July 29, 2023

These Christian Nationalists Want to Stone Adulterers to Death

Full disclosure here, I am a former fundamentalist (the term "born again" was in vogue during my believer days.) who has read the Bible closely. While I no longer believe any of the supernatural aspects of Christianity, I do recall Jesus trying to nudge people away from the whole stoning concept. And that's a "christian" ideal that I can support.

. . . a key part of this revived biblical justice, is recognizing what trespasses truly merit this death penalty. “First off,” he says, “we need to realize that whatever sin requires stoning is more barbaric than the act of stoning itself. Christians have lost that idea,” he argues. “We’re like, ‘Oh, stoning is worse than adultery.’ No, no, no! Adultery is worse than stoning.”

Why do I get the feeling that people like Trump would be exempt from such penalties? For that matter, like the Pharisees in the Gospel of John, this new breed of zealots would probably be applying this law mainly to female offenders.

July 26, 2023

" The 'Barbie' backlash isn't just cynical: The GOP is abusing its own supporters"

This article by Amanda Marcotte, (originally pubished at Salon) offers some insight beyond the current noise over a blockbuster movie about an iconic toy.

In discussing the behavior of Rep Matt Gaetz and his wife who attended a screening of the Barbie movie and enjoyed their time in front of the cameras only to turn around and join the Right Wing chorus in criticizing it, the author notes:

This is how the right-wing noise machine works: It gloms onto an immediate cultural moment, whatever that happens to be, and emits a series of high-pitched whining noises. This is financially and politically profitable for two reasons. First, it draws eyeballs. Conserva-trolls attach themselves like ticks to "the discourse," drawing attention by becoming an irritant in a conversation that basically has nothing to do with them. Second, and more important, they use these cultural moments to reinforce a message of alienation and paranoia, separating their followers even further from the majority of everyday Americans and pushing them deeper into the world of hermetic right-wing nuttery. This tactic of isolating their audience from everyone else, including family members, strongly resembles the strategies used by cult leaders.

As someone who is a borderline shut-in, my anxiety and non-driver status pretty much keep me from doing fun things like going out to a movie. Some little part of my brain is itching to be brave and get out there to see this recent theatrical release, just because I know that it will upset Ben Shapiro. . . Oh, no, does that make me a performance troll as well? Damn, it's getting harder and harder to be a simple, authentic person these days.

June 5, 2023

DeSantis thinks his wife should be featured in fashion magazines.

And goes on to say:

“If she were a Democrat, she’d be on every fashion magazine. They would be making her [out] to be the biggest deal. But because we’re conservative, we know that that’s not what will happen.”

Well, Governor, you are the driving force behind decisions and policies that marginalize--if not outright oppress--people across the LBGTQ+ community. Did you think there were no such folks working in the fashion industry?

The difference between the Gay folks employed by fashion magazines and the scared, vulnerable Gay kids struggling to understand themselves in your state is that the "Gays of Fashion" have careers, confidence and clout. You want your wife to be celebrated in the world of fashion and glamour? Then take a note from Randy Rainbow and start "Basking in the Splendor of All Shades and Genders."

What DeSantis and others don't seem to grasp is that the supply and demand theory of economics works in the social world of human interactions, as well. When you insult and demean large swaths of people they withhold approval from you. So don't go all pouty because the fashionistas of the world aren't embracing your wife.

Or you could try to start a Conservative-themed fashion magazine. . . I'm sure that will work out brilliantly.

December 24, 2022

Article at Bored Panda site: 100 Anti-Capitalism Memes

Has some real winners. I wish I could post some of the images here to entice folks, but the regular copy and paste method doesn't seem to work here and I'm too lacking in tech know how to work out how to do it.

Here is the link to the article, however.

November 12, 2022

HuffPo Article on MTG's Comments on "Candidate Quality" Yielded Some Interesting Responses

According to the HuffPost website, Marjorie Taylor Greene sent out a Tweet discussing the poor quality of the GOP candidates during this election round. As one might imagine, this inspired a lot of snappy responses in the Twitterverse.

I don't follow Twitter, but my favorite Tweet noted in the HuffPo article was this one:

Elizabeth-

"Remember when you said "Jewish space lasers" are what causes wildfires? That meat not "grown in PEACH TREE dishes will cause electric bot shocks in the bodies of the vaccinated? You know NOTHING about candidate quality, you absolute pinecone."

I especially enjoyed the "absolute pinecone" comment, because it's clever but not a gendered insult. And it doesn't attack Ms. Greene on the basis of physical attributes that are not within her control.

My thoughts were running along those lines when I brought up the comments screen to the article and encountered this nugget:

Kevin Higgenboom-

"Liberals routinely show the world it is OK to insult people by calling them gay, and it is OK to value women based on their appearance. This is flat-out wrong."

A part of me really, really wanted to respond to that poster, but I didn't want to register on yet another comment board so, instead, I share this talking point with my fellow DU'ers.


"Yes, sir. It is wrong. It's wrong when liberals do it and it's wrong when Donald Trump does it on a regular basis. This is a man who insulted a woman's appearance as a defense against a rape charge. "She's not my type", he said. So, basically, that means that the former president feels that a woman's looks determine her "rape-ability?" That's beyond "flat-out wrong" to outright abominable. And Donald Trump isn't the first right-leaning person whom I have heard express such a position. And while I have read far too many Democrats cast snark upon Ms. Greene by commenting on her looks, I have never heard one of them stoop to the "not pretty enough to rape" level.

