Let me just say, I never meant to hurt nobody, though I guess there's some I couldn't look in the eye.

 I don't think I'm going to get this one under the gun, but what the hell. What is time? Something I really don't pay attention to all that much anymore.

 And why should I? It's rare that I have to interact with the outside world at a specific time, and I like drifting around wherever and for however long I want. So, it's a waste of time, for me anyway.

 I'm not going to lie, this might not get done until tomorrow morning. It's past midnight already and we got word from the good people at Tombigbee Electric that the ol' internet would be done for some terribly good reason that I can't remember. I was playing Pathfinder: Kingmaker all evening, working on a "serious run" and I'll probably go back to that. Beyond that, I don't know.

 August 31 came and went, and best I can tell, the U.S. didn't leave anyone in service in Afghanistan they didn't mean to - apparently there's going to be an armed presence for a little bit - and they, along with the EU, cut a deal with the Taliban to get Afghans out of there if they want to go. Money talks and bullshit walks on that, so we'll see.

 There is much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments over this, by both conservatives who don't want to give Joe Biden a win and the big-time press because war sells newspapers. Plus, a lot of them were big cheerleaders for this back in the day and they've all been proven to be dumb bloodthirsty bourgeoisie shit asses.

 One wonders what the next thing that will be used to wind up the gibbering masses. The yacht-left Substackers are still banging on that being disagreed with or, worse, mocked is akin to brutal, Orwellian censorship. But I don't think they really pay attention to anything else, which makes sense if you think about it. These people have convinced themselves their words and thoughts are golden.

 They might circle back around to "wokeness" and Critical Race Theory, but I imagine it'll be another round of refugee panic as they forget the whole "bring our partners and helpers out of Taliban tyranny" by the middle of the month. They haven't had a good reason to build up a serious hate-on for Arabic folks, that's always a favorite.

 Moving on, at least four wingnut talk show goons have caught COVID and died over the last couple of weeks, and all except one were fanatically anti-mask and anti-vaccine and pro-"this is all a hoax to make Trump look bad and, anyway, it's just a light cold only old people and fat people die from and we don't really care about them." The other might be, too, but I'm too lazy to look.

 We've also seen a passel of just regular jackasses who scoffed at the vaccines and the masks, only to wind up with a tube down their throat begging everyone else to get the shot. I should be more empathic with them, but I'm not. They need to do more work on their own because we've still got ding-a-lings showing up at school board meetings accusing vaccination efforts to be Satanically inspired.

 Two of my cousin's kids tested positive. They're both under 10. Another cousin tested positive and I've been directly exposed. We're averaging 5,000 new cases a day in Mississippi. More kids died from it last month than the entire 17 months beforehand. The hospitals are past strained further than they need to be, and more people will die.

 And it's all their fault. I don't celebrate an anti-vaxxer going down like I don't cheer when a drunk driver wraps their car around a live oak tree. It's the damage they cause to others that piss me off. Because of them, we're going to have to let COVID burn through us like the 1918 influenza plague, and not all of us will survive it.

Lord, if you won't take care of us, won't you please, please let us be.

  Y'all, Hurricane Ida hits land tomorrow and by all accounts will be a booger. If you're in the Gulf Coast area, take the proper precautions and split if you're told to. If you're in the rest of the South, get ready for some bad rain and possible flooding. And that's on top of everything else kicking us in the collective teeth. 

 Okay, it's 3:25 a.m. and I slept on this. We took Little Brother back to the airport today, and driving to-and-from Memphis wore both me and Momma out. I remember thinking I need to get something down but it was a losing battle.

 In any event, it was a good visit from the LB, who I haven't seen in almost two years due to COVID. Granted, now is not the best time to come to Mississippi, in re: COVID, but he'd already bought the tickets and couldn't refund them. That tells you, if nothing else, just how quickly this Delta variant slipped up on us.

 He brought me some good smoke, which is great, but I think he really enjoyed spending time with Momma. I won't go into details, but Momma grates on him and he usually spends his visit avoiding her as much as possible. This time, though, they'd spend hours talking, even when that meant listening to Momma spin her conversation roulette wheel and hope to keep up.

 So it was a good visit and I'm looking forward to him and the Sister-In-law visiting this winter. Visit with your people, y'all, it recharges your batteries. Okay, then, onto the News. Good week. Big week, too. Between the FDA's approval of the Pfizer vaccine and the ongoing Afghanistan withdrawal, it has been interesting times. Add a Category 4, potentially devastating hurricane into the mix, and you can't help but wonder why the Washington Press spent so much time on Biden's dog. Good god.

 I'm not sure what else. I have noticed that even a couple of sessions has reset my brain somewhat. Now and then, I'll do this thing where I'm sure I've been thinking about something but I forget it. I can't for the life of me remember what it was or even if I was actually thinking about it. May not sound too deep but it always serves to shake me some. Man, I've missed this.

 Well, it's been at least a half-hour since I wrote the above paragraph. I don't really have anything to roll with, nothing particularly noteworthy I'm reading or watching or playing. My PowerBender harp came in the mail yesterday, but so far I really can't tell much difference. I find bending notes sort of easy, which has to mean maybe I'm doing it wrong.

 This last little bit is like pulling teeth, man. I think I'm going to go back to bed. I've been scrolling through Tubi but I don't think I'll mess with crap cinema. Just wrap this up, finish my drink, and call it a whatever-it-is. Seriously, though, y'all. Hurricane Ida looks to be no joke. Be safe.

Yeah, baby, everything's gonna be all right.

  While I haven't been putting this off all day, not really, it just occurred to me that I've not been at my best lately. Might as well get something down before the storm moves in and we lose power. Let's just ignore that I really don't have anything worth putting down in print to offer.

 I don't know what's going on, but this week's been a bummer, man. I thought the extra dose of Prozac the Psych Doc ordered was working finally but now I wonder. I'm not down, per se, just listless. Some of it has to do with the redness in my right eye that came from nowhere and won't go away no matter how much Visine I use. It's uncomfortable and makes reading a serious drag. And writing for that matter.

 Anyhow, let's get the News out of the way. The pullout of American forces from Afghanistan and the rampant spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19, that's your news for the week. I said it on Twitter, but maybe the most depressing thing about the Afghanistan pull-out is it's the most attention that country's gotten from the American press and populace in the past 15 years. Blame Biden or Trump, but that is a glaring example of why the United States needs to cut that sort of shit out.

 You can't tell me that we spent 20 years and two trillion bucks there, just for it to go tits up in a week, that was time and money and lives well-spent. Whatever the reasons why it was an absolute failure of American foreign policy from start to finish. It would've been this bad five years ago or five months from now. There was no good outcome, especially not twenty years into it.

 Okay for that. And I'm not going to get myself worked up over COVID again. I imagine I'll be raging about that for the next couple of months. I've already put the kibosh on my New Orleans trip and now it's looking like Athens is probably out. Dammit. Little Brother is coming down to visit next week. He said he might be able to get something together, but I doubt it'll come across. I could desperately use it, though.

 This eye business is making me miserable, man. I'm trying to use my glasses but they don't seem to be helping. Too bad I don't have access to an eyepatch. This is killing me, I think I'm going to have to lay down for a bit. I haven't reached word count but it will have to do.

