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Rest In Peace -United States of America

Rest In Peace
United States of America
July 4, 1776 – January 20, 2025
“Even God could not save her from the religious.”

There needs to be some serious soul searching amongst the denizens of this country.  There was no sane, moral or ethical reason for having voted for the chimera that is DJT, especially this time around, as his psychopathy had been on full display for years.

If you voted for him because your religion is preaching an Armageddon / Second Coming of Christ fantasy, and he is the the agent that God will use to fulfill those end days delusions, you need to apply critical thinking skills to what they are  spewing from the pulpits and to religion in general.  But then again, it seems to me, the only way for people to be religious is to forego thinking critically about it.  With the Evangelicals embracing DJT as they have, faith has become a four letter word in my book.

God save us from the religious.

For the first time in my life I am truly afraid, afraid of future, afraid of what this country is becoming, afraid of many of my fellow citizens, afraid of what DJT and his ilk are going to do to this world. The only bright spot I can see in this cluster f*** is that I will not be around much longer to witness it.

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Arkansas vs. Arkansaw

As you probably know, Spanish is a phonetic language although it has its own peculiarities. For instance  the “H” is never pronounced, “B” and “V” for the most part sound the same, “Z” sounds our “S” except in Spain where it has a more lispy sound, etc.

I bring this up as when I am visiting with folks in Latin America I sometimes will talk about Arkansas as I lived for many years, and still visit there on occasion.  Spanish speakers always want to pronounce it as ar-KAN-sas,

Below you will find the rest of the story as Paul Harvey used to say:

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Quote of the Day – Pope Francis

A 3-fer today due his passing and the pertinence of the quotes to the current situation nationally and internationally.  The third one is especially apropos.

“When nature is viewed solely as a source of profit and gain, this has serious consequences for society.” ~~  Pope Francis

“The extreme right always reconstructs itself; it is the triumph of selfishness over communitarianism. … I am terrified of saviors of the nation without a political party history.”  ~~ Pope Francis

“Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting. To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor…” ~~ Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 2013

Anyone who is even an occasional reader of my absurd, obscure blog knows that I am no fan of religion.  However, wisdom is where you find it, and I truly believe Pope Francis was a good man trying to do the best he could given the hidebound hierarchy of the institution he led.   May he rest in peace.

To see more Quotes for Day, visit this link: Quotes for the Day

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Recognize this tune?

A cover/interpretation of one my favorite classic songs  from 1970… or any year for that matter. The way the voices of this group blend together reminds me of possibly my favorite group of all time, Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Enjoy Laredo singing El Boxeador.

If you enjoyed El Boxeador, try this one: LAREDO – El Último Guateque (1977). Even if you do not understand the words, it has a nice beat. The song title translates as The Final Party. I do wonder if the gentleman in the middle was going for a Frank Zappa look.

Currently, I am reading a novel in Spanish, Gatos Callejeros by Juan Fernández, set in the  period just after the death of the Spanish dictator, Franco. The chapter titles are songs that were popular in Spain during this period.  All of the book’s songs can be found on YouTube. It has been interesting delving into another culture from another time.

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I’ve fallen in love with a YouTuber

I’ve fallen in love with a YouTuber, specifically a German who uses the moniker of The Math Queen: Her YouTube channel 

It doesn’t hurt that she is easy on the eyes, but what I really love about her is watching her mind work.  Does not quite enter the realm of affecting my nitric oxide production, but close.

Above is a link to her YouTube channel, and below is one of her easier videos to get you started:

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Bumper Stickers from Etsy

A friend of mine fell down the Internet rabbit hole called Etsy.  He sent me the following:

Nothing is further from the teachings of Jesus Christ than the Republican Party. 

No one is an illegal on stolen land.

If illegal immigrants are “freeloaders” why is ICE always raiding work places?

No child wants to die for your second amendment rights.

If you are more concerned with making other peoples lives worse than making your own life better than you must be a Trump supporter.

Everybody has the right to be stupid. Republicans are abusing the privilege.

Disliking a fact does not make it fake news

We longer have a difference of political opinion, we have a difference in morality,

Try being informed instead of just opinionated.

Don’t like abortions? Ignore them like you do school shootings.

One day we will wake up to his obituary.

If only closed minds had closed mouths.

Imagine voting for a rapist then calling yourself a Christian.

