Voices Crying Out In The Wilderness

 As the realization that perhaps electing a convicted felon who had been impeached twice in his first term begins to dawn on America as a whole that it may have been a bad choice, the rest of the world nods in affirmation. 

America as a hole. 

"This isn't what I voted for." 

Really? You believed all the spin and hype that came tumbling out of the former game show host's mouth? Now you're questioning your choices?

I'm looking at you Marjorie Taylor Green. 

And you, Tucker Carlson.

It was all fun and games while the bloated sack of protoplasm was taking wide swings at those things that you hate. Then he started chopping up the White House. And starting wars to cover up the facts hidden in the Trumpstein Files. All of a sudden, there is a rush by some of those big mouths that had once hung out with the would-be-king at his golf resort. That was before they "realized" that maybe all wasn't well in that dark space between his ears. 

Poor Marge. "I wanted so much for President Trump to put America First. That’s what I believed he would do. All I heard from his speech tonight was WAR WAR WAR," wrote the former congressperson from Georgia after the Orange Worst's April 1 address to the country. "Nothing to lower the cost of living for Americans. Nothing to reduce our near forty trillion dollars in debt. Nothing to save Social Security, which goes bankrupt in just a few years. Nothing to lower the cost of insurance. Nothing to address jobs for Americans. Nothing about education for our children. Nothing about our children’s future. Nothing for America’s future."

Poor Tucker. “You know, we’ll be tormented by it for a long time – I will be,” Young Tuck said. “And I want to say I’m sorry for misleading people. It was not intentional, that’s all I’ll say.” But of course it wasn't really all. Speaking with his brother on his podcast, “In very small ways, but in real ways, you and me and millions of people like us are the reason this is happening right now.”

Even now as thirty-some percent clings to approval of the way this monster has shredded the Constitution and turned our system of government into a Demock-racy, we look to those mildly sentient beings left in positions of authority who might bring an end to this charade. Tucker is a podcaster, for heaven's sake, and Marge is an ex-congressperson. Not exactly our first line of defense. 

But then again, they never really were. 

Limited Attention

 The world economy is in a shambles because of the Orange Worst's poor decision making, or lack thereof. I learned a new term as a result of this narcissistic mishandling: Stagflation, a combination of economic stagnation and inflation. Countries are running out of jet fuel. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is having the ugliest possible effect, superseding those felt by the capricious tariffs he put in place to start his second term. The invasion of Venezuela, the threats he has made against Canada, Greenland and Cuba have only compounded the unchecked angry whimsy of the Second Trumpreich. 

Oh, and he wants to fight the Pope. 

With all of this bizarre behavior and his approval ratings in the toilet, what do you suppose the Master of Disaster has in store for us next?

How about getting his pool guy to come out and re-tile the reflecting pool for the Lincoln Memorial? 

Yes, the former game show host has set his attention deficit on coating the hundred year old water feature "American flag blue." 

The Orange Worst said he was inspired to oversee renovations after a friend visited from Germany and noted its decay."He said, 'it's filthy, dirty. The water is disgusting looking. It's not representative of the country.'"

To which I could only reply, "Well, it certainly reflects the current state of our country."

On the Worst burbled, "In another couple of weeks, we're going to have the most beautiful reflective pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial that you've ever seen."

First of all, there is only one "reflective" pool between the Washington and Lincoln Memorials, so the one I have seen is and will continue to be the most beautiful. Secondly, I am immediately suspicious of any timeline offered up by the alleged pedophile. Especially the ones that span "about two weeks." Considering his diminished capacity and attention span, he probably believes that the rest of us will forget what he was talking about eight minutes from now.

No? You still remember the random war crimes and the Epstein Files? Looky over here at the pretty reflective pool. Isn't it a calming shade of American Flag Blue? Maybe he'll stock it with sharks and throw ICE captives into it for sport to celebrate the 250th birthday of our great nation. 

Yeah, like that's so ridiculous. This is the guy who wants to have a UFC arena built on the South Lawn of the ruins of the White House. 

Time to wake up, America. 

Conflict Resoluion

 Never fear. Just because you read something about a "California teacher with a beef against the president opens fire..."

