Great Moments in Editing and Signage

New month, new examples of brilliance in editing and signage ...

Unfortunate juxtaposition ...

They're breeding ...

I'm going to try this now that the snow is all gone ...

Oh, the horror of the ghastly leftist agenda ...

He thought the ABA was actually the American Burlesque Association ...

Not all the crazy, useless lawyers are in the United States ...

Well, heck ... another senior benefit gone ...

I think this student must have gone to school in either Texas or Tennessee ...

I wonder how many people click the wrong button ...

Stand up for your rights! Let's form up a convoy of garbage trucks and drive to ... uh ... the landfill!

There you go - a nice collection of ya-has to start off your month. Have a good day and come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday ... more thought then.

Bilbo

Another Parallel

This past Monday in this space, I wrote of the parallels that I see between the unfolding Russian assault on independent Ukraine and the German invasion of neutral Belgium at the outset of the First World War. Yesterday my attention was drawn to another parallel that is equally interesting and more immediately frightening.

In a March 1st article titled "Distraught Dictator or Rational Actor?" David Ignatius looked at the question of Vladimir Putin's mental state - an issue that has been on a lot of minds lately. Mr Ignatius writes that "his [Putin's] mental attitude appears to be more a fixation on Ukraine than a broader instability" and that "U.S. officials believe that Ukraine for years has been Putin's most sensitive issue - one where his normal political calculus doesn't seem to apply."

This sounds right to me, and sets up a parallel with another worrying geopolitical fixation: that of The People's Republic of China with Taiwan.

If Putin "broods about Ukraine, rages about its tilt toward the West, and schemes to bring it back under Russian domination" (as Mr Ignatius writes), his attitude is little different from that of the Chinese leadership, which is absolutely inflexible on its insistence that Taiwan is part of Big China. Consider that the least indication that Taiwan is being viewed as a nation in its own right sends the Chinese government into paroxysms of fury and starts sabers rattling. In a speech last October, Chinese President Xi Jinping said,

"No one should underestimate the Chinese people's staunch determination, firm will, and strong ability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity ... The historical task of the complete reunification of the motherland must be fulfilled, and will definitely be fulfilled."

Putin and Xi approach their parallel territorial fixations as absolutes, without any possibility of compromise or negotiation, making it difficult to develop political "off ramps" that could offer a face-saving way to step away from a brink that, in Putin's case, has already been decisively crossed. 

One has to wonder what lessons Xi Jinping is drawing from Russia's situation. The devastation of Russia's economy by the rest of the world (except, at the moment, for China) is a sobering reminder of the economic power the West can bring to bear, but that power would likely be harder to wield against China, which is much more integrated into the world's economy than is Russia.

American manufacturers for years have minimized costs and increased profits by allowing their products to be made in Chinese factories, to the extent that there are only limited options for obtaining many items from other sources. Will American consumers give up their Chinese-made products to punish an attack on Taiwan? Do they have a short- to medium-term alternative? I doubt it.

We are in uncharted geopolitical waters now, thanks to Vladimir Putin's brutal determination to destroy an independent Ukraine. Let us hope that the world's reaction gives pause to the parallel determination of the Chinese government to destroy an independent Taiwan.

Have a good day. See you tomorrow for the first edition of Great Moments in Editing and Signage for March ... we can all use a laugh.

More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Parallels: 1914 and 2022

As you all know, I am a dedicated, if amateur, student of history. One of the things that fascinates me is the realization of parallels between different eras. One such parallel is playing out now.

I’m reading (for the nth time) Barbara Tuchmann’s classic book “The Guns of August,” which documents the first month - August, 1914 - of the First World War. As you may recall, the war opened with a massive German assault on France that relied on a vast flanking movement through neutral Belgium to avoid French border fortifications. The German plan was incredibly detailed and relied on a precise timetable that assumed that the Belgians would step aside and allow the German army to pass safely through and quickly conquer France.

As history shows, it didn’t work out that way. The tiny Belgian army put up a stiff resistance that threw off the German timetable and gave the French and British time to deploy their forces to resist the coming assault. The war dragged on for another four years, fueled by the German miscalculation in its first days.

