Why I Think the Way I Do (Redux)

Back in October of 2017, I wrote a post titled "Why I Think the Way I Do." I try my best to understand people who see issues differently - or totally opposite - from the way I do, and so it occurred to me that it might be useful to spend some time in this space explaining to you where I come from, why I think the way I do, and why I'm just absolutely unable to fathom how the greatest country on earth has sunk to this disgraceful level. If you read my 2017 post, you may want to skip the rest of this ... it's changed a little from what I wrote back then, but is pretty much the bedrock of my social and political thinking. In any case, there's some fairly personal stuff ahead, so I'll understand if you don't want to read it ... you can just come back another day and read my rants on other topics, and I won't mind a bit. You've been warned - here we go ...

In a few weeks, I'll be 74 years old (yes, I'm a "boomer"). I'm retired (twice), living on my military pension, Social Security, and investments. I've always been fiscally conservative, but living on a fixed income makes it a lot more important to watch the old cash flow. I'm watching the financial news a lot more closely nowadays.

I was born into a middle-class family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My father ran his own business as an advertising illustrator, and my mother stayed at home with us until we were all older; she then went to work, eventually retiring as an executive secretary at an insurance company. My parents were fiscally conservative, strict but fair, and well-educated.

My parents were unfailingly polite and considerate of others, and raised us to be the same. I believe in treating everyone with dignity and respect until they show they aren't willing to reciprocate.

And my parents both had marvelous senses of humor - Dad was a master of the shaggy dog story and Mom was a world-class punster. I like to think I have a good sense of humor, and I try not to take myself too seriously ... by the same token, I don't think much of those who are full of themselves.

I went to a parochial elementary school and a public high school. Both were completely white ... I had no routine contact with blacks (or any other minority) on a daily basis until I went to college.

My undergraduate degree is in Linguistics, with a minor in German (in which I'm conversationally fluent). I am absolutely convinced of the value of learning a second language as a way of improving one's understanding of the rest of the world.

I got my commission in the Air Force via ROTC and served 23 years on active duty, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. One of my brothers retired from the Navy as a Warrant Officer, and the other enlisted in the Army (but didn't make it a career). My oldest son is a Colonel in the Air Force Reserves. If your idea of serving the nation consists of wearing L.L. Bean camouflage outfits, owning 30 guns, and carrying your AR-15, extra banana clips, and a huge Bowie knife to the local donut shop, rather than enlisting and serving in the armed forces to face a real enemy, I think you're a useless idiot.

Speaking of serving in the armed forces, I believe it's not only your duty as a citizen, but also a great way to gain exposure to members of other races, ethnicities, and religious beliefs. When your life may depend on being able to rely on everyone else in your unit, it tends to help bring people together and foster understanding and cooperation.

I earned a Master's degree in International Relations while stationed in Germany. As a result of this education, living abroad, traveling extensively, serving in the Armed Forces, having friends in many foreign countries, and speaking another language, I tend to have a pretty internationalist point of view. Yes, putting America's interests first is important ... but in a world where every other country wants to put its own interests first, we need to learn how to balance our needs, wants, and interests with those of other countries so that - as much as possible - everyone walks away from the table with something.

I cast my first vote for president in the election of 1972, voting for Richard Nixon. I remained a Republican until the end of the first George W. Bush presidency, when I left the party in disgust at its embrace of big business and the wealthy and its increasingly authoritarian drift ... little did I know then how much further it would sink in the era of Der Furor. Today I am a registered Democrat. The party has its problems, but it still remains more aligned with my vision and hopes for the nation than any other option.

I serve as a trained, sworn election officer in Fairfax County, Virginia. This is a valuable civic duty, and the training and experience in election law, procedures, and safeguards has convinced me that those who whine about voter fraud have no clue what they're talking about. Think the system is "rigged"? Sign up, get trained, and learn what elections are really like. Don't want to do that? Be quiet and quit showing your ignorance.

I'm married to a wonderful lady who is a citizen of Germany and a permanent resident (Green Card holder) of the United States. We went through a monumental amount of time, effort, and bureaucracy to arrange her legal permanent residence, which is why I have no sympathy for those who believe it's all right to enter this country illegally. We are a nation of immigrants ... but we are also a nation of laws, and those who want to come here should be willing to abide by those laws. I'm on record with my proposal for fixing our immigration system ... unless you've got a better idea and are willing to put it out there for comment, just shut up and color.

I have three grown children and six marvelous grandchildren. I care very much about the quality of the world that they will inherit, so if you're in favor of ignoring the science about climate change, if you support rolling back the regulations that have helped to give us breathable air, clean water, and safe foods and medicines, and if you refuse to vaccinate your children against disease, I think you're a fool and a danger to the rest of us.

