from a group that calls itself Keeping the Promise.
It reads, in part: YOU DECIDE A Glendale casino means gambling everywhere...including near your family
Apparently, if I don't do something, there will be casinos all over the place, including in my neighborhood!!!!
Yikes!
I mean YIKES!!!
What the people who sent me this flyer want me to do is contact my nitwit US Senators, Johnny Mc and Flakey Jr., and tell them to stop the Glendale casino that the Tohono O'odham tribe is planning on building.
Otherwise....cue ominous music....dum dum dummmm!
Repeat after me, Native American tribes are recognized as sovereign nations. And their rights to build casinos on tribal land have been upheld by the courts.
Personally, I don't give a rat's ass whether or not this particular tribe builds a casino on their land near Glendale, or anywhere else for that matter. Nobody makes you gamble. Plus think of all the cheap shrimp cocktails, prime rib specials, and classic rock concerts! Besides, if there's any criminal element involved, certainly we can trust Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Tom Horne and the rest of our crack law enforcement crew to root them out. Yes, I am being sarcastic again. It's a character flaw, I know. But there it is.
How the flyer makes the jump from one more Indian casino to "casinos in neighborhoods and near schools" and "bars and restaurants offering gaming" is beyond even my hyperbolic imagination.
I guess it's the same kind of wishful thinking that takes a centrist Democratic President from Hawaii and makes him into a wild eyed, Muslim Kenyan Socialist hell bent on destroying "our" way of life.
Yawn.
The most interesting aspect of this is why anyone in a position of power in Glendale would object to a 365 day a year business enterprise drawing folks to that poor benighted place. It is beyond me. After all, they rolled over like submissive puppies for a 8-10 game days a year football emporium that will ultimately cost well over a billion dollars of tax payer money. And a 50 day a year hockey arena that costs the city 15 million dollars a year in fees--in addition to the bond debt costs of building it. Oh, and don't forget the Camelback Ranch spring training facility. You know what they say, a hundred million here, a hundred million there, and pretty soon we're talking about real money. Real money which the City of Glendale doesn't have. Like the 3 million bucks they've already dropped trying to fight this casino.
Go figure.
It reads, in part: YOU DECIDE A Glendale casino means gambling everywhere...including near your family
Apparently, if I don't do something, there will be casinos all over the place, including in my neighborhood!!!!
Yikes!
I mean YIKES!!!
What the people who sent me this flyer want me to do is contact my nitwit US Senators, Johnny Mc and Flakey Jr., and tell them to stop the Glendale casino that the Tohono O'odham tribe is planning on building.
Otherwise....cue ominous music....dum dum dummmm!
Repeat after me, Native American tribes are recognized as sovereign nations. And their rights to build casinos on tribal land have been upheld by the courts.
Personally, I don't give a rat's ass whether or not this particular tribe builds a casino on their land near Glendale, or anywhere else for that matter. Nobody makes you gamble. Plus think of all the cheap shrimp cocktails, prime rib specials, and classic rock concerts! Besides, if there's any criminal element involved, certainly we can trust Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Tom Horne and the rest of our crack law enforcement crew to root them out. Yes, I am being sarcastic again. It's a character flaw, I know. But there it is.
How the flyer makes the jump from one more Indian casino to "casinos in neighborhoods and near schools" and "bars and restaurants offering gaming" is beyond even my hyperbolic imagination.
I guess it's the same kind of wishful thinking that takes a centrist Democratic President from Hawaii and makes him into a wild eyed, Muslim Kenyan Socialist hell bent on destroying "our" way of life.
Yawn.
The most interesting aspect of this is why anyone in a position of power in Glendale would object to a 365 day a year business enterprise drawing folks to that poor benighted place. It is beyond me. After all, they rolled over like submissive puppies for a 8-10 game days a year football emporium that will ultimately cost well over a billion dollars of tax payer money. And a 50 day a year hockey arena that costs the city 15 million dollars a year in fees--in addition to the bond debt costs of building it. Oh, and don't forget the Camelback Ranch spring training facility. You know what they say, a hundred million here, a hundred million there, and pretty soon we're talking about real money. Real money which the City of Glendale doesn't have. Like the 3 million bucks they've already dropped trying to fight this casino.
Go figure.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Signor Baseball's Well Past Mid-Season MLB Update
Hey, I've been busy...Not really. Just lazy. And of course still spell bound by "the beautiful game". Nil nil. Yawn.
So, with two months left, where the hell are we?
Well, the NL East is going almost as predicted, with Atlanta and Washington neck and neck. Whichever finishes second has a good shot at a Wild Card slot. The Marlins are about where you'd expect, still full of young talent and still playing before mostly empty seats. The Mets look better than projected, and the poor Phillies are aging before our eyes, like that guy at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They could have had one hell of a fire sale in the City of Brotherly Love. Hamels, Utley, Rollins, Byrd, and a couple of others would've been very attractive pickups for any contender. But they all have huge contracts, and to get any of them you probably would have had to take on Ryan Howard's absolute dog of a contract as well, so...
The Milwaukee Brewers are a surprise in the NL Central. They've cooled off from a very fast start, though, and I don't think they will stay the course. The Cards made the best pickups at the trading deadline, but I still expect the Pirates and Reds to stay close down to the wire. And the runner up has a good chance at a Wild Card. Pittsburgh sure could use another bat, though. Which leaves the Cubs. All the experts say the Chicagoans are loaded with prospects. They've been saying this for the past few years. And yet the Cubs never get any better. Hmmm. Waiting for them to win is like waiting for the Rapture--except with plenty of cold beer.
