Prepare

Wednesday... and it's my retail version of Friday - off for 2 days starting tomorrow, of course then I need to work for 6 days after that, so...
Yesterday Gallup put out something in regard to the Idiot Jerk's approval ratings which states the obvious:  among Republicans, the subgroup giving him his most support is 'middle-aged and older white non-grads.'  Okay... so is anyone surprised?  Not me.  Now we know why his Twitter rants sound like those of a high-school dropout: the members of that subgroup are his 'number one fans!' The only time the opinions of subgroups come in to play is with Independent voters.  Among Independents his approval ratings sits at a solid 34%.  Shit!
I bring this up because yesterday the people of Chicago voted Lori Lightfoot into the Mayor's office.  For those who don't know, Ms Lightfoot is black... and she's lesbian.  If you listen closely, you can hear Pat Robertson spinning in his grave... wait... what do you mean he isn't dead yet?  Shit.  Well, if that's true, we need to prepare ourselves for the damnation of God.  Mark my words, the next time something bad happens, a storm, a mass shooting, or California falls into the Pacific Ocean, old Pat will spit out something like "America's being punished for Lori Lightfoot!"  Oh, and he's not going to be alone, there are quite a few white Evangelicals who are going to be farting out the same shit.  And that white uneducated subgroup who loves the Idiot Jerk in the White House?  They'll believe Pat and his fellow haters.
The truth is they are the ones who should be preparing... but they're not.
Can we get a round of applause for Lori?

As I was writing this, I wondered if the Idiot Jerk in the White House called to congratulate her, I mean she is going to be mayor of the 3rd largest city in America.  He may have, to do otherwise would make him look like a stinking racist.  Does he realize this will bring a change to 2020?  Chicago has a lot of voters.  I would not be surprised if he and his White Evangelical cronies are already preparing the hate they will need to spread.  They don't understand that this is a sign... and not the one for which they are so desperate. 

The long list

Okay, so today is Wednesday and for a change it is my hump day.  With that being said, I have to ask "just what the hell is going on with the Jussie Smollet shit storm?"  From what I can tell, the dismissal of the charges against him and the expunging of them from his record seem revolve totally around 'technicalities.'  Something like: he wasn't going to get a fair trial because of all the information the Chicago police department released to the public.  Let me think about this.  Evidence was presented to a Grand Jury.  They decided he should be indicted because of this evidence.  Now the District Attorney's office & Jussie's attorney's have put their heads together and come to the conclusion a fair trial was no longer possible so they are... wiping the slate clean.  Excuse me, but this is the same defense the Idiot Jerk in the White House is going to use once he finally gets indicted.  So, will he get his slate wiped clean?  If I were a producer, I would not hire Jussie Smollet.  This kind of shit show is going to follow him for the rest of his life, from job, to job, to job.
So, let's move from that shit show to another shit show, the one revolving around the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  You see he wanted a conservative Attorney General who was going to wipe the slate clean when Mueller released his report.  The Republican Senate wanted this, too.  This is exactly what William Barr did with the Obstruction of Justice charges.  Feeling vindicated, the crazies on the right are going to attack everything they can in order to feed their base.  They are going to try and kick the shit out of every dead horse they see.  What they totally fail to realize is in the court of public opinion, nothing has changed.  The only people who like him are... Republicans, and who are Republicans?  Older white people, Crazy Christians, and white supremacists.
One thing they totally don't get is that they are a... minority group.  There are more Democrats than Republicans, more open minded white people than narrow minded crazies.  Keep in mind, however, that minority group will attempt to disenfranchise as many sane Americans as possible.  If your skin is a little too dark... you're on their list.  If you're a single mother... you're on their list.  If you prefer a same sex relationship... you're on their list.  If you believe freedom of religion is important... you're on their list.  If you believe a woman has the right to choose... you're on their list.  Believe me, their list is long.  Do they care about human beings?  Absolutely not.  As I've said before, it's time we Americans teach them a lesson.

Lauren Bacall Rides On

A long time ago, back when I was in the Navy, I was stationed up at the Great Lakes Training Center for both my boot camp and my "A" School training, where I was trained to be a radar operator.  Since Chicago was only a thirty-five minute train ride south, it was not unusual for my friends and I to spend time there when the weather was warm enough.  I say this because I was there during the winter and Chicago does live up to its reputation as being a windy city.  Wind equates to wind chill so much of January, February, and March were spent on the base.  Except for one cold Saturday in January on which a friend and I decided, on the spur of the moment, to see what was happening downtown.  i remember the day being very sunny, but cold, very cold.

Walking down the sidewalk I could see a marquee in the distance and I asked my friend if he wanted to go see a movie, in order to get out of the cold.  He said "sure, if it's a good one."  However, the marquee was not for a movie theater.  It was for the Chicago Opera House, and there was a show playing with a Saturday matinee.  I recognized one of the names so I asked my friend if he might want to see a show instead.  He agreed, so we each paid $6.50 for our tickets.  We got good seats, first row in the first balcony, right in the center, and looking directly down on the stage.  Neither one of us had an idea as to what the show was about.  We didn't even know it was a musical.

Sitting there, in my balcony seat, I got to look down and watch the legendary Lauren Bacall.  The show happened to be a little thing called "Applause."  Needless to say, I had my socks knocked off.  Sitting here and thinking about it, I can honestly say it was one of the greatest "wow" moments in my life.  I was saddened to hear Ms. Bacall had passed away, but then, no one lives forever.  Not only do I have my memories, I still have the program.

In my book, Lauren Bacall rides on.

 

Trump l'oeil

A few weeks ago there was some sort of a 'to do' up in Chicago about Donald Trump having his last name emblazoned on one of his buildings in very large letters, no doubt to match his ego.  The people of Chicago, or at least most of them, hate the idea.  He, on the other hand, doesn't care what the people think, he wants his last name on a building and he's going to have his last name on a building.  I thought the episode rather amusing.  In truth this is really Trump l'oeil, you know, the artistic term for making something phony look real.  Oh, wait, I'm wrong, that's trompe l'oeil... well, isn't it kind of the same thing?  Just because something is solid doesn't mean it has substance.  I was at the Trump Casino in Atlantic City a number of years ago and was simply amazed by how superficial everything was, how the eye was meant to stray not focus.  It was like being on a Hollywood set where illusion fools the eye.  Putting his name on a building in Chicago is the same thing simply because there is no permanence there.  Fifty years from now that building may have been razed to make way for something even more grandiose, or it may be a park, or, most likely, a slum tenement.  Things change.

Trompe l'oeil, the real thing

At 68 years of age, Mr. Trump may have 15 to 20 years left before he shrugs off his mortal coil.  Shortly there after, if not before, what ever relevance he had will begin to fade.  Those few people who actually cared will die off as well.  This is how history builds itself, with the passing of time.  A century from now no one will care about his silly sign, or his silly ego, they will have been forgotten.  Not that there will not be digital pictures, but the people one hundred years from now will look at them with the vague, passing interest we look at those take in the early 1900's.  This is nothing more then the blink of an eye, truly a Trump l'oeil.