UPDATE: It's one a.m. and the nap seems to have done my eye some good. At least it's giving me a reason to sleep all the damn time. I still don't have anything interesting to say, unfortunately.

 Just looking back, it has been a dismal week for this pitiful nonsense. The News has been solid this week, nothing spectacular or mindblowing but good work. And I've spent the last 20 minutes reading about Thin Lizzy and Huey Lewis. I think this is good enough, word-wise anyway.

Not worth a clever title, trust me.

I screwed around last night and not only did I let the hour creep up on me, but I also didn't plan on an all-night internet outage. Well, I guess you can't plan for such things. In any event, it's Friday morning and I'm writing Thursday's Gibberish, and of course, I really don't have anything to work with.

 It's true, I really don't have anything. My brother's supposed to come out next week, and I'm not going to lie, I'm worried about it. He's coming from Oregon and they've been much more on the ball than Mississippi has, in re: the whole COVID thing. He's flying into Memphis and I'm more worried about him flying out. Every day Momma announces another dozen or so folks she knows or people related to people she knows who have it. Most just have a light case but there's always a couple who are in bad shape.

 I can't believe there are still people bucking this thing. Look, the government doesn't care enough about you to track you and you're pretty easily controlled right off the boat, going through all this with a vaccine they're giving away seems to be a waste of time. But, hey, we all think we're the Hero of the Story and no one can convince us otherwise.

 Moving on, it's fun watching the big-time Washington press bend themselves into pretzels trying to find something wrong with Joe Biden's pull out of Afghanistan. Granted, Biden himself said some things could've been done differently and the future for women under Taliban rule is worrisome. That being said, it's hilarious to me watching all the people give a shit about Afghanistan for the first time in 15 years, especially the dirtbags who actually cheered on the American aggression in Afghanistan.

 And it's just darling that so many people are shocked and dismayed that Afghanistan fell so quickly to the Taliban despite 20 years of America showing them how to do freedom. The only "wins" there came for military suppliers and I don't know of an occupation situation run by the U.S. that hasn't been completely corrupt and incompetent. Maybe we should stop doing this shit, or is that too much to ask?

 Okay, what else. I'm really not sure where to go with this. I could give it a miss since my Actual Paying Work clocked in around 1,700 words all totaled. But nah, that's cheating. Granted, I'm not getting anything accomplished with this, but what the hell.

 It's been kind of a useless week, I guess. Nothing really interesting. Blowing the harp, listening to the blues, reading professional Carnacki fanfiction, and playing mainly Pathfinder: Kingmaker. I did play a little of Lovecraft's Untold Tales. So far, so good. It's an action RPG running with the pixel retro-look. Hard as a bastard, even on easy level.

 The weather's been kind of a drag. Lots of rain from the tropical storms and hurricanes messing around in the Gulf. Not as hot but fiercely humid. Hey, aren't we all glad I put any effort into this whatsoever? Totally a good idea and worth doing.

I can't think of anything clever to put here.

  I think I've got a good start on getting out from under the blue funk I've been for the past couple of months. I don't know it's anything in particular. Maybe that extra shot of Prozac is kicking in finally.

 Whoo boy, the News this week. It's been a depressing one all the way around. We found out Monday that we're further in the hole than we thought when it comes to climate change. Wednesday wasn't so bad as there's been some good progress on the much-need infrastructure plan, but Friday was depressing as shit.

 Y'all. Get the damn shot. Wear the damn mask. Stop gathering in huge groups. Nobody wants to control you or break your will. You're not that important and you're pretty easily led anyway. This has nothing to do with freedom or tyranny, vaccines are perfectly safe, and the idea that this is the first step to future dystopia, a la 1984, it ain't.

 Climate change will probably do it first. People think the problem we'll face is the heat or the rising sea levels, but that's not what'll kick us in the nuts first. It's going to be the prices the Powers That Be will be hiking to compensate for shrinking resources. You think those fuckers are going to go with air conditioning in their dog's house? Hell, no, and you'll appreciate the scraps they let you have. Furthermore, anyone who thinks they shouldn't be the only ones with potable water, you'll call them a goddamn commie. We'll be too busy slitting each others' childrens' throats to buy a loaf of bread to worry about the woke government controlling you.

 Hey, moving on. I watched Slither last night, the 2006 horror movie that crashed when it came out but has become some of a cult film. Michael Rooker is in it and he's always fun to watch. Nathan Fillion plays the hero, and while I've never cared for him in anything else, he plays a pretty enjoyable protagonist. Elizabeth Banks is fine but she has the worst Southern accent I've heard since Jodie Foster's in Silence of the Lamb. Character actor Gregg Henry has fun chewing the scenes he's in and ingenue Tania Sulnier should be in more movies. It's currently streaming on Tubi, so check it out.

 In harmonica news, this guy's worth checking out. The kid's name is Liam Ward and his lessons are fun and easy to process. He's also got a lot of neat licks and tabs to learn on his YouTube site. Check that out. I also bought a Lee Oskar Melody Maker in C. These are tuned different, in that the key of the harp is played in the second position. It's supposed to be good for country, R&B, and reggae, but not for blues. It's a neat little dude, but it's like that Irish tuned harp I bought in that if money was tighter, I'd be sore with myself for buying it. For some reason, I've forgotten how to warble on the harmonica, too. I hate when that happens.

 I'm going to get ahead and pinch this one off for now. I might come back lately, but will probably play some more Pathfinder: Kingmaker. I've restarted it and playing "know what I'm doing" run. Or I might just call it a night and read until I fall asleep.

 Anyhow. Enjoy the weekend. Get vaccinated, stay cool, and keep an eye on the Gulf.

Leaving would be the last thing on my mind if I could turn back the hands of time.

  The News and what's been on my mind today meshes. That is, the explosion of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 and just how poorly we are prepared to deal with it. Plus, the planet's on fire. Jesus.

 The country finally reached Joe Biden's goal of 70% vaccination but considering how virulent this new strain is and how adamant the pro-COVID group is, as small as they are, one wonders if it'll do any good in the long run.

 And for the record, yes, if you're nutty about wearing a mask or getting a vaccination in this day and age, I'm saying you're pro-COVID. Like people who want to ban abortion are anti-choice, I'm tired of screwing around with you. The last couple of days, Twitter's been inundated with tales of right-wing disc jockeys, right-wing club owners, and right-wing politicians who've spent the past year screaming about their freedoms being curtailed because of said masks and vaccinations... dying from COVID. In some cases, they're expressing regret for not getting the shot.

 There's just no sympathy for these yo-yos, mainly because we're also seeing stories of kids younger than 13 having to be flown 150 miles because all the surrounding ICU beds are filled. There should be, or at least some empathy, but they put a lot of work into this and it's really hard to feel bad for them when it bites them in the ass. 

 Now, Sturgis is starting and Lollapalooza happened this week, and I swear before God, I don't understand people. I mean, I get being stir crazy and wanting to have a good time, but really, does anything think this is a good idea or something that's necessary? I wonder if I weren't in the position I'm in - middle-aged and disinclined to have anything to do with anyone - where I'd fall on this. It's like everyone always says they've been against slavery or for Civil Rights had they been alive in that era, when the truth is most of us go along to get along.

