Well that was a Shit Show

It was like watching a person debate a monkey, and the monkey decided to stop trying to act like a human and, instead, just throw his feces around.

No points for who was whom.

Trump’s Hair Cost More than US Family Average Income

 US family’s average income in 2018 $62,000 (rounding up).. average tax bill $11,175.00

Trump’s business write off for 1 year - $70,000. ... Trump’s tax bill $0 to $750

This changes no mixes, but it is funny.

Even if you love his hair (like he does), is it worth $70,000 per year!

I Want To Be Normal Today

 I want to do something normal today. Go to the movies. Go to the theater. See friends - with a "s"! Have lunch at a restaurant!

I want to go to a beach and not pay $20 to sit and hear the waves.

I want to sit hear the waves.

I do not want to wear a mask.

I do not want to hear from Trump.

I do not want to get ready fro work next week, by checking my masks.

I do not want to be angry any more.

I do not want to sit inside all day. I do not want to walk around my dead city with a few other sad pathetic people wearing my mask.

I'm 61 years old sitting in my lovely New York City apartment with my husband and my dog and I have nightmares about ... well everything.

I want to wake up.

And a "Majority" of the People in Hell want Ice Water

 The majority...

America doesn't give a shit about your "majority".

The "majority" of Americans voted for Hillary Clinton over Trump (by 2,8600,000 votes).

The "majority" of Americans live in states that have a minority of Senators (15,000,000 more people live in blue states than red states, but the red states have more Senators).

The "majority" of Americans believe that "sleeping at night, in your own bed, waiting for your next shift as a medical worker" shouldn't be a reason to be shot to death - but the police in Louisville disagree (along with the courts).

The "majority" of Americans don't think a President should work with a foreign government to smear an opponent.

The "majority" of Americans do not think a President that brags about grabbing women by the pussy should be President.

Welcome to the court Amy Barrett.

Zela Trip: Day 1

(Day 0 blog here)

Day 1

(My log for that day)

Anaheim to Prescott AZ

We began our trip finally. At times it seemed that we would never get started. We planned to drive to Prescott the first night and stay with Zela’s brother, Uncle Bo (Robert Green) and his wife Aunt Afton. The drive was beautiful. The summer storms had turned the desert a lush green. Above is a picture of the Colorado River. Early in the trip I decided to take a picture of every major river. It seems a little silly, but after studying water in college for so long it seemed like a good idea at the time.

The first day was really hot. The car began to over-heat, so we had to turn off the air-conditioning. After starting the trip and getting 14 mpg, I began to question using Zela’s car. Like all Mitchells, she has terrible luck with automobiles.

Image 3: The Colorado River CA- AZ Border

Not really earth-shattering stuff, right? But that was my entry on day 1. Before we turn to Bo and Afton, I guess I should mention my obsession with rivers. I grew up all over Southern California. During most of high school we lived right near the San Gabriel River. It was a “river” in the LA sense. I mean that it was a giant concrete storm drain – if you saw Grease the movie – you remember “Thunder Road”, that was the LA River. The San Gabriel River was like that. My friends and I would ride our bikes from Cerritos down the river to the beach all the time. It was a pretty straight shot next to the 605, no hills and no traffic. And no water. Therefore, I was kind of fascinated with rivers with water. I did get over that pretty quickly in the middle of the country, where rivers with water turned out to be much more typical than I expected. Who knew?

But when we set out my experience was pretty much limited to Southern California and films. And since most films before that time were filmed in Southern California standing in for a remote local, I naturally assumed the world looked like the area surrounding Los Angeles. I “knew” it wasn’t like that; but knowing and really understanding are two very different things.

On our first day, a tempo was set with Zela where she would tell me about the family members we were going to meet. Often along with other stories. The brother Robert Elmo she described was almost nothing like the Uncle Bo I knew and loved (and sometime dreaded). 

Image 4: Uncle Bo (Elmo Green)

My impression of Uncle Bo was that he was a man who loved to talk and could turn a two-minute story into an evening long slog. Here is a typical Uncle Bo story. 

“Well, when I was drafted, I had a week to get to San Francisco, so Afton and I decided to drive up the coast. She wanted to see Big Sur. We took our car; it was a red Ford. Or was it blue? Anyway, we drove up and I think we stopped the first night in Ventura. Afton, honey, was it Ventura we stopped at?”

