That Smokey Joe's a crazy fool.

 Before I get to rolling, here's what I did for the News this week.

Monday

Wednesday

Friday

 I freely admit that of the three, Friday's is the one most worth reading. In fact, once I get started on the regular Gibberish, it'll tie in neatly with it. Monday and Wednesday aren't bad, per se. I've just had a good bit of Actual Paying Work demanding my attention and my sleep schedule's shot all to hell.

 It's all kind of connected, though, as it's a look at this Thing we find ourselves smack dab in the middle. There's a better than average chance my home state and current residence Mississippi will jettison their state flag in favor of a new one before the days out. Hell, maybe before I finish writing this.

 (UPDATE: They did. I be damned. Check tomorrow's News for more info)

 The NCAA, the SEC and C-USA have all applied the screws to what hurts the most: money from collegiate sports. Granted, I think the casinos in Tunica and off the coast bring in more of the stuff, but the impression I get from them is that we, as a state, can go screw so long as we keep providing a cheap labor force and keep our mouths shut.

 And that's what a lot of this boils down to. It has now become unprofitable to ignore racism, and that's just a fact. Quaker Oats and Aunt Jemima, the flag, white cartoon voice actors saying they won't voice character of color, shows with blackface being pulled from streaming service. It's all part of the Thing. You may not like it, and cry of "cancel culture" or "woke mobs" or that old chestnut "political correctness," but guess what. 

 Catering to you at the expense of others is no longer profitable. So you better learn to love it, because that's just how it is. If your vision of Western Society falls apart because American chattel slavery is shown an unequivocally bad thing, than tough titty, you're money's not as good as that panty-waist SJW you mock. The loss of your cash is considered an acceptable risk by the Forces Of Capitalism, so either adapt or get bent. Ain't that a kick in the head?

  Speak of kicks to the head, after watching this country, the "leaders" and Our Fellow Americans, flounder around with the cold, hard fact that not only has COVID-19 not gone anywhere and maybe we shouldn't have reopened just year, but that it's in fact getting worse than we can handle and we really shouldn't open yet. More and more, we're hearing stories of kids - teenagers, pre-teens, toddlers, babies - dying from the virus in increasing numbers. Young people, middle aged people, they're all in the sights of this weird disease that if it doesn't kill you stone dead within a week, it'll take you months to get over and your body will be permanently damaged.

 And the President's trying to get the Supreme Court to strike down ACA when he's not sulking that a blowout isn't in the cards for November. It's like he's already packed it in and is just trying to get done what he promised the GOP bigwigs he'd do. Oh, Mr. and Mrs. MAGA, you thought he had your best interests at heart, whether it was making you richer or successfully owning the libs? You sweet, stupid child. This is the real world. Grow up and get a helmet.

 But you'll still die for him, yes you will. You'll show your ass in public about how wearing a mask and that's the least you can do is the height of authoritarian tyranny. That's why George Washington crossed the Delaware, so Karen and Jeff can have a night out at Dave & Buster's. Lunatics at city council meetings screaming like stuck pigs because they're asked to be decent human beings, just for a little while.

 Here's Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton fed up with your shit:

 That pretty much says it. I don't know if it'll do any good anymore. The Dumb have taken over. The Black Iron Prison the re-election of Nixon started 45 tears ago found its ne plus ultra during the Bush Jr. administration. Don't kid yourself. Trump was just topping the cake. Republicans and conservatives in general have been heading in this direction at least my entire lifetime.

 I don't know if we'll survive this and what sort of shape we're in if we do. Trump has permanently fouled the waters of what a president can get away with, and it'll be decades, maybe generations before things "recover". He's placed over 200 unqualified frat boys in federal judge seats, so Republicans will have loyal soldiers making it almost impossible for your grandkids' kids to halt the poisoning of the planet, much less stop the never-ending pounding the Corporate Overlords inflict on their workers.

 Seriously. Why the fuck do you think Bernie Sanders endorsed Joe Biden? He didn't sell you out. He knows that if Trump wins another term, call the game, son. It will be over. It's going to be damn hard to undo the damage he's already done, especially after this mess is all over. Your purity and clean conscience won't save you when that day comes around.

 Over 9,000 new cases in Florida alone. That's on you as much as it's on Trump. You could've stopped this, you could've demanded better. You didn't. Now we have to pick up the pieces and do what we can, with Joe Biden, no less.

 

I may be blue forever after, but life can't always be diamonds and dreams.

 I need to knock something out, I guess. I'm just not switched on today for whatever reason. One of those days where I woke up in a bad mood and stayed in a bad mood. I don't know why but there it is.

 As I think I've said, I had some paying work this week and that's cut down a bit on my fooling around. I didn't do anything over a Tumblr but did keep up The News. Nothing great, granted, but all solid stuff. Sort of a solid B outcome that makes, if for nothing else, a nice baseline.

Monday

Wednesday

Friday

 One of the reasons I've stayed in a bad mood is the country's attitude concerning how we're dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. All over the country, AstroTurfed "protests" against governors' stay-at-home orders have popped up with goddamn Trump egging them on. It's gotten seriously dumb, too, with people claiming everything from communist-backed plots to dark warnings of Satanic influences pushing humanity towards the Armageddon.

