Tariffs and Gold

It was kind of surprising to see the Supreme Court rule against the current Administration when it struck down the president’s unilateral tariffs. They haven’t voted against him very often and are seen to be in his pocket. But there’s subtlety at play here. The six conservative Supremes aren’t necessarily as loyal to the president as they are to the rich and Republican (with a sub-loyalty to religious wingnuts). When their interests align, they’re happy to overturn precedent and upset the apple cart.

But with the tariffs, the big-money crowd values a predictable and reliable economic atmosphere, and having a toddler throwing tariff tantrums when the mood hits him is unsettling. It shakes the stability that they need to milk the Market to the degree to which they’re accustomed.

Decision aside, we’re still in the same place because the Emperor is now pushing a 15% global tariff, as revenge for having been told “no.”

Talk immediately jumped to the prospect of refunding the tariffs paid, which is problematic. The payments should really go to the US citizens, not the vendors. The vendors who first paid the tariffs have already been reimbursed by us through raised prices. The Government paying them back would be double-dipping, unless the vendors were required to then reimburse those who bought their goods and services at the tariff-heightened prices.

Do you really think that’s going to happen? In fact, how would it even be possible? How would they know who to reimburse and for how much?

I imagine people who used a grocery store loyalty card might have left usable tracks. And there may be some help from credit card records. But those who paid cash or didn’t participate in store points programs would be SOL.

So, the alternative would be for the government to refund us directly. And because they would be just as limited in tracking individual purchases as retailers, the only fair way to do it is a universal check distribution. And that will never happen. This government will never part with cash money to be sent back to the unwashed masses.

And who knows where that money even is? It wouldn’t surprise me if all the tariff money was funneled to another offshore bank in Qatar, controlled by You Know Who. Maybe that’s why he’s so dead-set on imposing tariffs, despite presumably being told by everyone, from cabinet members to donors, that tariffs are direct taxes on US citizens and not a fund received from foreign countries. It’s another grift for his personal benefit. And that’s all we are to him: a source of revenue to be harvested upwards.

So I’m not holding my breath on the chance of seeing some money falling back down to the common citizens. If anything, the vendors will get a refund, which will then be used for bonuses and stock buy-backs, just like the tax windfalls of the past. Once again, the wealthy benefit, and the rest of us get screwed.

Going for the Gold

I enjoyed watching the Olympics again this year. As a retiree with my afternoons open, I was able to watch a lot of the live coverage during the day. Then I could pick and choose what to watch during the evening recaps.

 My newest T-shirt.

Watching yesterday’s gold medal hockey game between the US and Canada was thrilling. Just from a purely hockey perspective, the game was tremendous; everything a hockey fan would want out of a game. It was a fast-paced, hard-hitting, and hard-skating game that went down to the wire in overtime.

I was rooting for Team USA, but not as rabidly as I might have in the past. Part of me wants to express dissatisfaction with the state of things in the US, but the other part of me knows that it’s not the athletes who are to blame. I mainly root for the players who play for my favored NHL team, the Pittsburgh Penguins. If the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby had been playing for Canada (rather than having given up his spot due to injury), I might have drifted over to their side.

Who ended up in the US locker-room celebrating but FBI chief, Kash Patel, who apparently had nothing pressing to do this week? 

Waste of Kash.

Maybe he was looking for his girlfriend in there. That certainly justifies commandeering a government plane to fly to Italy on the taxpayer’s dime. I suppose he’s just emulating his boss, who also loves crashing sports teams’ celebrations that have nothing to do with him. It’s no wonder they need to bask in other people’s glory; they create so little of their own.

The women’s hockey finals were just as captivating, as they also went into overtime. The Canadians tied up a 1-0 game late, then the US won it in OT on a great inside dangle and a point-blank shot from the crease. (Sorry, that’s a lot of hockey lingo!) Although sadly without the name recognition, I found the women’s game just as captivating and well-played as the men’s final. It was a great week for hockey. The men should have supported them better when the president made light of them on his call to the team.

I’m always fascinated by the high-flying and high-speed sports like the ski-jumping and half-pipe acrobatics. It amazes me how people can learn how to do that without maiming themselves.

The skating was enjoyable as well. I felt terrible for our big men’s singles threat, Ilia Malinin, the “Quad God,” who, after all the hype, totally ate it on his long-routine performance. But I loved that our women’s contestant, Alysa Liu, won gold on a tremendous performance. She had such a positive attitude that it made it easy to root for her.

Short Track Speed Skating, singles or relays, is like a combination of skating fast and human bowling. It’s just chaos in motion, and every so often, there’s a huge crash, and people go flying.

I’ve always thought I’d like to take a ride on a bobsled because it looks like so much fun. Then I saw accounts from famous fans who tried, Jason Kelce and SNL’s Colin Jost. Both made clear how utterly terrifying and physically jarring their ride was. So maybe I’ll just leave it at watching from the sofa. I don’t need to start chiropractor treatments anytime soon.

