#do kissinger next please please please please

[mobydyke]

[qqueenofhades]

Dare you to, on the second-last day of Pride Month, write a big effortpost about all the people that Pride Month either moved to the Find Out stage or proceedings or flat-out assassinated. A necessary part of this post would be bemoaning that Pride Month missed Kissinger or some other monster. The reason would be to dare the universe to render your effortpost out of date by sniping someone just before the end of the month, after you post. Please, I beg of you, goad the universe into taking out one or two more than it intended!

Oh, I will do that right now for free!

JUNE 2023: Great month for justice, bad month for assholes!

Pat Robertson, notorious conservative Christian activist and long-time hate preacher: dies on June 8

Ted Kaczynski, aka the Unabomber, conducted a decades-long campaign of mail bombings and domestic terrorism in the name of protesting technology: dies on June 10

Silvio Berlusconi, notorious far-right ex-Italian PM and general fantastically corrupt shitheel: dies on June 12

Stockton Rush, billionaire libertarian businessman who actively ignored 1000 safety warnings about his crappy product and fired a whistleblower for saying so, notably got himself and 4 other people killed on June 18 and joins the hallowed Wikipedia list of inventors killed by their own invention

Honorable-not-quite-June-but-close mention: James G. Watt, Ronald Reagan's secretary of the interior and a rabid anti-environmentalist, died on May 27

John Eastman: conservative lawyer who actively advised and encouraged Trump to stage a coup: facing disbarment hearings in California

Oh yeah, that guy Trump: on June 8, was charged with 31 federal criminal counts under the Espionage Act, relating to his crimes with classified documents; 37 charges overall, which takes his felony haul to 71 (and counting);

Vladimir Putin: is not gonna have a fun time over the next few days over the fallout from the Wagner mercenary rebellion;

Andrew Tate, flagrant misogynist asshole: officially charged with rape and human trafficking in Romania;

Ron DeSantis: lost literally THREE different lawsuits over his terrible anti-LGBTQ laws; collapsed in the polls and his campaign is allegedly "close to being over" because he's so bad at it;

State of Arkansas: likewise had its attempted ban on gender-affirming care for minors permanently struck down

Marjorie Taylor Greene: the crazy House Freedom Caucus doesn't like her anymore, apparently, and wants to "purge" its members, including her (lolololol)

Man, that's all well and good, but it's really a shame that Pride Month 2023: This Time It's Personal didn't put a cherry on top by offing Henry Kissinger, or like, Clarence Thomas or Samuel Alito (or both, both, both is good)

Come on, Pride Month 2023.

What are you, a PUSSY?

[theuniversitychallengereview]

Some Good Old Fashioned Number Crunching

Winningest

Imperial and Manchester are the two winningest institutions in University Challenge history.

Whenever I have used 'winningest' in the past I have always done so with an air of the tongue-in-cheek. With the assumption that it wasn't actually a real word, and that it was just something American sports commentators said. But it has just occurred to me that not everyone reading this will be consumers of American sports commentary, so to those people it may be coming across as bizarre at best, or just downright wrong.

However, in the manner of fleek, skibidi toilet and bae, it has entered the conventional and agreed upon lexicon. Language is constantly evolving, and as demonstrated by the wave of ever-cringier TikToks/adverts doing the rounds on Twitter this week, new terms are constantly being coined.

But back to Manchester and Imperial.

Let's Crunch Some Numbers

I have finally managed to do some data analysis. This is something I've been saying I was going to do for years, but I've never done it.

Until now.

I thought I'd need to write some proper code for it and (not knowing how to write proper code) have been put off.

What I was forgetting is that most of the time a Pivot table will do.

Pivot tables - the saviour of many a work-spreadsheet (and of my iTunes most played artists data, as I discussed in this month's Patreon post) - have come up clutch once again. (Coming up clutch is another American sports-ism, incidentally).

So I have crunched some numbers on these most winningest of teams, and can share some with you below.

Appearance Data

4-time winners Magdalen are the most appearingest (okay, this one isn't a real word) Oxbridge college with 1 more appearance than Trinity, Cambridge (themselves 3-time winners).

I initially had Durham 4th, but at the last minute I spotted an oversight - 11 of their appearances had been logged as "Uni of Durham" rather than "Durham Uni". It is very possible that there are more errors like that in the data, so if you spot any mistakes please let me know.

But how many points have each of these institutions scored, I hear you ask. I hear you clamouring for that information, actually - and here it is.

So far we have done some counting (to get the number of appearances), and some adding (to get the sum of the points), but we haven't done any real number crunching, which is what I promised.

I have removed institutions with fewer than 10 episodes, because thats the kind of thing you do when you are crunching numbers. I will also note that although some of the teams look like they have the same points per game, when you go to multiple decimal places the order is correct. I could have made this more obvious by adding the decimal places to the table, but I think that would have made it a bit busy.

I don't want to waste all my stats ammo on one post, so let's move onto the episode - could Imperial start closing the appearance gap on Manchester?

If you want to watch the episode beforereading the rest of the post you can do so here.

Here's your first starter for ten.

Sutherland is first out of the gate for Manchester, but unfortunately her guess of moth is wrong. I had guessed butterfly, so was thinking for a second that she may have been quite unlucky, but Spry buzzes correctly with armadillo so she (and I) can't feel too hard done by.

A full set of bonuses on maritime republics (called thalassocracies), which are not to be confused with hydraulic empires (which is a civilisation ruled by a monopoly on the water supply, like in Mad Max: Fury Road), gives Imperial (another word relating to empires) a 30-point lead. This quickly becomes 55 thanks to Salamanca Camacho and a hat-trick on mythology.

Spry buzzes on the next starter and pulls a face like he thinks he's screwed up, but his guess of Kissinger is correct, and it is allowed by Rajan who lightly scolds him for the slight delay in answering. They finally drop a bonus, giving Versailles instead of Paris, and Easow follows this up by dragging Manchester out of the negatives with theravada.

Sign up for The University Challenge Review

Could this be the turning point in the match?

Spoiler - it was not.

Manchester lost another five points thanks to a precocious buzz, and Elkouby picked it up to reaffirm Imperial's control. Spry's third put the London side into three figures, and they continued their charge from there.

Imperial are looking ominous at this point, which is perhaps unsurprising given their recent pedigree in this competition. Because while they have only won one more title than Manchester, three of their five wins have come in the past five years, while Manchester haven't won for eleven years. And indeed Manchester's semi-final appearance last year was their first at that stage since their 2013 victory.

Which makes Manchester the fallen giant of University Challenge, with Imperial rising to challenge their dynastic run from 2006 to 2013 in which they never failed to make it to at least the semi-finals.