Aunt Afton from the other room, “When?”

“When we drove up the coast.”

“Which time?”

“When I was going in the Army. No wait, it was a definitely the old blue ford. And we stopped in Ventura. Or was it Santa Barbara?”

His stories would proceed this way from hours at a time. By the time food was ready, we were off on a sidetrack about Pismo Beach, the drive to San Francisco long forgotten. Uncle Bo loved to tell stories that were entertaining, but went on and on. For those of you that know me, I think I picked up that particular Green trait. 

And Aunt Afton was the love of his live. The entire Green family (my grandmother’s maiden name) was amazed that Elmo had found such an amazing woman. As much as everyone loved Uncle Bo, Aunt Afton was universally understood to be way out of his class. 

Image 5: Aunt Afton (Afton Morgan Green)

First, she was beautiful. The Greens were many wonderful things, but natural beauties they weren’t. Afton was considered gorgeous by all who remember her. She was the age of my Grandmother when I met her, so a bit past her bloom – but you could still see it.

Second, she was educated. Zela was the first Green to finish High School (although Uncle Bo and Aunt Dot did follow in her footsteps). Afton had gone to college. This was, in the 1930s, a major accomplishment and impressed my family. Afton was not only educated, but smart. She could maintain a conversation about anything, but never seemed like she was superior. She encouraged me on a million levels, but education was the biggest. Whenever we spoke, she asked what I was interested in and where I wanted to go to college. Not in a typical, “what did you learn at school today, Scott?” sense, but really what was interesting to me in the world.

Finally, she was personable in a way only a few people can be. She was inquisitive. She listened to the answers to questions. And she didn’t expect a person to follow a script. She was the only person on the trip who was not shocked and appalled I was a bartender. She understood that it gave me time to take a month off, make a lot of money and figure out what I wanted to do. 

I loved Afton like crazy, and completely understood how she drew Uncle Bo’s heart.

Bo and Afton lived in Hawaii for many years and loved it. They moved back to the mainland because Afton had a pretty rare medical condition, at least pretty rare when they found it. She was allergic to formaldehyde, and to a terrible degree. Nearly all synthetic materials give off formaldehyde for many years. To help her through this, Uncle Bo had moved them to Prescott Arizona, which has (or did in 1984) great fresh air. The home and 5th wheel trailer they owned had been stripped of carpet, wallboard, insulation and most non-natural materials. Synthetic materials stop releasing formaldehyde after about 15 years, so Uncle Bo was always on the lookout for old carpet being ripped out, or old couches being thrown away. Most of their furniture was wood, and he tried to find very gently used older carpets and furniture for things that could not be wood.

Her allergy also effected how she had to eat. She wasn’t allowed to eat the same thing more than every 3 days. Of anything!

Now for you and I, this would be frustrating to the point of anger. She had to keep a journal of food in addition to the only old or wood furniture rule. But for Afton, it was just part of life. She took this very well, at least when I was around. Her only frustration with this was that she could not move back to Hawaii without some real pains. Her daughter and grand-daughters lived in Hawaii, and she loved it there. But her allergies made it very difficult. 

As a follow up, many years later Afton and Bo did move back to Hawaii and lived in an apartment / mother-in-law unit with Julie and her husband. They went when Uncle Bo was not doing well and when Afton needed help with him. I think Uncle Bo finally agreed to it when she needed the help. If he couldn’t take care of himself, it didn’t make sense for Afton to be in Prescott.

I used to work near the LA Airport, and I drove up to the airport one lunch to say goodbye to Afton and Bo as my father and Zela took them to the airport. It was back when you could still go to the gate. I remember knowing it was the last time I would see them. Even though it was for bad reasons, she was so excited and happy to go back to the island and see her daughter and grandchildren.

This is the Los Angeles Memorial Cemetery

If you have ever driven through West Los Angeles you have probably seen the National Cemetery there. It is a very large cemetery where military from the Mexican American War through to Afghanistan have been buried.

There are a lot of graves. It is a sad but moving tribute.

If you could walk and read the names of every dead soldier, it would take you days. 