Elect a clown, expect a circus.

https://www.etsy.com/market/annoy_a_republican_bumper_sticker?ref=pagination

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Better If I Stayed Home

I am beginning to think it would be better for me not to go out of the house for the next four years.  If there were any power in prayer that four years would be much shorter, much much shorter.  Is it bad to pray to wake up the next morning and be able to read someone’s obituary?  Of course, I really do not believe in prayer power.  When I feel the urge to pray I interpret it as telling me that there is a problem I need to focus on or let go.

It is springtime and with that comes a few trips to the local Lowes, Home Depot, etc.  As I was walking into Lowes this Friday morning there was a middle-aged “gentleman” wearing a t-shirt that read “Trump Won“.  In all likelihood it was from the 2020 election cycle and the attempted coup of our democracy.

I saw that t-shirt and it was like a demon took over my body.  My face flushed with anger, the flight or fight response kicked in, mainly on the fight side.  Before I could catch myself (normally I just shake my head and try to ignore such ignorance), I found myself putting my right hand on his left shoulder and proclaiming, “Most of us are fucking sorry that idiot won.””

His response, “I love this shirt.”

Fortunately I was able to control myself and not escalate the situation.  What nearly popped out was something along the lines of, “well that shirt does scream I have a  low IQ  or I lack critical thinking abilities.”

I am blaming it on the gummies.  The first week after the election I imbibed more marijuana that week than I had in the whole previous 40 years.  I have slowed down a little, but not much.  The one thing I ever had faith in or put my belief in was the United States of America.  Now El puto pendejo naranja and his gang of fascist thugs are busily dismantling this country.  There is no sane or logical reasons for what they are doing to my once beloved country and to the world to some extent.  I absolutely cannot stand reality right now.  Yeah RawDog2, I know THC does not make you violent, but it does relax inhibitions.

Pray for me.  Either I am going to end up in the hospital or in jail for battery after a confrontation of this type.

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #6,955

yeah I know you did not ask!

You should so be blessed – well cursed at times actually – with a mind such as mine, making all these weird connections between my rumored neurons. Just be thankful that I do not share all of my random thoughts.

I discovered what my super power is: getting a Walmart employee to engage with me.

Have gotten the attention of a blue-vested woman pushing a restocking cart around the Manchester Road Walmart – once the biggest in the world – I asked her where the frozen orange juice was, having already wasted a good five or ten minutes looking for it.  Turns out it was on the very bottom of one of the freezers. They only had the Wally World brand with very bland packaging. So between the two, the OJ was not jumping to get into my shopping cart.

As I was watching The Associate key into her Walmart app the location of the item I was looking for, I begin to wonder… can you get carpal tunnel syndrome from such ferocious activity with your opposable digits?

Yes Michelle I know the anatomy.  It was just a random thought watching her key with her two thumbs so rapidly.

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‘Fess Up…

A package arrived from Amazon this afternoon.  Since neither one of us was expecting anything, it was a bit of a surprise.  Being addressed to me, I opened the plastic Amazon mailer to find a CD, specifically Jimmy Buffet’s Equal Strain on All Parts.  However that was all that was in the package.  I had no way of knowing who sent this CD, in all likelihood for mi cumpleaños, which is mañana.

One of my many, many pet peeves is persons who receive gifts but do acknowledge that gift.  I do not know want to be that person. I could hazard a guess, but to ask someone if they sent me a gift has a bit of the flavor of guilt induction if they were not the one.

So if you are the one, let know so that I can at least thank you with a quick email.  However, not everyone who loves me — I almost kept a straight face — subscribes to my silly, little blog.  In which case, I will just keep trying to finger it out.

Now don’t all of you try to claim credit!

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I Scared Myself

Something in my mouth was bothering me.  I could not figure out if I had something in my teeth or had developed some sort of lesion on my gums or…

I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror making various faces, attempting to get a view of the issue.  All of sudden I realized that Pennywise was staring at me out of the mirror in the guise of my father.  Well, at least the way I was contorting my face so reminded me of my male parental unit.  One time when I was taking his picture and he, perhaps, preferring that I did not, was making faces at the camera lens.  That is what I saw in the mirror.

I probably interpreted it as Pennywise as I finally got around to reading some Stephen King.  First I read his initial novel, Carrie, and then It.  Of course, It features a monster that frequently appears as a clown and in mirrors.

And just to do him justice, here is a better photograph of my father.

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