I Don't laugh at Trump Anymore

I don't laugh at Trump anymore. Those days are over.  And what a shame. He has all the unintended characteristics of a buffoon who is clueless about how hilarious he is. But, I just don't laugh at him anymore. The depths of his immorality, sleaze, over the top narcissism and absolute no compassion for anyone other than himself overwhelm any other of his humorous flaws. 

Yes, Trump has transcended the funny days when his moronic behavior made the country laugh uproariously at his "Look at me" antics. 

He is just not funny anymore. He is not an asshole anymore. He is not a clown in charge of a political gaggle of clowns. No, he has finally found his calling; He is evil incarnate; the most treacherous and vicious American politician ever. If he can't have us, he will burn down the country in order to take us with him. 

He is even more dangerous now than before he lost the election to Joe Biden. Sadly, his loss only wounded him. Some of us hoped it was politically, a mortal wound. Some of us hoped it would bring on some kind of medical calamity that would usher him six feet under. But no. Someone like Trump is hard to kill, figuratively anyway.

I had successfully managed to find a dark rank and rancid corner in my mind to keep him and his stupidity safely out of the way.  He was no longer  taking up much space in my head. The onslaught of reckless and often unintelligible hysteria that spewed out of his pie hole had almost gone silent. His position as "Eye Sore #One" had slipped. People were beginning to ignore him.  We were seeing a life without Trump and we liked what we saw.

Now he is back and again poisoning the nation's political rhetoric that had begun to mellow some. More than ever, he is obviously desperate to again be on everyone's mind whether they love him or hate him. He saw his irrelevancy coming and it scared the beejesus out of him.

He is a different Trump now. He is a Trump who has done battle, lost dramatically, and because he still draws a breath, is not willing to go quietly into the night. In his desperation to reclaim that which he feels was stolen from him, he has shed almost any of the token veneer of decency he tried to fool us with seven yeras ago. If we choose to look now, we can see what he was the whole time; A third rate two-faced huckster pretending to be the man of everyone's dreams.

I am hoping this will be one of my last posts about Trump. I will again try to stuff him in my forget-um sack and get back to paying attention to my life and not his. Before I go though, I wanted to share four of my favorite Trump images/cartoons.

Keep it 'tween the ditches ....................................

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Instead of reinforcing the negative vibes I woke up with this A.M., I decided a happy tune was needed. Immediately the lyrics, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" ran through my mind. When this song came out so many years ago, I liked it well enough, but it came across as a sappy, feel good tune in the face of what was a serious world fraught with danger. ........... Hmm.

Now however, many years later, we are faced with an even more serious and dangerous world. Maybe a song like this is what I need; maybe what the World needs. 

Anyway, here is a version of Bobby Mcferrin's tune by world wide cover groups from "Playing for Change" . The song is still sappy, but now, sappy may be what we need. Sappy works when Kids sing it. They remind us of what we once were and what we might think of being again.......

For the album art, I made this collage of screenshots of some of the folks, large and small, who helped with this song. From the mouths of babes ........................

Are There Still Any Republicans Who Are Not Ashamed Yet ?

If not, then this Tweet yesterday by the Michigan GOP might help them feel some...... No, it should make them feel buckets of shame. (My opinion is in RED)

I am so fed up with the spineless sleaze of the Republican leadership at the local levels, the state levels and the national levels. The GOP rank and file allowed their party's mentally deranged fringes to take over their message and direction. Because of complacency, mistaken trust, or just monstrous stupidity, it is the Republicans who live next door or down the road who are to blame for what their party has become. The sad part is, I am pretty sure they have no clue how insidious and dangerous the new policies are to our country that they have allowed to escape the rancid ooze and goo of the GOP backwaters.

Both parties claim to be patriots, whatever that has come to mean. But only one party seems to know what it used to mean and it ain't the Republicans. Over the last 40 plus years, the GOP has steadily done what it could to turn the Land of the Free into the Land of the Corporation. 

The leadership of the White Wingin Autocrats and the frothing at the mouth Bible Thumpers have been pissing down the legs of their minions and calling it trickle down prosperity. Meanwhile, the party faithful suck in this lie and make excuses for when those golden showers do not result in the utopia of individual freedom and riches their two faced, gutless, sniveling leaders promised. 