And, if you read the name of every single soldier, it would not equal one half of the people that have been killed by Covid-19.

Not

one

half.

Trump's response to the Covid outbreak was callous when he said "It is what it is." In a rally 2 days ago, Trump said, "Almost no one dies of Covid."

Almost no one. More than twice as many as the 90,000 US soldiers buried in the Los Angeles Cemetery. Almost. No. One!

Believe Him

People that do not listen to Trump ignore him at their own peril. 

Trump says what he means and no amount of "he can't do that" will stop him. Remember he said he wanted an Attorney General that functioned as his personal lawyer ("Where is MY Roy Cohen?"). Remember he said he wanted Russia to hack Hillary's emails ("Russia, if your listening find the 33,000 emails. Please!"). He wanted to shut down Muslim immigration - and he did. He wanted to separate children from their parents ("Maybe then, they won't send their kids here!").

He is outrageous. He is not a good person. But he DOES telegraph exactly what he will do.

He isn't lying. He (and the Republican National Party) are putting in place thousands of "poll watchers". These were considered illegal intimidation before a Republican court said "Sure, why not? How can a bunch of white AK47 toting militia heads intimidate anyone?". He has challenged laws counting votes that are not "post-marked" by election day, and has a Post Master General who says he won't post-mark ballots that don't have first class postage, even though bulk postage is printed on the ballot. 

Just yesterday he said that the election will go to the Supreme Court, which is why he wants his 3rd judge on the court. Nine judges are better than a 4-4 tie.

LISTEN TO HIM

Untermeyer Garden's "Temple of Love"

 This is the second of my Untermeyer Gardens post. I showed you pictures of the Persian walled gardens last time. These are from the Temple of Love Gardens.

They built a stepping stone stream and covered the path with riparian plants that were lovely. At the end of the stream they build a waterfall, pond and rock outcropping with a small Temple of Love at the top. It was really cool.

 

My Non-US Friends, Breanna Taylor, Louisville and WTF

 I am sure many of my non-American friends wonder what is up with the Breanna Taylor riots. New riots over something that happened in March. Let me explain.

In March, in Louisville Kentucky, the police screwed up big time.

They went to a house, followed a "no knock" warrant, which is where they don't announce themselves so that bed guys don't flush drugs down the toilet. Gun fire erupted and a woman, Breanna Taylor, was shot to death in the scuffle.

Two months later some truths came out that the police had not told anyone. This information came out after body camera film had to be released and Louisville papers investigated. 

1. The person called out in the warrant was not the person at the house. IN FACT, that particular suspect had already been arrested somewhere else.

2. Since the police didn't knock, Breanna's boyfriend, again NOT THE SUSPECT, fired warning shots when black glad men burst into his apartment. His weapon was legal and permitted. His shots did not touch anyone.

3. Breanna was asleep in bed. She was studying to be an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) and was a good citizen, albeit Black. She had been shot to death, not while resisting (which was the first claim of the Police) but while sleeping.

4. The Police arrested the man, and charged him with shooting at the police and endangerment (again, he fired his legal pistol in warning at unannounced non-uniformed intruders).

6. Before dropping charges against the man in the house, they offered him a deal of immunity IF he lied and said Breanna did have drugs and was awake.

7. The 3 police officers, the ones who had their bullets found inside Breanna's dead body, were released from the police force, but no charges were made against them.

8. After an outcry, the Attorney General of Kentucky (the head of the state's Department of Justice) turned the information and evidence over to a Grand Jury.

9. Two days ago, the Grand jury charges almost ready, the policeman that killed her sent a letter to other Louisville police officers saying that this entire thing was a witch hunt and he did nothing wrong. Apparently breaking in a the wrong house to serve a no knock warrant and kill an innocent person is "nothing wrong" in Louisville.

10.  Then yesterday, six months after Breanna Taylor was shot to death and 4 months after the police did not charge the officers with a crime, the Grand Jury prosecutions were unsealed. The Grand Jury found the officer who killed Breanna Taylor had indeed committed a crime. He was charged with dangerous use of a firearm. NOT in killing Breanna Taylor, that was fine and dandy. His charges were based on the 3 bullets that went into the walls and therefore threatened injury to the neighbors. The white neighbors.