That was not me. 

Rather instead I spent this past Saturday evening at my home in California, along with my wife and cat, whom also have a beef with the president, but chose to ignore this year's White House Correspondents Dinner, the one that ended in gunfire. 

I was alerted to the disturbance like many of you when alerts started coming across various media. Mine came from Al Gore's Internet where I was abruptly assured that, once again, the convicted felon had not been harmed in this latest attempt on his life. 

This would be the hat trick, if I may borrow the hockey parlance for a third shot on goal. The suspect, that teacher from California who had a beef with the president, was subdued and taken into custody. The officer who was shot was wearing a buttetproof vest and was reported to be "doing great" at a local hospital. 

The rest of us? 

It seems that the overwhelming sentiment was that folks who were trying to watch the NBA playoffs were upset because their game was interrupted with an appearance by the former game show host assuring us that he was unscathed. This was the kind of announcement that used to bring a sigh of relief to those of us who hold the office of the President as something to regard with honor and pride. This is not the current climate in the United States. Someone tried to kill the president. Allegedly. Contrast this with the coverage of JFK's assassination or even the attempt made on Ronald Reagan. How quickly can we just get back to our sportsball coverage? They were wrapping up the NFL draft, for heaven's sake. 

The question to everyone's answer would be "will this change the national discourse away from affordability, the war in Iran, or the Epstein Files?" The most scurrilous sentiment that I encountered in my own mind was that the "very stable genius" had not quite finished composing his prepared remarks for the gala, and was relieved when he didn't have to be heckled by members of the press corps who have suffered his indignation for the past decade. 

Even more likely is that we have arrived at a point in history when we are confronted by a Congress that does little else but wrings their hands and waits for the next election to deal with the Orange Worst. I continue to maintain that no one deserves to be shot. I am a proponent of non-violent action, but I am a porponent of action. 

And yes, I am a teacher from California who has a beef with the "president." 

ChatDOA

 In the big book of frivolous lawsuits, this one just might not be.

The Florida Attorney General is opening a criminal investigation into Open AI. 

Not because someone used it to fake their resume, I'm looking at you Kevin Warsh. Nor is it because some undergrad used AI to fake a term paper linking Barbie to Wuthering Heights. 

But we're getting closer. 

Nope, instead the Attorney General's office is starting a probe to uncover just how much help ChatGPT gave the shooter at Florida State University a year ago. Two people died when a nutjob with a gun in the student union, wounding several more who were attempting to flee the scene. The alleged nutjob started his day by pointing a shotgun at a passerby in a parking garage. That weapon did not fire, so the alleged nutjob went back to his car to retrieve his mother's handgun. The carnage took place in the span of about ten minutes. Authorities shot and wounded the alleged nutjob three minutes after the first shot was fired. 

Pretty standard stuff, as school shootings go. However, the addition of Artificial Intelligence being involved makes this whole thing even uglier. “ChatGPT offered significant advice to the shooter before he committed such heinous crimes,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said, adding “that the chatbot advised the shooter on what type of gun to use, on which ammo went with which gun, on whether or not a gun would be useful in short range.” Uthmeier continued, “If this were a person on the other side of the screen, we would be charging them with murder.”

Meanwhile, OpenAI spokesperson Kate Waters said, “In this case, ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity.” 

Ms. Waters did not say that ChatGPT tried to convince the alleged nutjob to seek professional help, or discourage his inquiries. The alleged nutjob was in communication with the chatbot just minutes before the shooting began. 

I used to think that Microsoft Word's Clippy was annoying. 

Now I miss Clippy. Those were simpler times. "It looks like you're writing a suicide note. Would you like some help with that?"

Legacy

Let's not worry just now about America's cultural impact on the rest of the world. You can get Pop Tarts in Canada and the United Kingdom. 

Also, you can get shot and killed while visiting the ancient ruins in Mexico, just like you could here at home.

A sixty-one year old Canadian tourist was murdered by a lone gunman at the pyramids of Teotihuacán. Several other visitors were wounded by gunfire and even more were injured trying to escape the hail of bullets. 