Out West, the Dodgers and Giants will go down to the last few games, with the loser a strong candidate for a Wild Card spot. LA's pitching still has the edge, and their offense is stronger, too. In other words, San Francisco has them right where they want them. All the other teams are shite as they say across the pond. The Rockies jumped out fast but began to fade even faster. The Diamondbacks and Padres have already started dumping salary. Arizona in particular has been a massive disappointment. The highest payroll in team history and look at them! Whoever put that team together has a lot of 'splaining to do. The only questions left at this point for those three teams are which managers and general managers will be fired.
The AL East looks like a race between Baltimore, New York and Toronto to the bitter end. None of them is good enough to pull away. Neither the Blue Jays or the Orioles have proven they can stand up under the pressure of a pennant race. The Yankees are held together with spit and baling wire and any more injuries in the Bronx and I'll be in their starting rotation. A week ago I would have included Tampa, but trading your best pitcher for a bag of magic beans and some pocket lint means you've pretty much written off this year. And why the Red Sox added more bats at the cost of their 2 best starters is anyone's guess. Still, Boston will take great pleasure in beating any of the teams in front of them.
With the acquisition of David Price the Tigers are a lock in the Central--even though Verlander isn't really Verlander anymore. And Price hasn't pitched very well in the post season, either. But Scherzer (a former Diamondback if anyone is counting), Porcello and all of those bats make Detroit a heavy favorite to win the AL. The Indians, Royals, and my God, even the White Sox, still have a shot at the second Wild Card. The Twins remain stuck in small market purgatory with no Billy Beane in sight. PS the T-Wolves are going to suck, too.
A lot of very smart folks have been calling the A's the best team in the American League for months now. But a look at the West standings shows them just a couple of games ahead of the Angels. Oakland added a great pitcher but gave up a lot of offense when they traded Cespedes. And money being tight in Oakland, chances are they'll only have Lester for the rest of this year. So win--or else. After under-performing at great expense the last couple of years, Anaheim would just love to knock the A's off. Seattle has an outside shot at the second Wild Card, the Rangers are as huge a disappointment as the Diamondbacks, and I read somewhere that the Astros will win the World Series in 2017. Uh huh.
So, with two months left, where the hell are we?
Well, the NL East is going almost as predicted, with Atlanta and Washington neck and neck. Whichever finishes second has a good shot at a Wild Card slot. The Marlins are about where you'd expect, still full of young talent and still playing before mostly empty seats. The Mets look better than projected, and the poor Phillies are aging before our eyes, like that guy at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They could have had one hell of a fire sale in the City of Brotherly Love. Hamels, Utley, Rollins, Byrd, and a couple of others would've been very attractive pickups for any contender. But they all have huge contracts, and to get any of them you probably would have had to take on Ryan Howard's absolute dog of a contract as well, so...
The Milwaukee Brewers are a surprise in the NL Central. They've cooled off from a very fast start, though, and I don't think they will stay the course. The Cards made the best pickups at the trading deadline, but I still expect the Pirates and Reds to stay close down to the wire. And the runner up has a good chance at a Wild Card. Pittsburgh sure could use another bat, though. Which leaves the Cubs. All the experts say the Chicagoans are loaded with prospects. They've been saying this for the past few years. And yet the Cubs never get any better. Hmmm. Waiting for them to win is like waiting for the Rapture--except with plenty of cold beer.
Out West, the Dodgers and Giants will go down to the last few games, with the loser a strong candidate for a Wild Card spot. LA's pitching still has the edge, and their offense is stronger, too. In other words, San Francisco has them right where they want them. All the other teams are shite as they say across the pond. The Rockies jumped out fast but began to fade even faster. The Diamondbacks and Padres have already started dumping salary. Arizona in particular has been a massive disappointment. The highest payroll in team history and look at them! Whoever put that team together has a lot of 'splaining to do. The only questions left at this point for those three teams are which managers and general managers will be fired.
The AL East looks like a race between Baltimore, New York and Toronto to the bitter end. None of them is good enough to pull away. Neither the Blue Jays or the Orioles have proven they can stand up under the pressure of a pennant race. The Yankees are held together with spit and baling wire and any more injuries in the Bronx and I'll be in their starting rotation. A week ago I would have included Tampa, but trading your best pitcher for a bag of magic beans and some pocket lint means you've pretty much written off this year. And why the Red Sox added more bats at the cost of their 2 best starters is anyone's guess. Still, Boston will take great pleasure in beating any of the teams in front of them.
With the acquisition of David Price the Tigers are a lock in the Central--even though Verlander isn't really Verlander anymore. And Price hasn't pitched very well in the post season, either. But Scherzer (a former Diamondback if anyone is counting), Porcello and all of those bats make Detroit a heavy favorite to win the AL. The Indians, Royals, and my God, even the White Sox, still have a shot at the second Wild Card. The Twins remain stuck in small market purgatory with no Billy Beane in sight. PS the T-Wolves are going to suck, too.
A lot of very smart folks have been calling the A's the best team in the American League for months now. But a look at the West standings shows them just a couple of games ahead of the Angels. Oakland added a great pitcher but gave up a lot of offense when they traded Cespedes. And money being tight in Oakland, chances are they'll only have Lester for the rest of this year. So win--or else. After under-performing at great expense the last couple of years, Anaheim would just love to knock the A's off. Seattle has an outside shot at the second Wild Card, the Rangers are as huge a disappointment as the Diamondbacks, and I read somewhere that the Astros will win the World Series in 2017. Uh huh.
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