Yeah, so the city erupted into entirely foreseen riots. And, only in Trump's america, there is video of the Louisville (white officers) directing white civilians with majorly dangerous Automatic Rifles to various parts of the city to help keep the Black citizens at bay.

And how was your day?

I get the Anti-Mask

They are wrong and selfish, but I get the Anti-Maskers.

After teaching and talking non-stop 8 hours a day, breathing in a mask is a chore. It's something you now have to actively think about.

I more fully understand Asthma suffers, only they never get to take off their masks!

Well, you should have voted.

 Ruth Bader Ginsberg is dead. Her seat on the Supreme Court will be filled by a conservative.

This definitely means the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is dead, and 20 million people will loss health insurance. It probably means women’s right to reproductive care, abortions and birth control, will be drastically limited or overturned at the Federal level. This means it will be legal to discriminate against LGBT individuals.

It probably means environmental laws are history and that the EPA cannot limit carbon emissions.

I WANT to be appalled or shocked. But what the hell did you except when over 100,000,000 (100 million) voters didn’t bother to vote. I voted to make sure health care was affordable. I voted to ensure women had the right to get an abortion, if that was necessary. It is NOT a surprise, Wisconsin. Trump made an explicit promise about this, Pennsylvania. The Candidate even released a list of Supreme Court nominees, Michigan.

For people who’s ONE issue was abortion, it is the promised land. If it comes with 20 Million people with no health care, it was okay. If it means throwing out dreamers, it was okay. If it means overturning an election, it was okay. THEY HAVE BEEN 100% HONEST.

This will be the 3rd justice nominated by a President that got 3 million fewer votes, and ramed through the confirmation by a Senate where the majority of the votes, come from states with a minority of the population.

This is what you voted for. And for a few of you that thought Trump and “that bitch” were equally bad, but gave Donnie a shot, this is the result. Two hundred thousand dead (83 Pearl Harbors, 65 9/11s) and a Supreme Court nominated and confirmed by a minority of the population.

Don’t be mad now. They told you EXACTLY what they would do.

Untermeyer Gradens - Lovely in Yonkers (part 1)

 Yonkers. If you watched Hello Dolly, that is the cute city where Walter Matthau was from.  If you watch Billions, that is the shithole where Bobby Axlerod escaped from. So, a divergence of opinions.

But they do have some gorgeous gardens there at the Untermeyer estate. It is a free set of gardens that is quite lovely. Eddie and I went this past week-end. Lovely.

This is the entrance to the Persian Gardens. A wall garden based on an idealized version of the Garden of Eden. 

The entrance is obscured by two massive trees, meant to symbolize the Garden of Eden. They are the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life. The two trees are massive "Weeping Birches" which I never heard of. The water symbolizes the first 4 rivers of life.

Nice.

Zela Trip Day 0

(I must start by saying the formatting is gone so I have to fix on the fly. It read better in Word).

It Begins

When I was 25, I took a month off work and traveled with my Grandmother and Aunt across the country to meet relatives, learn about my Grandmother’s life and payback the woman that took care of me in more ways than I knew.

This came about in a series of choices and coincidences that worked out perfectly. After college, from 1982 through early 1984 I worked at a “computer company”, it was an early internet startup, before the internet was around. Despite some great products, the company (“DataFax”) was very much ahead of its time, and it closed shop very early in the year. 

As an aside, my friend Steve Coyne got me the job at DataFax. It was my first job out of college that wasn’t a waiter. I graduated in 1981, in the middle of a slight recession, and jobs were not thick on the ground. I never expected to work with computers, but this was my first foray. As a matter of fact, in college I refused to work with computers. I was a proud luddite, but lack of job opportunities will change your perspective on things.

Ultimately, as with nearly all computer companies I worked at over time, it folded. While I was there, I worked for a woman whose card read, I shit you not, National and International Sales Manager. Which is a bit much. I went to Comdex with the company and closed my first sale the same way she closed many of hers, with dinner and drinks. Okay, and sex. But back to our main story.'

