A local reader asks: Is there a place (around here) that sells men’s ties? Thanks in advance!

My response: You’ll do just fine at the thrift store (see logo at left). I alone recently donated at least 60 ties from the collection that I had amassed over my 30 years as a business consultant in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries. What’s the value in buying a brand new tie when so many, in perfect condition, are discarded every day, as fashion has changed?

If I wanted a fedora hat, I don’t think I would fly to London to find a hatter.  Would you?

If you can’t accept the idea of being seen at the thrift store, I understand.  Wear a disguise if you must.   Personally, if I can support an industry that provides value to low-income people and prevents the needless consumption of natural resources, I’m extremely proud to wear that mantle.

Tagged with:

One of the most disturbing trends in American society today is its newfound revulsion for people accused of being “woke,” a synonym for caring, well educated, and respectful.

I recall Matt Gaetz’s interrogation of Mark Milley (see memo and photo) during which he accused the general of being woke, thus endangering all Americans by way of his “feminization” of the armed forces.  This was then echoed by Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.

Milley, a man of intelligence and honor, not to mention respect for rule of law, elected not to offer to beat either of these two trust fund babies into a pulp.

U.S. Army Gen. Mark A. Milley

I’m not sure this is going to work, Matt.  If the FBI comes for Trump, assisted as necessary by 1.1 million members of the U.S. military with their $850 billion annual budget, I’m not sure that Ron DeSantis is going to be able to hold them off very long.

That’s presuming this presidential hopeful wants to commit an array of felonies.

Tagged with:

Here’s a prediction from former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega on the Manhattan DA’s indictment against Trump that is rumored to be coming tomorrow.

All I can say in response is “I damn well hope so.”

As the world waits anxiously, we all trust that the scope of the crimes is such that it would have warranted charges against anyone, and that they are clearly not politically motivated.

In any case, wouldn’t this better be done after Fulton Country Georgia indicts Trump on a crime several orders of magnitude larger, i.e., trying to overthrow the United States federal government?

Tagged with: ,

I know I’ve made this point before, but I feel some level of sympathy for the foot-soldiers of the insurrection.

These are people who broke what they believed to be an immoral set of laws, and were ordered to do it by the person they believed to be the rightful President of the United States.

Following the surrender of the Confederacy, the Union could have prosecuted not only the South’s highest ranking officers, but every single person who took up arms against our country.

This, of course, heightens the imperative to prosecute Trump and his co-conspirators at the top.

 

Tagged with:

I’m suspicious of the flag here.  In particular, I doubt that they have sold a single one, because I don’t think even the dumbest pseudo-patriot / faux-Christian would want to make such an asinine statement about himself.

Now, it’s true that I have not been in the backwoods of the Deep South, but we have our fair share of Trump supporters here in this rural part of Central California.  There are even a few flags here and there is support of the former president, but nothing this idiotic.

Tagged with:

Here’s an excerpt from legendary environmentalist Bill McKibben’s appearance on Democracy Now! earlier today, in which he points out how insane our civilization’s response is to climate change.

ConocoPhillips, which is developing that ill-begotten project up in the Arctic, has tens of billions of dollars of loans from the banks that we’re talking about. The (big banks) keep funneling them money so that they can do these kind of projects. And, I mean, that one is just absolutely emblematic of the insanity. They’re going to have to literally refreeze the ground up there before they’re able to — the ground that they have melted, before they’re able to drill again for yet more oil.

But it’s not just up in the Arctic. Look at what’s happening in Africa. Cyclone Freddy blows across Malawi, leaving huge devastation, while Total, the French energy giant, and others are busy trying to build a giant oil pipeline across the heart of Africa. This is — as the IPCC said yesterday, this is really the battle for the future of planet Earth.

McKibben, however, is not giving up, noting that people of all ages are protesting this lunacy in numbers never before seen, and divesting from fossil fuel companies as well.

I had the honor of meeting him at a Bioneers conference pre-pandemic; he is quite a powerhouse.

Tagged with: , , ,

As long as there are huge numbers of Americans who reject what the rest of the developed world has learned about the connection between gun control legislation and the lessening of gun violence, there will be politicians who will happily sell our children’s lives to make possible their next term in office.

Regardless of how stupid you may happen to be, I hope you don’t get a call asking you to identify your kid’s lifeless body, shot to pieces, in your local morgue.

Tagged with:

At left we see a reminder of what mega-billionaire David Koch said when asked, regarding taxation, what he thinks is fair.  He responded, “I get to keep my money.”

Yes, there really are people who don’t recognize that they live in a functioning society.  We are all the beneficiaries of national defense, criminal justice, fire fighting, law enforcement, libraries, FEMA, airports and other elements of infrastructure, etc.

If most of us were suddenly thrust into wealth of tens of billions of dollars, we’d be a bit less despicable.

Tagged with: ,

In my recent post: Can Trump’s Supporters Overthrow the U.S. Government?, I made the points that a) some of the lower level military people are Trump supporters, but that b) if the military is engaged against an uprising, the orders given to the foot-soldiers will include the line: As your commanding officer, I’ll do my best to make sure that anyone who commits treason against his country spends 20+ years in prison.  

In response, a reader comments: Support for Trump right now is 36%, and there is no reason to think that it’s any higher or lower in the military.  

Actually, it does happen to be different in the military; in fact, it’s much lower.  I base this on the facts that:

According to a poll conducted by the Military Times, approval of Trump was far less than 50% while he was in office, and it was especially dismal among officers.

These people, from buck private to full general, regard themselves as people of high integrity and loyalty to our country and its constitution.  They didn’t sign up to get rich; they chose a career path based on devotion to a worthy cause.  I’m not saying that real estate agents, stock brokers, and truck drivers are indifferent to honor, but, for those who carry guns to defend our country, it’s all that matters.

Tagged with: