TWITTER JAIL!

I DID IT!

Late last night I was responding to a post over "there" by @davidcorn on the "news" that the former President might just have been a tax cheat. He concluded his post that these revelations "showed us who he really was."

My response was merely a tepid reply that rather than show us, it merely reminded us, as many of us already knew this information. I did not swear (for once), nor did I threaten, harass, defame, etc., nor did I use any racial/sexual/etc. slurs.

Hateful conduct? "Skank" got me tossed? Seriously? After more than a decade of f-bombs, a-holes, and worse, I get nicked for "skank?" Jeebus.

Of course I've appealed, but this just proves beyond a shadow of a doubt what a complete dumpster-fire Twitter has become of late.

I'd call it worse, but why tempt fate? The tweet in question:

SOCIAL MEDIA BOLLOCKS

I am cross-posting this blurb at the following, the reasons for which will be clear enough once you read the blurb…

·        “Damned Old Crank” Blogspot - https://mexinger.blogspot.com/

·        Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mike.exinger/

·        Twitter - https://twitter.com/MikeExinger

·        Post.News - https://post.news/mikeexinger

And for you Twitter readers, sorry, but you’ll have to go to (one of) the links to read the whole thing because of the 140-character limit.

To be honest, I don’t use Social Media all that much (yeah, I’m going to continue to capitalize it – deal).   I’ve been on the Interwebs in one form or another for almost 30 years now.  I’ve designed webpages (long live MS FrontPage!) but didn’t get on Facebook until we had the ice cream parlor and everyone said, “OMG you have to have a Facebook page so you can get reviews” and since it also required having a personal page, I did that, too.  I started my blog when I started publishing my eBooks, thinking that this would be a great advertising method AND a way to vent frustration on a variety of topics.  I got on Twitter because there were a few people I wanted to follow and I was utilizing it’s 140-character method for messaging Congressional reps and others about important issues of the day (mostly gambling related – sue me).

Over time the need to tweet lessened as gambling soon became almost ubiquitous in the states (still no online Poker in Oregon but we have a shitty Sportsbook, so there’s that).  Facebook is great for staying in touch with old friends and posting Wordle scores, and I haven’t blogged in over a year (a while variety of excused I could give you, but that’s all they are). 

Frankly, I use Social Media mostly to see what others are saying – my commentary has been reduced to clicking the “like” or “care” icons and offering responses like “Lock HIM up!” “LFG!” and “Bingo!”  It’s rare that I take the time to correct a commenter on his or her wrong-headed views of the world, of politics, of the COVID virus or vaccine, of gas prices and what causes their rise and fall, etc. etc.  Why?  See: Pig Wrestling.

So, my use of Twitter especially has been reduced to scrolling just to see what others say, and that’s why I started looking around for another spot to roost.  Twitter’s demise has been predicted for weeks now, ever since Elon Musk bought it and started to “modify” content (90% of which seems to be either about Musk, Twitter, Nazis, or “Nazis on Twitter”).  Many LIBS such as myself have been looking at other Social Media outlets like Mastodon, Tribel, BlueSky Social, etc.  Having a communication outlet controlled by someone who is…well, use your own description here.

For me, Musk is just another one of those incredibly rich assholes who believe they are infallible and can do whatever they want.  Worse yet, as they expand their empires, they attempt to “control the narrative” as to who they actually are (many websites actually credit Musk with creating PayPal, and…uh no.  That’s the BS I’m talking about).  Even this weekend the NY Times seems confused as to what Musk’s political leanings, are with the article headline: “Critics Say Musk Has Revealed Himself as a Conservative. It’s Not So Simple.”

Yeah, it is.  If the “Twitter Files” non-bombshell nothingburger, readmittance of Trump and other ultra-right-wing coup-plotters wasn’t enough, there’s this:

“My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci”

So even if Twitter doesn’t implode like a bad-wired Tesla, I plan to leave the platform by the end of the year.  And I’ve landed, for now, at Post.News.