 Anyhow. This is pretty interesting. It's about voids, empty parts of space billy-uns and billy-uns of light-years across. And when I say empty, I usually mean empty. No stars, no gas, no galaxy, no nothing. However, by pure definition, the largest void in the universe is one we're more or less in the center of. It's a matter of density, really. There's less stuff in our area of space than in the rest of the universe. This means we have fewer stars in our sky than planets in other parts of the universe. It also means we're in what could be considered the backwaters of the Universe. Douglas Adams downplayed it.

 We really underestimate not only the incredible distances in space but just how isolated we really are. We've yet to leave our gravity well. The much-ballyhooed dick-wavings of Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson cost a couple of billion dollars apiece and barely scraped the edge of space. We haven't figured out how to keep a human being in space for any length of time without their body being destroyed by radiation and lack of gravity.

 Y'all, get the shot and demand governments do something serious about climate change. This is all we got. Have a nice weekend.

I don't know what to tell you.

  The last day of July. Two of my cousins and a passel of their collected young'uns came by today to visit. They were mightily impressed with Momma's basement set-up and it's always fun to see them. I don't see them as much as I should and they're all so grown up. Even the ones that are still teenagers are huge. I don't know what makes me feel older, seeing these kids get old enough to go off to college or knowing that my baby cousin is pushing 40.

  Let's get the News in. Spent a lot of time in Washington, D.C., this week, but it does scan. Between Trump's ongoing legal problems, the Great American Temper Tantrum hearings, and the Infrastructure Bill, it's been a pretty heavy weekend on the Potomac. I've been avoiding too much COVID-19 news because I figure that's going to dominate the Fall. I hope I'm wrong on that one.

 I'm going to get this out of my system. I don't care if you don't get the vaccine. I think you should and you're a moron if you don't, but I care about as much as I care about you demanding to exercise your right to lie down on a busy highway. I don't care about you, but it's a shame about the people you're going to hurt out of your arrogance. And for that matter, I don't give a damn about your kids you're subjecting to possible infection. If you cared more about them than yourself, it wouldn't be an issue.

 My man Ashton Pittman wrote a sharp piece on some of the shenanigans going on at Ole Miss that definitely should be read. I wrote about Arbee Stidham and the joy of finding old music in your preferred genre you didn't know existed over at the Tumblr site. I wouldn't call it a must-read, but it was fun to write, and it's a pretty good tune.

 For those interested, Steam is hosting a free weekend for Square Enix's Marvel's Avengers game. It's a big-ass download and will put your computer through the paces, so be forewarned. I played some of it and... it's okay. It's very pretty and plays well, you're definitely getting a good MCU Avengers vibe. It does deviate some, best I can tell, from cannon but people who get bent out of shape about different platforms telling different stories especially when it comes to comic books are gigantic losers. Look, y'all, multiple universes are built into it.

 I'm not sure how much more time I'll put into it and I doubt I'll worry about purchasing it anytime soon. It's got a good discount that lasts until August 11, if that does anything for you. It's definitely a Triple-A game with all the bloat that entails. It's been somewhat contemptuously compared to Destiny, which I don't think I ever played. They may work for some, but it's all too much for me. Skyrim, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Assassin's Creed IV are about too much for me. I may go back and mess with the Hawkeye bit some, though.

 Something else I want to get off my chest. My four favorite Marvel heroes have all been represented by the MCU. I should say five, but I've never seen the Iron Fist show. Anyhow, I'm shooting 50%. I like how they've handled Spider-Man and Ant-Man (both Scott Lang and Hank Pym, and that whole mess). Unfortunately, they're using the Ultimate versions of Hawkeye and Falcon rather than the original 616 versions.

 I must confess, I don't like super-spy Hawkeye and special forces Falcon. I like Hawkeye who's just a circus kid who worked his ass off to run with mythological beings and a Falcon who's more interested in helping his Harlem neighborhood - impressing the shit out of the Sentinel of Liberty along the way - rather than a soldier who had access to neat toys. I mean, I understand that it actually makes more sense, but I'm old school, I guess. Guys who give a shit top soldiers any day of the week.

 Is there anything else? I can't think of anything. My damn knee is killing me and I don't think I can put off going to the doctor about it much longer. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Stand right up and yell.

  I completely forgot to do this yesterday evening. I thought about it earlier in the day, but I went to sleep pretty early due to a large meal and didn't think about it until the 5 a.m. pee break. I thought about letting it ride since there's a good chunk of Actual Paying Work I can get done this week, but I know better to write checks my ass won't bother to cash.

 So, I'll doodle around until I get inclined to take a nap. I will get to the News tonight; I'm still finding that much easier to do for whatever reason. I would've never thought I'd appreciate a regular, set deadline, but there you go.

 The blue funk I've been in hasn't gone away, obviously. It hasn't gotten any worse, though, so that's something, I guess. "Disassociated" was the word I was looking for the other day. I feel disconnected and unattached from the rest of the world. One reason - and this is a really good reason, I think - is because the rest of the world isn't worth being a part of. Which is cynical and probably a bit elitist, I'm sure - it's not like I have much to offer anyway - but it's gotten pretty goddamn stupid out there.

 The Delta variant is going to be nasty. I don't have any hard science to base that one on, but the hard 180 the GOP leadership has taken on vaccination speaks volumes. Steve Scalise said yesterday he's going to get the jab, and that evil bastard is a pretty good canary-in-the-coalmine for the party as a whole. And yes, I'm counting Sean Hannity and the Fox News crew as part of the GOP leadership. Let's not bullshit ourselves here.

 I never could figure out the end game for allowing the anti-vax wing of conservatism to take over, but the shift is pretty easy to grok. Apparently, the Stock Market went into freefall yesterday and that's probably got them jumping. It does no good to point out the hypocrisy of Mitch McConnell calling for vaccinations, but there you go. It is laughable, however, the suggestion that Joe Biden should ask Trump to come out in favor. Whether or not it's good politics on Biden's part is irrelevant; Trump would just spend the opportunity to complain about losing again.

 This hasn't trickled down to the Base, of course, as they're full-on in favor of the idea that the Illuminati is trying to do gene therapy and make them mindless consumers. Them not knowing what HIPAA laws cover is making a resurgence, and that foul beast Marjorie Greene actually laughed when asked about how the Delta variant.

 And that's the rub. Congressional Republicans who got their vaccinations as soon as they became available can beg and plead all they want. The pack of mad vandals and whiny honkies they've nursed and encouraged for the past 30 years, just to be dumped for the first celebrity to come along, will most certainly let their kids die to own the libs. It's foolish to think otherwise, and all we're going to be able to do is hopefully pick up the pieces afterward.

 Okay, then. That's word count. I could do more but I don't want to.

Ain't nothin' hurt me but my back and side.

  Well, this is just fine. Not only did I let this one slip past me, but I also forgot to actually post it after writing it. It's early Wednesday morning as I speak, but you really didn't miss anything.

 I finally finished that goddamn Network of Time book. All of those pop science books that deal with general relativity, quantum mechanics, or both spend the bulk of the book rehashing all of that. Which is fair, frankly, because that is heavy stuff that changes ever-so-slightly every four or five years, completely changing the paradigm. Anyhow, by the time you get to the meat of the book, it's hard to give a good goddamn. Since whatever's the meat of the book generally hinges on that ever-so-slight change, you really can't skip it.

 Anyhow, time is a result of a network made of collapsed but intertwined quantum effects. Or something like that. To be honest, the damn thing blipped out because near the end of the book the author said, essentially, since we'll never really know the book was a waste of time. That's a problem with e-books; you lose the satisfaction of tossing a book across the room when it pisses you off.

 Don't get me wrong, I liked the book, more or less, and frankly find the idea that reality is sorta-kinda made up of a bunch of interconnected decohered states that, to my mind, make up sort of a lattice or netting. That's one of the reasons I read these books, is that it helps me come up with new versions of reality. Granted, I'll probably never do anything with it - and trust me, no one wants to hear me ramble on about it - but it's fun to think about nevertheless.

 I'm not going to bore anyone by wallowing in tired misery about being unable to gear up any fiction or, for that matter, any writing of substance beyond The News and an occasionally bright idea that finds its way here. That is a well-tread path that I'm sure no one has any interest in going back over. I will say, however, that... I don't know what I was going to say, however. Oh well. Must've not been that important.

 Changing tracks, I sometimes wonder what's behind the zeitgeist. Now I'm not one to think the vox populi is being controlled by the media or manipulated by old men with cigars behind the scenes, but it'd be foolish to think there wasn't something going on, even if indirectly. For example, I'm convinced that a good bulk of the initial animus the conservative mainstream has for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is based on someone in the media who tried and failed to get into her pants. That she refuses to shut up is the rest of it.

 That being said, I can't help but wonder what is behind the conservative movement against the COVID vaccine. I'll save it for tomorrow's (today's) News, but Tennessee has called a half to all vaccination outreach programs for school children. Not just COVID, but everything. Measles, chickenpox, everything. They still offer them, they just can't say anything about them.

 That state's in a weird place, man. The state government recently fire the doctor who was heading up its COVID program for telling people about COVID, particularly the dangers of the Delta variant. Or, in other words, they fired her for doing her job. I wonder how long it'll be before Dr. Thomas Hobbs pisses off the wrong person in Jackson and he finds himself up against it. He's not been silent about how the Delta variant is affecting kids, mainly because adults are refusing to get vaccinated.

 Okay, I understand "parental choice," sure. But they're acting like this isn't what saved millions of lives during the 20th century, within living memory. But that's the hoi polloi. I don't understand the government's goal behind this, particularly Republicans. Again, I'm not one given to flights of fancy thinking there's some sort of sinister motive behind this apart from greed and hubris. Most of the time, that's plenty.

 But still. It's weird, man, just weird.

I would've joined the circus if I wanted to work with a clown.

  Man, May sort of snuck up on us, didn't it? I doubt I'm the only person to point this out, but it's an interesting stroke that May Day as a holiday to celebrate workers was due to something that happened in the United States but we've never celebrated it on a national level. Regardless, happy May Day, friends and neighbors, and don't let the bossman get you down.

 Anyhow. Let's get this News in before we get into anything else. I rarely note the Weekend News because more often than not, it's more of a filler-slash-wrap-up thing. Last weekend, though, I did something on Joe Biden's acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide and what that's a big deal. It's worth checking out, I think, so please do so.

 Otherwise, it was a pretty ranch-standard week. We talked a little bit about the Census and possible gun legislation Monday. Wednesday was a look at the raid on Rudy Giuliani and Jackson's honoring Bobby Rush. I had a busy day Friday, so all I could do was clean up but we did explore the mess India's having with COVID if just a little bit. Good week, check it out.

 I said it there, but I'll say it here. I don't mind criticism or comments or dissenting opinions or any of that business, but don't come at me in bad faith. Don't pretend you're genuinely curious and paint what I've written in the most outrageous way possible. I don't have time to explain to you that me not trusting most gun owners who feel the need to be packing to go to Wal-Mart doesn't mean I'm a "gun control freak." Honest to god, life is way too short to put up with that bullshit for too long and, be real here, I probably don't give a damn what you think.

 And so much for all that. "Woke." That's become the conservative's go-to concept for what's Destroying America this week. Know this: don't pay attention to white folks who use "woke" as a pejorative. It doesn't mean anything beyond "giving me shit for being a butthole." It comes from AAVE use during the initial run of Black Lives Matter and means nothing more than urging black folks to be socially aware and vote accordingly.

 But like most things we do from Black folks, White folks have fouled it up. Conservatives are legitimately saying that we're having "woke corporations" doing stuff they don't like. It popped up when Coca-Cola and Major League Baseball criticized the unnecessary, poorly written voter restrictions recently shoved through the Georgia legislature. 

 Look. These are billion-dollar corporations and they care about nothing but the bottom line. You're a goddamn fool if you think otherwise. What's happened is these companies have run the numbers and figured there's more money to be made in "being woke" than is to be lost doing whatever the fuck conservatives want. Same thing with interracial or gay couples in cereal commercials, that's where the money is and they do not give a solid gold shit beyond that.

 What's killing me is these conservatives never stop and considered what this behavior by these Icons of Capitalism says about their politics and, frankly, them. Mississippi got rid of the Confederate flag because the NCAA and the SEC told them they'd boycott the state if we didn't. The weird anti-trans legislation we've passed and other red states are working on is causing the same sort of mumblings from these big-time moneymakers.

 None of this is new. Christine Jorgenson was in 1952, for cryin' out loud. And, no, I don't believe conservatives are really that concerned about the purity of women's athletics. After watching them spend 20 years trying to scuttle Title IX, you're going to have to try something else. For that matter, Georgia doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt when it comes to ease of voting, especially after an election when the Black vote flipped the state.

 My man Ashton Pittman has an excellent piece in the Mississippi Free Press about systematic racism in Mississippi despite our oleaginous governor claiming otherwise. The part I found especially interesting was the number of eligible voters disenfranchised due to felony convicts is massively greater than the margins of victory for both Tate Reeves and Cindy Hyde-Smith. It's 16% African American, too, and while those aren't all guaranteed votes one way or another, it is pretty telling, and it's all from the 1890 state constitution. Something to keep in mind the next time you feel like giving Mississippi shit. The game's been rigged against us from the get-go.

 Okay, what else? Well, apparently conservatives are losing their water because restaurants are having a hard time getting workers to come back. It's being called a "hiring crisis," but they get furious if you suggest maybe workers don't think it's worth the effort to work those shit jobs for shit pay. They want to explain the stimulus and expanded unemployment, but I really can't figure out why they refuse to wrap their heads around the concept of "supply and demand."

 And you know what? If it is thanks to government money that line cooks, servers, and dishwashers don't want to work, as we said, "shit jobs for shit pay," good. The COVID pandemic not only exposed the holes in our government's ability to handle emergencies but also revealed just how fragile the whole American capitalist structure really is. People scraping by on starvation wages are told to find something better and when they do, the exploiters pitch a fit.

 Maybe shit will collapse in on itself once the stimulus/expanded unemployment goes the way of the dodo and maybe nothing will really change once things resettle, but so what? Work to live, don't live to work, and anyone who tells you different is trying to screw you ought of the money you're due. Your boss is not your friend and you are overhead. Have a good time and enjoy life. If you can figure out a way to pay your bills doing it, right on.

 All right then. That's enough for tonight. Y'all take care and have a nice weekend.