There might be some comfort in knowing that the nutjob with a gun was part of a drug cartel, aiming to increase the terror among world travelers. Sadly, this is not the case. Preliminary investigations suggest that the aforementioned nutjob was identified as a twenty-seven year-old Mexico City resident who had expressed admiration for Hitler and for the perpetrators of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado. Monday’s attack occurred on April 20, Hitler’s birthday, and also the anniversary of the Columbine attack.

For those of you in the know, there were many connections made between April 20 and its connection with cannabis use that dates all the way back to 1971 in California. Eric and Dylan may or may not have been avid users of marijuana, and their fascination for all things Hitler is well-documented. 

As is the picture left behind by the Mexico gunman who used AI to include himself in a gun-toting tableau with the long-since dead murderers of Columbine. Like his mentors, the Mexican gunman turned his gun on himself after authorities responded. This incident occurred twenty-seven years to the day of the Columbine massacre. 

I guess I wish you could get Pop Tarts in Mexico instead. 

Slipping

 Trying to make a case for the tragedy of gun violence here in the United States of America right now is a challenge. Hundreds and hundreds are being killed across the globe each day by weapons far more fierce and effective than handguns or even semi-automatic rifles. I would expect that if you were to drop by a village in Ukraine, or the remnants of a school in Iran, you might find it difficult to get a group discussion together regarding gun laws here in Estados Unidos. 

So, forgive me while I digress briefly into a problem that predates the Orange Worst.

Wouldn't it be amazing if a cease-fire would hold anywhere in the world? This past Sunday, a man in Shreveport, Louisiana shot and killed eight children between the ages of three and eleven. He wounded the mother of his seven children as well as her sister, the mother of the eighth child. A thirteen year old boy ran up the stairs and jumped from the building's roof. He has some broken bones, but is "expected to recover."

Those bones will knit, and the casts will be removed, but "recover" is a very big stretch. The father and murderer of those children fled, leading local police on a chase after a carjacking. He was shot and killed by authorities. 

And now the community in and around Shreveport begins the long journey back from that abyss. "Nothing like this has ever happened around here," said the locals who can no longer say that. Shreveport joins a long and unfortunate list of cities that never experienced anything like a mass shooting. 

Until now. 

There have been one hundred fourteen mass shootings in the United States so far this year. That's just a little over one a day. With numbers like that, how can there be any more communities to be scarred by gun violence? 

I am sad thinking that this kind of carnage has become background noise in the cacophony of the Second Trumpreich. Even sadder to think that gun violence has slipped even further down our list of priorities. When a convicted felon and alleged pedophile is running the country, can we afford to forget the innocent victims, aged three to eleven? 

Standard Standard

 If you were to listen to James Brown, you would believe that "It's a Man's Man's Man's World."*

Then again, if you had never heard of James Brown, you might reach this same conclusion. One need only look at the sports pages to get a sense of just how correct the Godfather of Soul really was. 

Dianna Russini, a sportswriter, was photographed holding hands with the head coach of the National Football League's New England Patriots, Mike Vrabel. 

Big deal? Well, to hear Page Six, the celebrity gossip column of the New York Post, tell it Ms. Russini and Mr. Vrabel who are both married to other people, may have been canoodling with one another shortly before those photos were taken. Or shortly after. Consenting adults, but consenting adults the public might recognize. 

At least Coach Vrabel, anyway. 

One could make the supposition that this indiscretion was a way for Ms. Russini to give herself a share of the spotlight that comes with the aforementioned canoodling with the coach of the NFL's second place team from last year. 

But would it be worth losing your job? 

Dianna Russini resigned from her position at The Athletic, the New York Times' sports magazine. Those in the know, which seems to be quite a few individuals given the nature of this story, suggest that she resigned just ahead of being fired after a rather abrupt investigation into the alleged canoodling. 

You can bet that the NFL got straight to work investigating their employee, but you would lose that wager not unlike the way the Patriots lost the Super Bowl back in February. After what seemed like minutes of consideration, the powers that be at the National Football League chose to send the following message regarding Vrabel's conduct: "None of our business." 

How and why is this not the very same issue for both individuals? I need only point to the Godfather of Soul.*  The picture painted here is not a pretty one. But it is very familiar. 

Sadly.