No Mercy

Going into the music round, Imperial hold a lead of 140 points. Manchester's only hope is to squeeze their way into a high-scoring loser spot, but that would be possible only with the help of Imperial, who show no signs of letting up. Spry turns to Salamanca Camacho, clearly the classical music expert of the team, and he buzzes confidently with Rhapsody in Blue to take the starter.

The man from Madrid brings up Imperial's double-century, before Easow wakes Manchester from their slumber with Walt Whitman. It was going to take a huge effort to even break into triple figures from here, but Crossley wasn't going to give up with out a fight, taking their second consecutive starter with Congo.

Imperial 310 - 75 Manchester

Its early, but Imperial look like one of the teams to beat again this year (along with their fellow 300-ers Bristol). Manchester can count themselves unlucky to have come up against such a juggernaut. At the very least they managed to add one more appearance to their existing record, which Imperial are coming for.

Join me next week for Reading (19 apps) vs Exeter (24 apps), and subscribe if you haven't already for more excellent data analysis.

[cynicalclassicist]

Thoughs on Nixon in DW

I don't think that you could do The Impossible Astronaut/The Day of the Moon today. That is due to the prominence of one Richard Milhous Nixon.

This post is inspired by a discussion that I had with my friend @dalesramblingsblog (who you should follow if you aren't already) on Twitter. And I refuse to call it by the other name.

Steven Moffat did not set out wanting to write a story about Nixon. He wanted to do one set during the Moon Landing which had the White House, due to being a fan of The West Wing. I found this on Shannon Sullivan's site (https://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/2011ab.html), recommended if you like looking at the details that went into making DW stories! When he found out who it was he considered a fictional President but went with Nixon. I think that this was the right choice, you can kind of get away with fictional Presidents in a Present-day story but in a historical setting, as in decades ago, it works less well.

Nixon is still mocked for things like Watergate and Vietnam... but the story still ultimately presents him in a positive-ish light.

However... nowadays I doubt that we could do that.

This is partially down to Trump. There hasn't been a President quite like him before... and I do not mean that as a compliment. And there is a lot of re-examination of Nixon now, partially as he feels like the closest thing to some of the scandals around Trump, with impeachment and ideas of Presidential overreach.

Now when TIA/DOTM came out the US was beginning to be viewed a bit better internationally under Obama. The Bush administration was viewed pretty badly around the world, DW even had a caricature of him being killed in a 2007 story. Nixon is still given a sort of... dignity of the office?

He also seems... sort of progressive for the 1960s? In that when Canton Delaware talks of marrying someone who is black Nixon seems ok with it... then when Canton says it's a man Nixon balks a bit. Which is played for comedy in showing progressive for the 1960s attitude.

However, nowadays we are seeing more examination of the horrible things aside from Watergate. The Southern strategy for example, in short using racism to pick up votes in the South, drawing the old Democratic base to the GOP... which has become ever more the GOP platform, with them now pulling in white supremacy.

What Nixon did to Chile, with his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, one of the most notorious war criminals in American history, is horrific as well.

Now the story is aware that Nixon is a pretty despised figure. But I doubt that at a time where the US had a President who is pretty openly a Fascist and who might get in again... well, it would be harder to see this in an amusing light.

I could go on about this and about how Nixon is presented in Futurama is indicative of how he is often seen but in a comical sense as a cartoonish supervillain and whether that can deflect from the true depths of his awfulness.

But that's a topic for another time.

Btw, please vote Democrat if you can. The list of their flaws is long but the alternative is actual Fascism. That is really not an exaggeration. I do not want to look over from Britain and see the US go the way that Germany did in the 1930s and that Russia has gone under Putin.

I hope that this post doesn't become really difficult to look back on next year.

I'll probably think of new things to say later but... well, I'm just putting this down now.

[dragons-bones]

can we please do Kissinger next

[marvinetta]

I've been busy, in case anyone missed me. I cut back drastically on all my online time due to health reasons. I'm doing better now, thankfully. Between hurricane and election seasons, I probably still won't be on much. All election years matter, but this one especially matters.

I've been an avid voter and deeply involved in politics since college, when I worked for lobbyists as an intern. And I worked for a "good" one. It is a deeply upsetting business. I know first hand.

So please. Get out and vote. Don't let people convince you not to. Races in local elections come down to just dozens of votes between candidates and it's the difference between libraries being shuttered or staying open. Schools getting repairs and having running water, or children learning in buildings that should be torn down. It's the Supreme Court getting two justices during the next presidency. The Federal judges deciding the "Chevron" cases now that Chevron was overturned? Those judges will be appointed by who you vote in.

Every level of our political system is up for grabs. And they wouldn't be telling you to stay home and sit it out if they didn't have an agenda. I have an agenda by telling you to vote. I want to see record turnout. I want to see record numbers of people voting this year. I want to hear the word unprecedented in regards to the number of people turning out to vote. Just once let it be used in a good way.

France and England just pushed back the far-right. Maybe not as far as we all would have liked. And now we in the US have a chance to do the same. Make a plan to vote. Carpool and take multiple people to your polling station, or find a carpool service for yourself if you need it. Make plans to go out and meet up with people afterwards to decompress.

Just please vote. Make plans to babysit someone's kids so they can vote. Drive someone so they can vote. So many people can't vote.

Vote for the people who had their vote taken away.

The felons who are watching a felon run for president.

The unhoused who can have their votes challenged purely because they don't have a permanent residence.

The 3.5 million people living in U.S territories that can't vote at all.

I survived Reagan. I survived Bush. I threw a party the day Kissinger died. I'm going to continue to celebrate, and I hope you all give me reasons to celebrate.

[whereareroo]

LOOKING AHEAD



WF THOUGHTS (3/18/23).

I’ve been reluctant to start writing about the 2024 presidential election. It’s so far away. I know that many of you aren’t ready to hear about it.

I can’t hold my tongue any longer. This past week, some comments by two presidential contenders have put me over the edge. I can’t sit back and say nothing.

The comments were about the war in Ukraine. Before you hear what I have to say, let’s quickly revisit the Ukraine situation.

Ukraine is a young democracy. A year ago, she was just minding her own business. Out of the blue, she was invaded by Russia. Putin is a deranged authoritarian, and he’s still angry that the old Soviet Union fell apart in 1991. Ukraine had been one of Russia’s prize possessions. Putin is fixated on reassembling the old Soviet territories. Because it’s right next door, his first move was to invade Ukraine. Putin planned to topple the Ukrainian government and merge Ukraine into Russia. Many “experts” thought that Putin would achieve his objective in about a week. Nobody thought that little Ukraine could stand up to mighty Russia.

