Very cool story, if true. Headline is
A "ROGUE" GROUP OF STAFFERS IS TWEETING SECRETS
FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
GERIATRIC SCHOOLYARD BULLY, AND STILL #1 FUCKTARD
Again, the man is walking, talking shitstain........
Donald Trump firing Sally Yates isn't the big story. How he did it is.
Chris Cillizza, The Washington
Post
President Donald Trump has sacked the US’s highest ranking lawyer, acting Attorney General Sally Yates. It follows her taking the rare step of defying the president over his travel ban.
Sally Yates had to know that when she refused to enforce President Donald Trump's travel ban on Monday, she was effectively resigning her post as Acting Attorney General. After all, she was already a short-timer, a holdover from the Obama Administration in place solely to bridge the time until Trump's Attorney General nominee -- Jeff Sessions -- is confirmed later this week.
All the hubbub then about Trump's decision to dismiss Yates on Monday night kind of misses the point. It's not that Yates was dismissed that's important and telling. It's how she was dismissed that matters.
First of all, Yates was informed of her dismissal two minutes before the statement announcing it was sent to reporters. That's not exactly a long lead time although, as I note above, she had to expect the firing since the second she ordered Justice Department lawyers not to enforce the travel ban.
The real key here is the White House statement. And, whoa boy, what a statement it was.
Where to start?
How about "betrayed" as the word choice for Yates's refusal to enforce the travel ban? There's no question that Trump was well within his rights to jettison Yates. But, to describe what she did as a "betrayal," considering that she spent nearly three decades serving in the Justice Department, feels like unnecessarily incendiary language.
But the Trump White House was just getting started. The statement goes on to note that Yates is "weak on borders" and "very weak on illegal immigration." There's no evidence cited for that slam on Yates. But, presumably the White House is referring to the role Yates played in the executive order then-President Obama signed that exempted the undocumented parents of children born in the United States (DAPA) and children brought into the U.S. illegally before their 16th birthday (DACA) from deportation. On the floor of the Senate, Sessions voiced just those concerns prior to Yates confirmation vote as Deputy Attorney General in 2015. "Sooner or later, we're going to have to confront the stark question of how long can we remain effectively silent in the face of presidential overreach," said Sessions at the time. "We're going to regret the day if we remain silent on this issue." (Yates was confirmed 84-12.)
There's no problem with the Trump White House disagreeing with the past administration's stance on immigration. That is, of course, their right. But, again, the scorched-earth condemnation of Yates strikes me as rhetorically overboard and, dare I say it, not terribly presidential.
The real key here is the White House statement. And, whoa boy, what a statement it was.
Where to start?
How about "betrayed" as the word choice for Yates's refusal to enforce the travel ban? There's no question that Trump was well within his rights to jettison Yates. But, to describe what she did as a "betrayal," considering that she spent nearly three decades serving in the Justice Department, feels like unnecessarily incendiary language.
But the Trump White House was just getting started. The statement goes on to note that Yates is "weak on borders" and "very weak on illegal immigration." There's no evidence cited for that slam on Yates. But, presumably the White House is referring to the role Yates played in the executive order then-President Obama signed that exempted the undocumented parents of children born in the United States (DAPA) and children brought into the U.S. illegally before their 16th birthday (DACA) from deportation. On the floor of the Senate, Sessions voiced just those concerns prior to Yates confirmation vote as Deputy Attorney General in 2015. "Sooner or later, we're going to have to confront the stark question of how long can we remain effectively silent in the face of presidential overreach," said Sessions at the time. "We're going to regret the day if we remain silent on this issue." (Yates was confirmed 84-12.)
There's no problem with the Trump White House disagreeing with the past administration's stance on immigration. That is, of course, their right. But, again, the scorched-earth condemnation of Yates strikes me as rhetorically overboard and, dare I say it, not terribly presidential.
One final thing: After blasting Yates repeatedly, the statement makes this somewhat baffling assertion: "Calling for tougher vetting for individuals traveling from seven dangerous places is not extreme. It is reasonable and necessary to protect out country." That seems to run directly counter to Trump's own repeated stance that he would institute a policy of "extreme vetting" for a certain bloc of predominantly Muslim countries. The person who injected the word "extreme" into the conversation about travel bans is Trump. So it's more than a little odd that his White House is now going out of its way to say that the vetting proposed in the travel ban isn't extreme.