I no longer adhere to any particular religious belief, because too many people who do have driven me away with their intolerance and their sanctimonious attitudes untethered to the teachings of the figure they claim to worship. It might be nice if some people could get back to something as simple as the old Golden Rule, rather than using their rigid religious beliefs as a club with which to beat those who believe differently.

Well, that's enough for now. Those are the basic life experiences that have shaped my opinions and beliefs, and which may help you better understand why I rant the way I do on particular topics. What shapes your beliefs and political positions? I hope it's not some shouting head on Fox News, or a podcast, or the latest lame-brained tweet from someone in high office. Leave a comment and let us know what sorts of things shape your approach to life.

Have a good day and a good week to come. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Musical Sunday

Our salute to the Halloween season continues with today's Musical Sunday offering from Lady Gaga - The Dead Dance ...

Oddly enough, it looks much like the way I dance.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

The economy is so bad that even our reality checks are bouncing ...

The Supreme Court rejected far-right blowhard Alex Jones' appeal of the $1.4 billion defamation judgment levied against him for defaming the families of children murdered in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting; the Republican administration, in brazen violation of the Hatch Act (which prohibits use of government resources for partisan political activity) continues to use official government channels and resources to blame Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown; a report in Politico documented thousands of racist and violent private messages among young GOP leaders who joked about gas chambers, slavery and rape ... Vice President JD Vance downplayed the offensive messages, suggesting they were nothing more than “edgy, offensive jokes,” and that "I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke — telling a very offensive, stupid joke — is cause to ruin their lives;” Der Furor has commuted the sentence of former Republican Representative George Santos, who served less than three months of a seven-year term for fraud and identity theft, saying that "George Santos was somewhat of a 'rogue,' but there are many rogues throughout our Country that aren't forced to serve seven years in prison" ... Santos was the latest in a string of members of Congress who have been pardoned or had sentences commuted by Der Furor; and Claudia Milne, the director of news standards at CBS, has quit ... evidently because there are no longer standards for network news programs.

The third Cartoon Saturday of October and the Halloween season features witches!

Them's cursin' words ...

Witches' camouflage ...

"Slightly" guilty ...

You use what you have in the pantry ...

He'll need a few more zeroes for the estimate ...

I can only imagine ...

Everybody gotta start someplace ...

If it's one of Der Furor's DOJ lawyers, that stain will never come out ..

Whatever works ...

There's always somebody with a dietary restriction ...

And that's it for our 2025 Halloween salute to witches - I hope it gave you a chuckle. If you didn't chuckle, I hope you didn't turn into a toad. And always remember: the desired outcome of an exorcism is a hexagon.

Have a good day and a great weekend. More thoughts tomorrow, when Musical Sunday dances with the dead and Lady Gaga. See you then.

Bilbo

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for October, 2025

Der Furor and his besotted followers in the MAGA movement are truly God's gift to comedians and to my biweekly search for worthy recipients of the Ass Clown Awards. This week, we present the tinfoil and toilet paper crown of

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for October, 2025

to

Ten Violent and Racist "Young" Republicans

and

Vice President JD Vance*

An October 14th report by Politico detailed thousands of racist and violent private messages exchanged in the Telegraph app among "young" GOP leaders in New York, Kansas, Arizona and Vermont. Many of the chat members already work inside government or party politics, and one (Samuel Douglass) is a sitting state senator in Vermont. I place the word "young" in quotes because all of the participants were in their mid- to late 20s and 30s ... old enough to know better.

In messages they privately feared might be exposed ("If we ever had a leak of this chat we would be cooked"), they referred to Black people as monkeys and “the watermelon people,” and fantasized about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide, and praised Republicans they believed support slavery.

The appalling volume and nature of the reported chat messages brought Republican hypocrisy to new, soaring heights in view of the GOP's drumbeat that "radical left Democrats" are a hateful and violent danger to the nation. The hypocrisy was brazenly put on display by Vice President JD Vance, who said on “The Charlie Kirk Show” that

“The reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys** ... They tell edgy, offensive jokes. That’s what kids do. And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke — telling a very offensive, stupid joke — is cause to ruin their lives.”

Mr Vance took a different view of the offensive and violent text messages sent by Democratic Virginia Attorney General Candidate Jay Jones, 

“This is far worse than anything said in a college group chat, and the guy who said it could become the AG of Virginia. I refuse to join the pearl clutching when powerful people call for political violence.”