Well, Ukraine has surprised the world. She’s still standing! She hasn’t bowed to Russia. The Russian gains have been minimal. For months now, the war has been a stalemate. The people of Ukraine have shown tremendous bravery and resilience. They’re 100% behind their government’s effort to defeat Russia. They’re fighting for their freedom. They’ve been an inspiration to the world.

America and other democracies, particularly the members of NATO, have supported Ukraine. Because Ukraine is not a member of NATO, the supporting countries have not sent military personnel into the region. Instead, they have provided massive quantities of military equipment and humanitarian aid. Ukraine would not have survived the past year without this assistance. At the same time, it is important to remember that all of the actual fighting has been done by the Ukrainian military.

America is supporting Ukraine for two obvious reasons:

1. We want to help Ukraine and the people of Ukraine. It’s the right thing to do.

2. Defeating Russia advances the national security interests of America. If Putin wins in Ukraine, he will not be satisfied. He will invade other countries. Soon thereafter, we’d be in the middle of World War III. As always, America would be forced to play a leading role in that War. It’s highly likely that WW III will be the first nuclear war. From America’s point of view, it’s best to defeat Putin now before the fight spreads to a larger area and becomes more dangerous. In the long run, America will increase her own safety and minimize international entanglements if Putin is defeated in Ukraine. Defeating Putin will also broadcast to China that we will not tolerate any aggression in that region. Do you see the point here? Even though we’re helping Ukraine, we’ve really joined the fight to help ourselves. A world free from aggression is a better world for America.

Please understand that this isn’t complicated stuff. Anybody with a brain can understand the situation. You don’t have to be Henry Kissinger. Our U.S. Senator from South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, isn’t the brightest bulb in Washington. Even he gets it. He recently summarized the situation with a tweet: “When it comes to Putin, you either pay now or pay later.”

Please also understand that there is no “middle ground” here. Either you stand with Ukraine, or you stand with Russia. Those are the only two choices. Adopting a position of “neutrality” is simply an indirect way of supporting Putin. Putin wants everyone to be “neutral” so he can steamroll Ukraine and press ahead into other countries.

Even though all of the above is extremely straightforward, there are two idiots who don’t get it. Both of them are serious 2024 presidential contenders on the Republican side. Their views about Ukraine should disqualify them from holding any public office.

A few days ago, Ron DeSantis said that the situation in Ukraine is merely a “territorial dispute” that has nothing to do with America’s national interests. He thinks we should keep out of the “entanglement.” In other words, he supports the position that is being pushed by Putin. Whose side is DeSantis on?

Not to be outdone in the stupid and crazy department, Trump responded to the pro-Putin comments from DeSantis. First, Trump complained that DeSantis had “stolen” Trump’s own policy position regarding Ukraine. Of course, Trump couldn’t just stop there. He went on to say that if he was still in the White House he could have stopped Putin’s invasion by allowing Russia to “take over” parts of Ukraine. After all, Trump noted, certain areas in Ukraine are “Russian-speaking areas.” Trump says he could have “made a deal” to let Russia “take over something.” Clearly, Trump doesn’t stand with Ukraine. He continues to idolize Putin and he continues to stand with Putin.

It’s horrifying that the top two Republican presidential contenders are on the wrong side of this extremely important issue. Here’s what they’re effectively saying to Putin: “Keep this war going and help us get elected in 2024. If we win, we’ll pull away from Ukraine and you can have your way.” They’re also effectively telling China that it will be able to be aggressive if they win in 2024. If you’re not horrified that these two clowns are sitting at the top of the Republican Party, you better sit down and have a good talk with yourself. They are a danger to the free world. For more than 100 years, regardless of the political party of the president, American foreign policy has been built around protecting freedom and democracy all over the world.

Even dullards like Lindsey Graham understand that our only choice, as a matter of morality and to protect our national interests, is to firmly stand with Ukraine. Here are some of his tweets regarding the pro-Putin comments from DeSantis and Trump:

+ “To those who believe that Russia’s unprovoked and barbaric invasion of Ukraine is not a priority for the United States—you are missing a lot.”

+ “Putin is openly saying that his long term goal is to recreate the old Russian Empire and he has no intention of stopping in Ukraine.”

+ “The last time someone in Europe claimed the land of others, and tried to take it by force of arms, was Adolf Hitler’s attempt to build the Third Reich. Those who miscalculated Hitler’s intentions paved the way for a wider war and missed many opportunities to stop him early on.”

+ “When an American leader tells an adversary what they will NOT do in a conflict, it sends a signal of weakness and generally prolongs the conflict making it more likely to spread.”

+ “The commission of war crimes by Russia’s military on an industrial scale- -if forgiven and forgotten- -destroys world order.

+ “If you do not understand that success by Putin in Ukraine invites aggression by China again Taiwan, then you have seriously miscalculated one of the most obvious nexuses in the world.”

+ “If Putin loses in Ukraine, then the world resets in all the right ways. If he wins in Ukraine . . . more conflict is coming.”

Please remember that all of those quotes are from Lindsey Graham. They’re not from some liberal Democrat. They’re from a very, very conservative Republican. If Lindsey Graham understands the situation, everybody should understand the situation. If you don’t stand with Ukraine, you’re standing with Russia and you’re damaging the national security of America.

Let me close by addressing my Republican friends. Please don’t support Trump or DeSantis. They stand with Russia. You have other choices. After the idiotic comments from DeSantis and Trump, Nikki Haley said that winning in Ukraine is important for American security, and that: “America is far better off with a Ukraine victory than a Russian victory, including avoiding a wider war.” Similarly, Mike Pence said that “if we falter in our commitment to providing the support to help the people of Ukraine to defend their freedom, our sons and daughters may soon be called upon to defend ours. If we surrender to the siren call of those in this country who argue that America has no interest in freedom’s cause, history teaches we may soon send our own into harms way.”

It’s shocking to see that two top Republican presidential contenders are openly supporting Putin and Russia. Let’s hope that they’re immediately and permanently rejected by all Republicans. The 2024 presidential election will be difficult enough. Let’s make sure we eliminate any candidate who stands with Russia. Let’s have a robust campaign between two candidates who support freedom and democracy. The future of the world may depend upon the willingness of Republicans to reject DeSantis and Trump. Let’s hope for a wise decision. Both men have proven that they don’t belong in the White House.

[pipelinelaserraygun]

MUST 👁️👁️ SEE‼️A total of four short 📽️ clips, two of which serve as intros. NOT long before the assassination of JFK, he donated money.