What Trump's statement, viewed broadly, teaches us -- or, maybe, re-teaches us -- is that this president sees only two kinds of people in the world: Loyal friends and disloyal, terrible enemies. Principled -- or occasional -- opposition is not part of that equation. You are either all the way for him or all the way against him. Black and white. No room for grays.
For those whom he perceives as being against him, Trump is entirely unafraid of going after them personally. The moment you cross from supportive of his interests to, well, not, is the moment you die to him. He will not just burn bridges with those he believes have betrayed him. He will napalm those bridges.
The Yates firing is yet another example of how Trump is fundamentally different than the many people he has preceded in the office of president. Niceties mean nothing. The world is a tough place. If you don't hit, you are going to be the one getting hit. And Trump will always make sure he throws some punches.
Monday, January 30, 2017
Sunday, January 29, 2017
ABOUT AS SHARP AS A SACK OF WET MICE
Any day that I can quote Foghorn leghorn is a good day. Angela Merkel actually had to call up the fuckstick and explain the Geneva Convention to him. HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Hopefully she spoke slowly and used small words....
AN OPEN LETTER TO TRUMP FROM SKYE CHARLOTTE LESLIE
Dear Donald Trump:
I understand what has happened.
You thought becoming President of this country would be like starring in your former reality show where your arrogance, narcissism and need for total control would be the rule.
...
This is not the case involving the Presidency of this country. We do not elect dictators and despots to govern this country.
You are supposed to represent a large group of citizens and speak for them.
You do not.
The better part of valor (if you understand valor at all) would be to pack it in:
Your performance ratings are low. (You seem obsessed with this kind of data and therefore should pay particular attention to it because these statistics will only get worse on your behalf).
There is no trust from the Republic for which you are supposed to stand.
You are causing confusion (with your lies); harming others with your "shoot from the hip" edicts; ruling against the Constitutional rights of citizens and others seeking asylum in this country; those assigned to represent you (your Senior Counsel and Press Secretary) are a laughing stock.
We are a "United" States of America and you have come to divide us; trick us; con us; cheat us. We do not build walls - we build bridges. We do not set up barriers - we provide access. We do not provide privilege for any one set of religious beliefs - we welcome all. We do not denigrate women or people of color - we embrace them. We do not torture but save those who are tortured.
We are a nation of compassionate response to our own citizens and the world at large. We make mistakes, yes - but we do not hold as an agenda the corruption of every right and tenet listed in our Constitution for the rule of a few over the powerless.
I understand that you understand none of this. It is the foremost reason to pack your bags, gather your minions, take your lies and make haste to leave your position and allow this nation to return to a government by the people and for the people.
You are supposed to represent a large group of citizens and speak for them.
You do not.
The better part of valor (if you understand valor at all) would be to pack it in:
Your performance ratings are low. (You seem obsessed with this kind of data and therefore should pay particular attention to it because these statistics will only get worse on your behalf).
There is no trust from the Republic for which you are supposed to stand.
You are causing confusion (with your lies); harming others with your "shoot from the hip" edicts; ruling against the Constitutional rights of citizens and others seeking asylum in this country; those assigned to represent you (your Senior Counsel and Press Secretary) are a laughing stock.
We are a "United" States of America and you have come to divide us; trick us; con us; cheat us. We do not build walls - we build bridges. We do not set up barriers - we provide access. We do not provide privilege for any one set of religious beliefs - we welcome all. We do not denigrate women or people of color - we embrace them. We do not torture but save those who are tortured.
We are a nation of compassionate response to our own citizens and the world at large. We make mistakes, yes - but we do not hold as an agenda the corruption of every right and tenet listed in our Constitution for the rule of a few over the powerless.
I understand that you understand none of this. It is the foremost reason to pack your bags, gather your minions, take your lies and make haste to leave your position and allow this nation to return to a government by the people and for the people.
DANCER ON FIRE
Whenever I see this sticker on a bumper or in a rear window, someone will tell me "It's a stylized deer's head" but, dammit, I know a pair of dancing legs attached to a burning upper torso when I see one! Don't ask how. It's a long story.
THE PHRASE "SCUMBAG DICKFACE" GETS TOSSED AROUND A LOT WHEN TALKING ABOUT TRUMP....
