Listen to the rain a-fallin'. Can't you hear that lonesome sound?

 I was supposed to have some Actual Paying Work to do tonight. However, I was told to hold off on it for reasons beyond my control, so I find myself with a free evening and no idea what to fill this space with. I've gotten to like the idea of doing a quick check-up of Gibberish on working nights, mainly because it gives me an excuse to be lazy. And if there's one thing I love above all others, it's being lazy. Mainly because I'm incredibly good at it.

 So we'll gonzo it tonight and see what we can shake loose. The country's still insane. Joe Rogan - who I never got, partly because I make it a policy to ignore people who claim the moon landing was faked - is spreading rumors that the fires out in the Pacific Northwest are due to left-wing activists, which means the current All-American Enemies Black Lives Matter and Antifa. This comes on the heels of police and firefighters in the area, as well as such radical lefties as the FBI begging people to stop spreading rumors.

 And people are still trying to debate this down. One argument I see is it's "understandable after Antifa lit so many fires in cities while protesting, despite there being not only absolutely no evidence for that but, indeed, plenty of evidence at least a few were started by right-wing agitators. Another one I saw said it was something COINTELPRO, which might be even dumber. I'm not completely sure how that's supposed to work.

 The fires happen every year, but Americans can't remember past the week before. The Pacific Northwest has had a particularly dry summer, but Americans don't take climate change seriously. There have been a few folks attempting arson for completely apolitical (usually because they have loose screws), but Americans don't want to believe anything that doesn't fit their Narrative.

 This is just another iteration of the rank Dumbness that has taken over the country. Dingbats who have no inner life are rubbing their blue-vein throbbers of the idea of getting violent against people they think won't be able to fight back. While all this is going on, we're being told that we need to reach out to people who don't share our ideological viewpoints, which means liberals/leftists shouldn't give conservatives any guff. If it's any consolation, I don't even pretend to understand.

 Moving on. Today is Hank Williams' birthday. I am a huge fan of his music and long have had a fascination with his place in pop music and American culture. Like my brother said, he's one of those hinges of society. He made songs that were designed to be enjoyed by everyone, so they were, plus he was a mean-ass, hard-drinking miserable redneck bastard, as earthy and Too Real as they come.

 He didn't live long enough to grow out of it but he also didn't live long enough to start making shit music, either because his well was dry or his hard-living caught up to him. The very real pain and misery in his life came through in his vocals, regardless of how jaunty the tempo or amusing the lyrics. And the songs? The songs are fucking great, some of the best ever written.

 So, I dig me some Hank Williams. I've written two, count 'em, two 20-plus page papers in college on Hank Williams for non-musical classes. The one music appreciation class I took, I wrote a 10-page paper on ol' Hank. He's kind of like Otis Redding or Sam Cooke; it's a shame he didn't live long enough to produce more music and we've heard all we're probably going to hear, but it's all such concentrated awesome, there's just no chaff. Like with Elvis or the Rolling Stones, who both had some stinkers.

 Okay, what else. Joe Biden did a Q-&-A with voters tonight. Apparently, he did so well the wingnuts are saying he must've got the questions beforehand. This means the guy they've been saying has dementia for the past six months is still sharp enough to memories a bunch of rather complicated answers. Sure. I really shouldn't be surprised at how quickly and effortlessly conservatives change their tune - it was beyond a doubt way before Trump became president - it nevertheless gives me a sad chuckle every time it happens.

 Speaking of which, with all this talk of cancel culture and repression of free speech (or telling racists to fuck off), I'm reminded of the Free Speech Zones during Bush Jr's second nomination. None of this is new. The Hoover government sent the Army on World War One vets who were protesting. McCarthyism destroyed life after life, career after career, and with the full backing of a cowed United States government. Palmer raids, the MOVE bombings in Philadelphia. The Whiskey Rebellions and the Free State of Jones County. None of this is new.

 The Constitution doesn't give you rights. It tells the government what it can't do, and even then, almost every amendment has been circumvented, explained away, or outright ignored. The only actual right you have is the freedom to think whatever you want to think, and far too many of us don't want to put the effort into it.