They always claim any problems with their plans panning out are the fault of the Left Wing Libtards. The Left is hardly blameless, but they have on occasion, stepped up and and admitted their mistakes when the pressure was on. Instead, the Right doubles down and looks to lying,scapegoating and gaslighting instead of owning up. When that fails  they try to convince us the blunder was no blunder at all, but part of their plan to "Make America Better". ............... What a MF-ing crock of Bullshit.

The political bosses of the Right have no real interest in protecting and/or securing the rights of the individual; nor are they much interested in the overall betterment of our society or culture.The Trumps, the McConnell's, the Rhonda Santis' are in it only for owning control of the national joystick, while filling their's and their sponsor's pockets. 

They apparently, are Hell bent on turning this country into a mirror image of Russia, as it is run by the Right's new champion, Vladimir Putin. I think this "Putin Love" coming from the Right is the most obvious warning that the Right has become a tool of oligarchs and religious fanatics.

................................................... Okay............ Calm down Mike. Easy there, big fellow. You'll blow a gasket. 

I am more convinced now than ever, the worst enemies we have are ourselves, but the worst of ourselves are Republicans.

Later gator .................................................

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From Youtube, please enjoy, "Pepper", by the Butthole Surfers . Posting it should tell me that by the time I got around to picking a song, I had wandered onto another path and well, at some point I decided I was lost and settled for this tune because I have always liked it and it is by a band whose name is on my Top Ten list of Band Names.

My Father's Mugs

This mug was my father's. I discovered it on his desk when I was very small. According to family tales I don't remember, it was once found in my bed when I was three or four. The office supplies it had held, scattered on the floor.

That mug sat loud and proud securing his collection of pens, pencils and the occasional letter opener. It has performed the same service for me since the General passed in 1980.

I can remember showing off the mug to my grade school buds. It was a hit for sure. We didn't need to open a "National Geographic" to see nekkid wimmin. No; here was a realistic 3-D example of one with , snicker, snicker, no clothes on. These titillating tours of early sexual awareness only lasted a short time before boredom set in.

This mug is an example of how depraved the levels of the rampant and un-tethered pornography reached as they permeated the White, tight ass-ed culture of my youth. It was scandalous I tell you.

My mom would not allow this mug in the kitchen, the dining room; anywhere strangers might come together to meet.  The mug did not assault her sense of morals. No, she considered it crass and in poor taste. One did not leave items like this out for company to see. It would be akin to leaving panties on the love seat in the living room. In actuality, this mug was never destined to actually hold any coffee. The handle is almost useless. A secure grip, near impossible. I am sure it did not take long for it to turn into a pen and pencil holder.

This half liter beer mug on the right sat on my father's work desks wherever he was stationed after his time in post WW ll  Germany. It also never made it past souvenir status. It was one of his most prized memories of his Air Force years. His staff gave it to him. Apparently it was a case of mutual love and respect. He exchanged howdy's with some of them right up to his passing.

It is interesting to me the things we collect and save that over time don't just take up space and add to the clutter. They serve as rewind cues to special times and the people we shared them with. They can remind us of pleasant times, hard times, insane times. 

I have my own collection of material memories. Whenever I take the time to check them out, the memories will flow through fingers as I fondle them, flow through my eyes or become a river of sound through my ears. The best memories will make me smile and often sad at the same time. 

Considering these two mugs as belonging in this category; they are bittersweet, tearful, and bust a gut funny; my relationship with my dad was all that.

Keep it 'tween the ditches ...............................

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An obvious pick this post is "Father & Son" from the album, "Tea for the Tillerman" by Cat Stevens before he was sucked into some serious religious insanity. One of the best Father/offspring tunes ever written in my opinion. Definitely one of my favorites.

I was a fan of Cat Stevens until he seemed to come out in support of the Fatwa taken out on Salman Rushdie over 30 years ago. That I never heard a denial on his behalf at the time, I took his response, the one I listened to, as being exactly how he felt. 

Years can conveniently dim memories of the things done back in the day. My anger at him waned over time and he eventually stepped back into the light; saying his reasons were misinterpreted by the anti-moslem press of that time.

Okay fine. I am over it. He's over it. Time to move on.