An essential miniseries, Oliver Stone chronicled that particular Kennedy Family act of charity, and the STARTLING chain of events that followed, as a result‼️

Soledad and I are fulfilling the NEXT chapter of a sacred vow, to help those in need.

Here later today we'll be sharing a video, documenting our monthly benevolence outreach. ⬆️📖🍞

Please lend us a hand 🤜🏼🤛🏼.

Placing scripture INTO the hands of those less fortunate helps reshape a better world.

Use your provisions wisely❣️

🏆 Give of yourself: DON'T hold back❣️

How MANY chances do you get, to make things right??

Help remake 🌎 the world in ✝️🛐 HIS image.

Contribute to reconstruction, NOT destruction.

[springgirlwaiting4fall]

Wardlow Kinky Smut

Original Charter and Story Idea by: @cuzimacomedian

Warning: 18 years and Over Only Please

Michale Wardlow was fucking pissed, today had to be one of the worst days he had in a while. That’s why her was at this shit bar drinking overpriced tequila that he was pretty sure was expired. “Fuck it,” he thought as he downed another shot. He was here for two reason. The obvious one was to get drunk. The second was Donna.

Donna was his fuck buddy, and hopefully more if he would stop being such a bitch. She was curvy and thick; just the way he liked it. He didn’t need a size double zero breaking in half under him. Donna was different too. Her hair was dark with purple ends and her makeup was heavy. She dressed in almost all black, ripped jeans, and obscure band shirts. Always pretending she was a stupid bimbo, but that wasn’t who she really was. Donna was smart and passionate about the things she cared about. Plus she rode his dark hard and liked doing things he previously thought was only done in porn. Yes he was obsessed with her. That’s why he knew she was going to walk in that door any minute for an after work shift. He flagged down the bartender ignoring her flirty eyes and asked for 2 shots. By the time they were dropped in front of him Donna was sitting next to him. Before saying hi she takes both shots. They used to spend hours at this bar pretending they weren’t going to go to each other places and rip each other clothes off. Now no words were needed. He throws down a 50 and walks Donna to a cab to get driven back to his place.

She lays out on his king size bed. “How do you want to play tonight,” she bats her eyelashes and makes her voice sound innocent.

Michale grabs her hair and pulls her up before roughly Kissinger her, that is his answer. Donna knows exactly what he wants. She gets on her knees and pushes his pants and underwear down.

She takes his semi hard on and puts the whole thing in her mouth. Donna puts her hands behind her back. She can feel him growing as she works him. As he grows he starts to fuck her face. Her eyes tear up and he his thrust get even harder as her mascara runs down her face. Donna thinks she might have to pull away, but he takes his cock out of her mouth. He smacks her across the face with it before grunting. “Get up. And. Get naked.” Donna does what he says as Wardlow kicks his pants, underwear, socks, and shoes off and than list his shirt over his head. “Play with your pussy.”

She sits on the edge of his bed and spreads her legs. Her one hand pinched and teases her nipples, the other plays with her clit. Michale jerks himself off at the sight. “Who do you belong too?”

For a second Donna thinks she won’t reply, but than she sees the need in his eyes. “You.” He gives her a hard look that makes her gush and ruin his bed cover. “You Sir. I’m your filthy little whore.”

“That’s right. Your my whore and whores like you deserved to be fucked hard.” He watches as Donna starts to fuck her own hand. “I said play with that cunt not fuck it. Get on your hands and knees now.” He climbs behind her, one hand rubs her ass. “Count out loud.” His hand leaves and than comes back spanking Donna.

“One.” He smacks her again. “Two.” He goes back and fourth between each cheek. “Three…Four…Five.” Smack Smack Smack SMACK. “Six…Seven…Eight…Nine…Ten.” Handprints cover her ass. Donna feels herself being flipped over, she watches as Michale spits in her pussy before filling her up. He doesn’t ease in. His thrust are hard and powerful. Her legs wrap around his hips and fingers claw into his shoulders. Wardlows one hand grips her into her waist the other wraps around Donnas neck. He plays with the grip sometimes she doesn’t feel his hand other times she gasping for air in between moans.

“You better fucking cum or your not getting anything.” He thrust into her two more times before his back arches and he cums.

Donna can feel his his hot load and moans when it leaks and runs down into her asshole. That’s when her body starts to shake uncontrollably and she has to squeeze Michael as close to her as possible when she cums.

Wardlow rolls off of Donna and catches his breath before leaving the bedroom. He comes back in with a glass of a water and a wet washcloth.

“Drink Honey.” His voice is deep but holds tenderness. As Donna drinks Michale takes the washcloth. He gently wipes her face and than

In-between her legs. He takes the glass and puts it down on his night stand throws the washcloth on the floor.

He lays back in bed and grabs Donna from behind spooning her. Before they both fall asleep he whispers “thank you” into her ear.

[gaysails]

@ mother death do henry kissinger next please please please hello

[everythingloureed]

Humphreys was raised in Bridgeton, NJ, and San Antonio, TX. It was said that the family were of part Mexican Native descent. An apparent trans child who played with dolls, and wore girls’ clothes, Humphreys wanted to do people’s hair. As Rachel she graduated in hair-dressing at a cosmetology school in Bayonne, NJ, (north of Staten Island, across the river from Manhattan).

She was a regular at Max's Kansas City, the hip and glam rock nightclub on Park Avenue South. She also frequented the 82 Club on E 4th St which was in transition from a transvestite performance club to a glam rock and then punk club.  The New York Dolls did their first show there on April 17, 1974, when they performed in drag, except for Johnny Thunders who refused. They were followed by Wayne County (not yet using the name Jayne) and short-lived glitter bands like Teenage Lust and Harlots of 42nd Street.

It was there at this time that Rachel met Lou Reed, the musician. Lou described Rachel in an interview with Bambi magazine:

"It was in a late night club in Greenwich Village. I’d been up for days as usual and everything was at that super-real, glowing stage. I walked in there and there was this amazing person, this incredible head, kind of vibrating out of it all. Rachel was wearing this amazing make-up and dress and was obviously in a different world to anyone else in the place. Eventually I spoke and she came home with me. I rapped for hours and hours, while Rachel just sat there looking at me saying nothing. At the time I was living with a girl, a crazy blonde lady and I kind of wanted us all three to live together but somehow it was too heavy for her. Rachel just stayed on and the girl moved out. Rachel was completely disinterested in who I was and what I did. Nothing could impress her. He’d hardly heard my music and didn’t like it all that much when he did. Rachel knows how to do it for me. No one else ever did before. Rachel’s something else.”