Around that same time (we’re back in 1984), I was speaking with my Grandmother, Zela. I will get to more about Zela, much more, but we can start with the fact my Grandmother was very important to me. I lived with my father after my parents’ divorce and my father was spectacularly unreliable. Zela backstop raised me for much of my life. During a tough phase at UCLA, she loaned me some money for school, and I paid her back, $50 a month. After I finished the loan, I continued to pay $50 a month for years, since it meant more to her than to me. I don’t say that as a brag, but it meant a lot to Zela at the time, and probably deepened our relationship. We were always there for each other.

One day I went down to visit – a drive from West LA to Orange County, twenty miles and about an hour in traffic, just to say hi and tell her about my fun at the LA Olympics. I had attended a lot of the competition from the LA Olympics. Typically, after I did something fun or traveled, I would go share the pictures with Zela and we would talk about the event and then life in general.

 It was on this particular visit she told me of a relative that passed away. As the good grandson, I said, “Do you want to go for the funeral, I can help with flight.”

She gave a grandmotherly sigh and said, “No. I hate going back only to funerals.”

 

Image 1: My father, Aunt Martha and Grandmother Zela around the time of the trip

Jo and Don Vote Early!

 Ed's parents, Jo and Don Amiot were on MSNBC voting early today in Minnesota. I am sharing.

Just What Should I be Worrying About Today?

 Well, if you, like me, can never find enough things to worry about, have I got help for you! There is an interactive map in the NY Times that tells you what your county has to worry about from climate change. LINK. Long story short, we are all moving to my mom's area in Missoula Montana.

Dane County, Wisconsin ... yikes!

LINK

What's With the Sedition Talk from TrumpLand now?

We have begun to hear the word "Sedition" thrown around by this administration. Here are two examples for the past couple of days.

These talking points have come from people in TrumpLand* close to the president. So what is "SEDITION"? Well it is conduct or speech identified calling to overthrowing a monarch or the authority of the state. It is a common way of muzzling all protests against the government. 

It is used (right now) to squelch dissent in Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Kazakstan, Thailand among others.

In the United States it carries a possible sentence of 20 years in jail. But in the United States, we have the right of assembly and protest. And so "sedition" is rarely used except in spy cases, particularly around the beginning of the Republic and during the Civil War.

The fact that Trump appointees are calling protesters, as well as the Mayor of Seattle, guilty of sedition is a massive step up in their blame game. Caputo actually suggested arming TrumpLand for a civil war is Biden wins the election or if he"fails to acknowledge a loss". 

Usually calls like this are fringe nut-jobs. The local KKK, Jon Birch society and far left looneys. But TrumpLand is now calling for this right at the top.

This election cannot come fast enough for me.

*To get to TrumpLand, go down Main Street, through the gates to Fantasyland, right past the Mad Hatter and cross TuneTown, because those people have a tether to reality. Follow the red pill character under the troll bridge and tada - get on a boat.

My Trip with Zela Across Country in 1984

I went across the country with Zela in 1984. And I gave her a book with pictures and reminders. Ed has always told me to write down the stories. Well, Covid-lockdown has been a bitch, but I did get this done. So, every week-end I will post one day of the trip. It will take 36 weeks. 

But it is a long read and no one wants it all at once. If you lose the story ever, you can search in the search bar for ZelaTrip. Or ZelaTripDayX. Many of these stories you will have heard in part at some point, but it is my chance to get it all down. It starts this week-end. 

As a preview, this is the journey we took and my leader page to Zela's book.

You can also see why I had to fix all the pictures. Almost all look better than this.

The Welsh Have A Word For It: Hiraeth

 Hiraeth describes me right now. It is Welsh and means ~ Yearning for a home you cannot return to, that no longer exists or maybe never was.

Growing up, when I needed touchstones, these were my three touchstones that always said to me home.

This was before "Disney" became the Death-Star of entertainment eating all in its wake.

The beach and waves. Preferably Santa Monica or Laguna during the day, and the dead spot on PCH between Santa Monica and Malibu at night where you hear the roar of the surf.

Plam Trees. The super tall skinny ones are "Canary Island Palms" planted almost 100 years ago for the 1932 LA Olympics. The slightly fatter and shorter ones are very very old Mexican Fan Palms.

These things still call to me (well, except Disney, I've kind of traded that in for UCLA), and they still mean "home" to me. But I can't go back, easily, to Los Angeles. Los Angeles has changed. I've changed.