I don’t know if my habits will change all that much with the move.  I might post a bit more there since the long form is “in style.”  I’ve never had big followings anywhere (and the Blog was the only place that I tried to make that happen because of the books, and since they’re selling better now than ever with no posting on the blog whatsoever…), so unlike a lot of Twitter users, it’s NBD to me one way or the other.  I do admit to a morbid curiosity of wanting to watch the last days of Twitter, like when Trump finally decides to return in his futile bid to stave off further investigations or indictments, and/or whatever other follies occur there.  Frankly, I can’t recall seeing any business anywhere else go through so many changes so quickly with a new owner…and so disastrously as well.  One wonders if self-destruction was actually part of the plan.  It very well might be.

If you’re on Post.News, I hope you’ll give me a follow and I’ll return the favor. 

Side note 1:  Facebook has its own issues, and since Mark Zuckerberg reads everything on FB, let me advise him of his latest F-up – today, for some reason, whenever I “like” or “care” or choose some other icon to comment on an existing post the cursor moves up one, two, or even three stories from the one I “like” on so I can’t even see it in my browser.  WTF, Mark?

Side note 2:  Looks like Elon might reconsider the 140-character limit and bump it up to 4000.  Problem is, Mein Kampf was longer than that.

 

 

Face it – LGB fits the GOP to a T

What is surprising is that they spelled it correctly.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the right’s newest meme: “Let’s Go, Brandon.” If you’ve been living under a rock, it’s everywhere, though some still might not know what it’s about (short answer: code for “Fuck Joe Biden”).

I think it’s the PERFECT descriptor for the Republican Party, because:

• It’s based on a mistake

• It doesn’t mean what it says

• It covers a vulgarity

• It’s only being used to either

o Be hurtful or spiteful, or

o Be printed on clothing, hats, masks*, bumper stickers, etc. and sold to the rubes...er, faithful – it’s such an obvious grift.

* What could be more iconic/ironic that someone wearing a “Let’s Go, Brandon” mask while protesting a government mask order? I mean, you CAN’T wear the mask in “chin strap” position and still get your message across, which is…what, exactly?

What did I miss?

or

Prove me wrong.

The Dog Ate My Ballots

Every student knows this one trick, and it’s not even weird.  It’s a cliché.  Didn’t get that homework assignment done in time?  No sweat – just tell Teacher that the dog ate the finished product.  You’re blameless and best of all, there’s no evidence (the dog ate it – get it?).

Kinda like VOTER FRAUD.

It’s become the GOP cliché to claim that every election is due to one reason and one reason only – VOTER FRAUD (always capitalize, and BOLD when necessary; italics might make some feel that the phrase is being used ironically – laugh here).  They lose not because they don’t have the best interests of voters in mind, nor that they failed to “get out the vote” or because they have absolutely no good policies or even because they ran shitty candidates or IT’S A FUCKING LEFT LEANING STATE FOR CHRISSAKE.  Nope, gotta be VOTER FRAUD.

And VOTER FRAUD is just like “the dog ate my homework” in that (a) teachers/gullible conservatives tend to believe it without any evidence, and (b) there’s never any evidence.  Easy peasy.

It doesn’t even matter if there were hundreds of thousands of votes and the margin of victory was tens of thousands, 10% or more.  Those wily Democrats imported ballots from China or Norway or somewhere and maybe the governor’s dog ate a whole mess of them.

And any whiff of potential fraud no matter how many times it’s been debunked or explained is worthy of reporting…over and over and over and over.  Red meat for the base.  If 300 ballots are a small part of some larger mail heist IGNORE all that and tell your viewers just how diabolical those pesky Dems are, and assure them that mail-in ballots are the devil’s work and that fraud is in the air, everywhere and the election is rigged – hell, every election is rigged.

Unless you win, and then it’s all good.

Voter fraud is, in the words of Brennen Center for Justice, “vanishing rare, and does not happen on a scale even close to that necessary to ‘rig’ an election.”  OF course, that never stops Republicans, especially now that VOTER FRAUD has been given Carte Blanche by the former guy (I am surprised he didn’t use it in the big heavyweight fight he did commentary for on 9-11; and gosh, wasn’t THAT patriotic of a former President?).