She moved in with him right away. He was then living in a modest one-bedroom apartment at 405 East 63rd Street. Lou had already written a few songs about trans women, and with the single, “Walk on the Wild Side” (which referred to the Andy Warhol-sponsored trans stars, Candy Darling, Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis) had his biggest hit. Rachel was at this time oscillating. Some days she was Ricky, and others he was Rachel. People who knew Lou and Rachel used either pronoun. One journalist referred to Lou’s ‘boyfriend named Rachel’. Both Lou and Rachel enjoyed the confusion and further muddied the water by wearing each other’s clothes. She was street-wise and spunky in a way that Lou only pretended to be. She was said to always carry a knife, and was good in a fight – which proved useful when a concert at the Pallazzo dello Sport in Rome turned into a riot 15 February 1975.

Lou had been working on his fourth solo album, Sally Can’t Dance – the title track and spin-off single assumed to refer to trans woman, Sally Maggio, who was manager at the 220 Club, another trans bar where Lou went drinking. Sally would in the 1980s open Sally’s Hideaway, and then Sally’s II, again a bar for trans persons and with trans performers. However it was Rachel whose image was on the obverse of the Sally Can’t Dance LP sleeve, drawn as if reflected in Lou’s shades.

She supported him on some of his tours. In New York, they lived for a while in the Gramercy Park Hotel, and then an upscale apartment on East 52nd St at FDR Drive where Henry Kissinger, Greta Garbo and John Lennon had lived. In 1975 they began to frequent the rather grimey but seminal punk club, CBGBs. Lou was recording Coney Island Baby, released January 1976 and several tracks refer to Rachel. At the end of the follow-up tour, Rachel was mugged and assaulted. A doctor was called, who inevitably referred to Rachel as ‘she’, even though Lou was saying ‘he’. As Aidan Levy says:

“Rachel had been contemplating gender reassignment surgery, but the transgender rights movement had not yet solidified, and not fully understanding the nature of the decision, Lou was adamantly opposed to any operations, a growing source of conflict in their relationship”.

Despite this, a friend commented: ““I think that Rachel was the glue holding Lou together, or at least keeping him in the public view in many respects … I know that he doted on her. If there was a light shining, it was the two of them together. It doesn’t mean it was the healthiest relationship in the world.” The cover of Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed, 1977 is of photographs of the two of them.

Rachel acted as road-manager on the next tour, managed the money, and watched over the road-crew. They were in London for their third anniversary and ordered a three-tier cake to celebrate, and Lou gave her two diamond rings. He said:

"Rachel knows how to do it for me, no one else before ever did”.

However by the end of 1977, Lou and Rachel were fighting more and more, and frequently it was about the issue of transgender surgery. She had a date for surgery but backed off as Lou said:

“Well why are you doing that? I love you because of the way you are”.

The title track of Street Hassle, 1978, is about her, and an article in Rolling Stone referred to Rachel as the raison d’etre of the album, although in fact it marked the end of their relationship. Lou moved on, having met Sylvia Morales, who became his third wife in 1980.

Reed completely refused to talk about Rachel after 1978. He desisted and decided to go straight. Both his later marriages were with cis women.

Rachel died in 1990 age 37 at St Clare’s Hospital, which specialized in treating AIDS patients, and she was interred in the gigantic pauper burial site on Hart Island off the Bronx coast (which contains over a million corpses).

Lou died in 2013, aged 71, from liver failure.

LegsMcNeil & Gillian McCain. Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. Penguin books, 1997: 154-5, 206.

Marc Campbell.  "Rachel: Lou Reed’s transsexual muse".  Dangerous Minds, 02.06.2013.  Online.

Howard Sounes. Notes from the Velvet Underground: The Life of Lou Reed. Doubleday, 2015: 182-4, 187, 189, 191, 192, 194, 195, 202, 203, 205, 208, 212, 213, 214, 215-6, 221-2, 226, 229, 235, 248, 269.

Simon Reynolds. Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century. William Morrow Publishers, 2016: 271-2.

Aidan Levy. Dirty Blvd.: The Life and Music of Lou Reed. Chicago Review Press, 2016: 221-2, 227, 233, 244, 251-3, 264, 285.

Corey Kilgannon.  "Dead of AIDS and Forgotten in Potter's Field:  In an untold chapter of the AIDS epidemic, scores of unclaimed bodies were buried in a remote spot on Hart Island.  How many exactly remains unclear".  New York Times, July 3, 2018.  Online.  

[antivanruffles]

Dear Universe, please do Kissinger next!

[the-nights-parade]

Ocean Park | Hong Kong's Largest Theme Park

Ocean Park is Hong Kong's largest theme park. In fact, it is Hong Kong's only theme park. With its 35 attractions and rides, the park has won several awards, including "The World's Seventh Most Popular Amusement Park" and "33rd Most Visited Tourist Attraction in the World". These are not statistics that I would necessarily brag about, but maybe that's just me.

Ocean Park is a 10 minute taxi ride away from our home, and Sadie has been at least a dozen times with her friends. In fact, her school did a trip there earlier this year and attempted to sell it to the parents as a physics lesson. Right.

I am reasonably informed that watching a teacher get spun around until they puke is the height of entertainment for a teenager. Anyway, I had never been before. I'm not sure why this is, but I guess that it is partly to do with David's lack of interest. I guess I can understand that. Any roller coaster becomes Space Mountain when you are blind, and although I love Space Mountain, I'm not sure that I'd want to spend the whole day riding on it. David is in the UK though, and I thought it might be a fun thing for Sadie and me to do.

This is the latest in a long string of my attempts at mother/daughter bonding. I try to kid myself that Sadie and I really have a close personal connection, that she loves and respects me as much as I do her, and that she actually enjoys my company when in reality what I perceive as bonding is probably just Sadie playing along to get something she wants. Regardless, if that's all I can get, I'll take it.

So, off we went to Ocean Park. I had to queue up for the ticket as Sadie already had a season pass that paid for itself if the first month. The price was comparable to other them parks - about £20 for the day. Now it is time for me to fess up about the real reason I wanted to go to Ocean Park. It has two different sections, one of which has animals, an aquarium and kiddie rides and the other which has thrill rides. The animal section has PANDAS! For a long time, seeing pandas has been on my list of 100 things to do before I die* and I was finally getting to do it!

I am marginally embarrassed by my passion for pandas. I have seen Kung Fu Panda three times and that is really not something of which to be proud. I am completely suckered in by their furry, fat cuddliness and those big black circles around their sad eyes. To be fair, I was also completely suckered in by Pete, the dog from the Little Rascals too. Something about a black circle around an eye. I like to think of myself as mature, urbane, sophisticated, cool and more than a little cynical. Loving cuddly panda bears blows that image. It's like Henry Kissinger saying he loves "My Little Pony". I guess I am out of the closet now.