But I will always hold these things in particular, and Los Angeles in general, as home. I still yell at the TV and make Ed back up shows so I can show him where it is in LA and when we visited. I still root for UCLA (when sports are playing). But home.. maybe not.

Now home is where my husband is, where my dog is and where my friends are. That causes a little cognitive dissonance everyone now and then, since many of my friends are in Los Angeles or England or Florida (okay only 1 in Florida) - but I guess that is the price you pay to grow up.

I pay the price gladly, but it has introduced a bit of hiraeth.

"Bat-Shit Crazy" Comments from Trump Appointee

 The Communications Officer for the Department of Health and Human Services has, just this week-end:

1. Accused the CDC (United States Center for Disease Prevention and Control) of sedition. which is the act of inciting people to rebel against the government
2. Accused Democrats / Leftists of obtaining weapons and planning an armed insurrection when Trump wins, but Biden does not concede.
3. Accused Democrats of shooting a Right Wing nut job in Oregon as a "drill" for the future
4. Accused the CDC of holding back a Covid "solution" until after the election to help Biden*
5. Encouraged Trump Supporters to buy more weapons
6. Encouraged Trump Supporters to buy more bullets ("they will be a shortage")
7.  Prepare for the civil war that happens after Trump wins.

Welcome to the Monkey House. Short Article below. Long article link: LINK

* One question arises. How can the Covidiots believe both that the virus is a hoax AND that the CDC is holding back a fix?

Political Discourse in American 2020

This is what Trump's followers have come to, I shit you not (sorry, bad pun). A youtube supporter of President Trump gave a live stream of himself taking a shit on the driveway of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

What better way is there to make a coherent argument that your Candidate is better than a Democratic Candidate who is not the person on whom's driveway you shat. Donald Trump is running against Joe Biden. And therefore I, John Q. Public, will convince the undecided voter that President Trump is better. How should I do it?

I know! I will travel to San Francisco and live stream taking a public shit on Nancy Pelosi's driveway.

Dude, time to get a boat and a flag!

Fantastic Job Ed (and the US Open)

The US Open went off these past 2 weeks with almost zero problems. Considering the state of the New York, US and the World with Coronavirus, that is a hell of an accomplishment.

The tournement created a "safety bubble" where the players and support staff had to stay. They did daily testing as necessary, which means thousands of test a day (Ed had to have at least 3 for his very few (3) visits). There were 2 layers.

Dominic Theim

Men's Champion

Naomi Osaka, Women's champion

Because this year the Open happened at the same time as baseball (which didn't to nearly as well keeping players safe), the NBA play-offs (which were in a different bubble in Orlando) and the NHL (in September!), the ratings were not as good as usual. But the play was great, many people were still employed and no one went home sick.

And, if you happened to watch the finals, it was the first time a man not named, Roger, Rafa or Novak won a Grand Slam in long time. Dominic Theim won in a 5 setter that went to tiebreak.

Great Job Eddie!

Sparky!

 

Let Me Sum Up "The Master Builder"

The Master Builder is a Ibsen treasure. A famous play of the stage. It's also long and a little too heavy. My 2nd paragraph in 2010 kind of summed it all up.

On one level, The Master Builder is a complex story of a man at the height of his power, but afraid of losing it all. The arrival of a young woman, full of sexy worship brings the insecurities and fears of Halvard Solness to the fore, but her arrival also triggers a reckless youthful streak of bravado in the Master Builder. There is much discussion of trolls, mind control and the meaning of responsibility. One cannot help but think that if this 50 year old guy just got a hooker and a Miata – he would get through his mid-life crises a lot easier.

Adam Driver in 2010.

 (Again - going through and storing out old reviews).

In 2010 I reviewed an unknown off-broadway. Adam Driver, in Little Doc.

What did I say : ...But it is Adam Driver as Ric that shines the brightest in this cast, particularly in the last section of the show. He plans to get out of his dead end life, at the expense of his friends and family. When his plan is discovered, his failure as a friend and son is overshadowed by his own fear and the desire to escape the consequences of his actions

Pictures of him.