I have to really hand it to those brave souls who do the luge (going feet-first down the bobsled track on an open sled), or skeleton (same thing, only head-first). I think “skeleton” is an apt name for that event. I bet there are dozens of them buried near the practice track.

I watched a little curling early on, but it seemed like the coverage never ended. CNBC was practically locked onto curling coverage, to the point that their “C” might as well have stood for “Curling.” Bocce on ice… got it.

I was watching the gorgeous Mikaela Shiffrin win a slalom event and noticed how much she looks like Kylie Kelce (podcasting wife of aforementioned Jason). A couple of days later, I see the two of them talking about that very thing on Kylie’s podcast. They may not be identical, but they sure look like sisters to me.

Hotness either way you go.

So, now that we’re done playing international games to demonstrate peace, cooperation, and sportsmanship, it’s time to start a war with Iran. Stay tuned.

Super Bowling 2026

Welp, there’s another Super Bowl in the books. Might as well talk about it. (The viewing experience, not the actual game. There are sports pages for that.)

I don’t like either team, so I didn’t have much of a stake in the game. I no longer hate the Patriots like I used to when they had coach Belichick and Tom Brady. And I’m still annoyed about how the Seahawks fans bellyached about the officials for the next 20 years after the Super Bowl they lost to my Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006. Nevertheless, my self-interest won out over the other concerns.

I rooted for the Seahawks solely because I didn’t want the Patriots to win their 7th Super Bowl, which would surpass the number of wins by the Steelers.

My family and I actually attended that Super Bowl in Detroit; it was a lifetime dream, but one I wouldn’t care to repeat. It was insanely expensive then; end-zone tickets with a $600 face value cost us $2600 via ticket brokers. It’s more than double that now and basically cost-prohibitive for the average fan, which is a cryin’ shame but a sign of our modern times. And it’s a big risk too. It’s worth every penny when your team wins, but to spend that kind of dough to see your guys lose? That’s a real kick in the gut that I was lucky to avoid.

But I digress.

Most of the attention for this year’s game was about the halftime show, which featured a Puerto Rican artist named Bad Bunny. This distressed the president so much that his people created an alternate halftime show, because, you know, maybe speaking Spanish is contagious? The alternate show featured washed-up white rap guy Kid Rock and some other irrelevant white country singers.

After the show, TFG started putting out his numerous complaints about the original halftime show via Truth Social, which just goes to show that he didn’t want to watch Kid Rock either. He’d rather complain about foreigners than watch something he’s supposed to enjoy.

Before this halftime act was announced, I had never even heard of the headliner. The only Bad Bunny I knew was this one:

Run away! Run away!

Now, Bad Bunny wasn’t the halftime act I wanted to see either. But the cold, hard fact is that none of the acts in the past 10-15 years have been ones I’d pick. And that’s because I’m an old white guy who loves rock n roll, and I’m no longer the prime demographic for these things. I’m still upset that AC/DC has never done a halftime show, despite the fact that their music is played during games at every stadium across the country. Granted, they’re even older than I am, so their opportunity for that has passed. But I think George Thorogood could still put on a great halftime show. That’s football music! And when the Super Bowl was in Texas, they should have booked ZZ Top. They would have rocked the house for sure.

But the modern halftime shows are more about spectacle than the music. The dance routines are complicated, and the sets are elaborate. There are always a few random celebrities who pop up out of nowhere. Even if I’m not thrilled with the music, I enjoy watching the choreography and intricacy of the staging. A lot goes into it.

When I went to my Super Bowl, the Rolling Stones were the act. They basically rolled out a big stage in the shape of their logo, played three songs, and were done. It was like an extended appearance on SNL.

The stage, from our end-zone vantage point.

It was still impressive to see all the work that went into setting up that stage on the field and then getting rid of it just as quickly. I can only imagine how tough it was to put up yesterday’s stage with the tall sugar cane and all the levels.

The rehearsals must have been extensive as well. Did you notice that it was mostly filmed by a single camera, which had to move backwards throughout the entire set to allow the star to be filmed head-on as he walked about the stage? That takes some practice for all involved. I was impressed.

One thing I wished they would have done is identify the people who made cameos. When Lady Gaga came on, I thought it might be her, but I wasn’t sure. I had no idea who the guy was (who turned out to be Ricky Martin), but I figured he was somebody. He just wasn’t someone I knew on sight. Would it be so bad to flash their names on the screen for a second or two?

But as for getting so butt-stung over a halftime show that you need to find an alternate show? That’s insane. Jesus H. Christ, just go to the can or get some snacks or something. It’s just not that big of a deal. Life goes on despite its little irritations. Maybe if some of us weren’t so used to getting our way on everything, we’d be better at coping with disappointment.

I think the president has his minions so programmed to feel they are obligated to be given whatever they desire that they don’t even see how unusual that is. So now it’s “Immigrants have deprived me of the halftime show I want to see!” From there, they get to claim “victimhood,” which is a basic tenet of being MAGA. Every controversy is a race to claim injury and demand retribution. It’s a tailor-made distraction from the ongoing Epstein whitewashing saga.

