GNDN

As you may know, I'm a long-time fan of the Star Trek franchise, from the (now-cheesy) Original Series to the wonderfully high-tech Next Generation, Strange New Worlds, Picard, etc.

One of the interesting things on the sets of the Star Trek shows was the signage and labeling in the background - signs on walls, labels on control panels, etc. Because the screen resolution of TVs was not always sufficient to show exactly what many of those signs and labels said, the set dressers had a good time with the labels, as shown in this example - 

My favorite, though, is the ubiquitous "GNDN" label seen on numerous pipes, conduits, junction boxes, etc ...

What does it mean? "Goes Nowhere, Does Nothing." It was the set designers' joking reference to a component which was of no use.

It occurs to me that the GNDN label can be applied to Republicans in Congress, especially in the House of Representatives, where the focus is on chasing down rabbit holes of imagined presidential malfeasance* and playing to the audience of Faux News-besotted MAGA crazies rather than on tackling important problems and legislating thoughtfully.

I propose a nationwide movement to change the name of the GOP to GNDN. Who's with me?

Have a good day, and come back tomorrow for the naming of the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for December. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* On the part of President Biden only, of course. The blatant corruption of the previous administration is exempt from examination.

A Plague on Both Your Houses

I've been reluctant to weigh in on the subject of the horrible situation in the Middle East because no matter what I say, somebody is going to be enraged and accuse me of ignorantly and unfairly supporting one side or the other. So let me be clear ... in the words of the dying Mercutio in Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet," 

"A plague on both your houses."

Mercutio, you will recall (if you went to school in a time when the classics were part of your education), was what we would today call collateral damage in the blood feud between the warring Capulet and  Montague families. Who was right and who was wrong in the feud didn't matter to poor Mercutio - he was just as pointlessly dead.

And so it is with the endless, bloody feud in the Middle East between Muslims and Jews, Palestinians and Israelis. Each side claims to be in the right, and to have primacy of ownership of what we laughingly call "The Holy Land." Each religion and ethnic group claims exclusive ownership of the land and is willing to murderously enforce its claim against the others.

Religion is at the heart of this terrible and bloody morass, which has been aided and abetted by the political interests of greater and lesser powers within and outside the area ... you may wish to go back and study things like the Balfour Declaration, the League of Nations Mandates, and the 1947 UN partition of Palestine. You may also want to read the masterful nonfiction book A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East, by David Fromkin, for an excellent summary of the great power machinations which laid the political groundwork for our ghastly current situation.

Who is in the right, here? In my opinion, which counts for nothing, nobody.

I have well-educated and politically savvy friends and colleagues, both Jews and Arabs, whose opinions I generally respect, but who go wild with rage against the other side over the current situation in Gaza. Jews point (with obvious good reason) to the horrific slaughter visited on Israeli citizens and others in the brutal Hamas attack on October 6th. Palestinians point (with good reasons of their own) to the occupation of the West Bank and the oppression and dispossession of the Palestinians who live there*. Everybody hates everybody else and everybody blames the other side for the situation. Israelis are motivated to overwhelmingly powerful retaliation against their enemies by the lasting memory of the Holocaust. Palestinians are motivated to violent retaliation against Israelis by the lasting memory of the nakba ("catastrophe") of the creation of Israel and the partition of Palestine. Both Israel and Hamas, in different guises, aim for the ethnic cleansing of the region. 

A plague on both your houses.

Positions in this country have become so polarized and outraged over the situation that even people who should know better insist they will never vote again for President Biden, or will sit out the coming election ... utterly ignoring the obvious social, political, economic, and justice catastrophe - for the nation and the world - of a potential second presidency for Der Furor**. No matter if you are Jew or Muslim, Palestinian or Israeli, Republican or Democrat, if you think things will improve for you if Der Furor returns, you deserve what you get. Sadly, the rest of us will have to suffer along with you.

You can support Israel and still oppose the brutal devastation of Gaza and the deaths of thousands of already-suffering Palestinians. You can support the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people and still oppose the blind hatred and violence of Hamas. There are no clean hands, here, and it's good to acknowledge the fact.

In summary,

A plague on both your houses.

I'm through with all of you.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* The part of the Balfour Declaration which reads, "it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine" has long since been conveniently forgotten.

** Or even a lesser GOP demagogue.

Musical Sunday

With the way Der Furor, the MAGA contingent in Congress, and the MAGA herd at large have been acting, this classic song by Grace Jones takes on new meaning every day ...

Yes, I'm sick and tired of it, too. I just hope enough people are come November, 2024, to drive a stake through its heart.

Have a good day, enjoy the rest of your weekend, and get that Christmas tree up. And don't forget to vote when the time comes.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

This month just petulantly refuses to get any better ... 

Former First Lady Rosalyn Carter passed away at age 96; two people were killed and a Border Patrol agent wounded when a car crashed and exploded on the Rainbow Bridge crossing between the U.S. and Canada; 24 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza - thirteen Israelis, ten Thai, and one Filipina, all women and children - were released on Friday in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails; in South Korea, a 23-year-old true-crime fan has been sentenced to life in prison after murdering a random person "out of curiosity;" and a Catholic health-care system operating hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin has announced it is removing crucifixes from its facilities to prevent them from being used by angry patients and visitors to attack staff members ... gives new meaning to the term "being cross," doesn't it? 

A wall will keep out some aliens, but for others you need a roof. A really good roof ... 

Alien barbers have their own style ...

The admission, ET-style ...

I think I'd prefer to be abducted by these ones ...

The aliens aren't always as advanced as we thought ...

I'm not sure the insurance company will buy it, either ...

This will be a more frequent reaction as next November approaches ...

Sometimes, we humans make it too easy ...

The aliens visit ancient Rome ...

Uh, oh ... wrong approach to first contact ...

An even more wrong approach to first contact ...

And that's it for our last Cartoon Saturday for November ... I hope you enjoyed it.

Have a good day and enjoy the first weekend of the traditional holiday season. See you tomorrow for Musical Sunday, featuring a timely tune from Grace Jones. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

How was your Thanksgiving? Still in your turkey coma? Well, enjoying a new collection of great moments should help you recover ... 

So, are they the 3rd favorite #1 or the #1 third favorite? ...

It happened when the truck pulled out too quickly ...

Details to follow ...

Oh, please, no ...

Hmmm ...

It's called the Snoopy Special ...

Authorities are looking for a really big, bad wolf ...

Well, as political predictions go, this one is pretty safe. We just need to make sure that the "someone" is not Der Furor ...

Such a deal! ...

Which one is the new owner? ...

And that's it for our last edition of Great Moments in Editing for November - I hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed collecting them.

Have a good day, get some exercise to work off that big Thanksgiving dinner, and plan to come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday, when we will take another look at the issue of aliens - otherworldly, rather than illegal, although I suppose some aliens could be both.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Thanksgiving, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been writing this blog since 2006, and some of you - masochists that you are - have been reading it for much of that time. You've learned many things about me over the years, one of which is that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. In a crazy world in which we too often focus on fear, negativity, and the material things in life, it's good to have a day on which to sit back and reflect on the things for which we can be truly thankful.

We’re living in a scary time in which it’s easy to be distracted from things for which we can be thankful, because there is so much going on that is awful, and so many people who keep relentlessly reminding us of it (yes, GOP and Faux News, I'm talking to you). For me, this year the awful things included:

A political party and its media machine that continues relentlessly to weaponize fear and hatred, which accepts - and, indeed, praises and amplifies - the most coarse, violent, and angry discourse, and which works tirelessly to undermine a political system it cannot win in a fair contest of ideas and policies;

Americans who are willing to believe the most outrageous and dangerous hogwash because they trust a lunatic proven liar and would-be dictator;

The continuing horror of realizing that many Americans freely accept frequent mass murder - even of little children - as an acceptable price to pay for their unrestricted "right to keep and bear arms;" 

Diseases we thought long conquered which have returned, largely because ignorant fools conflate the responsibility for public health with Government overreach and unacceptable limits on their “freedom;”

A flawed legal system in which the availability of justice is directly related to one’s skin color, political connections, and ability to pay astronomical legal fees far in excess of what ordinary people can afford; and,

A changing climate that is denied by those unwilling to see the obvious truth around them.

That all sounds pretty bad, and it is, but on the whole, though, it’s actually been a pretty good year for me. Although there have been some negatives, I have to consider myself a lucky man for a lot of reasons:

Surviving the pandemic for another year (although yes, mild cases of Covid did catch us this summer);

The patient and long-suffering love of a beautiful and amazingly talented wife;

Three loving and successful children of whom I am justly and endlessly proud;

Six adorable, intelligent, talented, and loving grandchildren;

A large and loving extended family;

A comfortable retirement;

A roof over my head;

Good health, including the medical marvel of the new knee I received back in March;

Good friends (yes, all of you are included);

The ability to write what I wish in this space without worrying about government censorship;

The freedom to worship (or not) as I find meaningful, free to ignore those who insist that their way is the only way and their scripture the only scripture, and that I must follow their path or suffer the consequences; and, 

The good fortune to have been born in the United States of America - a country which, for all its faults, gives me the opportunity to enjoy all of the above;

I have many things to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day, and it's only proper that I should take a few minutes to acknowledge that I am, as ever, most richly blessed.

I wish all of you, Dear Readers, Friends, the very happiest, healthiest, and safest of holidays.

Have a good day. Give thanks for the good things you have and the bad things you don't. 

More thoughts tomorrow, when we offer the final collection of Great Moments in Editing and Signage for the month.

Bilbo

Poetry Sunday

We're less than a week from my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. It can be hard nowadays to find things to be thankful for, but they're there if you look, as this unknown author reminds us ... 

I Am Thankful – A Poem of Thanksgiving

Author Unknown*

I am thankful:

For the wife

Who says it’s hot dogs tonight

Because she is home with me

And not out with someone else.

For the husband

Who is on the sofa

Being a couch potato

Because he is home with me

And not out at the bars.

For the teenager

Who is complaining about doing dishes

Because it means she is at home,

Not on the streets.

For the taxes I pay

Because it means

I am employed.

For the mess to clean after a party

Because it means I have

Been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug

Because it means

I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work

Because it means

I am out in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing,

Windows that need cleaning,

And gutters that need fixing

Because it means that I have a home.

For all the complaining

I hear about the government

Because it means

We have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot

I find at the far end of the parking lot

Because it means

I am capable of walking,

And I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating bill

Because it means

I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church

Who sings off key

Because it means I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing

Because it means

I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles

At the end of the day

Because it means I have been

Capable of working.

For the alarm that goes off

In the early morning hours

Because it means

I am alive.

What are the things for which you are thankful? You have a few days to contemplate them before that one day each year when you're reminded to be thankful for what you have ...

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

Bilbo

* A version of this poem has been attributed on the Internet to Nancie J. Carmody, but there are numerous different versions, and I'm not sure who can actually claim authorship.

Cartoon Saturday

Would somebody please just put this year out of its misery? ... 

Controversial New York Representative George Santos announced he will not seek reelection but will not resign his position after a House Ethics Committee report presented “overwhelming evidence” of his lawbreaking; the man who broke into former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and attacked her husband with a hammer has been convicted on federal charges of attempted kidnapping and assault; a Russian anti-war activist charged with "spreading false information about the Russian army" has been sentenced to seven years in a penal colony for replacing supermarket pricing labels with anti-war messages; from the "Don't Say the Quiet Part Out Loud" Department, Texas GOP Representative Chip Roy loudly invited “Anybody sitting in the complex ... to come down to the floor and come explain to me one meaningful, significant thing the Republican majority has done;" and in Glendale, California, a man fleeing from his car after a high-speed chase was captured when the porta-potty in which he was hiding was pushed over by a bystander to hold him for police.

This week, a collection of cartoons to help you find yourself, assuming you want to ... 

Welcome to the Big City ...

If you've ever traveled with children, you know ...

Well ... why are you here? ...

It's accurate, if unsettling ...

And Big Brother knows it ...

Geez, I hope not ...

As we approach next year's election, this one is more accurate that one might wish ...

Jonah finds himself ...

So does the Russian nesting doll* ...

Sometimes, you'd just rather not know ...

And you, Dear Reader, are here with me. I hope you enjoyed this week's cartoon selection and will return tomorrow, when Poetry Sunday offers a timely thought about being thankful.

See you then with more thoughts.

Bilbo

* They're called "Matryoshki" in Russian, in case you wondered.

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for November, 2023

Sometimes, the awardees are obvious.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the tinfoil and toilet paper crown designating

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for November, 2023

is awarded jointly to

Senator Markwayne Mullin (R, OK)

and

Representative Tim Burchett (R, TN-2)

The actions of Senator Mullin and Representative Burchett this week reflected the solemn dignity of participation in the United States Congress as only members of today's GOP could manage.

During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Senator Mullin angrily challenged a witness - Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters - to a fistfight in the hearing room. Angered by critical tweets about him that Mr O'Brian had sent, Senator Mullin shouted, 

“This is the time, this is the place ... If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here.”

Senator Mullin rose from his seat and shouted insults at Mr O'Brien (who shouted insults back) as the Chair of the meeting, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, tried to restore order, shouting to Mullin at one point 

“You are a United States senator!”

On the same day, Representative Burchett was being interviewed by an NPR reporter in a Capitol hallway when fellow Representative and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pushed past, apparently intentionally shoving Burchett with what Burchett described as "a clean shot to the kidneys." Burchett shouted, 

"Why'd you elbow me in the back, Kevin?! Hey Kevin, you got any guts?!"

and chased McCarthy down the hallway, calling him a "jerk." When he finally caught up to McCarthy, he shouted,

"What kind of chicken move is that? You're pathetic, man. You are so pathetic."