The same thing is happening today. Russian leader Vladimir Putin, hoping for a quick victory before the West could rally to the support of Ukraine, assumed that his huge army would simply sweep Ukrainian resistance aside, decapitating its government and seizing its territory in a fast, relatively bloodless blitzkrieg.

As with the Germans in Belgium in 1914, it’s not working out that way.

The Ukrainians, under the unexpectedly dynamic and heroic leadership of President Volodymir Zelinsky, are putting up a fierce resistance that has denied Mr Putin his quick victory and rallied world opinion to their defense. Russian forces supplied only for a fast campaign have in many cases stalled, with tanks and other vehicles running out of fuel and abandoned on roadsides, soldiers unfed, and ammunition in some cases running short. The war is, of course, far from over and the Russians still have enormous forces not yet committed to the battle, but the initial lessons are clear.

Military planning requires making assumptions, and those assumptions need to be practical and rational. The assumption that a proudly independent nation would simply roll over and submit to invasion and occupation was neither practical nor rational, and far too many Russians and Ukrainians are paying the price … just as so many others paid the ultimate price for the assumptions made by German leaders and planners in 1914.

Let’s hope that the unprovoked and ill-planned Russian invasion of Ukraine can be ended before too many more people needlessly die to satisfy one man’s delusions of grandeur. And let's also hope that the Republican party here at home can finally understand who the real enemy is.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Musical Sunday

This song by Warren Zevon has appeared on Musical Sunday several times before, because it has a timeless connection to news events about political figures that just seem to keep bubbling up like noxious gas from a septic tank. As decades of past illegality finally catch up (we hope) to Der Furor, his family of grifters, and all his Congressional sycophants, "Lawyers, Guns, and Money" becomes timely once again as Ukraine - the sovereign nation Der Furor tried to bully into helping him get elected by smearing his opponent - fights for its life.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. Don't bother sending lawyers or guns to Der Furor, because he won't pay for them anyhow ... he'll just get some stooge like the RNC to pay for them. And don't send money, either ... the way he's monetized his term as president and milked the sheep who follow him, he doesn't need your help.

More thoughts coming. 

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

Just when you thought the news couldn't get much worse ...

Russia launched a massive invasion of Ukraine on three fronts, triggering economic and political sanctions from most Western nations but no direct military help to the beleaguered Ukrainians, who continue to put up a fierce resistance against overwhelming odds; President Biden has nominated federal appellate court judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill the Supreme Court seat being opened by the retirement of Associate Justice Stephen Breyer; four of the largest U.S. corporations have agreed to pay roughly $26 billion to settle lawsuits linked to claims that their business practices helped fuel the opioid crisis; Oklahoma U.S. House candidate Abby Broyles has apologized after reports that she became intoxicated at a Valentine’s Day weekend sleepover for middle-school-aged girls, berated several of the children and vomited into a hamper*; and in Michigan, a 26-year-old man was arrested on charges of hitting and killing a 64-year-old woman with his pickup truck in order to have sex with her dead body**.

This week, in "honor" of the Russian invasion of independent Ukraine, I thought a collection of cartoons about barbarians would be appropriate.

Can modern barbarians be environmentally responsible? ...

As Donald Rumsfeld once said, you go to war with the army you have ...

Barbarian triage ...

Contrary to popular belief in Republican circles, the current tsar is not tolerable ...

To "reply all," load the catapult with gravel ...

It doesn't always work, but it's always worth a try ...

Barbarian snowflake? ...

Recycling isn't a new thing ...

Lawyers were the original barbarian enablers ...

Well, yes ...

And that's it for our look at barbaric current events. I'm hoping for the best in Ukraine, but fearing the worst ... especially in view of the despicable behavior of many in the US Congress.

Have a good day and a great weekend. See you tomorrow for Musical Sunday.

More thoughts then. 

Bilbo

* In true present-day fashion, she said in response to inquiries from reporters, “It’s clear this media smear campaign is politically backed, and I won’t stop fighting for Oklahomans.”

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

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for February, 2022

It's often difficult to sift through the many dozens/scores/hundreds/thousands of blathering idiots who are eligible for receipt of my quasi-prestigious awards in search of a clear winner, but on the black day on which I write this, there's only one obvious choice.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the clear winner of

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown Award for February, 2022

is presented - once again* - to

The Republican Party

The party's lurch to the extreme, authoritarian and religiously intolerant right that took place during the reign of Der Furor has resulted in huge amounts of state-level legislation that hamper voting, limit individual rights (other than those associated with guns or the imposition of "Christian" values), and attempt to roll back decades of civil rights protections. All of that is bad enough. But the party that claims to be "The Party of Lincoln" and to put "America First" has shown itself to be utterly morally bankrupt by openly supporting Russia's invasion of the independent nation of Ukraine. I would call these actions "shameless," but today's GOP has long shown itself incapable of shame.

While most Republicans in Congress have, however tepidly and grudgingly, supported President Biden’s tough and principled stand against Russia, a cadre of conservative Republicans, supporters of Der Furor, and conservative media shouting heads urge Americans to admire, or even congratulate, Russian President Vladimir Putin's naked aggression.

On Tuesday, Der Furor paid Putin a strong compliment, saying the Russian leader had made a “smart move” by sending “the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen” to the borders of independent Ukraine.

In an interview on a conservative talk radio program, Der Furor doubled down on his past praise of the Russian president, saying his move against Ukraine was "genius." He said that "Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine — Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. He used the word ‘independent’ and ‘we’re going to go out and we’re going to go in and we’re going to help keep peace. You’ve got to say that’s pretty savvy." This comment, of course, has been aired many times on Russian state television as justification of Putin's actions.

In what Alice in Wonderland world would a former United States president - even one as demonstrably unfit, unhinged, and incompetent as Der Furor - praise a foreign dictator who has just attacked an independent nation and justified his action with the flimsiest gossamer of lies?

Republicans who blindly parrot Der Furor's ignominious statements hardly shower themselves with patriotic glory as they show that their "America First" slogan is as empty as the GOP platform. Former Secretary of State and Director of Central Intelligence Mike Pompeo has spoken of Putin as "savvy" and "very talented," saying in a February 18th interview that "I have enormous respect for him," and describing the Russian leader as "... a very talented statesman. He has lots of gifts. He was a KGB agent, for goodness’ sakes. He knows how to use power. We should respect that."

At a time of international peril, some Republicans cannot see fit to condemn Putin's aggression without also defaming and undermining their president in a time when national leadership and unity on the international stage is crucial. Third-ranking House GOP Republican Elise Stefanik issued a three-paragraph statement on February 24th in which she managed to call Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" and a "deranged thug" in a three-line paragraph ... that followed a much longer paragraph and concluded with another three lines which excoriated President Biden. As you would expect, useless GOP members of Congress like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jim Jordan, and Matt Gaetz accused the President of "weakness," deftly ignoring the reality that Der Furor publicly kowtowed to Vladimir Putin following their Helsinki summit in 2018, accepting the Russian leader's empty words over the assessments of his own intelligence community.

What we should never ... ever ... respect are treasonous** Republican lickspittles who shower praise on a dictator who has invaded a sovereign nation while at the same time undermining the authority of an American president who, unlike his sorry predecessor, has tried to rally the world to stand against Russian aggression. 

The Left Cheek Ass Clown Award for February, 2022, is presented to the Republican Party and its despicable adherents who are more interested in sucking up to a foreign tyrant than supporting their own nation, its allies, and their president.

Have a good day and come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday, which we really need this week. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* This is the GOP's eighth solo award; fifteenth if you count the times it shared the dishonor with a co-winner.

** I use this word in the sense in which it is defined in Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort." The emphasis is mine. If the words of Der Furor and his ilk don't meet this definition, I don't know what does.

Poetry Sunday

This past week we celebrated Valentines Day, the day dedicated to the pursuit of lust ... uh ... love. It's the one day a year on which we're supposed officially to reflect on the reasons we love our significant others, or those we hope become our significant others. This year, Agnes and I will celebrate our 40th (gasp!) wedding anniversary and ponder the things we see in each other that we either love or ignore ...

