I’ve Finally Read Jeff Smith’s Bone

Bone is a graphic novel I’ve been aware of but never read. Recently I took the plunge and bought the Complete Bone Saga in the original black and white. 1400 pages of Good stuff! While I don’t think it’s as ground breaking as Watchmen, or The Dark Knight Returns, or as important as Maus, it’s an expansion of what the graphic novel format can be. Really Jeff Smith admits, he was trying to channel Walt Kelly’s Pogo and it shows.

Bone

It’s a good yarn, entertaining for adults or kids. Fone Bone and his cousins Smiley Bone and Phoncible P. “Phoney” Bone get lost escaping Boneville and the results of one of Phoney’s many scams. Large rat creatures, dragons, talking animals a major quest and a war of good versus evil follow. If you like stuff like that, and I do, I highly recommend it.

When America Makes a Promise, Expect Trump to Break It

Remember the Kurds? Y’know I didn’t want to believe that Trump was a Russian asset despite the mounting evidence, but his actions since taking office scream Putin. Greenland is owned by Denmark, a NATO country who allows the U.S. to have both an Air Force and Naval base in Greenland. We patrol the “Northwest Passage” and keep it safe due to our commitments to our NATO allies. But if the U.S. owned Greenland, Trump could cede control of the Arctic Ocean to Russia. Panama has strict sanctions against Russian ships using the canal, but if the U.S. owned the canal, it could unilaterally drop those sanctions. What a gift that would be to Russia! Like breaking the bond between the U.S. and Western Europe, or substantially weakening the functionality of our government.

Now this…

Exclusive-Trump plans to revoke legal status of Ukrainians who fled to US, sources say

We made a promise, those people trusted us. But so did the Kurds. The thing I struggle to understand is, are his followers okay with breaking promises or just okay with him breaking promises?

UPDATE! – I was wrong, the Panama Canal has a doctrine of neutrality and already lets Russian ships through. Scratch that conspiracy theory I fell for. This is why I have to check my sources before I publish. Fact-checking is essential Y’know.

Kennedy Says Measles Outbreak is “a Call to Action”

Yeah, but if someone hadn’t enriched themselves for years using their celebrity to make dumb suburban moms doubt the efficacy of vaccines, we probably wouldn’t HAVE an outbreak. Dumbass. Herd immunity requires high percentages of vaccination. It cannot be a “personal choice” since the choice is asking for the right to sicken others.

As measles outbreak grows, HHS secretary says vaccination is a personal decision that can protect individuals and communities

Times Change

“We don’t want to see anybody die,” – Marco Rubio (late January)

On second thought, Daddy and Musk say we are okay with that – Marco Rubio (late February)

The Trump Administration Said These Aid Programs Saved Lives. It Canceled Them Anyway

Musk’s Purges Suddenly Take a Horrific Turn—and Wreck an Ugly MAGA Lie

I remember how excited I was when “Plumpy nut (RUTF) was developed. No more kids starving! And it was cheap, and it supported American farms!

Yeah, feels good to be an American these days.

The Real Manipulation Machine is the One You Build for Yourself

Some folks believe the left manipulates the media. It’s a convenient conspiracy theory because it allows one to discount that which challenges their opinions. I read a post recently, called Inside the Manipulation Machine. I liked that the author bases the beginning of his article on a book I very much enjoyed called “Amusing Ourselves to Death” by the brilliant Neil Postman. Although he summarizes the premise of the book he does not reference it. Which seems dishonest, since he’s clearly read it. Basically we went from a visual species to a verbal species to a species capable of understanding the written word. Then we de-evolved with first radio (verbal communication) and then television (visual communication). Now our caveman brains are easily manipulated. So Obama manipulated them!

Wait! What?

Continue reading

Thank Goodness Someone is Finally Testing Vaccines!

Now we will finally know if vaccines actually work!

Now That Trump Has Banished the Woke From Science, These Truth-Telling New Scientific Papers Reveal What COVID Vaccines Actually Do to Children

Oh, wait. They work. And they always worked? Gee. What a surprise. Maybe they’ll invent one for Measles.

By the way, Fun Fact: The first person to mandate inoculation was George Washington during the Revolutionary War. That woke S.O.B.

What is Wrong with Elon?

An interesting take on Elon’s business acumen from someone who worked for him…

Also interesting, this was posted four months ago and really gives some insights…

In the end, I think both Elon and Trump are pretty easily misled. That seems crazy, but is it? Both have attachments to conspiracy theories that are definitely not true.

J.D. Vance’s Speech to Europe

I’ve waited awhile before commenting on JD’s European speech. I have a friend who thought he did really well. I am less enthusiastic. But he did highlight what I believe are two misconceptions, one held by liberals, and one held by conservatives. In the end, his speech was shocking, and partially, in my opinion, true.

He started by saying that Europe’s greatest threat is internal. Attempts by European governments to restrict speech that may offend others are silly and counter productive. This is a good point. I have always felt that liberals need to understand that especially in the United States, there is no such thing as the right to not be offended. Instead, there is indeed a right to offend. Comedians like Lenny Bruce, George Carlin and Richard Pryor established that a long time ago and I stand by it. Okay, that part is true, but is it really Europe’s BIGGEST threat? Continue reading

Ohio Republicans Go After Unions, Again

I have been able to retire because I worked in two separate jobs with a union. My dad’s union job helped him retire when his body gave out, and many of my older friends got to go to college because their dad was paid fairly because he was in a union. Reagan started the movement against unions and interestingly enough worker pay in the U.S. stagnated after that. In 1982, after just five years on the job (part time), I had medical benefits, dental, eye and even legal coverage. I had two weeks of paid vacation per year and was halfway to being vested in a pension plan. I was also making over $10.00 per hour (in 1982!). Not bad for a college job. The same job today has nowhere near those benefits even though it is still a union job. It also pays only about 50% more than it did then, over 40 years later!

Transparency in the New Age

First, I am amazed there was even any type of “background check” on Musk and his toadies like “Big Balls”. So why does it surprise anyone he wouldn’t want you to know what they found.

‘Good luck with that.’ Trump administration terminates privacy officials at agency overseeing government hiring and firing

So let’s make sure we understand. The first priority to cut “waste and fraud” was to get rid of all the watchdogs on waste and fraud and now make sure we don’t know who’s doing what. Sure sounds legit to me! What could go wrong?

By the way, in case you were wondering who “Big Balls” is…

Who is ‘Big Balls’? Teen DOGE Engineer Edward Coristine

The “Justice” Department

Our new Attorney General and head of the Justice Department is Pam Bondi. She was a lobbyist for the company that lobbies on behalf of Trump and his companies, but before that she was Attorney General for Florida. She was investigating Trump for fraud until this happened…

Florida AG Drops Trump U lawsuit After Trump Gives Her $25,000

Folks who think Trump’s fraud trial in New York was a witch hunt forget New York could have prosecuted him twice before for fraud but let him go because he is rich and powerful. I think even if you’re rich, two get out of jail cards seems like plenty. So what’s Pam up to in her new role as U.S. Attorney General?

Fox analyst Andy McCarthy blasts Trump DOJ for ‘weaponization’ in column

Draining that swamp.

The Good Place

“The Good Place” is a sitcom that ran from 2016 to 2020 on NBC. I had heard good things about it when it started, and saw a few clips. I started watching it about a week ago and I’m in season two at this point. It certainly has my attention. It is rare to see anything original on broadcast T.V., but this is an example. So far, I highly recommend it. Currently streaming on Netflix.

Update! – I finally finished the series. Awesome! Funny and thought provoking for all four seasons. It’s almost “Firefly” good in my opinion. Great show!