Whataboutism lives. By the way, Mr Vance also referred to those who leaked the story as "scumbags," a term used by Der Furor and his admirers to reflect their deep commitment to calm leadership and competent discourse with their political opponents.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, ten violent and racist "young" Republicans and the sitting Vice President of the United States are the joint winners of the Left-Cheek Ass Clown Award for October. Portland frogs, they're not.

Have a good day and be sure to come back tomorrow, when we continue our Halloween series of Cartoon Saturdays - this week, with a look at witches. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* This is Mr Vance's fourth award. The others were: August 2024 Right-Cheek (shared with Der Furor); September 2024 Left-Cheek; and February 2025 Left-Cheek.

** It should be noted that two of the "young boys" were women. and just to foot-stomp the obvious once again, these "young boys" were all adults.

Poetry Sunday

 

We continue our annual tradition for the month of October of selecting cartoons and poems suitable for the Halloween season. The first of this month's two Poetry Sundays features one of my favorite poems - literary, eerie, and eminently suitable for dramatic reading. Let's look above the door and see who's coming to visit ...

The Raven

by Edgar Allan Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door—

“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—

               Only this and nothing more.”

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.

Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow

From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—

For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

               Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;

So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,

“’Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—

Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;—

               This it is and nothing more.”

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

“Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;

But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,

And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,

That I scarce was sure I heard you”—here I opened wide the door;—

               Darkness there and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;

But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,

And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?”

This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!”—

               Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,

Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.

“Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice;

Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore—

Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;—

               ’Tis the wind and nothing more!”

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,

In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;

Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;

But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door—

Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door—

               Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,

“Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven,

Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”

               Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning—little relevancy bore;

For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door—

Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,

               With such name as “Nevermore.”

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

Nothing further then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered—

Till I scarcely more than muttered “Other friends have flown before—

On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.”

               Then the bird said “Nevermore.”

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,

“Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store

Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster

Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore—

Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore

               Of ‘Never—nevermore.’”

But the Raven still beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;

Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking

Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore—

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore

               Meant in croaking “Nevermore.”

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;

This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining

On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o’er,

But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,

               She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer

Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

“Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee

Respite—respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore;

Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”

               Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!—

Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,

Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted—

On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—

Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!”

               Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil—prophet still, if bird or devil!

By that Heaven that bends above us—by that God we both adore—

Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,

It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.”

               Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting—

“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!

Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!

Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”

               Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,

And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

               Shall be lifted—nevermore!

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. May your troubles outweigh your blessings nevermore.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

As if the Halloween season weren't scary enough ...

Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first stage of a Gaza peace agreement; Der Furor's Personal Vengeance Tour continued with indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James; the federal government shutdown continued as the Office of Management and Budget announced "substantial" firings of federal employees; the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded - to the anger of Der Furor and his acolytes - to Venezuelan democracy activist María Corina Machado; at least 19 people are missing following a huge explosion at an explosives plant in Tennessee; and according to media reports, Zimbabwean opposition lawmaker Desire Moyo was killed when the vehicle in which he was traveling hit an elephant.

This week, the second Cartoon Saturday of the Halloween season, features cartoons about the original walking dead: mummies.

My local Giant supermarket runs a close second ...

Oh, the horror!

I'll bet he always wanted to say that ...

A truly brilliant short-cut, lost to history ...

A double pun!

Mummy practical jokes ...

Uh, oh ...

I can only imagine ...

Well, what else would he recommend?

A matter of perspective ...

And yes, that's a wrap for this week's cartoon tribute to mummies - I hope it took some of the sour edge off the news.

Have a good day and a great weekend. More thoughts tomorrow, when Poetry Sunday continues our salute to the Halloween season by exhuming a classic from the great Edgar Allan Poe. See you then.

Bilbo

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

First collection for October! Bring 'em on ...

I'm not sure what an "ass fish" is, but I'm not sure I want to know ...

Who wants a Gary-colored portable toilet?

You just can't trust those cats ...

Not suspicious, just Canadian. But we won't have to worry about them much longer, as Der Furor is driving them away ...

I wonder if this was Ernie K. Doe's inspiration ...

Um ... no, thanks ...

They're all wearing their Freudian slips ...

Served at dinners for OB-GYN conventions ...

Vin de Merde! It's what to drink with those ass fish you bought ...

Buy now, so it's well-established by the next Naked Gardening Day!

And that's it for our first October collection ... I hope it gave you a chuckle in these dark times.