I Married You

by Linda Pastan

I married you

for all the wrong reasons,

charmed by your

dangerous family history,

by the innocent muscles, bulging

like hidden weapons

under your shirt,

by your naive ties, the colors

of painted scraps of sunset.

I was charmed too

by your assumptions

about me: my serenity––

that mirror waiting to be cracked,

my flashy acrobatics with knives

in the kitchen.

How wrong we both were

about each other,

and how happy we have been.

I don't know whether my "innocent muscles bulged," but I do know that Agnes was repulsed by some of my clothing choices, and I think my family history is less "dangerous" than "colorful." For my part, I took the risk of marrying a lady well capable of those flashy acrobatics with knives in the kitchen ... and I'm still here.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend, hopefully with the one you love.

More thoughts coming. 

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

As King Theoden memorably asked, "How did it come to this?" ...

The Catholic church has called into question the validity of thousands of baptisms performed by a priest who made a one-word error in the text he recited during the rites; in an attempt to ratchet down tensions over Ukraine, Russia announced it would conduct huge drills of its nuclear forces; Britain's disgraced Prince Andrew has reached a settlement in the lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre, in which she accused him of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager; a cargo ship carrying a load of luxury cars has been abandoned and is adrift, on fire, in the Atlantic; and in the Philippines, the world's most expensive luxury island resort has slashed its nightly rate from $100,000 to a mere $45,000 in a rebranding attempt, but did not confirm that AARP and AAA members, military personnel, or senior citizens will get additional discounts.

We really need some laughs this week, and so I'll just go with a mixed bag of some of the best cartoons from my collection - no theme this time ...

The population for the poll was drawn from "Truth" Social ...  

Nicely done ...

Oh, Adam ...

Now, that's what I call an exit poll ...

He's right, you know ...

It was a problem a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, too ...

Any more, you can't be too irrational if you want to run on the GOP ticket ...

Clever ...

Truth in packaging ...

If I end up in jail for anything, it'll be for this ...

And that's it for this Cartoon Saturday, February 19th, 2022 ... I hope you enjoyed the random collection of ya-has, and that it helped distract you from the horror of the daily news.

Have a good day and a great weekend. More thoughts coming tomorrow, when Poetry Sunday returns.

Bilbo

Great Moments in Editing and Signage

And here we go again ...

I think I know how to drive away unwanted trick-or-treaters ...

The skinny ones must shower more often ...

I didn't know they could drive ...

Since when do rattlesnakes walk rather than slither? ...

I think they've somehow missed the point of "half and half" ...

That description will certainly narrow down the suspect pool ...

Trick drivers can be hard to catch ...

Maybe they should have checked the table before making the sign ...

I guess that with the shortage of workers, they take what they can get ...

I think the headline writer used to draft tweets for Der Furor ...

There you go ... a few editorial and signage ya-has to help lighten up your week! 

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

Bilbo

What We Can Learn from Cotton Mather

This past Saturday was the birthday (in 1663) of Puritan clergyman and writer Cotton Mather, a major intellectual figure in early America. Mather was noted for, among other things, his participation in the Salem Witchcraft Trials and his endorsement of vaccination as a way of controlling smallpox*.

It was Mather's role in the Salem Witchcraft Trials that caught my attention as I was reading up on historical events for February 12th for the daily summary I publish on my Facebook page - in particular his endorsement of the use of "spectral evidence" – evidence visible only to the witnesses themselves. Although he approved of the use of such clearly questionable evidence, he warned the judges "... not (to) lay more stress on pure spectral evidence than it will bear … It is very certain that the Devils have sometimes represented the shapes of persons not only innocent, but also very virtuous.”

Spectral evidence is still important today as Republicans employ it in frantic efforts to overturn the results of a presidential election they decisively lost. It can be seen in the refusal of election deniers to accept completely rational explanations of what they believe is obvious evidence of the massive fraud clearly visible to them, but invisible to everyone else.

What does it say about modern America that a stern fire-and-brimstone Puritan clergyman of the 17th century was smarter and more public health minded than many of our fellow citizens?

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* Some people were a lot smarter about public health in the 1600s than they are now.