Also, if Puerto Rico is an American territory, can there really be Puerto Rican immigrants? Um, no. But they’re brown and speak another language, so MAGA can conveniently label them as “other,” and therefore a threat.

So, we survived another national event. Apparently, there wasn’t an onslaught of ICEholes at the stadium after all, so we were spared having to watch people being dragged off to parts unknown. Maybe the Administration figured that if they could afford the massive cost of the tickets, they must have money, which makes them HIS people. He’s probably looking into giving them tax cuts right now.

U Can't Touch This

The next Epstein files data dump took place last weekend, and every page of it seems worse than the last. We have vast amounts of money changing hands, pleas for inclusion at the “wildest parties,” and tales of sexual abuse, rape, torture, and:

Alan Cumming would agree, “Traitors” is certainly the right label for this lot.

The Deputy AG says there is even more that they’re holding back because it’s too graphic and horrifying.

There is a mountain of circumstantial evidence. We can only assume that there is smoking gun evidence out there as well, but the DOJ will certainly not release that, not about the president, and not about his supporters, donors, or anyone who can attest that he was on the island.

So the question is, “Is anyone going to do anything about it?

I say, obviously not. If the DOJ were going to prosecute these crimes, they’d have at least started it already. But other than some unproven allegations against the Clintons, the legal trail is ice cold. TFG’s name is all over the place, with over 3000 mentions. Can ALL of them really be a hoax, like the Administration flaks claim? Not on your life. But if the DOJ won’t act, who can?

The states? If I understand correctly, all of this activity took place on a private island, which, I presume, is out of US jurisdiction. Maybe somewhere in all that material is evidence of something that took place in the US, and that state can take up the case. Although if so, it’s probably Florida, so forget about that angle. Governor DeSantis would probably use the information to squeeze TFG into naming him VEEP, SecState, or his personal butler, in exchange for not prosecuting.

Trump Towers may be a viable location, and NY State would certainly pursue charges if it could. But I think even this dotard’s reptilian mind knows enough not to bang minors where he eats.

The DOJ needs to be questioned about why the names of non-victims were redacted. The ONLY allowable redactions were to be for the girls who were assaulted or otherwise involved. There is no tangible reason to redact the names of the predators other than to cover them up and shield from public scrutiny and retaliation. So we can clearly see whose side the DOJ is taking. It’s not the victims and it’s not the public, it’s the rich pervs who used their money and privilege to rape and abuse teenage girls.

I don’t think there will be any meaningful prosecutions until such time as there is a Democratic administration. And that’s only if the evidence manages to survive being in the possession of a corrupt Justice Department for the next three years, which is doubtful.

What we’re seeing here is a group of rich and powerful men, including the US president, thumbing their noses at the rest of us and saying, “What are you going to do about it?” They know what they did, and we know what they did, and they’re celebrating the fact that we still can’t touch them.

This is ANOTHER reason why there will be heavy interference with the next two elections. Those involved know they’re looking at jail time if they ever lose their governmental cover. Although I wouldn’t put it past them to secretly bankroll a Democratic presidential candidate under the condition that they not pursue charges against them. Or maybe they bankroll a Dem who has been to The Island and has as much to lose as anyone else. Having piles of money seems to solve a lot of problems, doesn’t it?

The ongoing erosion of our Constitutional rights is another lever to press, both to distract from the Epstein mess and to depress and weaken opposition.

At some point, they’re counting on the rest of us to go “Oh, screw it, what’s the point?”

That’s the point when they win. We have to continue to care and continue to act.

If we give up, we deserve what we get.

More Headline News

My local newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, having been purchased by the CEO of conservative news outlet Sinclair Media, has been sliding steadily downhill ever since the sale was finalized. The about-face in editorial slant has been obvious and jarring. One of the most frequent signs has been in the headlines. These are important because when people don’t take the time to read a full article, the headline is what leaves the overall impression with the reader. The Sun is aware of this and utilizes it to its fullest. I’ll show you with a couple of stories from recent weeks.

Director’s DVD commentary: I usually post the full main page of each article, but I don’t expect you to read the whole thing. You certainly can, if you want.

This article was published after the Trump administration famously removed economic reports that showed higher-than-expected job losses and generally unfavorable news for the economy.

Has it ever been journalistic practice to put a governmental alibi right there in the headline? This article, from the Sinclair “National Desk,” has one purpose: to call data into question that the president doesn’t like, even though his own administration produced it. The problem with it was that it was an honest look at the data, not whitewashed to cover up bad economic news. So, for cover, they claim that the methodology was flawed, even though the same process has been used to produce favorable outcomes.

The thing is, even if the process had become flawed, those flaws were created from the massive changes the Administration is inflicting on the economic system, from tariffs to the crackdown on the immigrant labor force. And that is mentioned in the article, but at the Sun, the alibi is the headline, designed to leave the impression that the president is merely cutting more inefficient government waste.

