The Friday Link for 3/26/21

Howdy everyone!

Let me start with a plea. Take the pandemic seriously until it's over.  Right now across Minnesota we have outbreaks being fueled by these new variants which are threatening to move Minnesota back into a shut down pattern.  Wash hands, wear a mask, social distance and try to limit contact with large groups.

The good news is if we all do that now, soon we should be able to return to a pre-pandemic life.  Governor Walz has opened up vaccinations for everyone 16 and older in Minnesota starting on Tuesday.  Get vaccinated and stay safe and this will be over a lot faster.

This week, short and sweet with Mystery Science Theater and their classic riff on The Unearthly ("Ladies and Gentlemen the Edgar Allen Poe Marching Band!").  It also includes the classic shorts Posture Pals and Appreciating Our Parents!

Be healthy and be safe!

Have a great weekend!

BYE!!!

Sometime you get a perfect storm; an absolute idiot proposes and absolutely idiotic idea.  When it happens, magic occurs.

The latest example of this involves the idiotic Minnesota Representative Jeremy Munson.  There have been a lot of dumbs things this clown has done, but prior to this, probably the stupidest was when he started dishing out medical advice to diabetics.  Munson does not have (to my knowledge) diabetes, nor is he a licensed medical professional, but neither stopped him from handing out insulin advice in a WalMart parking lot.  

Wow! That's stupid!

Munson has outdone himself with his latest suggestion, that basically the western 2/3rds of Minnesota should secede from the state of Minnesota and join South Dakota. 

Munson is likely proposing this for two reasons.  One, this is one of those red meat Righto talking points which Republicans use to try to fire up their base, something which on the outside looks like a tough guy stance, sticking it to the Libs!  

The other seems to be an attempt at trying to get South Dakota Kristi Noem's attention.  Noem, who has gleefully sickened and killed tens of thousands of her own citizens through her atrocious Corona Virus response, is getting some talk in circles regarding a Presidential run in 2024. Munson seems to be trying to get her to pay attention to him.  Mission Accomplished!  Noem did respond, although it's not clear if this was a full throated endorsement of the idea.  If this wasn't partially about sucking up to Noem, then why not try to secede to North Dakota, or split the purged MN counties, with parts going North and parts going South?

For the record, I FULLY ENDORSE THIS IDEA!  Seriously I do.  Don't get me wrong, I love all of Minnesota, and have spent a lot of time in the southwestern part of the state, Brainerd area and in Bemidji.  Those places all have some wonderful elements to them, and would be a loss for Minnesota, but we'd still be able to access them, so it's not like they would no longer exist.  

I LOVE this idea for the comedic potential of watching Munson and his allies faces when they realize what they have really done.  I also love it for how the Twin Cities metro would benefit GREATLY from getting rid of these rural western Minnesota moocher counties who drain our tax payer dollars.

Munson doesn't suggest the western part of Minnesota becoming a brand new state, only that they'd get folded into South Dakota.  Like I said earlier, it feels like there's a suck up to Noem strategy here, but I'm going to guess Munson already has done the math on what the costs would be to start the 51st state.  The region he's suggesting jettison itself from Minnesota wouldn't have the financial where with all to start a state from scratch. 

You need to build a Capitol, Departments of Health and Human Services, Transportation, Natural Resources, Agriculture and quite a few more.  Those will all be pricey.  Just the launching of license plates and new signage will cost tens of millions.  

A western Minnesota new state wouldn't be able to afford itself, as these counties DESPERATELY need the Twin Cities tax dollars to pay their bills.  By trying to join South Dakota instead of starting their own state, they're admitting that.  But the real ugly truth is even with Munson's SD plan, South Dakota won't fund you guys like the Twin Cities does, and frankly, my guess is South Dakota wouldn't take you. 

From an Axios Twin Cities story from earlier this year, the city of Minneapolis alone pays more than 1.9 billion in state taxes per year, but only gets back 543 million in state aide.  The seven county metro area (all of which is omitted from Munson's run for the border) pays 3.46 billion more in state taxes than they get back in return.  Where does this extra money go?  Right into the moocher counties in the western part of the state, counties who spend FAR more than they take in in local state tax payer dollars. 

Take Munson's district, which includes Waseca, Wantonwan and Blue Earth (but NOT including Makato proper) Counties.  Waseca and Wantonwan both receive far more in state aid than they pay into the system.  Although the reports I found don't break down counties even further, my suspicion is that Blue Earth County minus Mankato is also dependent on metro area tax dollars to pay their bills.

Many of the counties Munson is wanting to peel off from the state spend FAR more in tax dollars than they pay into the system. My guess is Munson thinks South Dakota would pick up the slack and cover their over the top spending habits.

Probably not! According to Ballotpedia (and to be fair these numbers are a little old [2015/2017]) South Dakota spends about 1/10th Minnesota does on state aid to counties.  They don't have a personal income tax, and their property taxes are a set rate, so most of the money comes from sales tax.  According to what they pay currently, South Dakota will immediately cut your K-12 education, public assistance and Medicare budgets (dramatically too!), but good news; they pay more than Minnesota does for prisons.  Overall a former Minnesota county is going to get a double whammy.  First they lose the Twin Cities tax dollar gravy train, and then they get more cuts to their county's budgets. 

And frankly, South Dakota won't want you! Not only will they see a whole bunch of moocher counties they have to try to prop up, but the threats to current SD businesses and industries would be a non-starter.  Let's look at a lesser category like tourism.  You think South Dakota hunting and fishing tourism wants to see their dollars and resources go to help promote hunting and fishing hundreds of miles away from them?  No way, and that's a lesser issue.  Go to Rapid City or western South Dakota and tell them they're either going to have to raise their taxes or take massive cuts to the limited services the state provides so South Dakota can subsidize a bunch of Minnesota counties who are foolishly ungrateful for all the tax payer dollars the Twin Cities gives them.

But say South Dakota did take you, and you are foolish enough to think the massive cuts to your county's budgets are worth it.  Then you have to watch as the state plays favorites.  Your ex-Minnesota counties will always be the last served, and you'll have to give up your resources without complaining.  When your lakes become fracking water dumping grounds, or your state and county park land is sold off to South Dakota Republican donors for cents on the dollar, you'll find it harder and harder to convince yourselves you're still 'owning the the Libs!'