Have a good day and be sure to come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday's tribute to the original walking dead - mummies! More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Ass Clown Special Award

As you know, I usually present two Ass Clown awards each month - Right-Cheek and Left-Cheek - with a third, the On-Crack Award - presented in months when there are three Fridays available between our Great Moments in Editing and Signage Posts. Sometimes, ass clownery of unusual distinction requires me to present special awards outside the regular schedule, as I did with Der Furor and Pete Hegseth last month after their rambling and disgraceful diatribes to the Brass-o-Rama, and as we do again today.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, we present this 

Ass Clown Special Award

to

Attorney General

Pamela Bondi

Der Furor nominated Ms Bondi to be Attorney General after his nomination of former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz to the position was laughed down. She was certainly more qualified than the execrable Mr Gaetz, and said all the right things at her confirmation hearing, winning her job by a party-line vote of 54-46*. She has since become less an Attorney General and guardian of the rule of law than a legal attack dog in slavering service to her petty and vindictive sponsor, and this is her third Ass Clown Award**. 

This was on vivid display earlier this week when she "testified" before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she angrily stonewalled questions about her job performance, turning them into sound bites intended to eviscerate Democratic senators who dared to question her actions. In one example, she snapped back at Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, who had asked whether she'd been consulted before the decision to deploy federal troops to Chicago, saying, “I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump!” 

When Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D, RI) asked for clarification of her decision to drop the investigation into "Border Czar" Tom Homan's alleged acceptance of a $50,000 bribe, she ignored the question and instead attacked Senator Whitehouse, demanding to know why he accepted campaign donations from an associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein***.

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D, CT) asked why Ms Bondi had not recused herself from a case involving a client of her old lobbying firm, Ballard Partners, and she replied: “How dare you! I am a career prosecutor. Don’t you ever challenge my integrity†.” 

After listing all the questions that Ms Bondi had refused to answer, Senator Adam Schiff (R, CA) remarked that "This is supposed to be an oversight hearing where members of Congress can get serious answers to serious questions," Ms Bondi replied, "I think you owe the president an apology for your entire career." 

Ms Bondi's complete and utter disregard for the oversight role of the Senate, coupled with her scornful and condescending insults and non-answers to the questions posed by Democratic senators (but not Republican ones) are beneath the dignity of the nation's top law enforcement official, and are a dramatic example of the debasement of public service and the disgraceful conduct of government officials who have mortgaged their honor, decency, and self-respect in service to a man who himself has no honor, decency, or respect for his office and his duty to the nation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, today's Ass Clown Special Award is presented to Attorney General Pam Bondi - a woman who has debased herself and her office, and for whom we can only pray that the price for which she sold her soul was worth it.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, was the lone Democratic party vote for her confirmation.

** She was previously the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for May, 2025 and the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for June, 2025. She's quite the overachiever.

*** Mr. Whitehouse later said that a review of his campaign finance records showed that nobody by the name cited by Ms Bondi had ever contributed to his campaigns, and said that “Attorney General Bondi made up nonsense to avoid answering whether the White House border czar returned the $50,000."

† Her integrity could be challenged if it could be found.

Lost in Translation

As a person who loves language, I'm always fascinated by the ways in which we use words to convey, clarify, or obfuscate information. The way in which language is contorted by the spokespersons for Der Furor and his extreme MAGA supporters makes one wish for more reasonable and personable mouthpiece. I understand this guy is looking for a job ...

Which brings me to this meme that was posted by my friend Kathy yesterday - 

If you follow it back to the original post (the one Kathy re-posted), you can read a large number of snarky, juvenile comments, a great many of them of the "oh, yeah, so are you, lib" variety that there's no sense in responding to.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of truth in this list. There's a lot of deliberate misrepresentation of the Democrats' stance on most issues, much of it resting on cherry-picking statements or pointing to Democratic votes on poison pill issues designed to create opportunities for outrage, and virtually none of it robustly countered by the news media ... or, unfortunately, by the Democrats themselves.

Some commenters wondered if there were a meme that worked in the other direction, with snarky Democratic takes on MAGA Republican positions. I haven't seen one, but given the dismissive, angry, and often violent language of Der Furor and of the Millers, Voughts, Patels, Bondis, and Leavitts of the Right, it's hard to see how it might be sweetened into something reasonable. If this is the gawdawful radical left agenda ...

... you should ask yourself what the equivalent is on the right. And vote accordingly.

Have a good day. Look beyond the snark and see who offers the message that once made America the most admired and respected nation.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Musical Sunday

Today is the first Musical Sunday of October, and - as we did yesterday with our Cartoon Saturday dedicated to Frankenstein - we begin our musical salute to Halloween this week with "Remains of the Day," the main theme from Tim Burton's film, "The Corpse Bride" ...

It's a good song, but you probably need to ... bone up ... on your anatomy skills to really enjoy it.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo