Ass Clown Special Award

It looks like it's going to be that kind of a year ... it's just the end of February, we've already had two Ass Clown Special Awards this year, and I'm about to announce yet another one - the second in a short month.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, I hereby present an

Ass Clown Special Award

to

Jack Posobiec

Mr Posobiec, for those of you who haven't heard of him, is a far-right activist and former correspondent for the ultra-conservative One America News Network. He said the quiet part out loud in his speech to this week's Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, when he told the noisily appreciative audience,

“Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely. We didn’t get all the way there on January 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it and replace it with this right here.” 

He held up a cross necklace and continued: 

“After we burn that swamp to the ground, we will establish the new American republic on its ashes, and our first order of business will be righteous retribution for those who betrayed America.”

You may recall the famous quotation attributed to Sinclair Lewis ...

"When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."

A similar version of that sentiment came from the Jewish author and lecturer James Waterman Wise, Jr., who warned in 1936 that if fascism came to America, it would not be identified with any "shirt" movement or with an "insignia" like the swastika but would probably be "wrapped up in the American flag and heralded as a plea for liberty and preservation of the constitution."

Sound familiar? Messrs. Lewis and Wise might be writing about today's MAGA movement and its Evangelical Christian base. And it's also worth noting that, contrary to Mr Wise's warning, both the cross and the swastika are commonly seen at far-right rallies, and that white polo shirts and khakis were the uniform of choice for the neo-Nazis who violently rallied in Charlottesville, Virginia, back in 2017. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, for his clear advocacy of religious-based fascism in the United States, Jack Posobiec is presented this Ass Clown Special Award.

Don't say you weren't warned.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Three Names

Today, February 27th, is the birthday of the famous American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose works were required reading for those of us of my generation or earlier ... I can still recite portions of his famous poem "Paul Revere's Ride."

But Mr Longfellow's birthday got me to thinking about something else: why do so many poets seem to have three names? Consider that in addition to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, we also celebrate:

Edwin Arlington Robinson; 

Edna St. Vincent Millay;

Edgar Lee Masters;

James Whitcomb Riley;

Ralph Waldo Emerson; and,

James Weldon Johnson

Howcumzit?, as my father would have asked, that so many poets seem to have three names? After all, most Americans commonly use only two, although we tend to have three - first, middle, and family.

As I think about it, though, there are some other well-known people in other fields who are known by three names ...

Former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is one, as is businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist Marjorie Merriweather Post. 

Empty-headed Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, sometimes referred to in the media as "Marjorie Three Names," is another. 

Former President Barack Obama is often referred to by his detractors as Barack Hussein Obama, as if stressing his middle name somehow connects him to the hated "other" of Islamic terrorism.

Three names. Why? Any ideas?

Have a good day, no matter how many names you use. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo (one name only)

Black-Letter Law

In reviewing the story of the Alabama supreme court decision on the status of embryos being stored for in-vitro fertilization (IFV) treatments, I learned an interesting new term: "black-letter law" (also known as "hornbook law"), defined as 

"... standard rules that are generally known and free from doubt. The black letter law on any subject consists of the principles so fundamental in that subject and contained so frequently in hundreds of years of common law that challenging them would be extremely difficult."

This appears to be related to the legal principle, recently shredded by the U.S. Supreme Court, of "stare decisis" ("settled law"), which states that

"... courts will adhere to precedent in making their decisions."

Black-letter law may not be as black*, nor stare decisis as settled as we think, for the Supreme Court has also ruled that 

"... stare decisis is not an “inexorable command.” When prior decisions are “unworkable or are badly reasoned,” then the Supreme Court may not follow precedent, and this is “particularly true in constitutional cases.”

But who decides whether a prior decision is "unworkable or badly reasoned," and on what basis do they make the decision? 

The waiver of stare decisis has allowed the righteous overturning of disastrous decisions like Plessy v. Ferguson, which sanctioned racial segregation in the United States. Unfortunately, it has also led to more questionable decisions such as the recent Dobbs decision that overturned the protection of abortion rights codified in Roe v. Wade ... the first time** a Supreme Court decision has taken away, rather than granted or reinforced a right. Where one can defensibly argue that Plessy v. Ferguson was "wrongly decided" based on Constitutional guarantees of equal rights (not to mention simple human decency), the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade - like the decision in the Alabama case - seems to have been based primarily on religious arguments of questionable Constitutional validity which replaced factual legal analysis and logic with faith-based theological dogma.

We are approaching a time when "black-letter law" is what the party with political control of the courts decides it is. The current Supreme Court, heavily conservative, is clearly willing to overturn settled law with which it philosophically disagrees, stare decisis be damned. 

Perhaps it is time to stop referring to "black-letter law" and start referring to "gray-letter law." The Scarlet Letter has already been taken, in a different context ... and if the GOP has its way, it may well be back.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* I'm reminded of the wonderfully eerie short story "Absolute Ebony," by Felice Picano, about an artist's search for the ultimate, perfect shade of black ... and what comes with it.

** As far as I know.

Musical Sunday

As we trudge slowly out of February, the month of Valentine's Day, it's sometimes fun to take a different sort of look at love, as Kid Creole does in this classic tale of the unfortunate guy living next door to - and always being compared to - the perfect husband ... 

I wish I had a better quality video of this, but it's the only one I could find, and it's more fun than the concert clips you can find on YouTube.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. If a guy named Endicott moves in next door ... move.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

You just can't make this stuff up ... 

Many companies in China are setting up their own private militias, officially known as "Peoples Armed Forces Departments," which could both significantly increase the wartime size of the Peoples Liberation Army and serve as another means of social control; Der Furor wasted no time in comparing his self-inflicted legal woes with the imprisonment and death of Russian activist Alexei Navalny; a U.S. company more or less successfully conducted the first landing of an American-made vehicle on the Moon in more than 50 years ... the vehicle seems to be lying on its side, although many of its onboard experiments are still functioning;  extreme pro-life conservatives punched themselves in the face when IVF clinics across Alabama began ceasing operation in the wake of a state supreme court decision which declared - in language full of unconstitutionally religious imagery - that frozen embryos awaiting implantation are legally considered to be children*; and in Akron, Ohio, a man who tried to rob a grocery store fled with less money than he started with when he panicked at the sound of an alarm and ran away without the change from his original purchase. 

This week, inspired by the relentless attacks by Der Furor and his enablers on law enforcement, the judicial system, and the rule of law, a collection of cartoons on the topic of law and justice ... 

There's a shortage of oil for the sheen because of the needs of Der Furor's large army of lawyers ...

It depends on where he was and what he did on January 6th, 2021 ...

If lawyers spoke the truth to the media ...

Time to sell that kidney and your firstborn child ...

It seems to work for a lot of people ...

It would make trials more interesting ...

The best legal representation you can afford, right up to the moment you can't afford it any more ...

It's all part of the GOP's economic plan, which is based on full employment for lawyers, bail bondsmen, and flag-waving apologists ...

I got this from a fly on the wall of Rep Jim Comer's House Committee on Ludicrous and Unsubstantiated Buffoonery ... uh ... I mean ... House "Oversight and Accountability" Committee ... 

If some people could plead stupidity, it would probably speed things up considerably ...

And that's it for this week. I hope you never need a lawyer ... and if you do, I hope you can afford it.

Have a good day and a great weekend, and come back tomorrow for Musical Sunday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* The decision states that "... the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location."

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for February, 2024

It's always been hard to pick a single ... or a pair ... or even a group of ass clowns each time on whom to bestow the Tinfoil and Toilet Paper Crown. I know that I always complain about this and I hate to sound like a broken record, but it's nevertheless true, and this period is no different. The news of the past week has been so full of insanely worthy ass clowns that I didn't even have enough room on any wall of my house to hold all the post-it notes bearing names at which I could blindly throw darts to make a selection.

One wonders what has happened to the country.

But it's my job to make a selection, and so I have sighed deeply, shaken my head in sorrow, and decided to name as

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for February, 2024

Der Furor*

If you've been keeping track, this marks Der Furor's sixteenth** Ass Clown Award - consisting of 11 individual awards, four shared awards, and Ass Clown of the Year for 2015. While presenting him this award for the 16th time may seem like a lazy grab for the lowest-hanging fruit, I believe it is well supported by the recent evidence:

- Continuing to shamelessly kowtow to fellow authoritarian Vladimir Putin, he claimed in a campaign speech that under his rule, Russia could do "whatever the hell they want" to NATO nations that do not pay enough for their own defense; 

- Comparing his embroilment in multiple criminal and civil lawsuits of his own making to the murder in prison of Russian dissident leader Alexei Navalny;

- Helping to cover his campaign expenses and ever-mounting legal bills by launching his latest product - gold-toned sneakers bearing a capital T and an American flag - priced at $399***; and,

- Forcing Congressional Republicans to reject a border security bill that gave them almost everything they wanted so that he could continue to use the immigration crisis at the southern border as a campaign topic. 