November 5, 2022

From HuffPo: "Musk Appears To Threaten Advertisers Wary Of His Twitter Takeover"

Oh, that makes so much sense. Buy a company, make a whole bunch of unsettling decisions, then threaten people who buy ads from you because they prefer a platform with stability.

You know, I have almost no money and no business experience, but even I can see how absurd a strategy that is.

September 16, 2022

Thoughts on poverty and the alternatives

This is an interesting article titled, "Does anyone have to be poor?" and it related to a few posts that I encountered on one of the threads. (Can't find the thread in question. Sorry.)

Among its many thoughtful points, I am quoting a paragraph on the value of the expanded child tax credit. I live with a cynical person who works with a poorer segment of the population, and she believes that the parents receiving the credit were just spending it on drugs and booze. There is evidence to suggest otherwise.


"Another line of evidence is the expanded child tax credit passed in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan. It was a short-lived benefit, since Congress shamefully allowed it to expire. But while it was in effect, it reduced the child poverty rate in the U.S. by almost one-third. It kept 3.7 million children out of poverty. Survey data shows that 91% of beneficiaries spent the money on basic needs like food, clothing, rent and school supplies."

The thread(s) discussing the Florida governor's stunt of flying immigrants to Martha's Vineyard mentioned a cost in the millions. It really makes you wonder about how we manage to find money for certain project/services/products etc., and then claim that we can't fund services to help people in need.

September 10, 2022

Thinking about moving to North Carolina . . .

. . .from Baltimore County, Maryland.

My main motivation is money. I am on the typical limited Social Security budget.

I have friends who are in Edenton and they love the idea of my moving there, which is a wonderful feeling. Yay! Somebody wants me! (I'm not close to my family, one of whom not only believes that Hillary Clinton had someone murdered, but whispered about it in his kitchen, as if she was going to get him, too. But, since I was there, I guess he figured that I was a potential assassin? I'm not, actually, which is why you shouldn't fear welcoming me to NC.) But the thought of relocating given my age and bare-bones resources is very scary, of course.

I checked out Edenton's Chamber of Commerce website and it sounds lovely. But who in their right mind would put out a website that announces, "Our Town Sucks. Don't come here"?

Any words of wisdom would be appreciated. And don't be afraid to play Devil's Advocate. This is a big decision and I need to see matters clearly.

Thank you!

September 6, 2022

On the whole "Nobody wants to work" comment. . .

Full disclosure here, I did not hit the link to read further on this little piece of click bait.

"An Influencer and OnlyFans Star Is Facing Backlash After Saying 'Nobody Wants To Work These Days'
'It seems like nobody wants to work these days,' said Tara Lynn, a Tik Toker and OnlyFans model, in a recent video. . ."

Now, with only an older person's cursory understanding of Tik Tok and OnlyFans to speak from, I would like share a few thoughts on Ms. Lynn as well as one of the Kardashians who advised women to "get off their asses" and another one who once said something along the lines of, "We all [the Kardashian family] work hard every day!"

The kind of work that people are "rebelling against" (for lack of a better term) involves either standing or sitting and being either pushed and strained or bored and strained (from repetitive motions) for many hours at a stretch while dealing with demanding, often unreasonable supervisors or customers and having to hold back from any normal human responses. And this sort of work, more often than not, does not pay a living wage.

This is the sort of work those sorts of people don't want to do, either, if they were being honest or had an ounce of self-awareness. These people have instead managed to monetize either their looks or their various opinions ranging from vapid to outrageous. They spend their days sitting in front of a camera in situations where they have a great deal of control.

I'm not prepared to say whether or not what they do qualifies as "work", but it is a far cry from the options that are available to the people that they are criticizing. Life can be difficult even for the pretty and rich and well-placed, I know. But the people making those sorts of sweeping comments about others not only have not walked in the shoes of the ordinary wage-slave in our current socio-economic system, they clearly don't want to.

They make their own living by seeking our attention. Most people work their asses off while being ignored unless they make a mistake and the boss or some customer with a grievance decides to treat them as a lesser being.

People are willing to work these days. They just want to be treated as, you know, people. And they want to be paid well enough to live like people and not animals in utilitarian kennels.

September 2, 2022

Sharing this here because it is thought-provoking and moving.

However, it doesn't move me to outrage.

Even though outrage is a perfectly valid response to so much that is happening around us, it is exhausting.

It's good to get off the "Outrage Treadmill" which raises our physical responses but doesn't get us anywhere.

So, this personal essay is from OnlySky, a website dedicated to secular values and it is written by an emotionally eloquent doctor.

The title makes reference to something called a "Code Lavender", but it doesn't deal with Gay Rights. It does deal with being fully human, which is what Gay Rights is really all about.

Let us now pause and reflect along with Dr. Eve Makoff. The Night I Called Code Lavender.

"Unacknowledged and unaddressed, grief threatens your integrity. Whether you are one to explode or implode, the potential damage to your psyche, to your body, or to your relationships is enormous."

As someone whose mental fortitude was shattered after a short time helping scared, suffering people sign up for Medicaid, my hat is off to Dr. Makoff and others like her.