Meanwhile the remaining part of the state which will still be Minnesota will be a freaking utopia! Look at Musons's map again: 

Minnesota would consist of the Minneapolis/St. Paul seven county area, Duluth, Rochester, the Iron Range and all parts in between.  Maybe not all of the the 1.4 billion in Minneapolis tax dollars, or the 3.46 billion in the seven county metro area tax dollars, will come back, but a MASSIVE influx of tax dollars will come back to the Cities.  The Twin Cities will be the best funded metro are in the country, with immediate infusions of 100's of millions of dollars into roads, schools, parks and other programs.  The still loyal state counties will also see a massive increase in dollars coming into their folds.  The quality of life in the new Minnesota will be on par with that of Europe, while the new South Dakota struggles to get by.

I hope Jeremy Munson goes through with this.  I seriously do!  Nothing will be funnier than watching the County boards of each of these counties having to look at the real catastrophic financial consequences of leaving Minnesota and vote yeah or nay.  My guess is they'd all suddenly adopt a "while we disagree with the out of control Liberals in the Twin Cities, the truth is we appreciate Minnesota and would rather stay than leave."  Sure, one or two counties might vote to go, and let them!  One less moocher county means more money for the Twin Cities. 

I can't wait for the mass exodus of moving vans leaving the traitor counties and driving back to Minnesota in shame, while we all laugh at belligerent anti-Minnesotans screaming about "how much better their lives are now."  Sure it is buttercup! 

Please, do the Twin Cities a MASSIVE favor and secede western Minnesota to South Dakota.  It'll be the dumbest thing you'll ever do!

By the way, if Jeremey Munson hates Minnesota as much as he seems to, maybe it'd be best for him to pack up a truck and move to South Dakota.  It'll save you a lot of time and headache, and we won't miss you!

BYE!!!

The Friday Link for 3/19/21

Sorry (again) the blog has been light, but I've been busy.

For this week's Friday Link we start with one of the funniest TV shows ever, Police Squad!  I was living in Georgia, right before moving back to Minnesota, and I remember watching this show.  Basically it's the Airplane movie, only on TV and instead of the Airport movies, they lampooned cop shows. 

The brilliant Leslie Nielsen started at Frank Drebin.  It's just freaking hilarious.  This TV show was only 6 shows, SIX, but yet they had more great jokes in those six episodes than most shows have in three full seasons.  And of course the show was the in inspiration for the Naked Gun movies. 

The shows occasionally get posted so watch them if you can. Here is the first episode. 

Also tonight, I give you Cinema Sins and Everything Wrong with Office Space. Warning language!

Have a great weekend everyone.  Be healthy and be safe.

The Friday Link for 3/12/21

This week I shall bask in the brilliance of The Daily Show, both current and past incarnations.

I will warn you now, A LOT of bad language!

One of the things I love which current host Trevor Noah does is the ease at how he explains complex issues no one else is talking about.  I featured him a few months back with his brilliant story on the farmer's strike in India, but last week he took on a more underreported story; how in the heck did an absolute slime ball like Madison Cawthorn win a Congressional seat?

The Daily Show is also continuing with the track record of exceptional correspondents.  Roy Wood Jr. so deserves his own show.  Here he is giving us a geography lesson in exactly "who hates who?" By the way, his points about the US and Canada are spot on.

They also have Jordan Klepper.  Who better to dismantle the insanity of crypto currency than the guy who absolutely dismantled Trump supporters for the last four years.

Finally this week, a revisiting of one of my favorite all time Jon Stewart segments, How I Meteored Your Motherland. 

Have a great weekend everyone.

Stay healthy and stay safe! 

The Friday Link for 3/5/21

I hope you've enjoyed the week.  Here in Minnesota it's warm (relative) and melting.  Delightful!

First up this week is the return of The Hood Internet.  This is the dude who does the insanely good dance remixes with the songs from any given year.  Check out all of his years, but he just released 1995, and it was an excellent year for music.  This is great.  

Switching directions, I'm going to follow up on the Golden Globe win for Nomadland, the exceptional movie starring Frances McDormand: 

That movie feels like a documentary. It really is a massive accomplishment for a film.

Speaking of documentaries, I'm not sure if I ever posted one of the greatest documentaries ever made, Grey Gardens.  If I did, please let me know, and apologies for repeating, but it's so good.  It's weird, but by the end you are craving for more answers which will never come. 

Have a great weekend!

Get vaccinated, stay safe, stay diligent and stay healthy.

Pat Gets Schooled

I'm hesitant to go down this rabbit hole as the people who REALLY need to read the following post will outright refuse to do so, like a petulant 2 year old refusing to eat their veggies.  But after I posted on a friend's social media post, a post which celebrated the Texas Governor Greg Abbott's insanely stupid idea to re-open Texas completely, a decision he announced on Tuesday, I felt as if we needed yet ANOTHER reminder of the dangers of going down this path.  My response to the original post:

"I am tired of death. I don't want anyone else to die. All the health experts say this will cause more people to die. Sorry if I don't stand up and applaud the likely unnecessary deaths."

My friend who posted the original praising of this Texas foolishness took his usual stance, one where he completely understands the sadness of the deaths, but reopening is somehow (in his opinion) a better option. I completely disagree.

But then Pat decided to chime in.  For the record, she made this comment on a social media post available for the world to see, but I'll hide her identity outside of her first name.  For the record, I don't hide mine.

Yes I have an Instagram page, but so far no TikTok. And look for an OnlyFans coming soon!

I have a lot to unpack here, but I'm going to start off by pointing out the obvious.  You guys are praising Greg Abbott, a man who two weeks ago couldn't keep the power on in his state, leaving millions to freeze, killing dozens.  Many places are still without running water, likely to be without running water FOR MONTHS.  And Abbott has endorsed the bankrupting of hundreds of thousands of his own people by his endorsement of the failed free market Texas electrical grid, a power grid that gleefully price gouged Texans.  Greg Abbott took the side of a handful of wealthy executives over the BASIC care and well being of his people.  And you want to praise him?  That's on you.