Yesterday, February 22nd, marked the birthday of George Washington, our first President and the man fondly remembered as "The Father of His Country." Today, we once again place the Tinfoil and Toilet Paper Crown on the artistically-permed head of Der Furor, the man who will most likely be remembered as "The Embarrassing Drunken Uncle of His Country."

Have a good day, and if you're clutching your pearls over President Biden's age, consider the potential horror of a second administration headed up by an unhinged Furor and his army of political, social, and religious bigots. Choose wisely.

See you tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday, when we'll look at law and justice in today's America. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* AKA, the only president ever to have his own glowering mug shot.

** No other individual recipient even comes close to this towering record of ass clownery. Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell is the next individual runner-up, with 10 awards (including a record three Ass Clown of the Year awards), while the all-time biggest winner is The Republican Party with a total of 19 awards overall, including 14 solo wins and three Ass Clown of the Year designations (in 2011, 2017, and 2023).

*** Isn't it interesting that Der Furor's MAGAts are hysterical about how terrible the economy is, and yet they are able and willing to shell out $399 for a pair of tacky sneakers and still have money to contribute to a GoFundMe page to help pay his legal bills?

Nicknames, Updated

History is filled with persons who earned descriptive nicknames because of their personal characteristics or their accomplishments: English Kings Alfred the Great and Richard the Lionheart are prime examples. Of course, nicknames are often earned for other reasons, as we note in remembering English King Aethelred the Unready, Viking warlord Ivar the Boneless, and Wallachian Prince Vlad the Impaler. 

Last Thursday (February 15th, for those who celebrate) marked the birthday of Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici, the lord of Florence from 1492 until his exile in 1494. Despite his status as the eldest son of Lorenzo “The Magnificent” de’ Medici, his feeble, arrogant, and undisciplined character earned him the nicknames “Piero the Fatuous” and “Piero the Unfortunate.” 

Considering that we have no shortage of feeble, arrogant, undisciplined, unfortunate and fatuous characters, many of whom are either members of Congress or aspiring autocrats trying to strongarm their way back into the presidency, it occurs to me to wonder once again why we no longer attach descriptive nicknames to notable individuals. Der Furor is noted for his childish habit of giving demeaning nicknames to his enemies and opponents ("Ron De Sanctimonious," "Little Marco," "Crooked Hillary," etc), but that's not the same thing. I wrote about this two years ago in a blog post titled - surprise! - "Nicknames," and on noting Piero de' Medici's birthday last week, I was inspired to revisit the topic and update my list of new, history-worthy nicknames ...

President Joe Biden: Joe the Underestimated; 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Volodymyr the Courageous;

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman: John the Underdressed; 

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley: Josh the Sprinter; 

Maine Senator Susan Collins: Susan the Perpetually Concerned; 

New York Representative Elise Stefanik: Elise the Obsequious; 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott: Greg the Heartless; 

Der Furor: Donald the Felonious; 

Special Counsel Jack Smith: Jack the Relentless; 

Useless blowhard Tucker Carlson: Tucker the Traitorous. 

That's a start ... what nicknames might you suggest for the famous and near-famous? Leave a comment.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo the Snarky

Poetry Sunday

I used this poem a few years ago, but it seems appropriate to dust it off and bring it to you on a new Poetry Sunday, in honor of those who wish for the return of a golden past that wasn't quite how they remember it ... 

The Land of Sandra Dee

by Leland Waldrip

Long ago and far away,

In a land that time forgot,

Before the days of Dylan

Or the dawn of Camelot.

There lived a race of innocents,

And they were you and me,

Long ago and far away

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

Oh, there was truth and goodness

In that land where we were born,

Where navels were for oranges,

And Peyton Place was porn.

For Ike was in the White House,

And Hoss was on TV,

And God was in his heaven

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

We learned to gut a muffler,

We washed our hair at dawn,

We spread our crinolines to dry

In circles on the lawn.

And they could hear us coming

All the way to Tennessee,

All starched and sprayed and rumbling 

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

We longed for love and romance,

And waited for the prince,

And Eddie Fisher married Liz,

And no one's seen him since.

We danced to "Little Darlin'",

And Sang to "Stagger Lee"

And cried for Buddy Holly

In the Land of Sandra Lee.

Only girls wore earrings then,

And three was one too many,

And only boys wore flat-top cuts,

Except for Jean McKinney.

And only in our wildest dreams

Did we expect to see

A boy named George with Lipstick

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

We fell for Frankie Avalon,

Annette as oh, so nice,

And when they made a movie,

They never made it twice. 

We didn't have a Star Trek Five,

Or Psycho Two and Three,

Or Rocky-Rambo Twenty

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

Miss Kitty had a heart of gold,

And Chester had a limp,

And Reagan was a Democrat

Whose co-star was a chimp.

We had a Mr Wizard,

But not a Mr T,

And Oprah couldn't talk yet

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

We had our share of heroes,

We never thought they'd go,

At least not Bobby Darin,

Or Marilyn Monroe.

For youth was still eternal,

And life was yet to be,

And Elvis was forever,

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

We'd never seen the rock band

That was Grateful to be Dead,

And Airplanes weren't named Jefferson, 

And Zeppelins weren't Led.

And Beatles lived in gardens then,

And Monkees in a tree,

Madonna was a virgin

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

We'd never heard of Microwaves,

Or telephones in cars,

And babies might be bottle-fed,

But they weren't grown in jars.

And pumping iron got wrinkles out,

And "gay" meant fancy-free,

And dorms were never coed

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

We hadn't seen enough of jets

To talk about the lag,

And microchips were what was left 

At the bottom of the bag.

And Hardware was a box of nails,

And bytes came from a flea,

And rocket ships were fiction

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

Buicks came with portholes,

And side shows came with freaks,

And bathing suits came big enough 

To cover both your cheeks.

And Coke came just in bottles,

And skirts came to the knee,

And Castro came to power

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

We had no Crest with Fluoride,

We had no Hill Street Blues,

We all wore superstructure bras

Designed by Howard Hughes.

We had no patterned pantyhose

Or Lipton herbal tea

Or prime-time ads for condoms

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

There were no golden arches,

No Perriers to chill,

And fish were not called Wanda,

And cats were not called Bill.

And middle-aged was thirty-five

And old was forty-three,

And ancient were our parents

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

But all things have a season,

Or so we've heard them say,

And now instead of Maybelline

We swear by Retin-A.

And they send us invitations

To join AARP,

We've come a long way, baby,

From the Land of Sandra Dee.

So now we face a brave new world

In slightly larger jeans,

And wonder why they're using

Smaller print in magazines.

And we tell our children's children

of the way it used to be,

Long ago and far away

In the Land of Sandra Dee.

I realize that a lot of the references in this poem may not mean much to those younger than I, but just trust me ... it's how things used to be in the Land of Sandra Dee ... what we might today call the Land of Barbie.

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

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

It's been quite a week, hasn't it? ... 

The FBI informant on which House Republicans have based their attempts to impeach President Biden for being the head of a "crime family" has been arrested by the FBI for lying in his testimony; Russian news sources have reported that opposition figure Alexey Navalny has - strangely enough - died in prison; the judge in Der Furor's New York trial on fraud charges has levied a fine of more than $350 million on Der Furor and his sons, and has prohibited them from operating in New York City for three years; in an amazing example of GOP diplomatic acumen, Georgia Representative Empty G said that the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom could "kiss my ass;" and in the financially challenged Chicago suburb of Dolton, banks have threatened to repossess a large number of town assets - including six police cars. 

Super Tuesday is coming up in a few weeks, The Election is in November, and in between will be an unprecedented and hideously expensive bombardment of fact-challenged balderdash. It's time to start getting ready by taking our first cartoon look of the season at the subject of elections ... 

George Burns once commented that it was too bad all the people who knew how to fix the country were busy driving cabs and cutting hair ...

The ultimate goal of the MAGA movement ...

We have the best government money can buy, thanks to Citizens United ... 

I can sympathize ...

Why you really don't have a choice ...

Yes, that's about how it would work ...

Didn't you ever wonder why none of the down-ballot races seem to be "rigged" if the outcome is what was hoped? ...

This is clearly the GOP playbook ... when you don't have a platform of your own, distort the other guy's ...

Debate by meme ... it's the modern method of campaigning for people who think only in bumper stickers ...

It wouldn't surprise me ...

And that's how it is for our first Cartoon Saturday visit to the wonderful world of elections. You know you needed something to laugh at.

Have a good day and a great weekend, and come back tomorrow for a nostalgic Poetry Sunday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo.

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

And away we go! ... 

I think there may be a larger issue here than just the theft ...

It's nice to see inflation coming down in the service industry ...

If you missed getting a Valentine's Day gift for your beloved, there are still some good deals to be had ... 

It's nice to see that not everybody is angry about Mexicans ...

Speaking of unfortunately-named schools ...

I think they're using Republican math ...

I think Agnes and I may reconsider the option of moving back to Germany after getting a hint about life expectancy ...

This is good news for political action committees that have been milking people for a long time ...

I've heard the Pope is furious ...

Anything I could say would just get me in trouble, so we'll leave it here ...

And that's it for this week's edition of Great Moments in Editing and Signage - I hope it helped bring a smile to your face at the end of a week of social, political, and religious suck.

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

Bilbo

Ass Clown Special Award

Once again I feel the need to jump out of the regular schedule and thin the thundering herd of ass clowns by presenting a much-needed out-of-cycle award. It says a great deal about 2024 that we're only in February and I've already found it necessary to present two special awards. This bodes ill for the rest of a year we already have reason to fear.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, today we present an 

Ass Clown Special Award

to

The American News Media

The News Media has received our Ass Clown Award twice in the past: the Left-Cheek in November of 2016 and the Left-Cheek in June of 2017, and it has gone out of its way to earn today's crown. 

Let us begin by reviewing the text of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees our most fundamental freedoms (the emphasis is my own):

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Disclaimer: the First Amendment does not guarantee that all free speech is worth listening to, nor does it obligate the press to print accurate and truthful information. The Founders expected We the People to be smart enough to recognize BS when we hear it.

The right-wing news media is a lost cause ... outlets like Fox News, One America News Network, and Real America's Voice don't even pretend to present balanced coverage of social and political issues; they are a hermetically-sealed echo chamber that recognizes no other points of view. More liberal-leaning outlets like CNN, MSNBC, and NPR generally make an effort to balance their reporting, and tend to be far less shrill and strident in their reporting than their more conservative competitors. Nevertheless, in today's current environment, a balanced approach to news reporting and analysis is increasingly rare as media outlets across the spectrum focus on the hysterical in a desperate competition for viewership, clicks, and advertising revenue.

The ongoing brouhaha over President Biden's age is instructive. 

I think we can all agree that Mr Biden is elderly. So am I. But the focus on his age has totally overwhelmed reporting and analysis of his administration's successes and the actions it is trying to take to address the nation's pressing issues. The long-awaited report by Special Counsel Robert Hur on classified materials found in Mr Biden's properties found no criminality or nefarious intent on the President's part, but that fully justified conclusion - and how it differs from the behavior of Der Furor in a similar case - has been overshadowed by a focus on language in the report that, intentional or not*, made Mr Biden sound like a drooling, confused buffoon barely able to string words together**.

Other critical issues - illegal immigration, aid to Ukraine, the devastating war in Gaza, climate change, economic inequality, religious bigotry, and many others - have been starved of oxygen by a relentless focus on a issue that, while worthy of discussion and concern, is just one part of the news universe.

Interviewers ask simple, softball questions and avoid uncomfortable issues, probably in order to get reluctant targets to agree to interviews. Most "interviews" consist of a few gentle questions to tee up agonizingly long and and irrelevant answers (usually consisting of non-germane talking points), followed by a complete lack of follow-up to point out obvious lies, evasions, and distortions of the truth. Most interviewers are reluctant to interrupt the stream-of-consciousness replies to keep their interviewees focused on the questions actually asked, or to call out falsehoods.

A classic example of news media failures was the recent "interview" by Tucker Carlson of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin took complete control of the interview, dominated Carlson, and used the friendly, pushback-free opportunity to present a crazily revisionist history justifying his murderous war against Ukraine. Of course, Mr Carlson has no credibility as a journalist, even with his (former) employer, as noted by Judge Mary Kay Viskocyl's decision in which she wrote

"Fox persuasively argues, that given Mr. Carlson's reputation, any reasonable viewer 'arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism' about the statement he makes."

Coverage of the admittedly-serious situation at the souther border is another example. Media figures routinely allow showboating members of Congress to accuse the administration of "refusing to enforce the law," but fail to ask the questions which would provide accuracy and context: what specific laws are not being enforced? Why? What previous court decisions may be limiting the government's ability to respond? Why has Congress not taken action to fix our admittedly-outdated laws governing immigration and amnesty? Why has Congress failed to provide resources to address the problem?