Anyway, back to Ocean Park. I decided to prolong the expectation for as long as possible, so we visited the aquarium first. It is a pretty good aquarium as these things go - maybe even in the top 50 aquariums in the world.

I couldn't really contain my excitement much longer though. I had to see the bears. I spotted the Panda House from several hundred metres away. I knew it was the panda house because there were 10 metre tall plastic pandas waving to us from the roof. For one brief moment, I actually thought that they were real and waving just at me. We walked up the ramps and into the house. There are three panda enclosures, each with its own panda. They are solitary creatures and don't like to mix much. Thank goodness. The sight of two pandas cuddling or playing might just might be more cuteness than an ordinary human could bear (ha ha - I swear that wasn't on purpose).

There are two parallel ramps in front of the enclosures, and you are encouraged to stroll down one and up the other, giving everyone a good chance to have a look. Good manners went out the window as soon as I walked in the door. I stopped, creating a domino effect of panda watchers behind me. I couldn't move. I was spell bound. There in front of me was a giant panda sound asleep on a wooden platform. He was on his back, mouth open and with all four paws up in the air. I couldn't hear it, but I am absolutely sure he was snoring.

It is not terribly mature or sophisticated to jump up and down and shriek "OOOOH! LOOK AT THAT PANDA! HE IS SOOOOOO CUTE!", but that is what I did. Sadie,even more than usual, pretended that she didn't know me. Finally, someone behind me gave me a good push and forced me to carry on.

The second and third enclosures were empty, so I hurried down to see snoring panda again. Then, just as I was about to go past window number two, out came a beautiful female panda bear. I know it is unspeakably rude, and I am really not proud of it, but I simply would not budge from that spot.

Parents tried to push their eager children in front of me, but I wasn't having it. I figured that I had less time to do the 100 things to do before I die than they did. I took photos and watched her amble around for a good 10 minutes. I probably did more to damage Chinese/Western relations at that point than Tienanmen Square, but my wish was fulfilled. I have seen pandas. I am also the very, very proud owner of a cute, overpriced panda cuddly toy that we have named Bing Bing.

Back out into the sunlight, no other event that Ocean Park could offer could possibly live up to the panda experience. I have to tell you though, that in the dozen or so time Sadie had visited, she had never before seen the bears. She comes for the rides. So, off we went to the other part of the park.

This can be accessed in one of two ways. There is a cable car that offers magnificent views over the southern part of Hong Kong or there is a train. The trip up is unbelievably steep. There are stairs, but it would probably take me the better part of my life to get up them. I don't think that they are even open for public use. We took the cable car, and it was lovely, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it for anyone with height issues.

Once at the top, Sadie said she needed food. There were a number of food options, most of which involved some form of squid. There is something not quite right about eating something that was one of the attractions we had just visited. I am just trying to imagine how this menu would go down at Alton Towers or at Six Flags.

Thankfully, there were other options than munching on Squidward and Sadie was very happy with her french fries and diet coke. This is the ultimate food oxymoron.

During her feast, Sadie had been eyeing the temporary tattoo parlour. "No", I said, "Don't even ask". Of course, a few minutes later we were sat on the chair inside the booth whilst Sadie got her Panda tattoo. Giving in against your better judgement is a big part of the bonding process.

As foreigners, we are used to being stared at sometimes despite the fact that Hong Kong is one of the most cosmopolitan and ethnically diverse cities in the world. Just recently, I was accosted on the MTR by about 20 teenagers demanding to have their picture taken with a foreigner. Of course, I obliged with my goofiest grin.

Sadie actually attracted an audience whilst her tattoo was painted on. There was a crowd of people gathered round, pushing each other out of the way to get a view. When the tattoo lady was finished, Sadie stood up and the crowd actually applauded!

We then moved onto the arcade. This time I was really going to hold firm, and I set about telling Sadie how all the games are rigged and that it is virtually impossible to win a big prize. Then I saw the shooting gallery. OK, it was a Nerf shooting gallery where you shot plastic pegs with suction cups onto a plastic target, but it was still a shooting gallery. My resolve crumbled and I became the world's biggest hypocrite.

When I was about Sadie's age, I went to a summer camp. It was altogether a miserable experience, except for one thing. I discovered that I was really good with a 22 rifle. I've been hooked ever since. I would NEVER shoot at a living thing (I won't even let Sadie go to BB Gun parties when EVERYONE else gets to go), but boy do I love shooting at a target. I bought 10 rounds and sidled up to the bar counter. Everyone around me was doing rapid firing, but I took my time to line up that bullseye in my site. I felt like Clint Eastwood, Annie Oakley and John Wayne all wrapped up into one. Slowly, I pulled the trigger. Bullseye! I took my time with the rest and managed 5 bulls eyes and 5 in the next circle out. God, I'm good.

On to the rest of the park. It was time to do some rides. We headed off to the log flume. On our way, we saw large groups of mainland Chinese wandering around in packs. Some of them had on matching hats. Others had perky little matching bandannas. All of them had little tags around their necks which I can only presume said "If found, please return to Hunan Provence". Hong Kong tourism is big business in mainland China, and the groups are typically made up of older couples. It's sort of like visiting the Florida of the east.

These groups, with their bad teeth, worse clothes and what I can only imagine is the Chinese version of a hillbilly accent, are treated with complete and utter disdain by the local Hong Kong community.  I rather like them. I can only imagine what they must have seen in their lifetimes, yet they retain a certain child-like innocence in the pleasure they take in places like Ocean Park. Then we got to the queue for the log flume.

All innocence was gone as these old folks pushed and shoved like they were in the queue for the last kilo of rice at the state rice store. I'm not kidding, they were vicious. They cut in front of as many people as they could, tread on toes and elbowed their way to the front. Then once on the ride, they looked miserable when they got soaked to the skin. What were they expecting?  We got soaked to the skin too, but it was fun.

Then I had a really strange experience (as if being jostled by old Chinese people wasn't strange enough). We were in the queue for another ride (Raging Rapids, if you must know), and I spotted someone I knew in the queue. I knew I knew him, but for the life of me I couldn't thing of how. His was not a face I would forget as he looked like a youngish Paul Newman. I stared for about 10 minutes before he looked up and nodded at me and smiled before he turned away to talk to his very young Thai wife/girlfriend. It finally came to me.