This one shouldn’t even be news:

A Democratic senator endorses a Democratic candidate, and a Republican senator doesn’t like it. Seriously? This is everyday stuff. Politicians generally endorse other politicians from the same team. The thing that gets me is that the Sun constantly quotes Andy Harris, Maryland’s only Republican congressman. You’d think there weren’t any other congresspeople around. I haven’t seen my congressman, Kweisi Mfume, mentioned in months. But their guy gets the megaphone to carp about routine business, for the sole purpose of stirring up indignation at Democrats.

Mamdani is very liberal and suggests some big changes to how a big city could be run. Given the way things are in most big cities. I think that trying anything that aims to help the average city dweller is worth a shot. But, of course, the rich power brokers like things just the way they are, with the rich making sure their rich brethren stay that way. That’s Rep. Harris’s and the Baltimore Sun’s prime objective. So they tag everything he wants to do as “Socialism,” and ensure there’s a photo of him with the article, so no one can miss that he looks like a non-white, commie foreigner.

The Kimmel Show boondoggle has been resolved, but I clipped this article after spotting something chilling.

We know that the administration got ABC/Disney to pull the Kimmel show after claiming his comments on the Kirk shooting were offensive. After seeing those comments, which are included in the article above, most people could see that it was a nothing burger. What was really spurring this action was his white-hot comments about the Epstein files that preceded the Kirk quote. So they leaned on ABC, using the threat of killing an upcoming merger as leverage, and the noodle-spined executives caved. Then they caved again, only this time, to public pressure, and reinstated the show.

Well, except for the ABC stations owned by conservative Sinclair and Nexstar Media, which continued the blackout until they felt they’d learned their lesson. And they could demonstrate that by “making a meaningful donation” to the family and Turning Point, Kirk’s propaganda outlet.

This is government via shakedown, and it fits completely with this administration’s MO. “You want something from us? You gotta pay. Don’t worry, we’ll figure out how.” I can see this as the new normal. Anyone who wants a merger approved or a patent awarded will have to pay the government grifter first. Who’s going to stop them? They’re seeding MAGA judges around the country like hair plugs, and even when lower courts try to put a stop to it, there will always be an appeal until it lands with a cooperative judge, even if that’s the Supreme Court. It’s the legal Wild West out there now.

Granted, this only works with “on-air” networks. The federal government controls public “airwaves” as a public asset. This differs from cable, for which we customers elect to pay, or not. That’s why the administration can put the screws to ABC, NBC, and CBS, but a Democrat can’t meddle with Fox “News” or Newsmax. Those entities are subject to market influences and public reaction only. (Republicans can only get to MSNBC by pressuring NBC.)

We’re getting close to the inevitable government shutdown, and the Sun has already been sowing the seeds of blame:

They might more accurately provide a headline like: “Democrats fight to reverse unpopular cuts to health care.” And they mention the reason in the article. But the banner flying overhead lays all the shutdown blame on the Dems. That’s the subliminal persuasion of headline abuse. And not for nothing, the Republicans have used identical tactics, refusing to pass a clean bill so they can jam through something that would otherwise fail miserably. Republicans often create the most dire of circumstances as a result of a shutdown, knowing that Democrats, being the adults at the table, often cave to prevent the suffering of the innocent citizens. In this case, they’re having 100,000 federal workers submit their resignations, rather than furloughing everyone.

I hope the shutdown doesn’t run long, but I support the Democrats in holding out for amendments to that Big Ugly Bill and making Medicare/Medicaid whole again.

Director’s DVD Commentary: Granted, I haven’t filed for Social Security yet, so I don’t have a dog in the fight. So it’s easy for me to say, not so much for others.

And just to put a bow on the Sun’s subpar product, there’s this health report for last Sunday's Ravens/Chiefs game:

I guess they’ve laid off their copy editors as well as the rest of the journalists. Oops.

We're There

 I don’t see how anyone with eyes can miss that we have arrived at a fully Fascist state of federal government. All the pieces keep piling up, and the conditions are getting checked off one by one.

Authoritarian rule. We see this in every aspect of TFG’s actions, from the obligatory adulation required of his cabinet meeting attendees, to the massive banners with his face on them, to placing toadies in leadership positions in the military, Justice Department, and even the Supreme Court, whose only required qualification is loyalty to him, to assuming control of even the entertainment venues like the Kennedy Center so none of his critics have a platform in town, and much more.

Extreme nationalism. We see the blatant “Christian” nationalism all over his immigration policies, namely, conducting large sweeps to round up all the brown people who speak with an accent and send them to foreign black sites for the kind of systematic torture we once used only on known terrorists. And while they SAID they were going after criminals, their actions have shown that breaking the law is a secondary concern compared to getting rid of foreigners. This also includes foreigners from allied countries who are here to spend money training Americans to work in the factory they are building. That project is now like those foreigners: gone. This administration revels in cutting off its nose to spite its face if it means they get to make their projected numbers of deportations.

