February 23, 2024

If you think pop-up ads in your browser are maddening . . .

A few months ago my wife discovered a tv show she liked, so, she binge-watched six seasons on a streaming service -- no ads.

Season 7 (which is the last season ) started last week. A 30 minute program -- minus 2 minute intro, minus 2 minute conclusion, minus 11 minutes of commercials equals 15 minutes of program - - - that's for a 30 minute program -- 15 minutes of content. During tonight's episode she kept track of the time and decided she's done with the program . . . and with the advertisers. One-third of the ads were for new shows . . . none of which interest us.

Was it FCC Chairman Newton Minow who in 1961 described TV as a "vast wasteland"? He was ahead of his time.

February 22, 2024

It's about evangelism, evangelicals, and why they are so dangerous

House Speaker Mike Johnson is an unabashed "evangelical Christian," a term that is applied to a lot of individuals and groups today, mainly to those who seek to force their version of Christianity on the rest of us.

And why do they do this, try to force their beliefs on us even to the point of arguing that the US is a "Christian nation" and our laws should be based on Biblical laws? Because that's what they have been "called" to do.

I know "evangelical Christians" and "evangelical Christianity" because I was born (1944) and reared in rural South Mississippi, grew up as a white supremacist Southern Baptist, became uncomfortable with what I was hearing from the pulpit, escaped to college at age 18, read some dangerous books, and have never returned -- except to march in Selma and Montgomery and Birmingham in the 1960's and continue to piss off my MAGA relatives and friends in my old age.

The word "evangelize" -- and its other forms, "evangelism," "evangelical" -- comes from the Church Latin evangelizare, "to spread or preach the Gospel," with the Greek root euangelizesthai, or "bring good news."

According to the Gospel of Mark, Christians are ordered by Jesus to go into the world and "bring good news."

Mark chapter 16 verse15, which purports to be the words of Jesus, is translated variously with the same meaning in each translation.

15 And he said unto them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

15 And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."

15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”

The writings of the Apostle Paul make up the bulk of the Christian New Testament and Paul's evangelism is held up as the example for all Christians to follow. Not only did Paul "proclaim the good news of Jesus," he CONVERTED people from whatever spiritual beliefs they held to Paulian Christianity and he encouraged them to convert others. It is from this period of Christianity that "evangelizing" went from "spreading the good news" to converting the heathen to Christianity (by any means possible, by the sword if need be, which is how we converted the "heathen Indians" in the USofA)).

Of all the world's religions, two are evangelizing faiths: Christianity and Islam. Some argue that their methods are the same.

Muslims do “evangelism.” It is a duty in Islam called da’wa. In Islamic dogma, da’wa means “to invite people to Islam.” It is the act of making an appealing message, calling people to embrace the faith proclaimed by Muhammad, as described in the Quran (Q 3:104; 3:110; 16:125; 41:33). The da’wa focuses on exclusive claims of Allah’s strict monotheism and Muhammad’s prophethood. As Islam spread from its founding in Arabia into Europe and Asia, conquered peoples were converted to Islam -- by persuasion or the sword, similar to the spread of Christianity.

This is why the likes of Mike Johnson and his "Christian nationalist" brethren -- including Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett -- are so dangerous:
-- they are CALLED BY GOD to preach their beliefs, and,
-- they are CALLED BY GOD TO CONVERT OTHERS to their beliefs, and,
-- they are CALLED BY GOD TO RULE OVER THE REST OF US, and,
-- if we don't like it, they are CALLED BY GOD to use the sword -- or the federalized National Guard.

And, no, I have not been drinking or smoking ganja and I have taken my meds today. This is serious.

February 21, 2024

Online ads

I know this comment will make no difference to anyone anywhere, but here it is.

I just deleted from my bookmarks CNN and MSNBC because of the goddam ads and I'm about half-an-inch away from deleting and dropping my online subscription to the Washington Post for the same reason.

I've been an Internet user since the days of dialup. The days when a PC with 128K -- that's 128K, NOT 128G -- of memory was top of the line. I've never made a purchase from an online ad, yet, they pop up all over the place.

Ad blockers don't seem to work.

Everygoddamthing is monetized.

I guess I'm just too damn old and have turned into the old crouch shouting at the kids to GET OFF MY LAWN . . . except I'm shouting GET THOSE DAMN ADS OFF MY SCREEN!!