So, for the record, let me state that:

• Almost twice as many Californians are registered Democrats (46.5%) than Republicans (24.0%).
• California’s two Senators are both Democrats.
• Forty-two of the 53 House of Rep seats are held by Democrats (that’s almost 80%).
• The California State Assembly is overwhelmingly Democratic, 60-19 (1 indy).
• So is the State Senate, with Dems having a 30-9 advantage.

IT’S PROBABLY THE MOST LIBERAL STATE IN THE UNION.

Every pre-election poll this month showed the recall failing and/or failing badly (and before this month there were only three polls out of 26 that showed a potential for recall.

But VOTER FRAUD.

Riiiiiiight.

For the record, loser-Republicans who bitch about imaginary VOTER FRAUD are pathetic whiny-ass-titty-babies.

And let’s not forget that Republican-in-case-this-recall-thing-works candidate Larry Elder put up a website on Monday…the day BEFORE the election…to claim that they already found fraud:

Statistical analyses used to detect fraud in elections held in 3rd-world nations (such as Russia, Venezuela, and Iran) have detected fraud in California resulting in Governor Gavin Newsom being reinstated as governor.  The primary analytical tool used was Benford’s Law and can be readily reproduced.

For the record, loser-Republicans who bitch about imaginary VOTER FRAUD are pathetic whiny-ass-titty-babies.

And for the record, at the time this website was live and the above was loudly proclaimed, NO results had been released (since the election was THE NEXT DAY).

Also for the record – I had to look up what the hell Benford’s Law is, and while it’s fascinating, it cannot be used to prove fraud for ANYTHING (merely a potential that something might be amiss). 

And also too – voter distributions do NOT fit into the standard data used in Benford’s Law tests; ergo, not only can it NOT be used to prove fraud, it cannot be used in a statistically valid manner.

I’m sure Larry Elder knows that.

Fucking pathetic whiny-ass-titty-baby.

Is EVERYTHING Joe’s Fault? (No)

It's OK to look, Joe.

I read a headline earlier this week that said President Biden’s approval rating had taken a nosedive, citing two reasons – the current situation in Afghanistan, and the ongoing COVID crisis.  I found this amusing and insulting, for a couple of reasons.

First off, both of these problems are inherited problems.  The war in Afghanistan goes back twenty years, through FOUR administrations:

• Bush, who started it all,
• Obama, who actually accomplished one of the goals by eliminating Osama Bin Laden, and
• Trump, who, like everything else he touched, fucked it up.

It was Trump who set the deadline for troop withdrawal there.  It was Trump who cut a billion dollars of aid there.  It was Trump who released all those Taliban prisoners.  It was Trump who invited the Taliban to Camp David for talks ON 9-11!  And it was Trump who explained all of this and Pompeo’s mystery trip there this summer to the new administration when they handed over the keys to the White House in all of those transitioning meetings they held.

I kid…there was no transition, and Trump left Biden in the dark on this and everything else.  He fucked it up (on purpose?) and Biden was left holding the bag.

But Joe gets the blame because it happened on his watch (despite the timetable being set by Trump).

And COVID is the same thing, of course, except Bush and Obama are blameless.  Despite Biden’s call for every American to be vaccinated and his administration's continued reminders for people to take precautions and practice measures like masking up and social distancing, the virus rages on.

But…even though some vaccinated individuals who swear they wore masks all the time are catching the disease, it’s mostly an unvaccinated issue.  Those areas that have low vaccination rates are the ones experiencing the highest COVID-positive rates.  And the highest serious illness/hospitalization rates.  And the highest death rates.

And to no one’s surprise, these same areas are red states or red counties in blue states.  And it’s governors of red states (DeSantis, Abbott, Hutchinson) who rule our mask mandates and are putting their citizens at much higher risk.  They are literally killing their own citizens.

But Joe gets the blame because it happened on his watch (despite EVERYTHING conservatives and Fox News has done to thwart everything he’s accomplished).

That’s not the most galling thing about the Blame Joe movement.  With both the Afghanistan pullout and the battle to contain COVID, there’s been plenty of blame thrown around.  Much of that blame for Afghanistan comes from warhawks like Rice, Bolton, and Cheney – folks who got us into this mess in the first place.  And the hawking media has been piling it on, too, conveniently forgetting all that’s happened in and to Afghanistan before 2021.