Suppression of dissent. They just showed their hand in the last two weeks, didn’t they, with the demanded firing of Steven Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel. Additionally, there are lawsuits against the New York Times and other outlets that publish content displeasing to the Orange King. Now they’re coming for the comedians. There’s nothing fascists like less than being mocked. The mockers are still out there (for the time being). We’ll see how long it is before they start picking up the individuals rather than merely stealing their microphones. The death of Charlie Kirk thrust into the spotlight the raging double standard between when one of their guys kills someone and they mock the deceased, versus when one of their guys gets killed and they demand blind tribute. It’s truly staggering lack of self-awareness when they celebrate the hateful words of one of their heroes, but then, when an adversary merely quotes what their hero said, they get fired.

Also note that when what appears as “dissension” bubbles up from within, in the form of research studies that conclude something that makes them look bad, they don’t fix their actions; they change or bury the report.

This works with economic news as well as investigations into the world’s largest pedophile ring.

Glorification of violence. TFG has his own loyal army now, each soldier with no identity, no official orders, and no oversight. All they have to do is be loyal, instill fear, and kidnap some people from public streets, schools, churches, courthouses, and Home Depot parking lots, for delivery to dungeonesque holding sites. The private army is how he gets around the Posse Comitatus Act (wherein the US Military is forbidden to be used on American soil against its people). Meanwhile, on-air personnel for the favored State-Run Broadcasting company espouse the random execution of homeless people, which causes zero “official” backlash. The terror and violence are the point. It allows them to make even bolder moves with impunity. Many of us are against such Fascism. Not as many are willing to take a bullet to the head over it.

Scapegoating. This has always been a main part of the Republican Playbook. Whatever happens, they blame someone else. It’s Black people, or Muslims, Latinos, or gang-bangers, liberal professors, gay people, trans people, and most of all, Democrats. It’s never the fault of the white, male, conservative, even when the most damning of evidence is clear to see. A guy in a MAGA hat with a Trump sticker on his AR-15 and a “Fuck their Feelings” bumper sticker on his Ford F-350, with Fox News blasting from external speakers, could shoot up a parking lot filled with nuns, and Republicans would blame a gay classmate he had 15 years ago. That’s the Republican Way. Nothing is their fault; everything is their opponent’s fault. Repeat indefinitely.

There are also some hallmarks we’ve passed that weren’t on the first graphic, like:

Openly grifting. It’s "hands out" for everyone on the team. Just like with the Mob, bring in any scam you can think of, as long as the Boss gets a taste.

And then the hand-picked lackey running Justice has no other priority than to do the president’s bidding, which is prosecuting anyone who ever made him look bad. It doesn’t matter if there’s ever been a crime committed or if there’s any evidence. What matters is getting the case in front of the public, preferably before a Trump-associated judge who will give the prosecution every advantage. Making life tough for one’s enemies makes others think twice before becoming one of them.

But only they get to receive such largesse.

They’re happy to dismiss a resolved suit when military veterans were due to receive compensation from the credit union that screwed them out of millions. Big corporations and their executives are the only ones allowed to receive such a windfall. The rest of us are merely here to be used as natural resources.

Secrecy

It’s ironic that their use of non-secure public chat applications is what keeps their evil machinations secret from the public.

Presidential administrations are required to keep records of all conversations, emails, and texts for the permanent historical record. That’s the last thing they want, so they use “disappearing” text apps so their words only appear temporarily, and there’s no record that can be used later to jam them up in court. And the only reason we even know about it is that they’re too stupid to use it properly. Remember when someone from the DoD (sorry, I mean the DoW) accidentally sent their battle plans to a reporter? That was a firestorm for about ten minutes. I’m sure they’re back to doing the same thing now, only someone probably had their teenage son set up a distribution list for them.

The Department of War has also just instituted a required oath from beat reporters that they swear they won’t report anything that’s not cleared by the brass for release, which means nothing useful whatsoever. Just the company line. That’s not how Freedom of the Press works. But they don’t care about the First Amendment outside of how they wave it overhead to cover their own calls to violence, and disregard it when a comedian gets under their skin.

So, to sum up:

Whatever you wish the Germans did in 1933, it’s time to do that here, now.

 

Completely Unrelated Note

Lastly, to pull out of this dive-bomb of a bummer post, let me wish a Happy 67^th Birthday to my forever Queen of Rock' n Roll, Joan Jett. I got to meet her several times, and she was always a real joy and super kind to her fans, even if she didn’t know what to do with the birthday card I handed her, moments before she took the stage in Cleveland.

Kirk Out

 I first saw the news on Facebook that Charlie Kirk was shot while I was at my first baseball game of the year. My first thought was, "If this were one of ours, there's going to be hell to pay." And that thought was confirmed within minutes as the threats and promises of retaliation against Democrats, Liberals, and Trans people (aka "them/they") came flooding out. It was almost as if they already had this stuff in the chamber, ready for the first provocation. 

Now, for the obligatory disclaimer, I'm neither celebrating nor calling for anyone to be killed. No Democrats are, really, outside of the delusions of the Right Wing bubble. Although I'll admit that many will not be too broken up if a certain orange charlatan takes one too many bites of well-done steak, a chunk of cholesterol breaks off and lodges in a cardiac artery. But no one is actually condoning violence, except the usual suspects, including the recently deceased. 

South Park really had this guy down in their second episode of the season. One of the subplots involved Cartman fighting with another student, whom he accused of "stealing my schtick" of being aggressively anti-gay, anti-minority, anti-trans, pro-gun, etc. They showed Cartman going to campuses and "debating" college students, where he would basically dismiss everything they said, change the subject to one where he could spout off one of his familiar talking points (one for which the student was neither prepared nor interested), and then claim victory over another stupid college student. I understand the network has since pulled the episode from streaming. I'm sure it was the network. Matt and Trey never would have considered it.

I'm not celebrating, I'm just saying that the world is better off without a guy who says stuff like that. Every single point up there is abhorrent. But for the outrage and vitriol spewed forth online, you'd think someone dropped a log on Rush Limbaugh's grave.

I saw a lot of posts hurling accusations at "Them," like, "They killed Charlie Kirk, wait until we start killing them." Remember that at that time, no one knew who the killer was. All the death threats and impending violence were predicated on an assumption, and you know what happens when you make an assumption... "You make an ass out of you, and umption." (Per Samuel L Jackson in The Long Kiss Goodnight.) In fact, every MAGA post from the time of the shooting to the time they identified the suspect was WRONG. Wrong in facts, wrong in tone, and wrong in morality. It was as if they were all just waiting for the right cover to start taking people out, rolling out the military, and declaring martial law.

The Democrats I know and saw were saying things like, "Let's see what happens, let's wait until we have a suspect, let's not jump to conclusions." But things like "waiting" and "facts" aren't really in the MAGA arsenal.

Let's get this straight. This is a brief record of violence coming from the Right. 

Just try to think of a notorious violent act perpetrated by someone on the Left, for political reasons. And I mean real things, not like the usual Fox "News" allegations that the Clintons had people murdered and unsubstantiated garbage like that. I can't think of a single one. Modern political violence is solely the province of the radical Right and the MAGAs.

So, then we had a couple of days of FBI announcements that proved to be untrue, from having a suspect in custody (they didn't) to claims of anti-trans messaging on the shell casings (it wasn't). Law enforcement went from withholding all available information to eventually pleading for help from the locals. It wasn't until a nearby resident and his minister convinced his son to turn himself in that federal and local law enforcement had any degree of success. 

It turned out that this killer was just like so many of his predecessors: Male, white, straight, Christian, Conservative, gun enthusiasts. How very cliche. 

It turned out that this guy was a follower of Nick Fuentes (whose devotees are known as "groypers"), as evidenced by the groyper catch-phrases etched on some of the bullet casings. Groypers apparently had beef with Kirk followers after Kirk called for the Epstein files to be released. One can only conclude that this whole episode is inter-family MAGA on MAGA violence.

Many people thought this would calm the Right Wing fury raging through the nation, as evidenced by these memes:.. 

But that would be wrong... Because the Right never admits when they're wrong, nor do they accept blame for anything, ever, they began looking for angles to keep the blame on the Left. 

One angle was that by alleging that the killer's trans-female roommate, for some reason, radicalized him. The even funnier angle was blaming his one semester at a Utah state university, several years ago, for brainwashing him into a Radical Left activist. That's right... one semester, at a Utah university. Totally a hotbed of liberalism. It was either that or the trade school he's been attending since then. 

This is what it's come to: relying on their own cloistered echo-chamber to drum up believable lies for their followers to latch onto. This is one of the reasons why they spend so much time denigrating higher education: it makes a great instant scapegoat and requires no nuance or detail. Just blame college.

I think this, too, will eventually die down, and we'll go back to watching in horror as the current occupant destroys another sector of the country, the way his ICE-holes just did down in Georgia, costing them a multi-billion dollar factory. You have to hand it to him: he fucks with his own people just as badly as his opponents. 

He set up an apparatus where it only took one "concerned citizen" to report that there were a bunch of foreigners hanging around this building. No one bothered to research what was going on there, or they might have found that a team of South Koreans (our allies) was there to train Americans on battery production for a fabulous new business. But no, they just sent in the Gestapo to round up the ferners and treat them like war criminals. They were bound, bent over, humiliated, deprived of daylight, let alone liberty, all without due (or any) process. And then the asshole wants to be surprised when they refuse to come back.

Jesus H. Christ, these people are idiots. I'm starting to think that the best thing that can happen is that the government does get shut down at the end of the month. At least that might limit the damage they're doing to the country.

The BUTTS Will Crack the Country

Looks like the “One Big Beautiful Bill” is halfway home, now that the House has passed its version. What it should be called is the Big Ugly Trump Tax Shift, or BUTTS Act. The tax cuts for the rich get the most publicity, but the Republicans stuffed a lot more in there to cement in their dream of a top-down economic system, meaning the top gets whatever they want and throw the scraps down to the rest of us.

We should be greatly alarmed at this turn of events. But not so alarmed as to make shit up. I almost lost my mind when I saw this meme floating around this weekend:

The thing that set me off was that first bullet, that the president can delay or cancel any election. That’s the big red button… the tool that sets them up for life, AND, the one I’ve been predicting they’ll use. And they may, but it’s not in the bill. I did a little digging and didn’t find any reference to canceling elections. (And I surfed through the bill itself, looking for the word “election.”) It’s not there, so that’s one bullet dodged, for now.

