From Pine View Farm

Author's archive

Look in the Mirror, Boy!* 0

At The Seattle Times, Carlton Winfrey argues that the recent election tells us more about ourselves than we would like. And it ain’t pretty.

A snippet:

There are at least three explanations as to why Americans rehired someone we fired, for cause, in 2020. Race, sexism and misinformation.

Follow the link for his reasoning.

___________________

*With apologies to the Who.

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This New Gilded Age 0

Title:  The 1% Solution on Hold.  Billionaire One:  We make 400 times more than our employees and are taxed lower than them.  Billionaire Two:  Yeah.  So? Billionaire One:  So we could double their wages and triple our tax reate.  That'll benefit our employees and we'll still be filthy rich.  Billionaire Two:  Sure, but not outrageously filthy rich.  (Pause)  Billionaire One:  Sorry.  Ethical brain fart.  Billionaire Two:  I'm starting to wonder about your Billionaire status, Carl.

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A Notion of Immigrants, Mean for the Sake of Mean Dept. 0

It is difficult not to find oneself just maybe having a slight twinge of a suspicion that perhaps sadism is a Republican Family Value.

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Those Who Ignore the Past . . . . 0

Frame One, title:  Election 2024:  Another one in an occasional series of parables involving cliffs.  Frames Two through Six:  Man and woman in speeding car.  Man:  I'm going to drive this car right over that big cliff--just like I did eight years ago.  Woman:  What?  No!  Just keep driving on the road.  Man:  What's your problem?  It worked great the last time!  Woman:  Have you completely lost your mind?  We barely survived.  Man:  Well, I remember it being great, and this time it will be great again.  Woman:  You cannot be serious.  It will not be great.  It will be a disaster!  (Car flies off cliff.)  Woman:  And yet, you've chose to do this to us again.  Man:  Don't blame me.  This condescending attitude of yours left me  no choice.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Yet another “responsible gun owner” pulls his portable phallus on the pavement.

Too many guns. Too much stupid.

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“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but If Often Rhymes”* 0

Kimball Shinkoskey hears a rhyme (well, two of them, actually, and neither is reassuring).

________________

*Mark Twain.

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QOTD 0

John Locke:

Parents wonder why the streams are bitter, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain.

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This New Gilded Age 0

At the Portland Press-Herald, Todd R. Nelson argues that Walt Whitman’s words from a century and a half ago ring true today in this new Gilded Age.

Here’s a bit of his article:

He bemoaned corruption. “I have noticed,” he wrote, “how the millions of sturdy farmers and mechanics are … the helpless supple-jacks of comparatively few politicians. And I have noticed more and more, the alarming spectacle of parties usurping the government, and openly and shamelessly wielding it for party purposes.” Ahem.

It gets worse. “The depravity of the business classes of our country is not less than has been supposed, but infinitely greater,” Whitman writes. “The official services of America, national, state, and municipal, in all their branches and departments, except the judiciary, are saturated in corruption, bribery, falsehood, maladministration.”

Aside:

In these days of our Supreme Supremacist Court, he might rethink that bit about the judiciary.

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A Picture Is Worth 0

Image:  Lady Liberty sprawled on her back pieced by a

Via Job’s Anger.

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The Handwriting Is on the Wall 0

Yes, indeedy-do.

They are still rising again after all these years.

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The Lake Effect 0

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

And, again, politeness becomes child’s play.

We are a failed society.

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Dissonance 0

As I was preparing to hang the flag out–something I do for national holidays–I thought of others who fly the flag, maybe just not only on holidays as I do but every day, some of them even flying maybe multiple flags from their “I am an inadequate male” pick-up trucks.

I thought of how they congratulate themselves on being such patriots.

And I wondered, as they do that, do they think of the pledge, do they repeat the words

. . . and liberty and justice for all . . . .

to themselves, even as they vote for Donald Trump, the man who puts children in cages?

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“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0

Michael in Norfolk hears a rhyme.

_________________

*Mark Twain.

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QOTD 0

Julius Caesar:

Men are nearly always willing to believe what they wish.

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And Now for a Change of Pace 0

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Base Desires 0

Field shares his thoughts about the recent election. A snippet (emphasis in the original):

. . . let’s stop with all the talk about white working class and economic angst and democrats not addressing their concerns. (James Carville, and Bernie Sanders, old white men themselves, will never get it.) If you gave a lot of these white working class voters a million dollars, and in order to keep it, they would have to have voted for Harris, your money would have been safe. They still wouldn’t have done it. It has nothing to do with economics and everything to do with identity. Kamala’s race and gender made it damn near impossible for her to win. Her opponent, at times, was acting like he wanted to lose, and he still beat her by a country mile. Performing fellatio on a mike at a rally, declaring that immigrants are eating cats and dogs, threatening political violence against your enemies, is not a winning message, but it worked for trump because it was never about the message. It was always about the people who are running. Plain and simple.

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Real Big Men 0

Authorities allege that Richard Shashaty of Brick Township started the (350 acre wild–ed.) fire at the Central Jersey Rifle Range on November 6.

Police say it happened while Shashaty was firing a “Dragon’s Breath” 12-gauge shotgun.

This type of ammunition contains magnesium shards, that can ignite flammable materials, which is illegal in New Jersey.

Musical NotesGuns and stupid, guns and stupid.
They go together like love and Cupid.
Let me tell you brother,
You can’t have one without the other.

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“A Republic, If You Can Keep It” 0

At AL.com, Kyle Whitmire looks at events over the past few years in his home state of Alabama and concludes:

When voters don’t punish crooked politicians, politicians just do more crooked things.

For some fool reason, he seems to suspect that we are about to see this play out on a larger stage . . . .

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The People (Who) Have Spoken 0

Persons labeled

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