Representative McCarthy responded in what passes in today's GOP as calm and dignified, denying that he had deliberately hit Mr Burchett and saying, “If I hit somebody, they would know it ... If I kidney punched someone, they would be on the ground.”

With wars raging between Israel and Hamas and Russia and Ukraine, gun violence on the rise, and myriad other problems facing the nation, we depend on the likes of Messrs Mullin and Burchett for thoughtful legislative action ... instead, we get elementary-school* behavior in the halls of Congress.

In addition, not being one to pass up an opportunity to get into the news, GOP Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida announced he would file a formal ethics complaint against McCarthy over the incident between McCarthy and Burchett.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the Left-Cheek Ass Clown award for November is presented jointly to Senator Markwayne Mullin and Representative Tim Burchett - two paragons of the sort of restrained and dignified behavior we have come to expect from today's Republican members of Congress**. 

In the words of exasperated Senator Bernie Sanders,

“... God knows the American people have enough contempt for Congress, let’s not make it worse.”

Remember this on Election Day.

Have a good day, and come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* No offense is intended to elementary-school students.

** Dishonorable mention goes to Rep Gaetz for taking advantage of the already-stupid behavior of Mullin and Burchett.

Musical Sunday

I have a lot of "favorite" songs that are favorites for different reasons. Some I love because they tell a great story ("The Ballad of Mr. Shorty" by Marty Robbins is a classic of this type), others because they evoke wonderful feelings. This great tune by Eric Clapton is one of the latter ... 

The music is great, and the lyrics are sublime:

It's late in the evening, she's wondering what clothes to wear

She puts on her make-up and brushes her long blonde hair

And then she asks me, "Do I look all right?"

And I say, "Yes, you look wonderful tonight"

We go to a party and everyone turns to see

This beautiful lady that's walking around with me

And then she asks me, "Do you feel all right?"

And I say, "Yes, I feel wonderful tonight"

I feel wonderful because I see

The love light in your eyes

And the wonder of it all

Is that you just don't realize how much I love you

It's time to go home now and I've got an aching head

So I give her the car keys and she helps me to bed

And then I tell her, as I turn out the light

I say, "My darling, you were wonderful tonight

Oh my darling, you were wonderful tonight"

As Thanksgiving approaches and I think of all the things for which I am grateful, the love of the wonderful woman who makes life worth living is high on the list.

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

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

Oy. Just, oy ... 

Hollywood actors on Wednesday reached a tentative agreement with the major film and television studios to end their historic strike; Der Furor and members of his family testified in his New York trial on fraud charges, although they tended not to remember very much; retired NASA astronaut Frank Borman, who led the first-ever space mission around the moon on Apollo 8, died at age 95; Der Furor told an interviewer that, if he is elected in 2024, he will use the power of the government to prosecute his enemies; and in Richmond, Indiana, a 56-year-old woman was arrested and charged with one count of felony battery by means of a deadly weapon for beating a random stranger in the head with a meat tenderizer ... unfortunately, no good guy with a meat tenderizer was available to stop her.

This has been a busy week and I didn't have time to curate a collection of cartoons on a single theme, so here's a random cull from my waiting-to-be-sorted file ... 

I figured it was something like this ...

Different generation, same philosophy ...

This is exactly how the roles are assigned, isn't it? ...

Well, it's how the GOP interprets the Constitution ...

The Emily Dickinson edition ... I love it! ...

And he's voting straight red ...

Sad, but true ...

One of my childhood nightmares involved the consequences of returning library books late ...

The story of my life ...

An appropriate memorial ...

And that's it for this week ... I hope it helped get you over the trials and tribulations of the last few days.

Have a good day and a great weekend. More thoughts tomorrow, when Eric Clapton treats us to one of my favorite songs. See you then.

Bilbo

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

How about a little something to take your mind off Congressional chaos and the impending end of funded government (just a week away)?

I guess that's quite a selling point ...

Now, that's a house salad! ...

I understand the price being so high, as it must take a lot of individual shrimp bowels for each serving ...

Perfect for the man with three legs ...

It's real, and it's part of the GOP plan to fund the government after eliminating the IRS ...

We're there when you need us! ...

Anything else I could say would get me in trouble, so I'll just leave this one here (yes, it's a real company) ...

I'd be sure to make sure your date agrees before playing this course ...

Thanks, but I'll pass ...

It's a good price, but I prefer the square tomatoes, which are easier to slice because they don't roll around on the cutting board ...

That's it for this week ... hope you enjoyed it!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday - more thoughts then.

Bilbo