Also, there isn’t anything in there about identifying protesters, although there is a lot of material about the use of AI. The part I found galling is that there is language to prevent states from regulating the use of AI in advertisements. The Republicans are 100% against that because, obviously, AI makes their go-to tactic of disinformation that much more convincing. They’re literally enshrining their right to lie to us more effectively, for personal gain.

But there is plenty to scare you in this bill. This graphic does a good job of illuminating the heinous infiltration and dissolution of our current government:

Everything in here is designed to benefit those who have the most, and keep it that way. So far, all the GOP resistance has come from those who don’t think the denuding of the government has gone far enough. That’s why we have to bring pressure to bear on those few Republicans left who pretend to be moderate. We need the Lisa Murkowskis, Susan Collinses, and the like to step up and declare that they’re either representing their constituents or shilling for the rich.

Further, we need to make sure there are no Democratic turncoats… no Sinemas or Manchins to sabotage their own people. I’m not foolish enough to think that the Fat Cats haven’t bought themselves some Democrats, just in case.

But again, the thing that worries me is that the Republicans are acting like they don’t need to worry about any more elections. They’re rolling out this giant turd in public and telling easily disprovable lies about what it all means.

We do have some facts that favor the continuation of free elections. After all, the president only has limited power over the election process:

- Election Timing: The Constitution grants Congress the authority to set the timing of federal elections, meaning the President cannot unilaterally postpone or cancel an election.

- Election Oversight: Elections are primarily managed at the state level, with each state responsible for organizing and conducting its own elections.

- Emergency Powers: While the President has emergency powers, they do not extend to altering election dates without congressional approval.

- Influence on Election Laws: The President can advocate for changes to election laws, but actual changes require congressional action.

- Appointment Powers: The President appoints members of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which oversees campaign finance laws.

That would all be fine, but it assumes that things are going to continue in a lawful manner. The way this administration has established itself, it has its own police force, direct control of the Justice Department, doesn’t follow judicial rules it doesn’t like, has the media playing cheerleader and whitewashing the ugly parts, so it is therefore answerable to no one. There’s nothing to stop them from rigging, nullifying, or indefinitely postponing meaningful elections.

Great Moments in Advertising

Now, so I don’t leave you ready to fling yourself out of a high-rise window (aka taking Putin’s Staircase), have a look at this shot I took from the TV yesterday from the Orioles/Cardinals game.

I want to know who green-lit the name of that tire company for use in America. Shouldn’t there have been someone in the room, some dude who knows American idiom, to go, ”Hey guys? I don’t think you realize how this is going to play to a bunch of drunks sitting on their couches.”

Sure, maybe the founder is a Kumho. And he probably comes from a long line of Kumhoes. And maybe this would work if they were selling rubbers and not tires.

If they insist on keeping the name, they should at least lean into it. Make some commercials that say,

“You’ll feel safe and secure on some Kumhoes.”

“Nothing gives you a smooth ride like Kumhoes.”

“Kumhoes will keep you in the driver’s seat all night long!”

I mean, how long until they roll out the advertising for their sister company, Stankyho?

Director's DVD Commentary: I probably shouldn't have cropped that picture so closely on the right because it looks like I clipped off some of the name. Rest assured that I did not. That is one righteous Kumho and not the creation of some fanciful editing.

The SBLIX Viewing Experience

I haven’t written a Super Bowl post since 2023, which coincidentally was also the Chiefs vs. Eagles game. I’ve been a football fan since I was ten or eleven, and that’s not changing, despite the plethora of changes to the game and broadcast. Yes, with all the serious worldly events going on, I still look forward to some mental diversion. The problems will still be there on Monday, right?

I had a hard time finding a rooting interest this year. As a Steelers fan, I don’t have a dog in the fight. I do like the Chiefs and they’re entertaining to watch, but I’d rather they didn’t three-peat. As for Philly, I don’t really have anything against the team, but their fans are obnoxious. They’re the only fan base that required a judge and jail within the stadium and seem proud of it. But I eventually decided to root for the Eagles anyway. After all, without Philly joining with Pittsburgh to vote blue, Pennsylvania wouldn’t be a purple state, they’d be Alabama.

As for picks to win, I went with the Chiefs because regardless of the situation, they somehow find a way to win.

Earlier during the weekend, I posited that since TFG would be in attendance, he probably contacted the network to make sure he was shown on air more than Taylor Swift. And because the game was on Fox, I was betting they would acquiesce. I decided I’d keep track to test my theory. My initial thought was that I’d count instances during the game, (mostly because I didn’t watch much of the pregame show. They showed him, though, right before the game, I think during the National Anthem (of course Fox would merge the two.) They showed Taylor near the end of the first half. And then neither one showed up again. So it was a tie, by my rules.

But then I learned this morning that he was also shown earlier in the pregame show, so he probably considers it a win. (I consider it a win any time I don’t have to see his lumpy orange visage.)