 And frankly, this is all just too stupid for me to deal with. The media's laziness is helping the rather small group of loud yay-hoos with financial backing from the same people who own Blackwater, making it seem larger and more influential than it really is. In his daily rallies, Trump's gotten increasingly unhinged, not just in this area but in general. However, since most of these protests have taken place in states governed by Democrats - except one in Austin, Texas, led by Alex Jones for some reason - this has played into his stirring up the people as well as stroking his ego.

 It's so dumb and I've got to the point where I say damn the torpedoes and let the humanoids "go back to work" if that's what they want. There's enough liquid wealth in this country that we could keep everyone comfortably afloat well past the time it'd logically take scientists, medical experts and epidemiologists to maybe figure out something to actually deal with this epidemic that's caused the deaths of over 38,000 people. However, the wealthy class apparently cannot tolerate even a slight loss in the never-ending flow of cash into their dragon horde-like piles, much less throw in a little dosh to help the people that actually do all the labor that makes them rich.

 Those same scientists, medical experts and epidemiologists are saying that while this "social distancing" and "stay-at-home" orders - the very thing these peckerwoods are "protesting" - are actually working and giving folks a much needed breather. These same people are also screaming about hospitals artificial inflating numbers for governmental funds or, even dumber, Bill Gates is trying to slip in some sort of tracking device into any potential vaccinations.

 Of course, this is pulling in not just the anti-vaxxers nutters and Sovereign Citizen goons as well as the Q dingbats and Second Amendment clowns. Plus Alex Jones, so just plain old conspiracy grifters. Sort of a Justice League of the most embarrassing ideologies in the United States with the added bonus their actions will probably lead to more COVID-19 cases and deaths, and the President is wetting himself in glee as he explicitly gives them the nod and goads them on.

 If it weren't for my friends and family that could die from this, including my 70-year-old mother, I'd say to hell with them. They shriek about their Constitutional rights being trampled by state tyranny, when none of that has happened, mainly because they have no idea how that's supposed to work. At the same time, Trump's people are making money off this hand over fist while they actively work to dampen the people's ability to influence their government. And these wingnut dipsticks are hoping the federal government trounces the states' sovereignty because if you didn't know conservatives weren't hypocrites already, I can't help you.

 And don't get me started on the "I refuse to vote for Joe Biden because I really don't care what Trump represents and what he'll do with another term because it doesn't affect me" Left. Left to swing in the wind by Bernie Sanders - a fine example of why the hope of a Great Man to come and fix everything is a dumbass stance - they've now turned on Noam Chomsky because he's endorsed voting for Biden to get what he calls the "gangster in the White House" out. It's sort of funny to watch the Twitter political science brigade twist themselves in knots over this while still claiming their voices are worthy of my attention. "Punishing the DNC" is more important than any harm Trump could do and if his election basically kills any progressive moments for the next two generations, it's worth it if the Democratic party knows they don't like them.

 Ah, me. I'm just in a bad mood, like I said, and I've actually had a fairly quality week. I got some great feedback from my Editor at the new Freelancer gig. It's only going to score me around $70 or so, but the ego boost is worth its weight in gold. Furthermore, it wasn't the distraction and disruption I worried it might be. It all came along easily like in the old days, and that's an even better boost to my self-esteem. I don't know quite how to explain it, but losing that little skill staggered me pretty badly for quite a while. But here we are and that's good.

 Plus, I'm still pumped about the upcoming release of XCOM: Chimera Squad next Friday. More I look into it, the more pumped I become. I went back and played a little Rebel Galaxy Outlaw last night and it's still a fun little mess if a bit grindy. Still working on From Eternity To Here and starting to finally get out of the "here, we have to explain quantum mechanics/Einstein's relativity/basic cosmology first" weeds to get into the good stuff. Something else worth noting is that was the book I had on deck way back when I quit reading for whatever reason I quit reading, so again, another nice ego boost.

 Okay, it's getting late and the internet's being a pain, so let's go ahead and pinch this one off.

I ain't trying to get into, I was just swingin' on your gate.

 Before we get too deep in the big muddy today, I want to post a link to this superlative piece of journalism from Caleb Bedillion, Tina Campbell Meadows and Blake Alsup of the North Mississippi Daily Journal. Less than a month after Gov. Tate Reeves initially pooh-poohed the very real threat of COVID-19, especially to the people of Mississippi who're more poor and less healthy than the rest of the nation, Tippah County finds itself going under and sinking fast.

 Long story short, this county of 22,000 on the Tennessee line has the among the highest per capita infections in the state with 14.1 known cases for every 10,000 people. There have been three deaths so far, as well, and I know that doesn't sound a lot to y'all what live in the civilized world, but you have to understand what kind of place Tippah County is. Small, rural, close-knit and known for one helluva Labor Day party.