THE GOV'T WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU. IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
Look – we just
don’t know which kid is going to grow up
to be the next
Jeff Dahmer or John Wayne Gacy orSandy Hook asshole. So, in the name of National Security,
wouldn’t it be best just to have the Trump Regime
KILL ALL U.S. BABIES AT BIRTH? Admit it – you’d feel safer.
Plus, it’d end the tedious abortion debate.
But remember –
when ol’ Dickhead Donny tries taking
credit for this
idea in a few months, some NY Timesreporter will inevitable say “But wait – that was John
Sweet’s idea.” DD’s head will immediately start spinning
around, of course, and he’ll begin foaming at the mouth
as he screams “FAKE NEWS !! FAKE NEWS!!”
BUT YOU WILL
KNOW THE TRUTH.
All expressions
of gratitude may be sent to me in the
form of cash
donations. May the pagan gods bless you.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
LESS THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS
It’s Bauhaus, of
course. A friend of mine had a few of
their albums back in high school, I just COULD NOT get into them. “Bela Lugosi” was good fun, but the majority
of their stuff just sounded like atonal, herky- jerky pretentiousness to
me. And I liked the Residents, dammit!
Someone in college
played “Ball of Confusion” for me, and I was stunned that it was ¾ of
Bauhaus. Love and Rockets were
awesome. Well, their first 3 albums
were. The breakthrough album with “So
Alive” – that kind of partially sucked. Some of it was quite good, though. Sweet
F.A. didn’t impress me in the slightest, either, but I dug the long,
meandering trance stuff on Hot Trip to
Heaven. After that, they lost it totally.
Also heard Tones on
Tail in college for the first time, and they too were totally excellent. And they had the added bonus of a very short
career, so everything they did was great, and you were left wanting more instead
of wincing at an L&R-style tedious decline.
And goddammit if
Peter Murphy wasn’t ALSO excellent post-Bauhaus! Cascade
is my fave, followed by the strange and creaky Dust, but most of his solo stuff has been fairly quality work. And “Cuts You Up”? What a kick-ass fucking song….
And so I periodically
think I must be wrong, and I go back to check out some old Bauhaus, but no – they still leave me cold.
And, son of a bitch, I WANT to
like them! Oh well…..
RETURN OF THE POLISH POLAKS
Another hundred or so hits to the blog from Poland overnight. Book sales are still lagging, tho, as are donations to my offshore banking account.
Come on, people!
Together we can make my life better.
BUT WAIT A MINUTE - CHRISTIANS ARE ASSHOLES, TOO!
At least the ones deeply involved in politics and religion.
Fucktard Nation rolls on.......
Friday, January 27, 2017
IT'S EITHER A CORNUCOPIA OR A SMORGASBORD. POSSIBLY A PLETHORA.
I don't think I have the link to the entire spectrum of work listed over at the right, just individual kernels of wisdom and angst:
MY BACK PAGES
Just heard from the editor of Penny's Poetry Pages, a pretty cool indie poetry wiki, he's updating pages and whatnot, so I should be getting a revamp here soon (on top of the one he just recently did).
Thursday, January 26, 2017
THE PICTURE THAT FACEBOOK WOULDN'T LET ME POST!
I was actually trying to make a point about the insane hypocrisy of the religious right. This is a pic that was posted all over before the Trumpette became 1st lady, but now suddenly it's taboo, so maybe it's a good example of the random dipshit hypocrisy of facebook, too. Is it art? Is it softcore porn? Is there a 5X6 foot blowup of it (without the blur marks, of course) hanging in the oval office?
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
joy in the age of butchered kings
all that empty distance between god and truth,
gotta fill it up with something,
smoke and mirrors,
drugs,
bloodstained words of holy liars and
if i’m sick of myself it’s always
a matter of context
if people need to be crucified to solve
the most obvious problems,
the best place to start is at the top
the best time to start is now
the future doesn’t care who
lives long enough to see it
MINIMALIST CHROMATICISM
That's the name I've come up with for my art movement. Feel free to join, just don't defy me, goddammit....
This is the same painting photographed in different lights. I think it's my limited palette that makes it so freaking tough to photograph it. Plus, maybe, my color-blindness. I think this one is called DUENDE. These 2 pics are probably slightly different than the one I've already posted. 4 in this series now, looks like a 5th one may be inevitable. I like the colors, so I'm having a hard time moving on.