I think Fox made a conscious effort NOT to show Taylor Swift because there were plenty of opportunities with Travis Kelce either catching or dropping passes. In the past, most of those would cue a cutaway to Taylor reacting in the stands. Not so this time, thus disappointing legions of tween girls watching the broadcast with their dads.

I understand that they did show TS in the stands on the scoreboard during the game, and she drew more boos than cheers. I can't understand why that was shocking. The place was filled with Eagles fans and she's the Chiefs' most prominent cheerleader. Of course she was going to get booed. There may be more young female NFL fans because of her, but they wouldn't be attending the Super Bowl. This was 100% predictable.

So, let’s bullet point the next several hours… The Super Bowl… Go!

·         I commend the organizers for trying to give the show a little NOLA flavor. I mean, the Southern University Marching Band can really get down… But where’s the Cajun/Zydeco influence? That shit is made for the party! I used to love going to Cajun festivals back when I lived in Albany NY. It was always a great time.

·         Ad: Martha Stewart doing the CGI Boogie for glide-step Skechers. Loved it. Hilarious. I hope they continue to use that one so it’s not just one-and-done.

·         Ad: I know the Dunkin Donuts commercial was trying really hard but there was so much jammed in, I’m going to have to see it again to make sense of it. I lost focus right after they showed Jay and Silent Bob, then spent the rest of the time waiting for them to come back (which they never did).

·         The first so-called “Controversial Call.” I saw a guy put his hands in the other guy's facemask twice, while the ball was in the air. That’s pass interference against the Eagles. Cue the harrumphing about the Chiefs getting all the calls… right up until the Eagles benefitted from a similar call on the next series.

·         Let me take this opportunity to rant about how much I hate all the “Chiefs Get All the Calls” bullshit. The fact is the same thing gets said about every team that dominates. I used to hear it about the Steelers all the time, and certainly about the Tom Brady-led Patriots. I agree with the detailed explanations regarding just how complicated it would be for there to be an actual league plot to prop up one team. It could never happen. One corrupt official? Sure, but there are just too many involved with a year’s worth of league games.  Yes, some calls get blown, as they have across time and space. All this bitching about a conspiracy is just sour grapes from fans whose teams aren’t good enough. /rant

·         Ad: The Eugene Levy/Flying Eyebrows spot for Little Caesars was hilarious, although kind of pointless.

·         I can’t believe Tom freakin’ Brady is complaining about those first two penalties. Nobody cried harder for flags after getting hit than Brady. STFU about penalties, Tom. You bitched anytime a defensive lineman breathed on you.

·         I have to add that despite deciding to root for the Eagles, I keep finding myself cheering when something good happens to KC and bummed when the Eagles make a play. I guess deep down, I’m rooting for the Chiefs regardless of what my brain says.

·         Ad: Celebrity Pickleball. I must be missing something. Who is that playing with Willem Dafoe? Chris Evert with raccoon eyeliner? It seems it should either be two athletes or two former tennis pros. It doesn’t make sense to have an aging actor in there.

·         After the first quarter, they showed several celebs in the stands, but no Taylor. Telling.

·         Ad: Seal the seal for Mountain Dew. This was the first one to make me laugh out loud. I don’t really get it, but it was so well done. The moment I realized what they were doing, I just busted.

·         Ad: I also loved the Senior Citizen ladies for Weather Tech floor mats. I LOLed when the old lady flashed the judge. I hope they keep using this one too.

·         After the Eagles Pick-6, the Chiefs better get their offense in gear or they’re gonna be too far behind to just “find a way” this time.

·         Ad: I never want to see that Coffee Mate “tongue” commercial again, as long as I live. Ick. Pass the eye bleach.

·         Ad: Pringles flying moustaches that totally rip off Eugene Levy’s flying eyebrows. Someone should be suing someone here…

·         The first Taylor sighting, right before the half, which I now know will be the only one.

·         Halftime: The last rock band to play the SB halftime was The Who in 2010. Before them, it was Springsteen, Tom Petty, Prince, and the Stones. And ever since it’s been nothing but pop, rap, and R&B. I guess I’m no longer in the target demographic. I usually enjoy the stage show and the dancers, but after a few moments, I’m on my phone scrolling Bluesky, waiting for the show to end. Apparently, Kendrick Lamar called out Drake as a pedophile but it went right over my head.

·         Back to the game, the Eagles don’t even need to blitz, they just rush their front four who are getting tremendous pressure on Mahomes. It’s like the Eagles are playing against a high school team, not the 2-time defending champs.

·         I found less and less on which to comment in the second half… the Eagles ran away with the game and all the good commercials seem to have come early. The Chiefs got two TDs in garbage time but lost 40-22, with the Eagles’ scrubs in the game. And I give credit to Philly for that, letting everybody get a chance to play in the big game.

·         So as it turns out, the team my brain wanted to win did win. I always enjoy watching the post-game celebration and seeing everyone so happy. But there was no Three-peat and a chunk was taken out of KC’s armor. Now I hope to see some new blood in the arena next year.