It was a close friend of one of my exes whom I like to call Lucifer (No Grizz and Billy, that is not a nickname I have for either of you). It was driving me crazy because I couldn't remember his name. I remembered that he had been born with a really bad name (Malcolm Pratt), but he changed it by deed pole as soon as he was old enough. Who could blame him? So, although I could remember the old name that he changed before I even met him, I simply could not recall his new name. Then it came to me. Pat. His new name was Pat. Just to test out this theory, I yelled out "Pat" to see what would happen. What happened is that Sadie nearly died of embarrassment and the bloke didn't even turn around. I'm certain it was him though. I had heard to had moved to Asia a few years ago for the women to teach.

After a couple hours of different rides, it was time to head back down. This time we opted for the train. We were waiting for the train in a sort of holding pen with a bunch of mainlanders. Several of the women were staring at me and giggling. I smiled at one lady and she came over to me and poked me in the chest several times. Then, she gave two big thumbs up. All the other ladies then started smiling, nodding and pointing at my boobs like they had just won an academy award. I swear to you this really happened.

[lushscreamqueen]

Wes Craven’s CHILLER on the Schlocky Horror Picture Show

July 27, 2008

OPENING: Hello, good evening, and welcome to the Schlocky Horror Picture Show. I'm your host, Nigel Honeybone. "Welcome To The Wooorld Of Tomorrow!" as corporate executive Miles Creighton is cryogenically frozen for ten years until a suitable liver transplant is found and revive him. Unfortunately, his priest informs him his mind and body have been reanimated, but his soul...well his soul is gone...forever! Isn't a "get well soon" card more traditional? Watch, if you dare, as cult horror director Wes Craven attempts to break into the glamourous Made-For-TV movie market with a 1985 chiller called...Chiller! Talk about generic labeling... BREAK: Coming up we have more unfeeling monsters without souls, then after the ads we can get back to Wes Craven's Chiller...brrrrrr! MIDDLE: Welcome back to the Schlocky Horror Picture Show. What do I think is the best part of Wes Craven's Chiller? I like the introduction title sequence, maybe because it was inspired by the 1982 John Carpenter film The Thing, and almost as much inspired by the blood test they used in the 1998 film The Faculty. Did I say inspired? I meant to say ripped-off. Through no fault of actor Michael Beck, Miles is just a generic unfeeling monster. It doesn't work well for a TV movie because it's too restrained. He doesn't really kill anyone. His worst crime involves forcing an old man to walk up a long flight of stairs and suffer a heart attack. The fiend! Oh, has that happened in the film yet? I wouldn't want to give away any important plot points, of course. Just pretend I didn't say that...I know, I'll talk about the actors instead. Beck is probably best known for playing gang-leader Swan in the excellent 1979 cult action film The Warriors, probably the high point of his movie career. Low points in his career include playing Sonny Malone in the 1980 musical roller-flop Xanadu, and Lieutenant-Commander Dallas in the 1982 action roller-flop Megaforce, which was so bad...(how bad was it?)...it was so bad he received a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actor. He couldn't even win that. But more recently he can be spotted in television shows like JAG, Robin's Hoods, as the Mars-born terrorist-turned cyborg assassin Abel Horn in the Babylon 5 episode A Spider In The Web, and in Walker Texas Ranger, because you don't say no to Chuck Norris. So not promising so far, but then we have Jill Schoelen's sweet face to look at, so even if your intelligence is insulted your eyes won't be. Jill is much loved not so much for her movies but for her looks. In one Psycho-inspired scene, Miles is seen Peeping-Tomming...is that a word? Anyway, he takes a shufty at Stacy through a hole he drilled while she undresses. I can't fault the man for that, really. I'd probably be drilling a hole of my own, if you know what I mean, and I think you do. Jill can be seen in other schlocky efforts like DC Cab, The Stepfather, The Curse II: The Bite, Cutting Class, The Phantom of the Opera, Popcorn, and the 1993 sequel to When A Stranger Calls, and the cunningly titled When a Stranger Calls Back. Her roles in more than half-a-dozen low-budget horror films has earned her a minor cult following and raising her to the status of scream queen. Speaking of queens, Jill Schoelen also dated Brad Pitt for a while. They were engaged for about three months, but then she broke off the engagement for The Phantom of the Opera. I guess the best man won. It would be terribly amiss of me not to mention respected character actor Paul Sorvino as Reverend Penny, whose impressive career includes the 1970 cult film Where's Poppa?, Day Of The Dolphin, Oh God!, Cruising, The Stuff, Goodfellas, The Rocketeer, and was frighteningly convincing as Henry Kissinger in Oliver Stone's Nixon. Sorvino also became a favourite of Warren Beatty's, and can be seen alongside Woggles in Reds, Dick Tracy, Bulworth and far too many others. He also fathered, possibly with Warren Beatty, Oscar winner Mira Sorvino. In Chiller, director Wes Craven uses a sledgehammer to make the connection between Miles being emotionally cold

with being physically cold as well. For some reason Wes thinks being cold and dead make you a heartless bastard, but that's just retarded. The metaphor is threadbare as it is, and he drives it into our heads as if nobody would be able to pick up on it on their own. Give us a little credit! Over the last three decades Craven has become an efficient, dependable film-maker who is obviously comfortable behind the camera, but there's no flair, no style, and very little imagination when it comes to horror. Freddy Krueger is really his only memorable contribution to the genre...everyone's entitled to one good day. Speaking of which, although Wes would never admit it, he and Friday The Thirteenth producer Sean Cunningham had worked together on the 1973 soft porn vampire comedy The Case Of The Smiling Stiffs, also known as The Case Of The Full Moon Murders, which means Freddy Versus Jason in 2003 was a thirty-year celebration of sorts for the two film makers. Try to find The Case Of The Smiling Stiffs if you can, I guarantee you'll find it more entertaining than most of their other efforts! But you can do that tomorrow. In the meantime I urge you to remain for the From-The-Freezer-To-The-Oven-To-The-Table excitement that is...Wes Craven's...Chiller! CLOSING: What the hell was that all about? At first Miles seems to be just your average sociopath who has no regard for anyone but himself. Then for the finale, his eyes suddenly become demonic and he's got super strength, lifting cops off the ground with one arm, and all that. My guess is that Wes Craven thought Miles just wasn't evil enough and made a last-minute decision to make him seem 'otherworldly' for the ending. It's these kind of efforts that makes "Made For Television" such a bad reputation. Both acting and direction are rather pedestrian, at best. Cold, you might say. Anyway, please join me next week when I have another opportunity to make your stomach turn and your flesh crawl with another lusting, slashing, ripping flesh-hungry, blood-mad massacre from the back side of the Public Domain on...The Schlocky Horror Picture Show. Toodles!

by Lushscreamqueen

[agentfascinateur]