Language Equity

In those haze filled moments between sleep and wakefulness this morning, I thought of a subject to write about followed by my first sentence. The brilliance of that sentence has faded some since my feet hit the floor; but let me tell you, it was Pulitzer worthy. .......... Okay, okay, it wasn't. But it did make me laugh out loud at how ridiculous it was. I guess it actually was more of something one might read in an Alice in Wonderland novel. Might make sense on the second run through. And then again. it might not.

It bothers me that I cannot retrieve that sentence from the many mutters that clutter my mind. I have heard that with a high enough IQ properly focused, a person can remember every moment, word, every thought they ever had. Given that I barely have a high enough IQ to know which side of the bread to butter, remembering what I did an hour ago when I was waking up can be a challenge.

Later this morning I opened my latest edition of the "Atlantic Monthly". In a section they call "Dispatches", was the op/ed, "The moral case against Euphemism", by George Packer.

Anyone who knows me, knows I pack my politics to the Left. And anyone who knows me better than just kinda knows me, knows I will call out the stupidity of either side when it raises its head enough to catch my attention. 

I have taken notice that there are forces on both sides of the aisle who would rid us of notions, concepts, and odious freedoms they feel insult them and thus must insult all of us here in America. Both sides do it. But at the moment, the Right is the elephant in the china shop with their new "anti-woke" policies. Because the Wingers have the loudest voices now, the Liberal fringes have been able to work their own kind of evil magic under the radar of public awareness. Much of their focus has been to edit the language we use everyday.

 According to George, there is a countrywide effort to rid our language of any word that might be perceived as hateful, mean, demeaning, or even hint that someone somewhere might take offense once that word has entered their brain. It is called Language Equity.

This arbitrary adjustment of the status quo in our language apparently was spawned in the back rooms of academia over at least the last 50 years or so. It has spread throughout the nation and into the fabric of organizations and governments, public and private. PR manuals have been written with a new harsher emphasis on kinder and gentler language to use when attempting to win converts to their cause, their product, their beliefs. 

I agree there are words that are no doubt hurtful, incendiary and should be stricken from our national lexicon. Like many good ideas that are over zealously put into play, it now appears that between Language Equity and the Pronoun Fad, every word we speak is under suspicion of harboring hidden slurs, denigrating codes that are used by Evil people to communicate with each other in a sort of wink, wink, dash dash manner. I'm sorry, but I am of the opinion most words mean what Webster decided they meant hundreds of years ago.

These well meaning people are now deep into some kind of witch hunt where every word is suspect. Left unchecked, they might turn our beautiful language into a bland and empty reminder of what it once was. Words are being cleansed and banished at an astonishing rate. It is as if we now are to assume our fellow humans are not intelligent enough to understand context at the same time they are reading. If that is the case, then we have deeper problems than offending someone with words on paper or screen.

According to George, this new "Language Equity" is the offspring of just a few sources, two of which are "A Progressive's Style Guide" and the "Racial Equity Tools" glossary. The number of edits and deleted words seems almost infinite. As an example; Don't use the word "battle". It might incite a PTSD incident or drive someone to violent outbursts. For some reason the word "Blind" is frowned upon. The list is long enough in the "Progressive's Style Guide", it would give some dictionaries a run for their money. Their efforts are gutting the English language of its soul, its many hues, all in an effort keep folks from having the Blues.

The Ultra Right are doing their best to erase history and criminalize previously enjoyed rights. The Uber Left are doing their best to sanitize our language and strip it of its passion, intensity; its essence. Between the two of them, the results may not be what any of us foresaw or wanted. 

We need to take back control from the fringes of the Left and the Right. Allowing the minorities of both sides to dictate the conversations and messaging regarding our future goals and commitments quite often rely on poorly conceived knee jerk policies that force change rather than let it evolve organically; in its own time. Change will happen. We should not be so quick and thoughtless about the pace at which we allow it to happen.

Keep it 'tween the ditches ............................

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Hateful words, sadful words and gladful words are part and parcel of our collective souls. All of them have a place in our English lexicon. The many words available that evoke and vent the emotions of a moment, an interaction or disappointment, can be cathartic and soul cleansing. To that end, here are the Avert Brothers with their song 10,000 words.

At War With Ourselves

This past Wednesday, March 15, Maine celebrated 203 years of slave free existence. As part of Henry Clay's Missouri Compromise, the admission of Maine as a slave free state along with Missouri coming in as a slave state helped to maintain the precarious balance of power between the North and the South. Henry Clay championed these new policies surrounding slavery at the time which became known as The Missouri Compromise of 1820.