And COVID…can you imagine what people might have said if Trump were President and there was a dramatic spike in COVID cases?  Yeah, HE actually said that.  As if no one could imagine it.  Because we don’t have to imagine it.  It happened.

But it’s not who is blaming Joe that’s the problem.  The problem is – that’s ALL they’re doing.  Blaming.

Not offering alternatives.  Not explaining what THEY’D do in the same situation.

To my knowledge, no one has offered any sort of alternative solution to either Afghanistan or COVID; just blame.  There could be a good reason for this – there IS no alternative solution.  Certainly Bush, Obama, nor Trump pulled the level to end what in pretty much everyone’s opinion was (another) failed operation in the Middle East.  And certainly bleach, ultra-violet light, and ignoring the problem wasn’t the solution for COVID.

In fact, COVID’s problems are so entrenched that one possible idea that I thought might make a difference is not only off the table, but it illustrated just what Biden is up against.  Months ago, it was suggested that Donald Trump make PSAs suggesting that his fanbase get the poke.  All the other living Presidents have been very vocal about being vaccinated and even though Trump did his in secret, he’s made a couple of off-handed comments about getting the shot.  Many thought that if he made a sincere effort to reach out to his supporters, it might make a difference.

Last night, in Alabama, he kinda did just that.  During his 90-minute rant of greatest hits (complaints), he mentioned that it was a good idea and that people should get vaccinated against the virus.

And he was booed loudly.  He quickly backtracked, and never mentioned it again.

So yeah, scrap that idea.  Ain’t NOBODY gonna change the minds of those spreadnecks.  But blame Biden.  Sure.

Joe Biden is doing the best he can, and it seems half of this country is making him do it with one hand tied behind his back and blaming him for damn near everything that goes wrong.

At least they’re not blaming him for rising gas prices.  Oh, wait.

People Like Us are Not Exactly Like Us

They're not ALL like this, but enough are

I spent several hours the last few days arguing about vaccines and masks and the whole COVID thing online, and before you say, “Well, Jeebus…what a waste of time and energy,” let me say a couple of things.

First, you’re right.  I knew well in advance that I would change exactly ZERO hearts and minds.  Nothing was altered, no one was moved, no animals were harmed in the making of my posts.  But it’s like potato chips; you can’t just stop at one, and once I’m engaged with a poster, the gloves are off.

Secondly, despite the accusations that I am a bully and I want to FORCE people to mask up and get vaccinated, the truth is that I don’t.  Sure, I think that any rational and sane individual should get vaccinated, if at all possible, the sooner the better.  Yes, everyone, vaccinated or not, should wear a mask as recommended by the CDC and in some cases mandated by either local government and/or private businesses.  But FORCE someone to do that?  I’m actually kinda libertarian in that respect (don’t tell my friends).

Of course, if you suffer the consequences for your foolish actions, don’t look to me or the government to bail your silly ass out.

But the real reason I spent so much time online arguing was that I cannot stand people who LIE about what’s happening with this virus.  Check that; I can’t stand people who LIE about anything.  But it’s particularly galling to see the flow coming from an eruption from Bullshit Mountain regarding mask effectiveness, vaccine effectiveness, etc., etc.  I try to counter with facts, truth, links, and what do I get for my efforts?

More bullshit.

I can tell you confidently that NO, Bill Gates has NOT been arrested (yet), and NO, the majority of doctors and nurses HAVE been vaccinated (the last thing I read reported doctors at 97%, and that was a while back).  But I was equally confident in thinking another claim was bogus, though I had nothing but my own experience to explain why, so I didn’t respond.  But that’s the subject of today’s post.

Amid all the BS and nonsense (and the responses who tried, like me, to inject some reality into the discussion), one poster bragged that “No one I know has contracted the disease, and no one I know has been vaxxed, and no one wears a mask, either.”  I merely responded “Well, in that case, good luck,” and let it go, but let me explain why I think she was in error.