Got me on milk and alcohol.

  I really don't have much to go with today, so let's get the News hammered out and go from there. While there was nothing particularly earth-shattering or too deep, it was a good, solid week of old-school blogger journalism. We looked at the environmental problems in Florida, the new infrastructure bill the GOP will try to scuttle even though almost a third of their constituency is for it, the ongoing success of the COVID vaccination roll-out, Matt Gaetz being Matt Gaetz, the defense for the Derek Chauvin getting bodied all week, and this unceasing weekly frog-drowner storms that are the new normal. Sometimes it's a stone groove to just be useful.

 Beyond that, I don't what else to tell you. I've been listening to a lot of harmonica music lately, as in more than usual. It's weird. I got pretty rusty from the last time I blew on a regular basis, but the more I re-learn here lately, it seems the less I can do. But that's how it goes with me. I'm not sure if it how it works for everyone else, but the more I learn about something, the dumber I feel. There's something Socratic about that, but don't ask me to explain it.

 I got my first shot this week, speaking of the vaccination rollout. I'm getting the Pfizer tracking chip so that means I'll have to go back towards the end of the month to finish up. Once I get clean, I'm going to plan on hitting the road again. Maybe go to AthFest if they have one this year. I still want to make a trip that hits Biloxi and Mobile before heading down to Gainesville, if for no other reason than I haven't been there in over 20 years and I'm interested in seeing what it's like these days.

 There is just nothing coming, man. I've been doing pretty good all week keeping a "normal" sleeping schedule. However, I stayed up late last night on purpose to play video games, mostly Champions Online, and slept in some today. So I've been sluggish all day. Really not reading anything, either, not even a deep Wiki-dive.

 I did get around to watching Phantasm II, for what that's worth. It's a pretty decent sequel to a fun, weird horror movie. The rest of the sequels are here and there on various streaming services, so I'll probably knock all of them out. Or at least the third one, the last two look a little iffy.

 Monday's my 46th birthday. Getting older is a drag, man, and middle age sucks. I don't recommend it, for what it's worth, but I'm not sure what other options are.

 Hell, I don't know. This has been sitting here for twenty minutes while I've been watching the last Red Letter Media's Best Of The Worst. I don't know what I'm going to do tonight. Maybe play some more games or watch a movie or maybe going to sleep and deal with it all tomorrow.

 And you know what? That right there was 500 words. Good enough for jazz, as the man said.

I'll be what I am, a solitary man.

  While I'm trying to think of something clever, let's go ahead and knock out The News. It was a pretty good week's worth of work if I do say so myself. Then again, weeks like this last one are like mana from heaven for journalists. That it has been an active one is an understatement.

 Monday was the first glimpse at some of the fallout from the Trumper Temper Tantrum on January 6 that got five people killed and over 25,000 members of the National Guard station in Washington, D.C. Wednesday brought the sublime joy that is Trump's second impeachment. He can finally brag about doing something no other president has done.

We took a look at Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package Thursday, what it contained, and why some folks were miffed at it. I'm not talking about Republicans, who can't get hard if they don't know poor people are suffering. I'm talking about the leftists raising Cain because the stimulus check was $1,400 (plus $600, making $2,000) instead of $2,000 right on top of everything.

 Maybe so. As I've said quite often, we here in Enon Holler operate under the axiom "money talks and bullshit walks." I think a lot of the other aspects of the package that help the truly up against the wall - like unemployment benefits and food programs - but there's definitely room for more jingle in everyone's jeans. Plus, the changing dynamic in the Senate opens up the possibility of better things to come.

 Dropping back a bit, I really feel for the people who live in D.C. right now with it full of soldiers and promises of butthurt suburbanites cosplaying another insurrection. After living in college towns and particularly New Orleans, I know how tourists sometimes ignore that their destinations actually have people who live there for reasons other than to bring them their food. Washington is full of folks, something like almost 700,000, and a fairly decent whack of them have nothing to do with what's going on in the Capitol.

 There's been a few verified reports of Trumpists harassing the locals, sometimes violently, when said local was just trying to get home from work. That whole affair just screams "I demand to speak to your manager" from privileged, entitled yuppies who can't accept the rest of the country thinks their baby is a tedious asshole.

 While I'm no fan of the FBI, of course, it's been amusing as hell to watch those yay-hoos having to deal with the consequences of their actions. What did they think would happen? That no one would doubt they had the right? Well... yes, that's exactly what they thought.

 I do think it's going to get worse, though, and Wednesday's inauguration is going to be a mess. As much locking down of Washington the officials are trying to do, Trumpists still think they're entitled to overturn the election and that God is on their side. And the Republicans that are encouraging them are louder than the ones trying to get them to act like they're from somewhere.

 This sort of scene is being repeated in state capitals across the country, I'm being told. I confess, I don't have a clue as to what to do about it or how to make it change. This isn't due to Trump, he's just a symptom of the disease. This has been brewing for years, probably my whole life and decades before. I think it speaks a lot about the rot at the core of the American Dream that we're so easily led to this point.

 It'd help if GOP lawmakers would quit encouraging this behavior and stop pretending that making sure everyone can afford health care regardless of their employment status was the first step to communist totalitarianism. This isn't a "both sides are bad" thing, and if you're given to expressing such trenchant comments I'm more likely to ignore everything you say.

 Anyhow, I think that's good enough. I dug into a bit of Disco Elysium the other night and it's looking to be a pretty cool ride. Right now, I'm on an Arthur Alexander streak and that's always highly recommended. Beyond that, I don't know. Enjoy your weekend, friends and neighbors.

Lord, if you won't take care of us, won't you please, please let us be?

  Well, it'd be fitting if the year closed out on me missing Deadline. The burger I ate tonight from Peppertown Restaurant was burnt and tiny, and the fries were soggy. It has a sort of poetry.

 I wrote the title around 7 p.m. and then pretty much fell asleep. Today was another one of those Big Sleep days, though I did manage to have a somewhat productive morning. But it's 10:15 Country Standard Time and I'm on it. I figure I can get 500 words in before the clock turns midnight and Enon Holler says goodbye and good riddance to 2020.

 I don't think anyone would disagree on it having been a booger of the year. No matter where you stand on, for example, the COVID-19 plague, I think we can all agree that it's been bungled greatly from the top to the bottom. People are still calling it overblown or, worse, some sort of intentional something designed to do... something.

 Conspiracy theorists are never really clear on that except it's somehow another way "They" can control us and/or track us. We never find out who "They" is and we all carry smartphones that are being tracked constantly and an internet that we've known for at least 20 years is tracked by the NSA. Wave hello!

 As for a method of control, please. Call me cynical but human beings, especially Americans, are incredibly easy to manipulate. Seriously, spend a season watching football fans. Or people who post on websites about television shows. It doesn't take much. For what it's worth, I think people who've lost loved ones to COVID-19 should be allowed to beat these sort of conspiracy theorists about the head and kidneys with a whiffle bat until they spit teeth and piss blood.

 Harsh? Perhaps, but I think it's fair. I've never been one to look back. That's why I write all this down, so I can remember it. But this has been a booger of a year and I am hopeful 2021 isn't quite a drag. As someone who watched a lot of B-grade science fiction and apocalyptic movies, I'm still sort of amazed we're living in this sort of future. I don't think anyone had "badly handled worldwide pandemic" and "millions of Americans cultishly following a complete dope" on their bingo card, as the kids say.

 Just to dip into the news for a bit, we're looking at Congressional Republicans being buttholes about the Electoral Vote count on January 6 when nothing they do will make any difference. There are a few complete lumps like Louie Gohmert who probably believe the latest Trump Conspiracy but most are Josh Hawleys, cynically manipulating the easily manipulated - speaking of the fact that Americans are so easily bamboozled that they'll almost beg for it - to set them up for a 2024 run.

 We really haven't considered the possibility the reason Trump's yowling about the election being stolen - apart from using it as a quick way to grift the griftable - is that he himself cheated. He'd already stated that if he lost it could only be due to chicanery and still maintains Hillary Clinton got three million dead voters in 2016 when that's patently untrue. And let's face it. Donald Trump is a lifelong cheat. He's cheated on his businesses, cheated his employees and contractors, cheated on his creditors, cheated charities, and cheated on his taxes. He's cheated on all three wives, cheated his kids, cheated his siblings, and would've cheated his folks if his dad hadn't been smarter and nastier.

 So fuck him and I'll be glad to see the end of him. I'll be glad to see so many awful people have to live with the realization that despite his high turnout, even more people turned out to see him gone. Hopefully next year we can get on top of COVID, have cops stop killing black people for spurious reasons, release everyone in prison on non-violent marijuana charges, get health care figured out and affordable, and figure out a way we can all exist on this planet, having a good time and being cool with each other, while not having to work ourselves to death just to be able to eat.

 Even if hoping 2021 is better than 2020 is a low bar, I'll still take it.

Waiting on the tables, waiting for the tables to turn.

  It's Tuesday, the Earth rolls on, and I'm listening to Cajun music by Bonsoir Catin. It features the youngest daughter of Cajun fiddler legend Dewey Balfa, Christine. It's more traditional than anything else and it's pretty good if you like that sort of thing, which I do. I would like to find someone I haven't heard that does Cajun music less traditional style, a la some of Jo-El Sonnier's records. The Lost Bayou Ramblers are pretty good but they're getting a little too artsy for my tastes.

 And so much for all that. In case you missed it, electors from all 50 states and the District of Columbia cast their votes yesterday. Despite talk of some "faithless elector" shenanigans swinging in to save Trump, it went the way the election did. Joe Biden won 306 to 232, an ass kicking by any other consideration.

 Of course, the silly bastard's still crying about fraud and his Faithful are misunderstanding the Twelfth Amendment to the point where now they're hitching their wagon to "alternative electors" putting Trump in for another term. In a word, no. In three words, ain't gonna happen.

 I know I keep saying I'll quit writing about this, but it keeps getting wilder and deeper. I don't know if comparisons to flat Earthers or people who think professional wrestling is real and the moon landing isn't really fully encapsulate the level of reality-denying done by the Base. And for Donald Trump, of all people. That must've been one hell of a TV show.

 It's being said Trump lost due to COVID-19, but I don't think that's so. I think the election would've been tight even without him blundering the pandemic response as bad as he did. People hated this guy, that's what his flock refuses to understand. Early voting would've still happened and I give it even odds Joe Biden would've beaten him either way.

 However, his response to COVID-19 could've won him the election. Had he handled it properly, not just encouraging people to wear masks and social distance or working with Congress to provide some sort of meaningful stimulus packages along with renter's guarantees. That would've been fine, but what's really screwed us all over is how vehemently he argued it wasn't that big a deal or that all the worrying was just another attempt by the Democrats, Deep State, and the rest of the world to make him look bad.

 Seriously, had he taken it seriously and worked as he did, he would've won handily. But if Trump could be something other than a small-minded, petty boob, he wouldn't be where he is today. That's why his flock loves him so. They see in him an excuse to be mean, petty, stupid, and cruel because it means their dicks aren't as small as they fear.

 And so much for all of that. I don't know what else there is to talk about. I stayed up way, way too late last night playing XCOM 2 so I've been dragging all day. I'm thinking I might call it an early night tonight, get some reading in, and shut it down early. Yeah, that sounds good.

You may change you're mind 'cause the weeds are high where corn don't grow.

 Before we get too deep into it, I want to PR something from the WordPress site. If you haven't heard, data scientist Rebekah Jones had her home invaded by agents of Florida's law officials, had her family held at gunpoint, and saw her phone, computer, and data confiscated. Jones won praise for setting up the Sunshine State's COVID-19 database earlier in the year but was fired in May because she wouldn't juke the stats, and this was revenge by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

 Since her firing, she's been maintaining a couple of websites documenting and analyzing the information about the pandemic across the nation and specifically for public schools. The state of Florida claims she hacked their database based on an email sent that told them to "do their jobs before another 17,000 people die." Jones maintains she doesn't even know how to do that.

 This is important stuff, y'all. From what all I can tell, the law dogs executed the warrant properly, though one wonders why they thought a data scientist was that dangerous. But, hey, cops are the craziest peoples. Regardless, if you're the type to rage about censorship and government oversight, here you go. This is the real deal. Getting banned by Twitter or a governor saying you should wear a mask and maybe skip church decidedly ain't.

 Speaking of bullshit people worry about rather than something actually important, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an attempt by the GOP to overturn the Pennsylvania election results. This was spearheaded by Rep. Mike Kelly of the Keystone state but the Court basically said it ain't happening. They didn't say why, they just refused to hear the case which had already been rejected by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

 Some said it was ill-conceived and many pointed out that Kelly waiting until literally the last minute to file with the U.S. Supreme Court did him no favors. So that joins the plethora of legal attempts by people loyal to Trump to deny the reality of the situation but has failed miserably. The current hotness comes from Texas Attorney General and overall embarrassment Ken Paxton. He's filed a suit saying Wisconsin, Georgia, Pennsylvania, & Michigan all changed their election process illegally and that hurts Texas. Somehow. Throwing more fuel to the whole "Trump was robbed" fire even though everyone involved says there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever of fraud, the general consensus is the rotten scumbag is full of shit as a Christmas goose.

 Of course, none of the officials' claims, court failures, or indeed lack of solid evidence outside their drunken uncle's Facebook page is making a dent in the Faithful. Even sentient spoiled lump of SPAM Ted Cruz is getting kudos for being so brave as to offer his skills as a lawyer to argue the case that won't go before the Supreme Court. And, yes, the Trumpists are already claiming the majority conservative Supreme Court, which has three justices appointed by Trump, is corrupted and in on the Big Steal.

 And that's where the world is today. I should've saved all this for tomorrow's News, but what the hell, eh? Like my therapist said today, between the Jones business, the ongoing meltdown of Conservative America learning they are, in fact, the baddies, and the implications of the House of Representatives passing the MORE Act, I've got plenty to write about for quite a while one way or another.

 I think that's good. As a programming note, I've got some Actual Paying Work to get done Thursday. So unless a wild hair gets me, the Gibberish will be shorter than normal. For all that means, anyway. In the meantime, XCOM beckons.

I read about it free in a fifty-cent illustrated guide.

 I don't know where or how to start, so I'll just start. It's cold and gloomy here, raining most of the day. We'd gotten extremely cold earlier in the week, I mean high twenties to low thirties. We're in the forties now with the rain but once it moves out tomorrow morning sometime it's going to drop back down to colder than it needs to be.