Also, he's reopening Texas because Spring Break Season is coming and, thanks to the Democrats and Joe Biden, most Americans will have a much needed stimulus check.  It's a cash grab by Abbott.  He's no different than the Mayor in Amity demanding the beaches be re-opened in the movie Jaws.  

If you do get a stimulus check, shop local.  For me, that means Minnesota.

Many health experts are indeed saying Abbott's approach is the wrong path, and while I'll get to the questioning of their credentials in a bit, we should point out the health expert's track record is batting a thousand.  

In July, when the fool Kristi Noem, the Governor of South Dakota, decided to allow the Sturgis motorcycle rally to happen, the same health experts begged her not to do so. They warned the consequences of a major gathering like Sturgis would be catastrophic.  Noem and many Republicans screamed back 'Who are these health experts? Why are we trusting them?'  They went ahead with the rally.  Contract tracing has shown Sturgis, like 2020 Mardi Gras (when we really didn't know better) WAS a massive super-spreader event.  Sturgis likely sickened 250,000 people, and that's a low ball estimate.  It killed thousands of people. It even caused an outbreak in Minnesota.  And for all those people who scream "if those people wanted to take the risk, then that's on them," THAT'S NOT HOW CORONA VIRUS WORKS!  Many of the people who got sick and died didn't go to Sturgis or live in South Dakota!  The event sent sick people back across the country, back to innocent loved ones who got sick and died due to stupidity!  And many of the people who praised Noem ended up championing her all the way to the ICU.  The health experts, were sadly, correct.

Last fall Republicans across the country, and in Minnesota, as part of the political campaign season, started demanding everything reopen in Minnesota. Health experts, who had been warning of a Fall/Winter surge since April, begged the Republicans to stop and think of the damage reopening would do, how many lives would be lost.  Republicans kept calling for a complete reopening of Minnesota, insisting the health experts 'didn't have Minnesota's best interests at heart.' 

(Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka and House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt in October thinking they can scream CoronaVirus into submission.)

What happened?  The nightmare scenario the health experts had warned about came true. Corona Virus cases skyrocketed with 5000 deaths being reported nationally, per day. The Minnesota GOP had their own super spreader event, sickening many of their leaders and likely killing one of their own Senators.  By the end of November, when it became clear the reopen strategy the GOP and their supporters had championed had  backfired, even they suddenly got quiet and got out of the way of the health experts.  It also did not help the US that Trump was doing NOTHING on the national level to deal with this crisis, only plotting an overthrow of Democracy.  When Biden's team took over, there were no vaccines, there was no distribution plan, nor was there any infrastructure in place to distribute the vaccines. 

Once again health expert's dire predictions came true.

A lot of this "Thank God for Greg Abbott" bravado is really just political.  Most people on the right filter EVERYTHING through politics so no matter what Greg Abbott does, it's wonderful, while everything DFL Minnesota Governor Tim Walz does is TYRANNY!  But you guys are really missing out at how well Governor Walz has managed this crisis when compared to the train wreck states surrounding us. 

Cases per million, North Dakota and South Dakota are the two worst states in the country, and two of the worst places on the planet, for COVID-19 (States 1 and 2 respectively).  Iowa is 5th worst, Wisconsin is 16th.  Minnesota is 32nd, even though it's surrounded by these knucklehead states.  Deaths per million, Minnesota is 35th, FAR better than the Dakotas (numbers for both from Worldometers.info).  According to this morning's (Wednesday 3/3) update from Johns Hopkins Medical (health experts), Iowa is once again the worst state in the country for new CoronaVirus cases.  Less than a month ago, their Governor, without any input from health experts, lifted the face mask requirements and limits on gathering sizes in the state, while fools applauded her, like she had done something smart.  Of course, just like Abbott did in Texas, she insisted that people should be careful, but then negated her acquiescing with her 'PARTY TIME' celebratory announcement.  Now Iowa is a mess, AGAIN!  People in Iowa are getting sick and will die because of her decision.

Another anti-health expert regulation argument you hear is 'I want to be careful but I'm pro small business.'  It's a garbage argument.  Outside of corporate executives EVERYONE IS PRO SMALL BUSINESS!  This is the lie the Right has convinced themselves it true to portray their 'profits and convenience over human lives' stance is something noble.  Everyone wants everything to go back to normal.  I wish I could behave like it was before 2020, but I can't and I won't!  For the betterment of all people it's best we limit our exposure to each other.  The vast majority of small business owners understand this, and begrudgingly have gone along with this (thank you).  It's one of the reasons Minnesota has been better than most other states.

Side note:  I'm Catholic.  Disclaimer: you do, or don't do, whatever it is you want to, or don't want to, do.  I'm gobsmacked by the idea any Christian would think Jesus would ever side with the business in the 'save human lives v. small business' debate.  Jesus doesn't come across to me as the type of guy who would ever make the argument "sure life is sacred, but I got a 2 for 1 coupon for Applebee's!  Feeling good in the neighborhood!"

There's also the contrived patriotic arguments you hear to reopen, packaged as "liberty" and "freedom." Mind you, the people screaming liberty and freedom DO NOT CARE about the liberty and freedom of those who might die.  When you expose their liberty and freedom arguments for what they really are (selfishness), that's when you see the ugliness of their cause.  They argue their 'liberty and freedom' to get a platter of chicken wings and a pitcher of beer in a sports bar is more important than a human life.  They argue their 'liberty and freedom' to go watch a Marvel Movie in a theater is more important than a human life.  They argue their 'liberty and freedom' to go to an amusement park, to a beach, or to a nightclub is more important than a human life.  NONE of those things are more important than a human life; at least no decent human being and/or Christian should think so.

Let's go back to Pat's post.  She clearly implies she wants to reopen everything, but health experts (correctly) point out the danger of doing so.  Prior to last year, the only people who dismissed educated professionals and their seasoned advice were considered to be tin foil hat kooks.  Then came Trump.  I could list the number of times Trump downplayed the virus, but this post is already pretty long.  He promoted quack cures and implied ingesting bleach was a good idea. He had super spreader events throughout the fall which indeed did sicken his supporters and their families, and as I pointed out earlier, he was DOING NOTHING to save Americans from the worst health crisis in over 100 years, and the 3rd worst US death count in history. 