I'm horrified by reports of desperate Afghans falling off the wheels of airplanes in flight. Or of civilians shot by friendly fire trying to escape certain death. I find it sadly ironic Guantanamo ex-cons brandish that past as they seat themselves on power. It's a dark validation of sorts. Some US expert on the ground says something fundamental was missed, despite all the resources and intelligence. Therein lies the central problem. Too much is relying on abstract concepts and toys that are shoved down budgets that deprive people at home. There's no amount of composting decades of wrong on top of wrong that will make a right. That tree would have reached heaven by now had it been planted right. Intergenerational memory doesn't just go away either. Yeah, there was a huge communication failure, but common decency on the other hand, is always the same. You can't be both nurturer/saviour and oppressor/invader. The Taliban will learn that next, and some brave Afghan women are standing their ground. God protect them, as they might be the heros of the day. The US leadership, I believe, was never given the whole picture. The first one I would condemn is that repugnant excuse for a man, Henry Kissinger. Secondly, defending the indefensible has corrupted the US's mission. Everyone knows how I feel about Israelis. But the Global Plan is also to blame. The US inherited the burden of colonizing which no superpower can seem to resist. A basic truth is that people everywhere never want to be colonized whether by force or carrot and stick. It's a bygone concept. Cooperation is key. To put it in a really reductive way, you get more bees with honey. If we look at the current state of many countries, from Haiti to Lebanon to Greece to Turkey et al, how many are in pristine condition? How many need reconstructing? At some point, nations will have to reach across, pool their resources, intelligently plan for more climatic upheavals and weather the storms ahead. This is not a time to recoil into overarching identity politics or individualistic grievances. I'm sorry, but no one can claim a divine aka religious imperative while destroying their brother or neighbour. It has nothing to do with God, and all to do with people's inability to compromise and inability to trust God to be the ultimate judge. These are usurpers of divine law. Just please people, use common sense. Don't self-destruct.

[keywestlou]

EIFFEL TOWER TO STATUE OF LIBERTY TO ONE FOOT OF SNOW IN NEW YORK CITY TOMORROW

The name Eiffel triggers immediately the Eiffel Tower. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was the civil engineer who built the Eiffel Tower.

Less known, probably because of the naming difference, is that Eiffel also built the Statue of Liberty.

An unusual big day for New York City tomorrow. A northeaster coming in. One foot of snow expected. Two days of chaos will follow till things are somewhat back to normal.

I went to college in New York City. There were a few major snowstorms 1953-1957.

Snow is snow. Beautiful. However a pain in the ass to get rid of. I always found it interesting how and where New York City disposed of the snow removed from its streets.

The snow was shoveled, bulldozed, etc. into huge dump trucks. The dump trucks then proceed to the nearest sewer. The cover was taken off. The snow dumped next to it. And a crew would shovel the snow into the sewer.

For some reason, the sewers never backed up. I could not understand why not.

No question. Trump’s attempts at having the election results thrown out were nothing less than an attempt at a bloodless coup. Supported by right wing media and Republican officials.

Over the weekend, Trump twitted: “I WON THE ELECTION in a landslide.” Trump later in the day said, “This is a great and disgraceful miscarriage of justice. The people of the U.S. were cheated and out country disgraced.”

It was reported yesterday that when Trump finally acknowledges Biden’s victory, it will be “I did not win.” Not, “I lost.” To utter “lost” would choke him.

Biden’s election is now official. The Electoral College voted yesterday.

Many believe Trump is going to keep they stole the election going for a very long time. Not because he is setting himself up for a rerun in 2024. Rather it is the money Trump has been accumulating since his defeat.

Trump set up some sort of a PAC to receive monies to help him fight the election result. Not one penny however is going to the cause. Trump is fooling his supporters.

Fifty percent of monies raised will go to Trump to use as he sits fit. Most importantly, for his personal use. Forty percent is going to the Republican Party.

Over $4 million has been raised so far. By poor Donald’s I need help to correct the election fraud. Mostly by people contributing $35.

Putin finally recognized Biden’s victory.  Putin sent a note to Biden yesterday congratulating him.

Note Putin is one of the last world leaders to recognize Biden’s election.

Turns out the Texas case before the Supreme Court friday was not the last election fraud case still kicking. There was one in Wisconsin where Trump’s people attempted to have 221,000 votes thrown out. Trump lost in a 4-3 decision.

That seems to be the last of the Trump election lawsuits. Sixty in all brought in roughly 30 days. Trump only won 1. What a beating!

Georgia’s January 6 Senate run-off elections began yesterday. Early in person voting.

Voters have asked for 1.2 million absentee ballots. Two hundred thousand have already been returned.

Georgia’s Secretary of State expects a huge turnout: “It looks like we’re going to have a high interest election.”

He went on to advise January 6 was it! No matter what happens or is claimed, Georgia law permits no run off to a run off.

The nation passed the 300,00 mark for coronavirus deaths over the weekend. How many could have been averted had Trump acted early on and his actions were not to deny the virus?

Local Washington, D.C. political leaders said the white supremacist Proud Boys were the  instigators in Washington’s turmoil saturday.

Barr resigned over the weekend. Resigned to avoid being fired by Trump. Trump was upset because Barr recently said there was not enough voter fraud to overthrow Biden’s victory.

Barr’s reputation has been totally totally besmirched the past 2 years by his support of Trump. Barr has no one to blame but himself. He forgot how to say no. He failed to speak truth to power.

I wonder whether Trump will appoint someone else to the position with only 6 weeks remaining till Biden takes over.

There exists on the federal level a Defense Policy Board. Supposedly an independent advisory group. My recollection is 11 members.

In November, Trump fired all of them. Including former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright.

Trump named several to the Board overt the weekend. One is Newt Gingrich.

The swamp has another member.

Florida’s Governor DeSantis continues to show how stupid he is. Strong language. Fits the man, however.

He is being described as “rogue” this morning. The claim is he already screwed up the allocation of the vaccine being received by Florida.

The State makes the rules as to allocation. However, DeSantis appears to have gone beyond the bounds of what might be the best way to go.

I have to laugh. Typical DeSantis.

Big night in Washington this evening. Secretary of State Pompeo having a Christmas Party. Nine hundred guests.

Who foots the bills for these parties? Who is paying for Pompeo’s? Got to be the tax payers. Trump would not pay money for a party out of his own packet. Pompeo does not have enough money to do so.

A definite for Pompeo’s party tonight. No face masks and social distancing.

Tuesday again! My blog talk radio show tonight at 9. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Please join me. Guaranteed you will enjoy. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

EIFFEL TOWER TO STATUE OF LIBERTY TO ONE FOOT OF SNOW IN NEW YORK CITY TOMORROW was originally published on Key West Lou