 Interesting as hell, I know, but the rest of the world is exhausting. COVID-19 continues to gallop. We've had two days in a row with over 2,000 new cases here in Mississippi and over 2,000 deaths across the U.S. California's looking at a necessary lockdown, and Thursday Night Football was canceled because of the teams being too sick.

 I posted a tweet about a Valley boy coming down with the virus and got a very good essay on what folks can do to protect themselves. It's called "What you can do if someone you know gets a COVID-19 infection or exposure," and it was written by a gentleman named Scott Liebrand. He's a "network architect" out in Seattle, but the piece has information from a doctor, one Dr. Howard Liebrand, MD.

 It's all basic, common sense stuff, but that seems to be in short supply these days. Apparently, a couple from New Mexico tested positive but decided a trip to Hawaii was still a killer bee idea. Joe Biden says he'll ask Americans to wear masks for 100 days once his term starts. This will only be a request but I'm sure it's a matter of time before the Wingnut World will decide they're being oppressed.

 Speaking of the Presiden-elect, Trump and his cultist are still fighting against reality but manage to prove they're little more than a sad pack of ignorant bastards. I'm sure everyone interested enough has seen the video of the drunk lady rambling on or Rudy Giuliani cutting a fart, and lucky for them, none of this is happening in a court of law. Meanwhile, Arizona's certified for Biden and Trump's people lost another motion for a hearing to junk nearly 20,000 votes.

 It's fairly ridiculous, especially since the Base cannot accept that so many people across the political spectrum loathed Trump. I mean, people hated his guts. Even Bush Jr. or Reagan haven't garnered this much hatred from so many people, and I know plenty of folks who consider those two absolute monsters. As awful as Trump is, even I don't think he carries the same amount of sin as Bush Jr. and Reagan. Close, but not near.

 But America hates his guts, MAGA folks, and you really need to accept that. You are a minority. Even among the 74 million that voted for him, I'd be willing to bet most people that did held their nose to do so because they were worried about the incoming socialism of "Red" Joe Biden, et al. You're not only a small percentage of the population, you're a joke and people think you're pathetic.

 "How did so many people vote for a guy who hid in his basement and didn't campaign." Simple, for one, they hate Trump, remember? That moved a lot of folks. For two, Biden didn't "hide in his basement" and he actually did a fairly smart campaign. He just didn't have those weird rallies you weirdos treated like Beatles concerts.

 They hate his kids, too, you know. Ivanka's bellyaching because she's having to testify about one of their cheesy motels getting government money and whining about being persecuted. Lady, they hate your guts. They hate your weasel husband, both your brothers, the younger's dullard wife and the older's screwball side piece. They felt sorry for Tiffany until she showed her true colors as a Trump. But they really hate you. The MAGA folks love you but they are a minority.

 And Republicans are starting to devour each other. Dan Crenshaw, the complete jackass Representative from Texas, said Lin Wood shouldn't be telling Georgians not to vote in the January run-off. Michelle Malkin, trying to be relevant again, is leading the MAGA charge in calling him a globalist, a RINO, and the source of all evil. Good. The Republican Party and, indeed, the conservative infrastructure needs to be destroyed, smashed into pieces, burned into ashes, and then buried.

 If they do it to themselves, so much the better.

Call it what you want to. I call it quits.

  Seven more days. One more week. Things are heating up. The laptop story seems to have evaporated like a fart in the breeze and now Trump is threatening to withhold COVID-19 aid to states that don't for him. Brett "Kegger" Kavanaugh wrote on a ruling basically saying if, given the chance, he's giving the election to Trump. Amy Coney-Barrett... just Amy Coney-Barrett. Interesting times, they say.

 But you know what? I am not inclined to write about politics or the election here today. I figure the next seven days of News is going to be a booger, so let's have some fun.

 I do want to mention that the Gulf Coast is looking at yet another hurricane, this one called Zeta. Once this makes landfall, we'll tie 2005 for most hurricanes hitting dirt in a year. And the season still has another month to go. The entire New Orleans metro area is under watch, but this one seems to be heading towards the Mississippi coast. It's projected to hit some Wednesday afternoon or evening, so if you're in the path batten down the hatches and don't screw around.

 And as much as I hate to bring it up, I need to mention two more police-related killings that really didn't seem necessary. One was of Wallace Walter Jr. in Philadelphia yesterday. From all reports, Walter had "mental issues" according to his father and his mother was trying to defuse the situation. He did have a knife and police shot him full of at least 10 holes. It was not necessary.

 Another shooting in Waukegan, Illinois, last Tuesday left one dead and one survivor accusing the police of actively letting someone bleed out on the street. This one is a bit more confusing. Police rolled up on Marcellis Stinette and Tafara Williams. A chase and shooting followed though it isn't clear why, and the police unloaded on the couple. Williams claims she heard Stinette still breathing when the cops put a blanket over him and they wanted both to bleed out in the street. The cops are saying she fled from a traffic cop and her people are saying that isn't so. The cop who did the killing did so because he feared for his safety and was later fired. No gun was found.

 Just putting it out there. Neither seems to be as cut-and-dried as Botham Jean or Breonna Taylor but both seem like they could've been resolved without anyone being shot. I'll say it again, white folks who are fine with this going down are basically saying their fine with living in a country where authority can do this to anyone with impunity. And it's true, they're really fine with it, even if they or their loved ones are caught in the crossfire. Authoritarian regimes don't exist without at least a portion of the population willing to have a society that keeps its thumb on its citizens.

 Whoops! Is this fun? Hell, I don't know, it's just what's coming out. What else can we do? Nothing really spectacular has grabbed me lately. I think I've about got Momma sold on Initiative 65, which would legalize medical marijuana in Mississippi. At the very least, she won't vote for the GOP legislature's clumsy attempt to crater it, Initiative 65A. So, baby steps. We've already discussed how we're going to handle me smoking it, so I think that's a good sign.

 That's pretty much word count and I don't know if I have anything else. Perhaps I'll come back to it later in the evening. Otherwise, watch the winds, kids.

With your rebels that have got no cause and your tigers that have got no claws.

 Since I keep forgetting to do this, I'm going to go ahead and knock out the links to this week's News before I get rolling. Granted, I don't know if I have anything interesting to talk about, but that's never stopped me before. Anyhow.

 I got a good number of hits this week. I did get a little help with some retweets and Lord alone knows if I'll get any repeat customers. Apart from one old friend, I never get any legit comments. I don't quite know how to take that but I'm going to roll with it's adequate. Monday we discussed the fact that the White House saw more COVID-19 cases than most countries, as well as the murder by local police of Jonathan Price. The White House Flu was the news of the week and it took up a bit of Wednesday's space, along with Hurricane Delta.

 We kept with Delta Friday as well as touching on the attempted kidnapping of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer by a baker's dozen of Boogaloo boobs. Speaking of Delta, it brought a lot of rain and a whole lot of wind but it doesn't appear to have caused any deaths. As of yet, anyway, there's still a possibility of tornadoes throughout the South. Let's hope it stays that way because I know those folks could use a break.