But Trump knew all he had to do was imply the health experts don't know what they are talking about, only he did, and the lemmings would follow him off the cliff.  The Right no longer cares about facts and the truth (this post is chock full of both and it infuriates them FAR MORE than it will educate them).  They only want their opinion validated, and in this case it's this: 'Trump and Republican politicians know more about CoronaVirus than the health experts.'

When Pat goes to the doctor, and they put a tongue depressor in her mouth and they ask her to go 'Ahhh,' does Pat start screaming at them?  Does she insist the Doctor is really trying to insert a tracking micro chip in her throat, so she runs screaming from the examination room?  A regular Doctor is a health expert too, but my guess is Pat has no problem with THAT health expert, only the ones who call out Republican bullcrap on Corona Virus.  To become a health expert, not only are they getting their doctorate in medicine, but they likely have another doctorate in a speciality, YEARS of research experience, and YEARS of real world experience.  They're competent and qualified; the only people you should call in a crisis like this.  But because they dare disagree with Trump and Republican doctrine, people on the Right dismiss them as some sort of cult of disinformation.  The ignorance displayed by anyone universally dismissing the health experts at this point is astounding!

Does Pat do this with every expert she comes across?  When a plumber comes to fix her pipes, does she dismiss them too?  How about architects?  Firemen?  Military professionals?  All of these people go through the same exact process as the health expert does.  They get an education, they then get real world experience, and then they become experts in their field.  I'm not in any place to discredit a person's professional expertise  just because I believe, or I've been told, something that contradicts their amassed extensive knowledge, especially when it is a massive group of professionals all pointing in the same direction.

Now comes the part where the open everything crew will scream "CANCEL CULTURE" because I dared point out the ludicrous nature of their flawed arguments.  NOPE!  No one is cancelling you.  As a matter of fact, I posted Pat's response on this post to make sure her 1st Amendment rights are fulling intact!  What the first Amendment does not guarantee is freedom from ridicule, and frankly I've had it with people who dismiss health professionals, especially after the health experts have been proven right over and over and over again.

One of the saddest things I read last year was how South Dakota nurses were pleading with dying COVID patients, begging them to call their loved ones so they could say goodbye, only to have the sick scream back at them through coughing fits "Corona Virus is a MYTH!!!"  The United States of America has 4% of the worlds population but has been responsible for 25% of the world's deaths.  The reason it's so high is collective stupid from the political Right.  I have no tolerance left for people who question health experts.  Not anymore.

 

The Friday Link for 2/26/21

For this week's Link, we start with what likely was the worst Minnesota winter on record, the "Long Winter" of 1880/1881.

When it comes to winter events in the 1800's, the first one you usually hear about is the Blizzard of 1888.  Don't get me wrong, the 1888 blizzard was brutal, but it mainly effected the mid Atlantic and Northeast coast.  It killed a lot of people, but that was because it hit where most of the people in the US were living.  For sheer size and scope, the Long Winter was much worst. 

The Winter started with an October blizzard, still the earliest on record in Minnesota, and it just never let up!  It impacted from Minnesota to Kansas, from Ohio to Denver. I'll let The History Guy take it from here: 

Makes what we went through this winter seem quaint! 

And if you really want to be grateful, be thankful you weren't in Halifax, Nova Scotia on December 6th, 1917.  Most of the city was wiped out by an astronomical explosion.  The images from the catastrophe are hard to comprehend.   This from Fascinating Horror!

A little bleak, but definitely interesting. 

Have a great weekend everyone.  Stay healthy, stay safe! 

A Bucket of Rush Limbaugh

As many people who visit the blog know, I host a radio show which features regular guests with specific specialities, who occasionally come on and share their wisdom.  One of them is my food expert and wonderful chef, Terry John Zila.

A few years back I asked him, "why are shows like 'Man Vs. Food' so popular?"  Man Vs. Food is a cable show where the host (originally Adam Richman) would go tackle major food challenges at restaurants; like the ten pound hamburger, or the El Diablo chicken wings, or the 5 pound steak with all the sides.  Some of these food items would have a time constraint for consumption to completed by, others would require you just finish everything on the plate.  The show was popular.  A lot of people liked seeing these challenges which appeared on various menus across the country, challenges they themselves would never try.

Without skipping a beat, Terry said "because shows like that allow people to live unhealthy, while not actually engaging in the unhealthy behavior."  He went on to add how many people might look at a ten pound hamburger and say that looks delicious, but they're smart enough to avoid ordering one themselves. Adam Richman could do it for them, subjecting himself to a massive meal.  By the time Richman got halfway through his challenges, it became more of a public service announcement: "here is the professional eater being brought to his knees by this. Don't be dumb enough to try this yourself!"  People lived vicariously through the show, without having to endure the digestive nightmare.

I'd seen this play out every Minnesota State Fair.  When I broadcast at KSTP, we were right down the street from the Sweet Martha's Cookie booth, probably the most popular Fair food booth. People would order the bucket of cookies, a heaping large pail of cookies; easily more cookies than person should eat in an entire year, given to them in one 'serving', a serving which could feed forty people.  I'll never forget the faces of the people as they began their walk from Sweet Martha's to our booth.  Their faces went from pure joy to 'what was I thinking' in a matter of 20 steps.  We'd always have abandoned buckets left on the broadcast stage (and bees), left behind by fools whose internal desires overrode their common sense.

Rush Limbaugh passed away from cancer on February 17th. He was undeniably a racist, sexist, homophobe, bigot, fear mongering jackass.  He was!  That was his brand!  Just some of the things he said:  "Barack the Magic Negro," (towards Latinos) "You're a foreigner...You shut your mouth and get out," he attacked Katrina victims, constantly attacked the black members of the NBA, NFL and the NAACP, "women shouldn't be allowed on juries where the accused is a stud," his insanely racist anti-Asian rant against Chinese President Hu Jintao, he attacked people dying of Parkinson's, called Sandra Fluke a "slut" and a "prostitute" for advocating for universal contraception coverage, referred to LGBTQ+ politicians as "the tranny community," constantly said white people should be proud of their record on slavery, he was the driving force behind the completely made up Seth Rich conspiracy and in turn tortured Rich's family, a career of targeting the homeless, he attacked the dead CONSTANTLY including Robin Williams, George Steinbrenner, Trayvon Martin, and Kurt Cobain (among MANY others), he attacked Joe Biden and Joe Biden's family when he went after Biden's dead wife and child, as well his Beau Biden who died of brain cancer, and he openly mocked and laughed at the victims of AIDS.