February 10, 2024

Time for President Biden to:

FIRE MERRICK "SLEEPY" GARLAND. NOW.

That is all.

February 7, 2024

After some thought . . .

. . . I told my wife I want to be cremated.



She made me an appointment for next Thursday.

February 6, 2024

This is a rant about prescription drug packaging

I wish the people who design prescription drug packaging could be sentenced to a lifetime of having arthritic hands and have to spend 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, opening the packages in which they have encased individual prescription pills.

Wife and I are 80+.

She is insulin-dependent diabetic. In addition to five daily injections she takes three pills, each of which comes individually packaged in packaging that was designed by the people who design bank vaults.

I am in good shape -- mildly high BP, enlarged prostrate, and a couple of other challenges of old age. One of my meds comes individually packaged.

A long time ago it became possible to get meds in non-childproof containers because for us with arthritic hands a childproof container is, in fact, adult-proof. But nothing was done about meds that come in individual packaging -- usually blister packs with one pill per blister and a tiny tab that is supposed to be peeled away, releasing the pill. Try that with arthritic hands and fingers.

Yesterday she received a shipment of 90 days supply of two such meds. This morning I spent ONE ENTIRE HOUR with those meds, a pair of scissors, a razor blade, and my old hands removing all the pills from the sealed packages and putting them in old pill bottles that we reserve just for this purpose. The result is all the pills are in readily-accessible bottles and I have three cuts on my hands. We do this for three of her meds and one of mine each time we receive a new supply.

End of rant.

Oh, and by the way, this comment required 15 minutes for me to type because arthritic hands don't always hit the correct keys, so, when I type anything into the word processor, I then spend about the same amount of time correcting typos that I spent typing.

February 5, 2024

True Detective on HBO

Out of deference to my daughter, I started watching the latest HBO trash, "True Detective", something about the frozen north. I managed to remain civil until last week, 15 minutes into it, I told her enough was enough, I'm outta here.

Tonight I gave in a started watching. Lasted ten minutes.

No more.

Sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings . . . to each his/her own.

January 31, 2024

Historians tell SCOTUS Trump is disqualified under 14th Amendment

A group of historians filed a brief today with the Supreme Court in the case before the Court dealing with the question of whether or not Trump is banned from running for President under the 14th amendment's prohibition of anyone engaged in insurrection from holding elected office.

The historians drew on arguments, debates, private papers , letters, and speeches of the people who drafted the 14th amendment. A copy of their brief is attached.

Their conclusion - based on the words of those who framed the 14th amendment - is clearly that Trump is banned from elected office.

Whether or not the Court will listen is another question.

Pass this on to anyone you think would be interested.

I hope this link works - trying to do this on my iPad.

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.supremecourt.gov%2FDocketPDF%2F23%2F23-719%2F298895%2F20240126151819211_23-719%2520Brief.pdf&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cd5cf37268fff47682a4a08dc220b43ff%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638422679017736817%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=7md5ALlWGFDkwIE1siVQgp1eQQmsvxM1iNDzqRdzogk%3D&reserved=0

January 9, 2024

Very misleading WashPost headline

As of noon today, the online Washington Post features a VERY misleading headline:

In fact, the judges listening to Trump's lawyers were rolling on the floor laughing their asses off, all the while trying to maintain judicial decorum.

December 15, 2023

Is Jack Smith the re-incarnation of Pontius Pilate?

I swear this really happened yesterday.

I live in a rural Virginia county that votes 65 % Rep, 35% Dem in local, state, and Congressional elections and voted 70 and 72% for Trump in 2016 and 2020.

I am on a county board with two Republicans. We were meeting yesterday, I stepped into an adjoining room to take care of something while they stayed in our small meeting room. I could overhear their conversation.

These are two retired professional men -- one retired Army colonel, the other a retired business executive. They were talking between themselves about how Trump is being treated like Jesus, with Pontius Pilate bringing phony charges against him. They continued in that vein, with the comparisons of Trump with Jesus and Jack Smith to Pontius Pilate, even after I returned to the room, sat down and listened to them.

They did not ask my opinion and I did not volunteer one. These people are in a dangerous cult and "The Donald" (as they call him) is serving them Kool-Aid.