 I want to go back to Jonathan Price for a moment. The cop that killed him is being charged with murder and let's hope it sticks. I don't see how qualified immunity could help this guy, but the legal system's built-in racism isn't what I want to discuss. Y'all, this is the society we built. Every time we excused a cop shooting a black dude who was less than an angel or, for that matter, a white kid smoking pot in his car we've told The Powers That Be that we're fine with that sort of society.

 We sort of are fine with it, for what it's worth, and have been almost from the get-go. This country has a long history with official authority coming down on people who can't fight back, from the Whiskey Rebellion to the Palmer Raids. They're not always saints, either. Ruby Ridge and Branch Davidian were populated by buttholes but they probably didn't deserve having the U.S. government slap them down with its flaccid cock.

 This is particularly glaring when those groups make for people who disrupt the Natural Order. People ask why the Black Lives Matter protests are getting so much official guff when the anti-masker dingbats who sieged the Michigan State House with high-powered weaponry, but it's pretty simple. The former are demanding a fundamental change to society. The latter want to go back to consuming and working to make someone else rich.

 It's the same reason implicit white supremacists have gotten so little pushback from Twitter and Facebook; and why, for that matter, so many Intercept "leftists" are so quick to pooh-pooh their impact on society. We don't like to admit it, but a good deal of America has traditionally been cool and groovy with a patriarchal white supremacist gloss to society and, for the most part, still are. It's one of the reasons the corporate media is so desperate for a reality where Trump isn't a crooked moron. They think society should be run by rich white dudes and rich white dudes only.

 Someone was shot at an affair in Denver today, counter-rallies between soi-disant leftist groups and soi-disant rightist groups. Far as I can find right now all that is known is someone was shot, two people were taken into custody, nobody's been charged yet, no word on who the victim was or who he ran with, who the shooter ran with, or any clear reason why the shooting went down. Hard-right Twitter is popping a boner on this, claiming it proves something or other, which makes me automatically skeptical. We'll see as things work themselves out.

 But again, that's the world we live in and that's the world we're fine with living in. We want to be armed so we can defend ourselves and we're taking hard lines on everything, especially how we think this country should be. I don't like it but I don't understand why anyone's surprised it's come to this. This isn't a left thing or a right thing. It's an American thing.

 This is what we are because this is what we want to be. Think about it.

Is a bluebird blue? Has a cat got a tail?

  The number of people that are part of the Trump team who've found themselves testing positive for the COVID-19 virus continues to grow while he claims he's no longer showing symptoms. Probably the most significant new infectee is Staff Wormtounge Stephen Miller, which spawned a thousand "it can jump species" jokes.

 We're still dealing with the fallout of whatever happened this week with Trump and his hospitalization. He put out a completely brain-dead bit of propaganda about not letting the virus dominate our lives, forgetting that not all of us have instant access to Walter Reed-level medical service. It cut me as cold and heartless, and I can't count one of the near 210,000 victims of COVID-19 as one of my loved ones.

 But heartlessness is a feature, not a bug, of the Trump administration. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rodstein and other Justice Department officials, including then-AG Jeff "Dark Elf" Sessions, pushed hard for separating children from their parents at the border. Of course, this is one of those things the Base rubs itself over and fail to agree that it makes us the baddies. 

 I don't know who said it, but it bears repeating: I can't teach someone to have compassionate. Is there an issue at the border that needs to be addressed? Hell, yes, of course, there is. Are we doing it in a not-evil way? No, no we are not. I know wingnuts like to claim we have no responsibility for Central and South America, but the Monroe Doctrine says otherwise. You can't claim control over something just to drop it when it becomes inconvenient. We called for that tune and we ought to pay the fiddler. I'm not holding my breath, but there it is.

 But now that I've gotten started, let's leave the news for the News. I've made a few strikes at the Weird Western idea. It's just a couple of character sketches right now and I don't know where it's going, if anywhere. It's fun, though, and it feels good to get it out of my brain.

 I'm still in that foul, red-assed mood, and I think I've figured out why. Despite the Prozac and lithium and Wellbutrin, I'm doing all this with a clear head for the first time in 15 years. Not to put too fine a point on it, I used to smoke a lot of pot. I smoked so much pot, one of my dealers said maybe I should take a break. A constant burner is what I'm saying, and the only time I was straight was when I was at work or asleep.

 So regardless of those drugs that are doing a fairly good job of stabilizing my brain chemistry, I'm back to being pissed off all the time. That's how I grew up; pissed off and doing my damnedest to not let it show because no one cared and were probably more pissed off than I was. Knowing that it's due to some faulty wiring in my head doesn't make it much better, but there it is.

 Well, I've just finished supper and I've lost my train of thought. Really, all I want is a good connect if for no other reason than being pissed off all the time is a drag. But for now, I've hit word count and maybe I'll go back to my Western later. Probably not, though. This strikes me as a reading evening.

The miles were good but the miliage turning my hair grey.

 I'm getting this under the gun, so it still counts. Granted it's 11:15 p.m. Country Standard Time, so I doubt I'll get this finished before midnight. I say it still counts because, frankly, I make the rules. It's about the only place I have that sort of swing in this universe, so hell yeah, I'm going to abuse it.

 I pulled one of my all-day snoozes, and this one was legit. None of you're "wake up, read a little, and decide the world isn't worth it," no sir. After letting Otis out to do his morning ablutions, we both went right back down and didn't stir until after three. Granted, part of the reason is I spent most of last night getting a little further on Dragon's Dogma out of nowhere. I'm to that bit after you beat the dragon, the city collapses, and you're freefalling down the pit full of horrors from the dawn of time. Big fun.

 The big news in the outside world is still Trump's being taken to Walter Reed because he's come down with the COVID-19. Apparently, he's doing okay - even released a video to prove the point today - but the information we're getting from his camp is so full of static, all I'm willing to say is he's still alive, probably.

 Naturally, this has kicked off a Twitter snit between conservatives and liberals, as the "fuck your feelings" crowd is upset because the liberals hate Trump enough to not wish him well. Personally, I think this argument is garbage and nothing but a waste of time at this point. For one, people have celebrated the deaths of politicians they hated for years. I'd have to be more industrious than I am to look it up, but someone posted a news story from around the time Kennedy was shot. It was full of people gloating about his death, so it's nothing new.

 We talk a lot of nonsense about how our society has lost decorum, but we're also a society that used to consider hangings as a fun day out with the kiddies. It's the same place where all that "every life is sacred" bullshit comes from. When we have over 50 million children living in poverty without access to affordable health care or enough to eat, life ain't sacred. It just is.

 For the record, I am neither gloating over the rotten bastard getting sick nor do I hope he dies from it. Yes, I still want him out of office, and, yes, the irony would be almost Shakespearean, but it's not within my make-up to wish death on anyone. That being said, don't expect me to shame anyone who does. Especially the differentially abled, LGBT, or immigrants. And I still hold him culpable for the deaths of over 200,000 people due to the same virus he's currently experiencing.

 We demand decency out of each other that we refuse to show ourselves, so I'm not going to be a hypocrite about it. Him dying would be a mess because he's the president, but if nature takes its course, we all have to go sometime. I'm not going to waste any tears for a man I know wouldn't spend any on me.

 Hey, that's word count, and I've still got ten minutes. I'm going to go ahead and post this up and if something comes to me, I'll come back to it. I wouldn't hold my breath, though.