Saturday, December 3, 2022

Crazy Talk: The Latest Conversations from the Lunatic Fringe in Politics

Let's get this party started.

The leading conversation today among the lunatic fringe in politics involves the former TV host and twice-impeached president, Donald Trump. 

He wants to literally tear up the Constitution and overthrow the 2020 election results, citing false conspiracy theories about election fraud. The Big Lie grows bigger every day.

"A massive fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution," he ranted on his social media platform Truth Social.

Meanwhile

Mike Lindell is accusing the media of making him look like he's crazy because he's running for the RNC chair in a rant on his podcast.

Excuse me! He's already crazy without any help from the media.

Meanwhile

There's a juicy battle of insults going on today between Marjorie Taylor Green and White Nationalist Nick Fuentes. Fuentes is urging his callers to heckle Greene. He gave her the nickname Large Marge and took issue with her "divorce" and being a "MAGA mom."

The insults have been rolling all day from Fuentes basement where he accused her of being an "adulterer" and "weak" because she visited the Holocaust Museum.

You know Greene didn't take all of that sitting down. She called him a racist (oh, the irony!) and said he is a very immature young man saying hateful things about people.

"He knows nothing! she ranted on the Right-Wing Watch channel today. What's he ever done with his life? she sneered.

Meanwhile

A week ago, the right-wing candidate for Michigan governor Tudor Dixson (who lost in the midterms) invoked a conspiracy that the COVID-19 pandemic and protests in the summer of 2020 after the killing of George Floyd were part of a decades-long plan by the Democratic Party to topple the United States as retaliation for losing the Civil War, adding the party wanted to enslave people again.

And the merry game goes on.

As it stands, I'll say one thing for all of this crazy talk... it can be vastly entertaining! 

Friday, December 2, 2022

Holiday Greetings from Oregon's Unofficial Sage

Have you got the holiday spirit yet? 

As the unofficial (and self-appointed) sage of Oregon I hope good times are ahead for you this festive month.

Not a lot of things happen here in Oregon. We're kind of a bland state with no major theme park and a lot of rural area divided up between warring counties.

Our state motto is Alis Volat Propiis, which is Latin for "boring state!" No seriously, it means "She Flies With Her Own Wings." Whatever the hell that means.

A recent local holiday story

A buck with its antlers covered (photo top of page) in Christmas lights was spotted in city of Dallas (15 miles west of Salem) advertising Christmas.  Or at least that's what the locals thought at first but then some wit noted the bulbs were not flashing!

Putting one plus one together they soon discovered the buck had gotten accidentally tangled up in someone's yard display and was in distress... not drunkenly celebrating the holidays.

You gotta love Oregon. 

Did you know we're the only state that has a depiction of the state seal on one side of its flag and its motto on the other? A two-faced flag. 

Where were we? 

Oh yea! This is a holiday greeting post. Do you like to ski? The Ashland Ski resort opened early this year and Christmas parties have started in the resort's Lodge. The same is true for the dozen other ski resorts in the area.

Here's a list of the Top Ten Ski Resorts in Oregon according to Expedia this season.

Local lore says Santa stops by ski lodges occasionally throughout December. Or Bigfoot. It just depends on who you're talking with.

Oregon's rivers and forests are the stuff Holiday Greeting cards are made of, with snow covered landscapes and sleigh riding revelers dashing through the countryside.

You may wonder why I've become the state's unofficial Sage. The answer is simple. Like me. No one else wants to!

As it stands, full disclosure: I wasn't born in Oregon I've only been here for ten years. That doesn't stop me from opining about my adoptive state, however.

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Right-Wing Makeover of Florida Assures the Dumbing Down of an Already Red State

Thanks to the once and current governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, the state's- educational system is being further dumbed down in his second term.

Much to the alt-right's absolute delight, school superintendents in three counties were sacked because they defied DeSantis mandate against wearing masks last fall when COVID-19 and its variants were everywhere in the state.

What a sick way to punish educators trying to protect their students but that's only the tip of the iceberg. Thanks to DeSantis alt-right political activist appointments are polluting the state's educational system at an alarming rate.

A recent PEN America report shows that Florida has the second highest number of school-related book bans in the nation. In 21 school districts there were 566 book bans.

Fun Fact: GOP dominated Texas gets the dubious credit for having banned the most student books anywhere in the nation.

Here's a list of 411 books banned in Florida school libraries and classrooms.

The concerted effort to dumb down and indoctrinate students into being good young republicans has made vast strides under DeSantis' right-wing administration.

There's a generation of Floridians that will not know about large parts of American history because it makes whites (of the alt-right wing) uncomfortable.

Let's be honest.

Florida doesn't exactly have a stellar reputation for education. It's just not known for turning out geniuses. 

Florida Man memes have dominated the internet for decades - highlighting the crazy inhabitants who share the state with alligators and boa constrictors.

When it comes to phone scams Florida is in the forefront of perpetrators in the country.

But I digress.

My point is the last thing Florida needs is an assault on education resulting in even more stupid people. It's scary.