Image from Paul Hoppe at Gen.Medium

In case you are missing my point, speaking as a Catholic, Rush Limbaugh is BURNING IN HELL for eternity.  That's not even debatable.

What's stunning is how all the sudden the Evangelicals are now trying to portray Limbaugh as some sort of über-Christian divine being, an angel who had visited earth, taken from us too soon.  These people listened to Rush for years, many of them laughing at his daily unforgivable comments.  For his entire career, Rush's fans never condemned any of Rush's CLEARLY anti-Christian hate speech.  They all heard it, AND THEY LOVED HIM FOR IT...AS CHRISTIANS!

You see, Rush was like a far right extremist political version of Man Vs. Food.  Down deep inside Rush's Evangelical and 'Republican party over Jesus' Christian fans, they wanted to say the racist, misogynist, homophobic, bigoted, anti-Democratic, anti-Immigrant, anti-poor comments Rush was willing to say, but they knew if it came from their mouths, they'd be called out immediately for their anti-Christian behavior.  That's why they adored Rush.  They could embrace the anti-Christian rhetoric/comments without having to say them themselves, just chuckle along with the bigot!  They could eat their 10 pound hamburger, or in this case the 1000 pound crap sandwich, without ever having to chew for themselves. 

And now that he died, the Evangelicals and far right Christians are now looking at his true legacy; the hate and division he sowed, the legacy of anti-Jesus comments he spewed. That's why they are frantically trying to portray him as something Rush Limbaugh NEVER was, a good Christian. They are trying desperately to paint him as something misunderstood, noble and righteous.  He was NEVER that.

Rush fans are walking away from the Rush Limbaugh booth with a bucket of his hate.  They eagerly bought the bucket of venom and loathing, giddy with delight as Rush filled it with more and more anti-Christian dictum.  Now that they're walking away from Rush, they're realizing they've become gluttons, freely gobbling up super size servings of bombastic, evil sermons.  Out of desperation to change their foolish loyalty to 'something the other side just doesn't understand,' they now insist they never embraced what Rush said, but rather they only bought into Rush for the bucket the hate came in.  

Stop lying to yourselves and to everyone else.  You loved Rush for the hate he belched every day.  Evangelicals and far right Christians, just be honest:

"We will miss Rush because he said all the non-Christian things we wanted to scream.  Instead, we never had to say it directly.  All we had to say was, 'I love Rush Limbaugh.'"

The Friday Link for 2/19/21

Howdy hi all.

To start off this week, we go back to Caitlin Doughty, from Ask A Mortician.  A few weeks back we featured her plea video, as she was searching for help in Los Angeles County, demanding leadership as the CoronaVirus death count had overwhelmed the morgues, funeral homes and every other business associated with dealing with individuals who have passed away. 

Her update is not exactly positive, but it is hopeful.

Next up is the return of John Oliver.  Reminder rough language ahead!

The main story from his first show back is asking the question of where the next pandemic will come from, because, as he points out, it really is only a matter of time before a more dangerous virus than COVID-19 jumps to humans and causes even more damage. 

On that terrifying note...Have a great weekend everyone.

Stay Healthy, Stay Safe!

The Mirage

I've been chuckling lately at the insistence that 75 million Americans are about to engage in an armed insurrection against the government and install Trump as 'Dictator of Life.'  Any conservative pushing this Stephen Miller fan fiction is a nut, but not just because they're at the point of embracing the destruction of western Democracy for Trump, but because they actually think all of his supporters are ready to take up arms and begin Civil War 2.

Before I get going, we have to be honest about the number of votes Trump got.  He only got 74,222,960, over 7 million less than Joe Biden.  You can't just round up 780,000.  If you're going to round that number, you'd round it DOWN to 74 million.

How many of that 74 million is ready to take up arms and start shooting at any Democrat they see?  One thing is for sure, it's not even close to 74 million. 

I know I'm about to paint with a wide brush, and a good chunk of this is pure speculation, but there's a real big difference between politically supporting a candidate for President and that same person actually murdering people they disagree with politically.  I do understand there are going to be exceptions for every one of these hypotheses, but I feel pretty confident we can whittle away large chunks of your 'Trump Army.'

First off, wealthy people aren't going to fight.  The super wealthy would never jeopardize their wealth for (what will be) a grossly outnumbered group of far right thugs.  A few might secretly bankroll a treasonous army, but for the most part wealthy people are not fools.  They like America just the way it is.

What would be the break point for what you consider wealthy?  I think any household making $200,000 a year or more would make a good break point.  Factoring in some numbers from Statista (on household income in America, realizing this would probably include both adults in most two person households) and the New York Times (on who exactly voted for whom in 2020), that's going to be somewhere around 10 million of your voting base who likely will sit out your insurrection.  74 million - 10 million = 64 million.

Then comes the middle class and lower income suburban voter.  Little over half the people who voted in 2020 came from the suburbs, with Biden holding a slight lead over Trump 50 to 48.  Still that would translate to 35 and a half million Trump voters. Many of these people live and work in the cities where their suburbs are located. Their kids go to school there and the parents are part of the PTO's/PTA's.  They volunteer, shop, eat and go to church there.  And now you're saying all of them, including the more moderate Republicans who voted for Trump out of a long strained party loyalty, are going to pick up a gun and start blasting their neighbors away? 

Sure some might, but those kooks will be the rare exception.  These people have good jobs, jobs they'll lose if they start killing co-workers.  Suburban dwellers might like to go to a cabin or go camping a few weeks every year, but they're not likely to abandon everything they've worked so hard to earn and head into rural American to join a deplorable hillbilly brigade.  If they're going to fight for Trump, they'll have to do that!  They won't be able to anonymously spring attacks on their neighbors and then just go back to mowing their  lawns.  They won't be able to put down a successful military strike on the local Democratic politician's office and then be done by 5 so they can be a junior's Legion Baseball game.