I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Freedom of the press isn't worth much when the press fails to do its job.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, this Ass Clown Special Award is presented to the American News Media, for its abject failure to do the critical job of ensuring we have a well-informed population.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* I suspect it was completely intentional.

** That would actually be Der Furor.

Male-ing Letters

There are a lot of really stupid things bubbling around in today's bizarre world, but one of the stupidest has to be the current plague of self-designated "alpha males."

In biological/zoological terms, an "alpha male" is the highest-ranking male in a mammalian social group, a position he earns and retains by being the oldest, largest, strongest, loudest, or most aggressive male in the group. In groups with "alpha males," the benefits of the position include priority access to food, desirable lodging, and ... perhaps most importantly ... the right to mate with all the available and desirable females.

Because we humans* usually mate in pairs and generally do not live in social (as opposed to political) groups dominated by a single male, we tend to see our equivalent of nature's alpha male in terms of wealth, business success, skill in sports, or rank in a military or business hierarchy. This is true even though that, nowadays, our business and military hierarchies produce powerful women  ... "alpha females," if you will.

This ability of women to dominate the traditionally-dominant men in various fields has led to a social backlash in which insecure men try to overcompensate for their perceived lack of status in various ways ... hence the rise of the self-designated "alpha male." One of the best current examples of this phenomenon is the proliferation of ludicrously clownish images of Der Furor, the least alpha of men, as a musclebound, heroic figure worshiped by his cultish followers ... 

Another example is the omnipresent online figure of "Nick Adams, Alpha Male"**, whose descriptions of appropriate "alpha male" behavior and recommendations for treatment of women are the epitome of cartoonish toxic masculinity. 

Similar to the "alpha male" is the "incel," or "involuntarily celibate" man, identifiable by his noisy complaining about the unfairness of his inability to attract and have sex with desirable women. You may recall that I wrote about this four years ago; sadly, such losers are still with us, and form part of the cacophony of whiny, insecure men that drowns out reasonable discussion of important topics.

In my opinion, for what it's worth***, a man who needs to loudly self-identify as an "alpha male" is probably actually a "sub-omega male" ... so far down on the psychological totem pole that he has to make up in volume what he lacks in actual manhood.

Leave the Greek letters to their original purpose: creating impenetrable mathematical expressions.

Have a good day, and avoid toxicity in your relationships. You'll be happier.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* "Naked apes," in the wonderful expression made famous by Desmond Morris.

** That's exactly what his Twitter handle is. There is some question as to whether this is a parody account, but it seems to be real.

*** Not all that much, I realize.

Musical Sunday

You may recall that Der Furor's campaign recently released a video called "God Made Trump," which claimed that the most ungodly of men had been hand-selected by the deity to lead America to ... well ... you can imagine what he would lead America to, and it ain't what his besotted cultists think. Naturally, The Parody Project has its own take on the "God Made Trump" video, and it's a lot more accurate ...

Yes, it's true that God made Trump. But it's worth remembering that God also made bubonic plague. 

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. Be careful what you pray for. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

It's been quite a week, hasn't it? ... 

Britain's King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer and advised to step back from public duties during treatment; a Federal appeals court has ruled unanimously that Der Furor is not immune from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed during his presidency to reverse the 2020 election results; in a staggering display of legislative incompetence, House Republicans botched their attempt to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, then failed to pass their own standalone bill for aid to Israel; Special Counsel Robert Hur released a fiercely critical report on President Biden's handling of classified information, but recommended no criminal charges; and in the United Kingdom (not in Florida, oddly, an artist whose nude statue had its penis stolen seven times has received a box of clay penises in the mail from an unknown benefactor. 

This week, in honor of King Charles* and with best wishes for his recovery, we offer a collection of cartoons about kings and queens ... 

I think this is probably the royal style preferred by Der Furor ...

Well, he's neither too far left nor too far right ...

At this point, you might as well just go ahead ...

I think it may be a bit late for that ...

Yes. Yes, they do ...

The queen has a very good question here ...

There's trending, and there's trending ...

Der Furor probably wants to know that, too ...

Awwww ...

The United States ... or, at least, some of it ... wants the United States to remain a democracy ...

I hope you have enjoyed this week's royal entertainment. Have a good day and a great weekend, and come back tomorrow for Musical Sunday's somewhat different look at what God made. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* And with utter disdain for a certain would-be king I could name, but whose name I refuse to say out loud.