I was exposed to the Missouri Compromise in several different school districts. There was a decided regional twist taught depending on where the school I attended was located. 

The high notes of the Compromise were basically taught the same, with my history teacher in Fairfax, VA adding his opinion that it ultimately favored the North as he felt it illegally negated the 5th amendment Right to own property. He felt that Congress overstepped its authority by denying a state's population the right to own slaves.

The National Archives list the main points of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 as:

"This legislation admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a non-slave state at the same time, so as not to upset the balance between slave and free states in the nation. It also outlawed slavery above the 36º 30' latitude line in the remainder of the Louisiana Territory."

The Missouri Compromise was one of the early bipartisan efforts by Congress to stem the building hate and discontent over the issue of Slavery in the 1800's. Henry Clay was always in the thick of the conversations and results. Because of Henry Clay's and other's efforts, the conflict between the North and the South was successfully avoided until the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which effectively gutted the Missouri Compromise. Now slavery in any state, no matter its location, would be determined by popular vote. The situation rapidly declined from there. But Henry Clay's Compromise helped to keep the opposing sides of the slavery issue from tearing the country apart for 25-30 years.

I mention the Missouri Compromise event only because here we are 200 years later and we are still at each other's throat. The people who were at the center of most of the political controversies in 1820 are still at the center of much controversy now 200 years later. In neither time are they to blame by their actions, but only by their mere existence.

This senseless racial hatred that was so insidious and virulent during our ancestors time still exists today. It still exists because it is in the interest of those who would control us to use it to keep us divided. The sleazy assholes pulling the strings and making greedy plans behind closed doors do not care about skin color. The color of our skin is a convenient and easy difference to exploit when seeking to dominate a population either politically or economically. They only care about money and power. Anything they can use to keep us slobs on the street off our game is okay with them. 

Once we all see that race, LGBTQ, religion, and the so-called culture wars are nothing but  manufactured diversions to keep us off balance, we may have a chance. A population that is off balance is so much easier to manipulate. ...... Yeah, until all of us stop this war with ourselves, we will continue to be mindless drones who are conditioned by hate and discontent.

Keep it 'tween the ditches ................................

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BTW - Writing this post gave me a chance to reacquaint myself with another American hero who spent their life serving their country, yet did not quite make the front row of  history's Hall of Fame. Henry Clay was such a man. Reading even a short bio such as this one at Wikipedia, fills out the two dimensional image broad brush history books paint of him. Two fun facts about Henry and his time: 

~ His mother bore 16 children by two different husbands. 

~ Henry liked to gamble. He once won $40,000 (2020 dollars - $970,00) and returned all but $500 of it. At another time, he lost $60,000 (2020 bucks - $1.5 million) to the same person he had won the $60K from before. That man returned all but $500 of that debt.

I really enjoy these background fun facts of the pillars of our history. They somehow make me believe in them more. History is not boring. What is boring is how it is taught to us.

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I googled "anti-slavery tune from the mid 19th century". The first song that popped up was "Auld Lang Syne". Originally a traditional Scottish tune to which a Robert Burns poem was used to provide words years later. A popular and immediately recognizable tune, many people substituted the Burns words with theirs. No better example exists that the version famed Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison came up with. So here is an excellent version as Rod Stewart sang it some years back  .... AND .... also a version by a pipes and drum corps at an arena in Ukraine I believe. Somehow, that seems fitting .

Both versions are excellent. 

And as it always does, the song made me tear up. ....................... Twice. 

In memory of a friend who passed some years ago.

A Hazy Shade of Winter

We got smacked pretty hard yesterday. I know that after watching poor Maggie out in my back yard last night, the weather report posted here has to be very close.

 

21 inches will make even the most grizzled Mainer at least grunt when they see the totals. I am guessing there is chaos, frazzled nerves and unhappy campers aplenty in our part of the state. I especially feel for the plow drivers. This was a wet heavy snow storm that stressed equipment and tempers. 

The early news on Channel 6 had Shapleigh, a town next door to Acton as having the most snowfall for this storm. According to the clueless forecaster, Shapleigh received 14 inches. Once again, Acton misses out on a moment of fame, renown, and most importantly, bragging rights. Such is our existence; to be ignored by the button down sweater around their neck folks who exist the other side of the Turnpike.

Posted on our local town Facebook page, "What's Up in Acton", this image is off an Apple Weather App. From the amount of snow dumped in my dooryard, it cannot be too far off. Regardless, it was a helluva storm, especially this far into March. Not unheard of, but not normal either.

Of course what is normal anymore?

Later .........................................

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Please enjoy Simon & Garfunkel's song, "A Hazy Shade of Winter" from their 1968 "Bookends" album.

Just Another Day in Paradise

So Channel 6 apparently did not want to upset or anger its viewing audience too much with the latest weather report. Yes, most of us here in Maine are ready for Mud Season to begin. Winter is so yesterday's news. Or should be.

Channel 6 called for 10 + inches here in the pucker of southern Maine. But then I ran across an official government weather station forecast from up Gray, Maine way and well, they are claiming 12" to 18". While Channel 6 is not lying, they are clearly trying to stay on my good side.

The new twist for this storm is that it is a Nor'Easter and most of Maine is solidly in its path. The last winter Nor'Easter was well I can't remember. No matter which direction the snow comes from, we can get nailed hard. 

As I look out there this morning, the white crap looks to be falling at better than 2 inches an hour. There will be more broken branches and downed trees to add to the already impressive piles built up over the last couple of months. The storms though have been a boon here on Sam Page Road. The big pine out back has already dropped enough branches to increase the square footage that will be sunny this summer. And from the looks of things now, some more branches look to be in trouble and that is okay. More sunlight out back is good.

More sun over a wider area this summer will allow me more options about where I place my first raised garden in over 20 years. I miss the outstanding vegetables I used to grow. I sit here now and realize that giving up the garden was a regret for sure. We'll see if I can recapture some of that gardening magic of growing food for my belly and not just for my head.

All this snow in the past month has told me that I no longer have the enthusiasm for this white crap as I used to. I especially hate cleaning it out of the back of my pick-up now that I am sporting 70 year old knees and hips. 

So, I just spent the last so many minutes checking into a tonneau cover for the pick up. The last time I even considered one was back in the 1990s when I had a notion to trick out my new used 1989 Datsun?Nissan 4x4 pick-up that had been delicately owned by some city guy over to Portland. Anyway, there are quite a number of covers out there now over what was available back in the day.

After I had found a cover I liked, I decided to use the site's chat format to ask some questions. Samantha was very nice but no help at all at the moment. She needed a picture of the inside of the bed to more accurately answer my question. I told her I wasn't going out there to take a snapshot of my pick-up bed. I was warm and dry. With all that snow coming down, I told her I'd get back to her. Well Samantha is a smart ass. After she had said her goodbyes til next time, she snark-ly wrote, "Don't send that stuff down here to Florida".

I wanted to but didn't write back, "If you can keep your transgender governor within your borders, I will do my best".

She's not the only one with snark, even if I left it unsaid, I thought about it hard. ...... So there Samantha.

Keep it 'tween the ditches .........................................

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I figured given there's more snow than makes sense out there, the tune today ought to be in some way connected to the white crap coming down. Googles "songs about snow". Lo and behold, an excellent Hot Chili Peppers' tune I have not played in years popped up. Here is "Snow (Hey Oh)". Damn, they are good.

Fernando El Magnifico

My daughter sent me a text today with a picture of a new cat the New Hampshire Humane Society Shelter just got in to put up for adoption. He is a Tuxedo kitty who goes by the name of "Nando". She teared up she said. When I saw the pic, I did also. We once had a tuxedo kitty we had named "Fernando" whom we called "Nando" for short.

Cats have the image of being totally independent creatures who only tolerate their human families when it suits them. We only exist to do their bidding. And I guess there is some truth in that. But anyone who has had many years of sharing their lives with cats knows that is actually bullshit. Cats pick certain humans to be their property. Nando picked me. He was my bud, my pal, my partner in crime.

He's been gone some years now but never far from my heart. I think of him on a regular basis. He was a big goofy tom, as many tuxedo cats are. I could beat him up and he always came back for more. We rough housed quite a bit.

Sadly, he was never very healthy. He went through bouts of congestion and labored breathing. One day I woke up on the couch and he was stretched out on the coffee table. He never hung out on the coffee table. If he was looking for lovin or some fightin, he would crawl on top of me. But there he was, his body laying there peacefully, while his soul had left sometime in the night.

Yeah, that text from Lis opened up a wound. 

Later .................................

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Only one tune would work for this. "Stray Cat Strut", by the Stray Cats, a retro rock band from the 1980s.

The Merry Minuet

Allen posted an article from the Washington Post about the current reluctance of many Americans to practice common sense preventative measures when faced with a pandemic type event and how it will only create more problems when the next big outbreak occurs. 

Allen wrote as his lead at the top of the post:

"America(n)s have a very strange understanding of freedom. When the next outbreak of a contagious disease occurs, Canada better be able to slam our border with USA shut tight. It would be nice if the disease only killed Republicans and their sympathizers."

I have no argument to counter his assertion. The White Wingin Right has certainly embraced some seriously twisted notions of what freedom means to them. But it was Lori who put this mutated political awareness of the Right into the perfect nutshell. She wrote:

"Maybe the reason you can’t cure stupid is, it takes so many forms."

I busted up. Perfect. ........... Stupidity does indeed take an infinite number of forms. We have been honing our stupid skills for well over 40,000 years; probably longer. I have a feeling though, when we first started out, we were smarter then than we are now.

Fixing stupid is an exercise in futility and always has been. When I am not practicing my own form of it, I realize the only way to beat it, is out last it and survive it. Ignoring it is at one's own peril though. All too often it swallows us up into its evil slurry circling the bowl and flushes the smartest and best of us down with it.

I am not sure if others do this, but I began years ago to acquire mantras and beliefs to help find my way through the morass of stupidity I found all around me. As I became more aware of how different and odd other people could be and how blatantly and stupidly wrong they could be, I have tried to only get tied up in my own stupidity and not theirs. 

I tried to allow them the courtesy of their own stupidity without compromising my own. My mistake was not keeping tabs on the stupidity others were involved in as they sucked others into their idiocy, and before I could say, "What the Fuck", they were a movement, a grotesque snarling mass of stupidity that engulfed our country and is now threatening to turn all of us into the morons they had become long before.

The one glimmer of hope I have is that even with global busting moments of planet wide stupidity, somehow we have survived as a species. I am fearful though that at some point, as the Kingston Trio sang 60 years ago in "The Merry Minuet":

"........ Someone will set the spark off, and we will all be blown away."

I used to believe in the right of people to be stupid. I know now stupidity is not a right we can bestow. It is part and parcel of what we are. The best we can hope is that we survive our worst moments of it.

Later .......................................

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The obvious choice for music is the Kingston Trio's rendition of "The Merry Minuet". 

I inherited or maybe stole my brother Doug's copy of their first album when I was around seven I guess. I would later own and still do have somewhere more than a few of their albums. They were not cutting edge rabble rousing pot smoking beat niks. No, the Trio wore the same button down preppie shirts and Weejuns on their feet. They looked like the guys every mom hoped would date their daughters.  Their music was safe ....... until it wasn't. I understand they received some shit for this tune.

My Mother Turned Eighty Yesterday - Flash 150

Okay. Because I really enjoy writing flash fiction off of prompts, I am combining the first line prompts of 3/7 and 3/8. Aiming for 150 words.

"My mother turned eighty yesterday."

"Why would you say that?"

“Because it is a lie.”

Jack dropped a corner of the sports section he was reading and looked at his friend seated across the table.

“Why lie to me? I knew your mom. She died in her fifties.”

Bob looked up from his crossword.

“Well I’ll tell ya Jack. I have decided nobody listens anymore. I don’t know if it’s my age or a general, across the board  tendency of today’s society. ….. You were my first test. I will lie all day and see if people notice.”

Jack reset his newspaper with a snap, cutting off any further comment from Bob.

From behind the sports section, “You know Bob, when you come up with these dumb ideas, you make my day. It reminds me that no one should have a wing-man who is smarter than they are….. Carry on.

______________

Had more trouble finding a tune that incorporated lies and lying. Might be I was fussier this morning than yesterday. Anyway, here is David Bromberg's "Early This Morning". He became a favorite of mine over fifty years ago. He's slowed down since then and now owns and operates a fiddle repair and sales shop in Delaware and living life easy. He still makes music.

Here I Am, Little Jumping Joan

Here I am, little jumping Joan

When nobody's with me,

I 'm always alone.

I never thought much of Mother Goose once I started reading serious literature like "The Hardy Boys" and "Tom Swift Jr". Mother Goose was for babies, not me. I was a big kid with big kid concerns that Mother Goose would never understand. Silly little rhymes to make babies smile was all Mother Goose was good for.

Then I went to college. One of my Lit classes focused on Mother Goose for week or so. That is when I figured out the not so subliminal messaging that some people thought was nestled in almost every rhyme. Many have felt the rhymes were often political, oftentimes critical, and more than occasionally satirical; especially once one learned the point of the poem in the first place. 

The point. What was the point of the poems other than to entertain children? Well, six, seven hundred years have passed now and there is still no agreement on what the poems were about, who wrote them, when they were written and where did it all originate. 

Mother Goose is a perfect example of Truth being manipulated to fit into the convenience of present day mores and attitudes. There is no hard line factual truth surrounding Mother Goose. It is up to the beholder what, where, and who the stories and rhymes are about. 

Anyway, "Here I am, Little Jumping Joan" is a Mother Goose rhyme my mother in law used to say all the time according to my wife and that is why she has recited it herself regularly for the last forty years. Hearing it makes me smile. Hearing it tells me things are not as screwed up as I often think they are. 

A bit of silliness? Or something deeper? ........ Both, I think.

Keep it 'tween the ditches ............................................

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There is only one tune that will do for this post. From 1989, here is "Three Little Pigs", by Green Jelly. An unconventional take on the original. Makes me laugh every time I hear it.

He is the Slime

By 10:00 AM yesterday morning the snow had been falling for six, seven hours. We were scheduled for 12+ inches. We definitely hit the plus side of that 12 inches. I think this is the first March I can remember we have had trouble finding a place to push the snow. We should be in the harsh beginnings of Mud Season. Instead the snow banks are at eye level or higher.

In the last two weeks I am guessing we have received around 40 inches of the white crap. That is about half our old normal seasonal accumulations. The first half of winter, I was more often in shorts and Tees wandering an alien landscape that reminded me of the many brown Maryland winters I experienced when I was young. 

Now I am not one to complain, especially about snowfall amounts, but couldn't the planet set up a schedule that was more even handed with the snow it scattered around. Winter is over ferchrisakes. Okay, not technically over, but we should be in the gearin it down stage where snow squalls and dustings turning to rain are the order of the day; not this constant barrage of heavy snows.

Anyway, I was hoping to wake up with something to bitch about besides Republicans and the nonsense they get all of us into. Since whining about the snow is not worth the trouble, I will fall back on my favorite sport of late, pissing on the GOP parade anywhere I find them acting like clowns. And let's face it, the White Wingin clown show stretches coast to coast and everywhere in between.

Nowhere is the clown show more entertaining or compelling than in Florida. The GOP in the Sunshine State has mastered many different ways to expose their stupid and evil ways. I hear that Rhonda Santis, the tranny governor of Florida is backing Senate Bill 1316, introduced by Florida state Senator Jason Brodeur, R-Lake Mary.

In a nut shell (pun intended), SB1316 would force bloggers who write about any Florida state official,ie, Governor Desantis and his alter ego, Rhonda, to register with the state or face a $25 per day fine for not registering. Mainstream news medias would be exempt as would pretty much everyone other than bloggers.

If I was a Winger troll writing about this I would stop there with only part of the picture revealed. But I am not a Winger Troll, I am a card carrying pinko commie libtard Democrat who is not threatened by rainbows, transsexuals or anyone who is not white.

We Lefties may be godless, but we generally try to be fair. In the interests of full disclosure, this law would only affect paid bloggers who post about the holier than God Florida bureaucrats and legislators. The logic is siphoned out of the cesspools of GOP minds. The bill equates Blogging to being a Lobbyist.

Talking heads contend this proposed law, if passed will never stand up to judicial review; that it is just more performative politics by Gov. Rhonda Santis and her alter ego Ron. Everything is a show with this guy/gal; whether it's on a stage wearing sequins or in the Governor's Mansion saving Florida from those evil Liberals.

Keep it 'tween the ditches .................................................

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I found Ron and Rhonda's song. It fits them perfectly. From the genius of Frank Zappa, please enjoy this 1973 tune, "I'm the Slime". Actually it should be the official song of the Right.

Catch of the Day - Flash 250

It did not taste like chicken. It didn’t taste like fish either, though on the menu it was called “Catch of the Day”. Dave kind of poked at it with his fork wondering what could be caught around here and be considered cuisine of any kind.

He stopped a waiter and asked him, “What exactly is this “Catch of the day” today.”

The waiter looked at Dave. “Son, you must be a traveler. ….. Did you even bother to check the name of the town when you entered?”

“Uh no, I guess not.”

Well this is Donner in what used to be located in the great state of California. You are currently seated in the “Donner Pass Bar and Grill”.

Dave looked at the waiter with a blank look .

“Son, any “Catch of the Day” you see on the menu never walked on four legs. …… Understand?”

Dave's blank look changed to one of horror and disbelief. He grimaced and immediately retched.

The waiter leaned in and whispered, “Today’s catch is better than usual. Not so stringy and tough. They must have found a young one on the last hunt. ….. Meat this tender and juicy does not come around often.

Dave stood up as if to leave.

“Leaving?”

“Well yes. Seems I am not as hungry as I thought.”

"Son, you are really missing out. .... But some advice for you if you plan on moving on. …. Keep to the shadows; a new hunt went out this morning.

First line prompt - 250 words - It went quickly

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I picked "Good Thing" by the "Fine Young Cannibals" just because I have always liked this tune.

Lola Land

Rhonda Santis, that mercurial Tranny governor of Florida, along with his state GOP Gestapo could be an example of what we can expect nationwide if the GOP's wet dream about Murica ever cums to fruition. 

I envision lock step rank and file hard lining Wingers sneaking off to the bathroom, the garage or locking themselves in their man caves with pictures of Rhonda, Donnie T, and Little Marco Rubio in a "menage a trois."  Of course, along with the party sanctioned 8x10 color glossy prints, there would be arrows and circles with a 3rd grade level break down of what their spank buddies are up to.

It seems Florida State Senator, Blaise Ingoglia wants to make the Democratic party illegal in Florida. 

From today's edition, "Tallahassee Democrat":

"Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, ......... as party chair 2015-19, and now seeks to accomplish legislatively what he could not do at the ballot box – remove Democrats entirely from Florida politics."

I will give this Republican weasel some points for creativity though. However, his goal and general sleaziness mixed with the back door slimy GOP shenanigans he is using to attain his goal, well, like his governor, he isjust another GOP shit stain on the fabric of America. The bill, numbered SB1248 pans out as follows:

"SB 1248 never mentions the word Democrat or Democratic, but "the Ultimate Cancel Act," said Ingoglia in a prepared statement, would decertify any political party that ever included a plank to support slavery in its platform, something the Democratic Party did between 1844 - 1864."

Who said Republicans are stupid? .................... Okay, okay I said it. Many times. But I guess they have the ability to be clever.......... very clever. Their stupidity always comes in because they never look past their own knee jerk prejudices and desires at the long term ramifications of their actions. 

The new MAGA style Republicans only know how to tear down. They have no clue how to build. That will be their down fall. Hopefully at the ballot box. If not, their vision for this country will fail and drag us down with it. Without a strong opposing party to blunt their blundering destructive decline into Fascism or worse, a Christian theocracy, We are as Jackie Sue says, "We are fucked".

But hats off to Blaise for finding a new way to project his prejudices while allowing him the misguided luxury that he is not an asshole, he is doing good. Rock on Blaze. 

I wonder Blaise, as you are part of Rhonda's Tranny gang, do you dress up as Blaze Starr, the most famous stripper of all time. You know, I saw Blaze down on "the Block" in Baltimore in the late 1960s. She might have looked a little worse for wear then, but she still knew how to make the wood hard.

Later ............................................ 

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As I finished up on a memory of Strippers and Trannys, the only logical choice for me was to continue in that vein while considering the musical choice for this post. Only one tune came to mind and frankly, I am a tad tired of letting Google make up my mind for me.

Please enjoy this groundbreaking tune from across the pond. This song caused White Christian panties to bunch from coast to coast when it came out. Here are The Kinks and one of their signature songs. I drove for them back in the 1970s. Please enjoy, "Lola"

I picked a live version because I heard this tune many times during the two tours I hauled their gear. "Lola" was the go to "encore" tune. By the time the encore came around, the band was often blotto. Every encore of "Lola was a unique version.

Damn, I loved driving for them.