So how many of the 35,500,000 suburban Trump voters, minus the already deducted wealthy, will be on the front lines of the new war?  At most, AT MOST, 5 million, and that's being generous. 64 million - 30,500,000 = 33,500,000.

The next numbers would surprise you.  Trump got more voters from the inner cities than the rural parts of America.  Cities of 50K or more in population counted for 29% of the vote, of which 38% (17 million) went for Trump.  Small cities and rural America was 19% of the vote, which 57% (16.5 million) went for Trump.  Focusing on the cities, I have zero doubt a small handful of Trump supporters would try to lash out at the masses, but they would quickly be killed.  Any inner city Trump voter who wanted to partake in a war against the country would have to leave everything behind too.  If they got 1 million to leave their inner cities and go fight, I'd be surprised, but for arguments sake, I'll give them 2 million of the 17 million from cities.  33,500,000 - 15 million = 18,500,000

But here comes Trump's bread and butter!  A lot of the 16.5 million rural Trump voters would eagerly sign up to serve in the Trump Army.  Mind you most of them would be terrified of even going into the suburbs to fight, but they'd get their uniform and walk back and forth in some field claiming they were on the front lines.  Some rural Trump voters won't have the stomach for gunning down their neighbors in the streets, but I'll be generous. Only 2.5 million of the 16.5 million rural voters will say no.  18,500,000 - 2,500,000 = 16 million.

Now we are getting to a FAR more realistic number.  Granted we have not factored in the 80 year olds who voted for Trump, who clearly wouldn't be able to fight, but we also haven't factored in the children under 18 who will be encouraged to kill liberals by their parents, as well as the anti-voting extremists who would quickly come out with their guns.  Factoring in both, I'll give (generously, and I do mean GENEROUSLY, I'm downplaying the elderly vote for Trump and upselling the 17 and younger/militia types) the Trump Army an additional 2 million.

16 million + 2 million = 18,000,000

Eighteen million! That's the number of soldiers in the Trump fighting force ready to take to the streets.

18 million...in a country of 331 million. 5.4% of the country verses the other 94.6%.  GOOD LUCK!

And that's not even factoring in the huge problem of the police and the military.  I know the Trump army has convinced themselves law enforcement and the armed forces will turn on America and join them, but they're going to be in for a very rude awakening when most officers and soldiers stay loyal to the USA.  It will be a hoot to watch a bunch of weekend warriors with limited training and skills get destroyed by the 10th Mountain Division!  Sure Trump's Army might try for some terrorist strikes, truck bombs and drive by shootings, but our special forces units will quickly take them out.  Do you know how many cameras there are watching everything?  There's no way the Trump army conducts a strike on a major city and then gets back 50 miles into rural America without getting lit up.  And I'm sure with the US' tracking systems any safe houses in the metro areas will quickly be leveled too.  The US government will shut down the roads to Trump strongholds, and wait them out like Vicksburg.  It will not be pretty.

Plus you have to look at the structure of the Trump army as an organization.  I can already tell you many of the Trump faithful will want to be a leader not a follower, and they'll insist on leading from behind, staying back in relative safety as they send others to go do the dirty work.  I would guess only half of the Trump army would be willing to be on the front lines.  

The idea of going to war is great when it's in you imagination, but it's a different story when reality sinks in. Bob was a middle manager at a Forbes 500 country who loved Trump for his racists comments and was furious Trump didn't win.  Bob killed four people in his neighborhood, loaded up his car and then headed out rural farm country.  When they told him he needed to be a front line solder, Bob was incredulous!  I've been mid level management.  I should be in charge!  

There will be too many chefs in the Trump army kitchen.

And how exactly are you going to coordinate this military fighting force. Eighteen million sounds like a lot but they will be stretched thin across most of the country.  There will be large contingents in Republican stronghold areas like Mississippi, Wyoming and western Texas, but they will be spread a lot thinner in places like Maine, California and Minnesota.  How exactly are you going to move a massive military force across the country without being noticed and napalmed?  Also, how exactly are you going to communicate?  Phone lines, both cellular and land line, will be monitored, as will short wave radios (how many people even have a short wave radio or access to one, especially one they can broadcast on). The internet?  Considering the insane stupidity of the January 6th terrorists, who posted their crimes for everyone to see, these fools would be talking directly to the US military and they wouldn't even know it. 

End result, there's no way they would be able to coordinate their maneuvers.  The only thing they could do is a series of fractured regional terrorist campaigns, but, once again, attempting to get to their targets and back to their home bases would be suicide missions.

I won't go into the supplying of this fighting force.  I can already tell you they would run out of provisions and ammunition in fairly short time, but there's one lingering question.  What happens when Trump either dies or leaves the country because of the never ending lawsuits?  I'm not wishing Trump dead, but rather just asking what the Trump Army's chain of command hierarchy is.  I don't think Pence is next in command, but no one else, not Roger Stone, Rudy Giuliani, or even a Trump kid would resonate like Trump himself.  He's an old man who eats a lot of fast food.  You'd better get this insurrection in gear because you are on the clock.

Seriously, try it.  I'll enjoy watching the military annihilate you.  I'll enjoy your towns and communities being occupied.  I'll enjoy you having whomever on your side survives paying restitution to the rest of us for your high crimes and misdemeanors.  And most of all, I'll drink up you far right stooges having your mirage disappear and reality smack you in the faces like like a 2 X 4.  It will be a delicious wine, flowing freely. 

Like I said, Good luck! 

The Friday Link for 2/12/21

Howdy all!  

This last week was stellar for comedy so we have 5 clips, FIVE for you tonight.  I will warn you up front:  I think all of these clips feature rough language and some adult themes.  You've been warned!!!

Let's start with a news story you probably have no idea even exists, but it is massive; the Indian Farmers strike. 

One of the worst parts of the last 4 years was how Trump sucked all the news air out of this country.  I remember when we used to hear about news from around the world, but then Trump and his childish need to be mentioned by the media every 5 minutes led to a stifling restriction of the news from outside our borders.  Heck, it stymied a lot of the news within our own borders too!