I learned long ago (before marketing research), that everyone is different, but we tend to think that people like us are like us about damn near everything.  We tend to hang around with people who think like us, dress like us, eat the types of food we do, believe what we believe, and so on.  Up to a point.  We may agree about a lot of things, but…except for identical twins, no two people are exactly alike.  Everyone has some idiosyncrasy that makes them just a wee bit distinct from everyone else.

Now, it’s certainly possible that the poster does not know anyone who has had COVID.  We’re a small county, population 53,000 and change, with a total as of today of 2,182 cases – just 4% of the population.  If everyone they know lives around here, then yeah, chances are slight they know anyone with COVID.  Truth is, I only know of four who have had the disease, and none of them live in this county, or in Oregon for that matter.  Of those four, two are dead, so those percentages aren’t so good.

As far as no one she knows being vaccinated, that’s also possible – as a county, we’re still batting under .500 despite the total percentage in Oregon being just under 70%.  Possible, but…I know for a fact that not everyone “brags about it” either online or in-person for that matter.  I only found out about a neighbor being vaccinated by luck.  He’s conservative, so I assumed he’d be resistant to getting the poke, and he’s not one to talk much about anything, let alone anything personal, but I happened to run into him at the grocery store as he was coming out of the pharmacy, and he admitted he was there to get his second shot.  So, she could have friends like that, too.

And as for everyone not wearing a mask…many businesses have been following the CDC guidelines, saying that vaccinated shoppers are welcome to come in without a mask, but non-vaxxed folks should mask up.  So not sure where her friends are shopping, and now many of those businesses are revising their mask policies to require everyone, vaccinated or not, to wear a mask, so…

Yeah, it’s probably bullshit.

But that’s not why I think she’s probably wrong.  Like I said earlier, it’s because we always assume that everyone’s just like us.  Exactly like us.  And that’s a fallacy that I love to expose by telling this story…

It was damn near 30 years ago when I was general manager of a brand-new public radio station in Monroe, LA, an area that was (back then) one of the largest parts of the country without such a station.  We set up the “standard three-legged stool” of programming – NPR news in drive-time, classical during the day, and jazz and eclectic programming on nights and weekends.  Folks were happy to have us on the air, but of course, newshounds wanted more news, jazz fiends wanted more jazz programs, and of course, the classical crowd wanted more classical music, especially at night.  Still, most everyone was glad we finally made it on-air after a lengthy fundraising campaign and construction on the university’s campus (and on their dime, too).

We’d been on the air for about six months, so the honeymoon was about to be over.  Still, on this night I was basking in some leftover triumphs as I attended the first concert of the Monroe Symphony Orchestra’s 1991-2 season.  After the performance, I met many of the symphony supporters at the reception where in no uncertain terms everyone told me that everyone wanted more classical music, and all their friends and neighbors and everyone else they knew felt that way, too.  At one point, several surrounded me, voices rising as one…

“And we want more classical music, especially at night!”

“YEAH!”

“And get rid of that jazz and new age crap.”

“YEAH!”

“And play more opera!”

“Yeah…maybe….”

“And get rid of that darn Car Talk program!”

“HEY – I LIKE CLICK & CLACK.  They’re a hoot!”

And just that like, a donnybrook ensued.  The circle suddenly opened like the Dead Sea for Moses, although I didn’t escape right away.  I moved to the side to watch, amused, as bosom buddies and best mates suddenly pointed fingers not at me but at each other over Mountain Stage and Fresh Air and “maybe we’ve got enough opera in the Metropolitan Opera and we could use more from the baroque period…” and “I don’t see why we have to turn down our noses at 20^th Century composers; after all…” and so on.  After a few minutes, no one noticed I had quietly left the building.

 

OK, it wasn’t all that quiet.  I laughed loud and long.

 

 

Glad, Sad and Mad About COVID

I considered writing about COVID almost a month ago.  At that time, I noticed a slight uptick in cases, and more chatter about the Delta variant.  I held off because:

• I wasn’t sure if this was a temporary “don’t worry about it” thing or a new crisis developing, and
• No one would change their behavior, no matter what I or anyone else said.

Well, for certain, it’s a thing.  Cases are skyrocketing, and it’s so serious that even Wall Street noticed, and Hannity changed his tune a little.  Just a little.

But the second reason remains.