This is the same painting photographed in different lights. I think it's my limited palette that makes it so freaking tough to photograph it. Plus, maybe, my color-blindness. I think this one is called DUENDE. These 2 pics are probably slightly different than the one I've already posted. 4 in this series now, looks like a 5th one may be inevitable. I like the colors, so I'm having a hard time moving on.
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
ALTERNATIVE FACTS FOR THE FUCKTARD NATION
GODDAMMIT, SOME HARDCORE OR EMO OR INDUSTRIAL DISCO BAND HAD BETTER CHANGE THEIR NAME TO "ALTERNATIVE FACTS" PRETTY SOON.
I'LL EVEN LOAN THEM MY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND LET THEM USE "THE DICKHEAD DONNY DOSSIER" AS THEIR FIRST ALBUM NAME.
THIS WILL BE PROBABLY THE ONLY TIME YOIU SEE THE WORD "INTELLECTUAL" USED IN A TRUMP POST (WITHOUT AN "ANTI-" IN FRONT OF IT), SO MARK IT ON YOUR CALENDARS.
(now THIS is truly a picture of a dimwit in all his glory)
(or he's taking a massive dump)
Monday, January 23, 2017
PUT ME ON YOUR ENEMIES LIST
I'd never suggest that the current administration could think its way out of a wet paper bag. Nor would I ever consider myself worthy of government attention for my sad little subversive comments and ideas. I've mentioned in the past, though, my awareness of surges in hits on my blog from both Russia and Poland during the campaigns, for no particular reason. Now, also for no reason, my number of hits from the U.S. is going thru the roof since the changing of the guard.
Again, if it's spies and generally paranoid dipshits, do me a favor and buy a book. Surely you have access to bitcoins and other peoples' bank accounts? So what's it gonna cost you? NOTHING, that's right.
Hell, live big. Buy TWO books........
ONE MORE CUMSTAIN ON THE UNDERWEAR OF THE WORLD
When, you ask, would I actually applaud Madonna? Why, when she pisses off that scummy cancer-divorcing fuckstick Newt Gingrich! Kudos to you, Madonna!
Gotta love it when someone claims you should be arrested for your thoughts. What a guy, that Newt. Definitely assured a spot in the FUCKTARD HALL OF FAME.
Gotta love it when someone claims you should be arrested for your thoughts. What a guy, that Newt. Definitely assured a spot in the FUCKTARD HALL OF FAME.
Sunday, January 22, 2017
A MESSAGE TO YOU, JJ
If I can paraphrase the Specials. Even tho I don't think they wrote that one...
Dude, go for it! Start
painting and posting what you do.
I knew a couple of excellent watercolorists pack in the day,
but watercolors were always beyond me.
Too much subtlety and control needed.
Hell, most painting is beyond me.
I can draw and do the pastel thingy, but i seem to lack the patience for
brushwork. I love that thick, quality watercolor
paper, though. Excellent stuff.
My first five years’ worth of work was all sold, given away
or destroyed. I think I have 2 paintings
left from those days. I did, I think,
only about 3 painting in the next 15 or 20 years, 1 sold, 1 kept, 1 trashed. When
I decided to start painting again last summer (don’t know what I was thinking),
my materials sat around for about 3 months before I finally picked up a brush
and started something. 3 paintings
survive of my first dozen or so attempts, and 2 of those are only because Dawn
likes them. Even this new series has
been a struggle, 3 of the 4 finished pieces are actually salvage jobs, probably
have 3 or 4 false starts a piece buried beneath the final image.
Words I can make do what I want. Acrylic paint, not so much.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
FLAW
Working on a painting, probably be called FLAW when it's done due to a ripple in the right side of the canvas (bump in the stretcher strips). I think more than a painting a month becomes problematic for me, feels like I'm rushing, things get fucked up. FLAW is actually a salvation job on two prior fucked-up canvases. Definitely a different pace than my writing.
On another note, some anonymous drone at my workplace has some awesome rust on the wheel well of his white pickup. Will eventually getting around to using this as the basis for some paintings. Hopefully.
SOMA
This may become a series, so I'll try mixing up canvas sizes to keep it interesting. I've tried a few other images with different color schemes, but I keep fucking them up, or the image gets ruined along the way. Looks like I'll be sticking with the ochre/sienna/umber thing for a while, and the general idea of rot and decay. They're actually the first paintings I've done in about 20 years that seem like permanent keepers. It's about fucking time......
SOMEONE NEEDS TO CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS
Because I hate posting interesting images without giving proper credit.....
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