As it stands, I expect to lose some Floridian readers after they read this post... if they can! 

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Trump Endorses Mike Lindell for Head of National Republican Party: What a Good Idea!

Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the craziest of them all?

That's right. The My Pillow guy Mike Lindell!

With that kind of a credential, he should be a shoo-in to lead the National Republican Party into darker conspiracies for the deplorable base who demand crazier things daily. 

Trump just endorsed him for the Republican National Committee leadership over Ronna McDaniel (a minion who somehow fell out of Trump's grace).

It's a match made in hell that will make the slim majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives more toxic. With Lindell calling shots on a national scale, it would be something right out of the old TV series The Twilight Zone.

But you know what? It just might be a good thing... for the democrats. 

Think about it. With Lindell leading republicans down the yellow shit road, it can only mean disaster for the cult's (they call themselves republicans, but we all know better) 2024 election prospects.

Americans showed they were weary of right-wing maggots' antics in the midterms. So, it's only reasonable that two more years of bat shit crazy republican antics (on steroids with My Pillow fascist Lindell) would only enhance sane Americans desire to vote for democrats in 2024.

Then there's the entertainment value.

What will Lindell do or say today? 

Where in the world is Lindell? (Hint, follow fascist rallies around the country)

Who will be called vile names and put on Lindell's daily shit list?

Witness the lengths Lindell reaches when attacking computers and machines in every other sentence. Machines are bad and they're a threat to humanity in the My Pillow creep's world.

Best of all, what a show it would be watching republican lawmakers trying to avoid a complete split from reality but too afraid to go against Trump's political puppet.

They would have to wear sneakers in the corridors of Congress to outrun and avoid reporters. Some of the older one's may have to get rocket-powered wheelchairs to stay ahead of the inquiring media.

Beginning to get the picture?

As it stands, if you happen to know some republicans (family, etc.) encourage then to support the My Pillow guy. He might even give them a discount on their pillow purchases!

Monday, November 28, 2022

Have You Heard About...?

Welcome!

A lot is happening in the world today so I'm going to take you on a brief tour.

Have you heard about Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano erupting for the first time in nearly 40 years yesterday?

Sidebar

Did you know that Marin County, California claims to have the highest concentrations of hot tubs in the world?

Back to current events

Have you heard about the turnout surge in Georgia for early voting in the runoff election between Rev. Warnock and Hershell Walker?

Have you heard about the good news for a small-town college in McPherson, Kansas? An anonymous donor offered $500 million to McPherson College's (800 undergraduate students) Car Restoration program.

Have you heard that California Food Stamp costs have reached record highs?

Have you heard about the two men seriously injured in a small plane crash into high-voltage power lines near Washington D.C.?  

Have you heard about Jay Leno who is back on stage after suffering serious burns to his face and hands weeks ago?

Have you heard that 2.2 million people in Houston, Texas who have to boil their water to make sure it's safe?

It's impossible to keep up with all the daily news so I've selected the above stories randomly (taking into account limited space). 

As a reader what would you like to see me write about? Do you have preferences like parodies or just straight news?

Email me at richarddavestancliff@gmail.com with your reply. I reply to all emails respectfully.

After last month's record readership of over 14,000 average views daily, I'm happy to report this month's readership has increased to 15,000 average views daily.

I'll be straight forward with you. I have no idea why readership has swelled over the last six months. I've made few changes to this blog since starting it 20 years ago.

As it stands, thank you for stopping by and tell a friend about my humble blog. Cheers!

Sunday, November 27, 2022

It's Come Down to This: Is Reality Real?

Who ever thought they'd ever see such a direct challenge in our society to reality? 

I certainly didn't.

It's bad enough that we live in the era of Trump where facts are swatted down with lies and misinformation daily without a group of cool cat neuroscientists and philosophers questioning reality.

What is reality they're asking? Perhaps it's just a simulation created by our brains they opine. Or as literary figures have claimed throughout societies for eons, life is just a dream.

Neuroscientists don't stop there as they take us down a rabbit hole where reality is something that exists independent of our minds. Neuroscience and philosophy have joined hands in trying to explain that reality is not real.

I can't help but thinking that this denial of reality should be codified for the Trump wing of the republican party. They're already reality-deniers.

But I digress.

Philosophy tells us that reality is something that exists independent of our minds. It exists outside our brains and can be known through reason and observation. 

Neuroscience tells us that our brain creates our reality. It takes input from our senses and creates a model of the world we experience.

Not surprisingly this controversy over reality goes back to the early civilizations like the Greeks. Plato and Aristotle chimed in on the subject. 

Plato believed that reality was made up of abstract ideas. In contrast, Aristotle believed that reality was made up of material things.

It's apparent that academia's questioning of reality has slipped into real world politics at a time when truth has to defend itself daily and democracy is fighting against right-wing lunacy.

As it stands, truth is a reality in my world.

It's Time to Pay Up Donnie!

It's looks like there will be some prime real estate going on the market soon in New York City. Convicted rapist and former president ...