 As of last night, the only county in Mississippi that doesn't have any recorded cases is Issaquena in the Delta. However that county has barely 1,400 people - down from the 2,700 noted on the 2000 Census - a per capita income of just over 10,000. Furthermore, it's mostly African American, and we're learning that of everything that's being shut down, racism in America is still going strong. I've no doubt when the state gets around to it, they will find sufficient.

 So, read that piece. It's pretty good. Also check out this New Yorker interview with Fran Lebowitz. She's a hoot.

 Another link I want to share is this piece I wrote for the News yesterday evening concerning Bernie Sanders dropping out of the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination for President of the United States of America, how it affects the upcoming election as well as the legions of soi-disant leftists left out in the cold, and Just What It All Means. It's not quite as good, but I think it's a pretty solid slice of uncut journalism, but check it out yourself.

 I will say this. Since yesterday, a large number of those aforementioned "soi-disant leftists" have been gnashing their teeth and rending their garments that Sanders wasn't just given the nomination by the party he's been telling to suck his dick for the past five years. For his part, Sanders isn't being obnoxious about all this and hopes to use the delegates he has won (and could continue to win, since he'll be on the ballot for a while) as leverage to get more of his ideas into the party's platform for the election come November. As we say back in the Hills, "that's politics, baby."

 But because not running the risk of being slapped 'cause you're an asshole brings out the worst in people, Twitter's been full of The Faithful - both random dickheads and people whose opinions are supposed to matter - being tedious bores about the whole thing. If they're not demanding Joe Biden personally get down on his knees and perform fellatio on them for their vote, they're declaring their intention to take their ball & just note vote, which will certainly show the Democratic Party, since it worked so well in 1972, 1984 and 2004.

 Hold on, I want to show you something.

 See that? That's my brother, the tail-end of a very good thread of his as to why this whole "I can't in good conscious vote for Biden and another four years of Trump wouldn't be so bad (for me)" is just so irrevocably, undeniably stupid a stance to take. Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Stephen Breyer - two of the four leftist voices on the Supreme Court - are both getting on in years and will probably have to retire before 2024 comes around. If you don't think a 7-2 Supreme Court with four Trump judges all in the same vein of Brett Kavanaugh but worse if he could get away wouldn't put give a death blow to any hope of any even slightly liberal rulings for the next two generations - as well as active attacks on contientious things like abortion, privacy laws and right to sue corporations - you are far, far too stupid and myopic to pay any attention whatsoever when it comes to politics.

 Now, I posted that picture of Baby Brother's gracious admission for a little context. For a good two decades, I was the guy that gave you shit and mocked you if you didn't vote. I was the guy who called you small minded when you said things like "politics doesn't matter" or "both parties are the same". I was the guy that worked registration booths and irritated you at work because of your bullshit reason why you didn't bother to take any sort of active participation in deciding who gets to tell you what goes and what doesn't, and why you were a ninny for giving that.

 That was then and this is now, though. I still think voting is important, even necessary, and I firmly believe that not voting as a protest is one of the dumber aspects of American culture. I do think that if we could get more than just maybe 40%, if we're lucky, of the voting age populace to actually take part in the process we wouldn't have to be dealing with, for example, a half-bright effete fancy lad who's never accomplished anything on his own except trading on his name and stirring up the worst aspects of the American psyche. This is your life. You have a say in how things go. You should take it.

 Except I really don't give a shit what you (the royal "you") do anymore. Vote or don't vote, I could give less of a damn but I'd have to be dead. This may be a facet of middle age, cynicism and nihilism taking over, or merely an aspect of my chronic depression, but I don't feel this is my world anymore. I will be 45 come Sunday and I doubt I'll see past than 30 more years on this, the third rock from the sun. I don't have kids. Indeed, I have nothing really invested in the future. I cherish my cousin's little ones, but I am not taking responsibility for them. I'm one of those sorts who has little sympathy if you decided to bring another human being into this veil of tears and it turns out to be a tough row to hoe.

 Much as I hate to say it, I'll be okay. For one, I'm a middle-class straight white guy and it's going to be a long time before we start feeling the cold and hearing the wolves howl. Furthermore, I have a good bit of land in my name and enough investment in such that so long as nothing drastic happens, I'll have plenty to keep me fed for the next 30 years. Even if that falls through, my extended family really likes me and would probably let me put a trailer in their backyard. Plus, I have guns in case shit really goes south.

 But this is your world. You're the one with kids. You're the one who has something invested in the future. You're the one who's choosing to live in this cold, cruel world and sharing the ride with 300 million of your nearest and dearest. You're the one who has to make a decision to boil that frog or do the very least to pull everything back from the Abyss. Read a little history and you'd be amazed at what human beings can pull off once they put their minds to it.

 Finally, I got to say it again. If all it takes for you to throw in the towel and give into pigs and bastards of the world is that the guy, the only guy, you put all your hopes and dreams onto didn't win the race he agreed to run, I have to be frank. I really don't think you really care beyond your ego and I certainly don't think you've got it in you to do the actual work it would take to move this world to what it should be for everyone.

 Prove me wrong or piss off.