Sure, some places might reinstate mandatory mask requirements.  It’s still in force at local clinics and hospitals, but c’mon – what do medical professionals know about viruses, anyway?

Yes, that’s sarcasm.  This is the real reason I debated so long about saying anything about COVID.  My mood changes constantly.  I am conflicted.  Let me explain.

We’re vaccinated.  It’s clear to us that, whatever else you can say about the virus, the vaccines are doing what they’re supposed to do.  Not eliminate the risk, but reduce the risk of both catching the virus, and suffering from it.  I’ve oft said that Americans are horrible about calculating risk (this is good for those of us who play poker – more money!).  For whatever reason, people got it into their heads that the vaccines would totally eliminate the risk.  Not so.  Never was like that.  But I think people think that it does because people think that it SHOULD.  They make the same mistake about masks – masks help reduce the risk, not eliminate it.

For the last two months, death from COVID is almost exclusively a “non-vaxxed” event.  More than 99% of hospitalizations and deaths occurred in non-vaccinated patients.  For those who complain that the vaccines were never “tested,” I say – here’s your test result. 

And while I can’t put a finger on statistics, it’s evident that non-vaxxed areas (read: conservative and voted for Trump) are getting hit harder with COVID cases now than those areas where vaccination rates are higher.

Yes, some vaccinated people are testing positive.  That was to be expected.  Again, one vaccinated to REDUCE risk, not eliminate it.  Just don’t expect them to be hospitalized, though again, there is a slight risk of that, and of death.  But far, far, far, far less risk than no being vaccinated.  Of course, there are other steps that one can take to reduce the risk – wear a mask, stay socially distanced, etc., etc., etc.

Fat chance of that shit now.  Everyone is opening up.  Crowds are back at games, concerts, you-name-it.  No one wants mask mandates again.  It seems reasonable that the answer now is the answer we had way back when the former guy was President – vaccinate!

Remember when they touted the virus and Operation Warp Speed – get it to the people, STAT!  Lok what they were saying back then:
“I’ve been a big proponent of releasing it early. I think that we’ve had enough safety and effectiveness data.”   Another person encouraged by the rapid production of the vaccines praised the “brilliant” way in which Project Warp Speed had made vaccines available so quickly.

The first speaker?  Senator Ron Johnson.  The second?  Senator Rand Paul.

They ain’t singing that tune now.  What happened?

Joe Biden became President.

C’mon, we’ve seen this before.

When Bush was in office and tanked the economy near the end of his term, few Americans gave the administration good marks for the effort, and those few were largely Republicans.  When Obama took over and things got better, some perceived the economy as doing better…but not Republicans.  Oh, no…things didn’t turn around at all until 2017 WHEN THEIR GUY WAS BACK IN OFFICE, AND OMG JUST LOOK AT THE ECONOMY NOW (except nothing had changed except who was President).  And you know damn well they’ll do it again now that Biden is in charge (inflation, gas prices, the deficit, etc., etc., etc).  We know they will because…they did it when Clinton took over for Bush Sr. and reversed their silly asses again when Dubya took over for Clinton.

So when Trump says it would be different if he was President, he has a point, though not the one he was trying to make.  I do not doubt that more Republicans would get the jab if he was still there (typing that was hard; gave me the creeps).  But it’s still the same vaccine – and if you want to give him whatever credit for its development, fine (I don’t), but…what’s changed with the vaccine?  We know its effectiveness.  It’s now readily available (which wasn’t the case when you-know-who was running the place). So…what’s the prob?

As I said, I am conflicted.

This has gone on for so long now that folks are frustrated.  I get that.  Many who are vaxxed have taken the “fine, let ‘em die” position, and I fall into that camp, mostly.  Sometimes my anger boils over into sarcasm, making fun of those who willingly refuse to take a potentially life-saving drug (or wear a mask or take other precautions).  You brought it on yourself, asshole!

But then, I worry, because the fact is that the longer this shit continues, the more likely there will be new and different strains and variants of COVID, some that may be more contagious and/or deadly than what we have now.

That makes me sad, and mad.

But I honestly don’t know what to do about it, except talk about it. 

But it seems no one is listening.

Thanks for listening.