The Daily Show is starting to look around the world and, as only they can, they break down what is the biggest farmer strike in the history of the planet, all due to the disastrous anti-small farmer policies of their current leadership.  And Trevor Noah covers it with a smile! 

I'll stay with the Daily Show for another bit with Jordan Klepper covering the 2nd Impeachment Trial in Washington DC.  It is really bizarre how different DC is from the last video Klepper did, the one for the Trump rally which turned into the insurrection.  And Rep. Adam Schiff throws down and calls out the crazy people in the GOP today!  NICE!

Next up is one of the best SNL skits from the season, this featuring the fantastic Dan Levy, and the naughtiness of Zillow!

Next is a tribute to the end of the NFL season, the Bad Lip Reading version of the season.  If that dude doesn't have "X-Rated Kissing Machine" on a jersey immediately then he's a fool. 

Lastly this week is a sensational video from the always hilarious ZeFrank, True Facts: The Incredible Tardigrade.  His videos always feature a few interesting facts, but learning these things can be exposed to outer space and then spring back...WOW! Not only might that eventually help with space travel, but the idea of life coming to Earth no longer seems like such an impossibility! INCREDIBLE!

That should tide you over.  Happy Valentine's Day and have a great weekend! 

Stay Healthy, Stay Safe! 

The Friday Link for 2/5/21

This week I decided to try to walk everyday, as starting tomorrow the temperature drops down into the nether regions here in Minnesota.  Heck I walked today in 11 degrees and nearly froze, and it'll be 25 degrees colder on Sunday morning.  I'll be passing on the strolls for the next week.

Hopefully that means I will get some writing done. 

For this week's Link, since the Super Bowl is on Sunday, we'll start with a compendium of ads about the NFL.  Some of these ads are very good (the best being the 100th anniversary ad at the beginning) and some not so much, but it's a good watch.

Next up a fine take down from Randy Rainbow of one of the craziest people to ever hold a Federal elected position, Marjorie Taylor Greene. Warning! Language!

And finally this week, a hilarious bit from Patton Oswalt about the drunkest audience he ever did a show in front of.  Once again, a warning about language!

Have a great weekend.  Stay warm.

Stay healthy and safe too!

The Friday Link for 1/29/21

Sorry for the light week.  I had multiple board meetings this week so I kept busy.  Plus I went to the Zoo and an art museum.  Priorities!

For tonight's Friday link, let me start with Caitlin Doughty.  She has an enjoyable little You Tube channel called 'Ask A Mortician,' where she talks about corpses and death.  Actually her videos are quite enjoyable, entertaining and informative.

But her latest video is different.  Caitlin is an actual mortician and this latest video is a plea for the officials of Los Angeles and California to do something about the massive death crisis they have on their hands as the Corona Virus has ravaged the state over the last two months. This is an emotional call for help, which addresses a lot of problems.  Trump was horrible at dealing with the pandemic, but there are plenty of other politicians from both sides of the aisle who need to step up.

And by the way, Caitlin has some damn good ideas which should be instituted well beyond California. 

Two more things. First, watch Caitlin's other videos. They are enjoyable...and a little creepy. And 2) Thank God Tim Walz is the man in Charge in Minnesota!  

The other clip tonight is from The Daily Show and it is a sensational montage of the Fox News' MASSIVE hypocrisy on media bias!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Stay Healthy and Stay Safe! 

The Friday Link for 1/22/21

Howdy all!  For today's Friday Link I want to revisit the music of the Inauguration.

I know Trump fans will immediately turn away, but I want to make a plea.  These songs are ours as a nation, not belonging to any political party or movement.  I've heard these songs plenty of times at concerts where opinions I don't agree with were the focus.  It doesn't mean I stormed out. 

These songs were preformed beautifully.  Please give them a chance.

Lady Gaga was absolutely perfect singing the Star Spangled Banner. Seriously, she's the best pop vocalist of her generation, hands down!  And when she turned to the flag at the line "was still there," after terrorists stormed the same Capitol only two weeks earlier, that was powerful.

Jennifer Lopez was amazing too. This Land is Your Land is as relevant and poignant today as it was when Woody Guthrie wrote it 80 years ago.

And the final main act at the Inauguration itself was Garth Brooks, who seemed to fan boy after he got done singing and had to shake hands with every major political leader on the stage that day. 

And of course I can't overlook Katy Perry's Fireworks at the end.  I liked how the Inauguration seemed far more relatable and viewer friendly than in years past, due to the limitations with the pandemic.  Because of the set up, this performance was wonderfully staged.  And the fireworks! WOW! 

We, as a country, clean up nice.  Have a great weekend everyone.

Stay safe, and stay healthy!

Outtakes 2020

I want to encourage everyone to get my calendar!  No joke!  I actually do have a calendar, which has been published in conjunction with AM 950 Radio.  You can get the calendar by making a one time donation to AM 950 for $50, or become a recurring monthly member for $25 per month.  Not only do you get the calendar, but you also help sponsor AM 950 radio, the only Progressive radio station in the Twin Cities.  Thanks!

Here's the link: https://www.am950radio.com/featured_events/am950-membership-special-holiday-offer/

To whet your appetite, here is the best photo featured in the calendar.  It's the cover shot and also the main picture for September, taken on the Tracy Avenue Bridge over 9 Mile Creek in Edina. 

I wanted to post the best pictures we didn't include in the calendar for 2020, for what ever reason. First up are four images I took on January 1, 2020, at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. We didn't use these images due to concerns about copyrights.  The funny thing is looking back at these four images, part of a total of 8 pictures I took at MIA that day, it's almost like the art pieces were trying to give me a warning about what 2020 was about to deliver.

Little did I know the art was actually a scream for help for the year.  Even though 2020 delivered an insane amount of God awfulness, it did get me into the parks with my kids, giving me the chance to get better at photography and editing.

Although I wasn't able to visit the fantastic art museums on Minneapolis/St. Paul this year, I did get some time around art.  There are a few sensational sculpture gardens around which were nice to visit, but my two favorite art photos for the year were 1) the graffiti on the side of the building right on the Mississippi River in North Minneapolis. 

WOW! 2) was the Christmas window at the Kate Spade store in the Mall of America. 

The aftermath of the George Floyd uprising also demanded I, like many others, become witness.  It should be remembered almost everyone who has been arrested for the uprising was with far right racist groups, most of whom were not from Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Another interesting shot was from over by the old portion of Fort Snelling, fight next to the airport. 

I caught that one just right.  Most of the rest of the best photos not in the calendar were nature photos.  I love taking pictures of flowers.  All of these images were taken at various locations around the metro. 

I took this next image on the Iron Range, and I love it.  It is not out of focus, but it looks like it is.  I think that's why I decided not to include it in the calendar. 

I had a lot of good lake shots, but after including numerous others in the calendar, this was the first one I cut. That's Sand Lake in northern Minnesota.

I had a lot of great trail shots I didn't use.

I loved this headshot of one of the scarecrows from the Arboretum's annual Autumn display. 

And speaking of head shots, this is the one I used in the calendar itself.

And this is the one I didn't use, because I actually took it in January before the shutdowns and nastiness.  I felt it would not be right for the calendar. 

Finally, here is the best photo I took last year.  This was my son's final game playing baseball.  I loved watching him play.  He was really a great player.  He'd always shoot me a side eye whenever he did something good on the field.  Baseball brought my son and I together, and hence it was sad to see it end.  For his final evening, the sunset put on a show.

I think the reason I didn't include this was because it was a personal image.  I'm very proud of it for a lot of reasons.  I hope you enjoy.

Thanks for looking, and I will try to take more great photos for 2021.

The Cost of War

Word War II started for the United States on December 7th, 1941, a date that will live in infamy.  The war effort encompassed the globe, with the bulk of US forces fighting in the Western European and Pacific Theaters.  In Europe, the hard fought northern Africa and Italian campaigns would be a precursor for Operation Overlord, the Normandy Invasion.  Through hard fought battle after hard fought battle, the US forces, along with the rest of the allies, brought Germany to its knees on May 8th, 1945.  The war was over for Europe.

The Pacific campaign was insanity.  Capturing islands the Japanese had secured and heavily fortified was a long and arduous task, but one the US and her allies managed to pull off.  Midway, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, the Philippines, Iwo Jima; every island was a challenge, every island was a battle. The decision was made to drop the two atomic bombs instead of attempting what would've been a drawn out land invasion of Japan.  Faced with the potential annihilation of their country, the Japanese surrendered on August 15th, 1945.

The US was at war with the Axis Powers for a total of 1347 days. The total US casualty count for WWII is listed as 405,399.

Today, January 17th, 2021, the number of US citizens who have died from Corona Virus has surpassed the total death count of WWII.  The number as I type (from Worldometer.com's tracking site) is 407,202.

The first US case of CoronaVirus was reported on January 20th, 2020, at a hospital in Washington state, meaning we've surpassed the total losses from WWII in only 363 days.

I remember when COVID-19 first got to the US and a conservative woman I'm friends with decided to lie.  "This is no more serious than the seasonal flu!"  It was such a tepid lie.  She, along with most Trump supporters, knew Trump was never going to be up to the challenge of a major pandemic, so they started screaming how 'it was no big deal' in an effort to win over expectations.  They knew Corona Virus would be bad, so they lied hoping some miracle would prevent them from having to admit they were wrong.  Seasonal flu kills around 30,000 people annually in the US, but my friend and the rest of the Trump fans changed their tactic when the death numbers contradicted their initial bellowing.  When the death count crossed 50,000, the lie changed to 'Corona Virus is NOW a myth, not really dangerous, not really deadly.'

It isn't a myth, and their intentional ignorance will forever be tied to the failure of Trump's response.

Trump has been a disaster with Corona Virus, even suggesting ingesting bleach as a method for treating the disease.  The United States is HANDS DOWN the worst place on the planet for the virus, primarily due to intentional stupidity.

To be fair, our healthcare system was glaringly ill prepared. Abused by greed, we no longer had a health care system focused on healing the sick, but rather one based on maximizing profits.  It was grossly inadequate when this crisis began, and still today seems more held together by the brave medical professionals who have to work under money driven corporate overlords.  Bubble gum and prayers...

The only two massive death events in US history WORSE than COVID-19 are the Civil War (620,000 dead) and the 1918 Flu Outbreak (which ALSO was not just the seasonal flu. 675,000 dead).  Due to Trump ceasing to care at all about the crisis after he lost the election, and due to the Trump Administration lying about the amount of vaccine we had as a nation in reserve, there's a legit chance we could surpass one or both of those death counts.

Because of stupidity.

In most towns in America, both big and small, there are Veteran's memorials.  Most towns I know have both a WWI and a WWII memorial; hallowed ground to be solemnly revered.  As a Veteran myself, I always get a touch emotional when I see those memorials.  Now I'm forced to ask if we'll have to build new statues in every community, a new reminder of the great Corona Virus losses we've endured.

I'm sure most Trump supporters will begin to take Corona Virus seriously...on January 21st, just like reigning in deficits and limiting executive power.  They'll convince themselves of a brand new lie.  'Not a single person died of COVID-19 under Trump's watch, but as soon as Joe Biden took command, 407,202 people died immediately.  HOW DARE HE FAIL US!'  Trust me, they'll convince themselves Trump wasn't responsible.

One of the saddest parts of this crisis is how many of the last survivors of WWII have been taken by the virus.  The last veterans, both of combat and from the home front, are now in their 90's.  The Greatest Generation sure as heck didn't deserve to be treated like this in the end.  Nor did the Baby Boomers.  All age groups have lost people to COVID-19, and regardless of age, these are human beings we are losing!  Conservatives react to the elderly passing like a TV show getting cancelled. "They were old and past their prime anyway."  The elderly of this country don't deserve the be put on a Viking boat, set it ablaze and pushed it out into the lake just because dismissing their existence makes for better talking points for Trump.

Republicans like to remind everyone of the major sacrifices made by the men and women who died in WWII, but are not willing to make minor sacrifices to save more people from dying from CoronaVirus today!  It's a shame the same people who've claim to respect for the elderly have shown us how little they ever cared.

The cost of war is always great, especially when it's a war we could've won months ago.