IN The show

Headshot from program

Apropos of Nothing: Some Are Just For Me

 

I Gotta Say: Wrong Results, No Matter How I Phrase It

 About 8 years ago, I saw an amazing play. Now, as I said, I am busy work, working on my plays and saving them before I lose them. This includes some searching.

I gotta say, no matter how you phrase it, Including ["Cock", play, Duke Theater], the actual play never shows up first. And the results are a mixed bag.

My original review - where I saw Cory Michael Smith the first time and loved him is here. FYI - he is the Riddler in the CW Series "Gotham and has a bizarre new fan-boy following. The play was written by Mike Bartlett, who is SUPER TALENTED. He wrote Cock, Bull, and King Charles III

Here is CMS as Riddler

I also learned, and I didn't know this, that "The Duke" is a particular type of sex toy. So, there you go: your new information for the day.

9/11 - Not so powerful this time

It is 9/11. In American this usually means remembering our common fight against terrorism, signified by the Sept 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. 

It is usually a day to reaffirm that ALL American lies are important.

Today it is a day to remember that our President lied about the Covid 19 problems and deaths. That our deaths from Covid are over 63 TIMES more numerous than the Sept 11th attacks. And that 40% of the country doesn't give a shit.

Wisconsin Republicans Kick Off Our Voting Fiasco Two Months Early!

Ah, Wisconsin. Once home of proud progressives starting with Fighting Bob La Follette. More recently their tastes have run to Scott Walker and his merry band of Republican Supreme Court Judges.

During the Primary, Supreme Court cut absentee voting, closed voting locations and gave thousands Covid 19 to try and stop the vote.

Yesterday, Wisconsin kicked off the "let's fuck this up for Trump" follies - circa 2020. You see Wisconsin must mail out their absentee ballots, by Wisconsin law, no later than Sept 17th. That is 6 days from now.

Clearly, the ballots have been printed, given to the right county officials and mailing has started. Now, the Supreme Court (of Wisconsin) - the same ones that fucked up their primary with different rulings the 2 days before the elections - has halted everything.

Here, the term, "everything" is meant to fuck up the election.

Th Supreme Court (by Republicans 4, Democrats 3) halted the process. They want to wait until they themselves determine if the Green Party President must be on the ballot. If they decide no, THEN the ballots can be mailed - unless it is after 6 days from now. Then they are too late.

If they decide to ADD the Green Candidate to the ballot, THEN new ballots must be printed, and the old ballots must be pulled. Let's just suppose, for shits and giggles, that happens. Because the deadline is coming up about 186,000 ballots have already been printed with tens of thousands mailed out.

So, if new ballots are printed up, then each absentee ballot must be checked if it is the original ballot or a new ballot. Let us examine the Chaos this would introduce after the election.

Here is your flow chart.

1 Is it an original ballot? Or does it have the Green Party on it?

 - 1.a If original - toss out that vote. (depending on a future lawsuit that would surely happen)

 - 1.b If original - set aside (if Supreme Court decides to allow it to be "provisionally counted")

2. If it has the Green Party on it. Was it mailed in time?

 - 2.a If no postmark or late postmark, throw the ballot out.

 - 2.b If on time set aside.

3. If ballot IS postmarked on time then

 - 3.a Hand compare to see if the new ballot (2.a) has been cast by the same person as old ballot (1.b)

4 If the new ballot has the same voter number as old ballot

 - 4.a If same user votes twice, scream FRAUD (like you would BINGO) and escalate to Trump's ad team.

 - 4.b If same user's signature differ IN ANY WAY between either the 2 ballots or the sign up signature - call FRAUD and throw out the ballot. (This is called the Georgia rule. This is how they threw out over 100,000 ballots in 2016 - because signature did not match EXACT signature in voter roles. Oddly, overwhelmingly in major Black districts. Black married women with new surnames were also tossed. Married white women voters with new surnames were NOT thrown out.)

5 If this is a new ballot, and is the only absentee ballot submitted by user, and the signature matches EXACTLY how they signed years ago - then manually count that vote.

And remember, all counting must be finished AND confirmed within 41 days. So you got your 

1.  check postmark
2.  check for duplicate
3. check signature
4. hand count and confirm

And Wisconsin 11 Electoral Votes Go To... (we will get back to you)