Booze & Women Wednesday

Remember?

I've vague recollections, but it's been a while.

A draft from 2024 we never got around to publishing.

"Fracture From Within"

This may be overstated by contrarians at the C.I.A. hoping to apper clever, but it's fun.

CIA Report Warns Israel Could Head Toward Civil War, Total Collapse

U.S. intelligence raises fears of civil unrest and state breakdown in Israel ahead of October 27 elections.

CIA experts pointed to a volatile mix of pressures converging ahead of Israel’s elections on October 27: economic crisis and soaring military spending; heavily armed veterans returning from prolonged combat, many carrying serious psychological trauma; growing fury over ultra-Orthodox men who are exempt from military service; escalating settler violence in the occupied West Bank; and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fighting to hold onto power and igniting a constitutional crisis.

The CIA’s “red teams” are tasked with developing analysis and ideas that challenge prevailing assumptions and expose groupthink or blind spots that can take hold within the intelligence apparatus. “The writers of this are Israel experts,” a source in the intelligence community noted, “this isn’t a fantastical what if—with the upcoming election and the fissures in Israel we should take seriously their conclusion that Israel is one spark away from real internal conflict.”

C'mon Iran

Los Angeles & San Diego Love You Too,
You Fat Piece Of Dog Shit

Republican/Xian Naionalist/fascist sense of humor: They're cheering, not laughing. And every damn Republican will laugh it off w/ "Oh that Trump's quite the jokester, isn't he? Lighten up", if they admit to hearing it at all.

Los Angeles Times:
Trump suggests letting Iran ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego at campaign rally  California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the president ‘deranged and dangerous.’  — The crowd in Grand Island, Neb., cheered the remarks about Los Angeles and San Diego.
Juan Cole / Informed Comment:   No, Mr. Trump, Iran can't “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego

Matthew Rozsa / Alternet.org:   Trump jokes about Iran destroying Los Angeles and San Diego

Brett Meiselas / MeidasTouch:
Trump Says to Let Iran ‘Take Out’ Los Angeles, San Diego in Nebraska Speech

Tom Wait / CBS News:   Trump suggests allowing Iran to “take out” L.A. and San Diego during campaign rally

Michael Luciano / Mediaite:   Rally-Goers Cheer as Trump Says, ‘Let Them Take Out Los Angeles’ or ‘San Diego’z

Siladitya Ray / Forbes:   Trump Draws Backlash For ‘Let Them Take Out Los Angeles’ Or ‘San Diego’ Iran War Remarks

Alyssa Ray / The Wrap:   Gavin Newsom, Jim Acosta and More Torch Trump After He Dares Iran to ‘Take Out’ Los Angeles or San Diego in Rally Speech

Paul Campos / Lawyers, Guns & Money: More thoughts from the mental acuity and youthful vigor candidate

Carter Schroppe / Washington Examiner:   Trump was ‘well aware’ of energy price risks before Iran decision, energy secretary says

And fuck the cheering Grand Island rally-goers. I'm sick of these hicks. Now can we have that war between the states?

Plus Ça Change, Plus C'est La Même

Dry heat.

Remember, this is inside the bunker. However, I have yet to perspire.

Good Deal On Reefers!

Ha ha. Not that kind of reefers, ninnies.

Must admit I've not had a bad experience w/ ebay yet.

Certainly detailed enough for my purposes, which are quantity over quality.

(Now I've screwed myself. Next time won't work out.) Not that I spend big money or buy anything that isn't 20-40 yrs. old. Note the revision date on this; 03-06.

When Athern wasn't a corporate entity in Illinois.

The price tag on one box was dated 4/5/2008.

Monday Memorial: Brother Brick

At Jeff B.'s birthday, 2 August 2009.

Phyllis Beane-Wahl, Brick, some guy I remember but not his name, a pathetic woman-hating alkie,
a Mexican apartment dog, several unknowns.

At The York, 16 January 2012.

Brick, a horrible person who abandoned me to homelessness whose name I will not print,
Phyllis Beane-Wahl, & that guy again. Must've known Brick.

All Aboard For The Future!

Socialism's Positive Rating Tops 40% for First Time

• 43% of Americans view socialism positively
• Positive views of big business down to 35%; capitalism steady at 55%
• Small business, free enterprise remain most popular economic concepts

They may be wising up, but support for such amorphous concepts as "free enterprise" & "capitalism" is a good indication of how ignorant fools are turned out every graduation by America's bullshit educational system.

And "small business" is a knife that cuts both ways. Sometimes a small business is family exploiting family, or just greedy, small-minded pigs. And sometimes they are good businesses that do help local communities & economies.

Mission Accompished!

Iran's mission, that is.

“The U.S. removed all its B-1 bombers from the U.K.’s RAF Fairford air base, a decision made due to security concerns over suspected terror plots against the facility, American officials said Sunday,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The decision represents a shift for the U.S. which has used the military base northwest of London as a hub for launching bomber strikes in Iran. Until their recent departure, a dozen B-1s had been stationed at the base.”

New York Times: U.S. rushes to withdraw bombers from U.K. air base after new threats.

All you have to say is "BOO!" & Hegseth's "warriors" run like the sissies they are.

An item from digby that links to Bloody Bill Kristol quoting Eco's "Ur-Fascism", which applies both to Whiskey Pete & our previous two items:

And it’s no accident, Eco further points out, that “All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning.”

"B-1 bombers in the ground ..."42 yrs. of increasing dread.

Sunday Message

Y'know, that Jesus Christ feller was a (((Joo))) too.

From The "No, Really?" File

Dep't. Of Derp

PseudoIntelligence-generted telebision for viewers w/ "lower scores on a vocabulary test commonly used to measure cognitive ability".And for the literate:

“One of the most consistent predictors that Americans adhere to Christian nationalism is that they have lower education,” Perry told PsyPost. “But there have also been a number of studies that find that persons who subscribe to Christian nationalist views (even after accounting for level of education) exhibit significant knowledge gaps across a variety of different domains.”

For example, people who strongly endorse the ideology tend to score poorly on tests about “American history or scientific knowledge,” Perry noted. “They are also more likely to hold factually incorrect beliefs about vaccines,” he said, referencing a 2021 study he co-authored, which was covered by PsyPost. “And related to that last point, they are also more likely to affirm ridiculous conspiracy theories related to COVID-19, January 6th, or QAnon.”

“The dominant explanations for these substantial knowledge deficits and the apparent credulity of Christian nationalist adults have been motivated reasoning and siloed information sources,” Perry explained. “Both of those theories are no doubt true. But we have yet to consider whether there may be evidence of a gap in cognitive resources, one that can’t be explained solely by educational background or other relevant factors.”

Common sense tells us these "people" are cretinous morons. Sg't. Schulz Syndrome: "Zey Know Nozzing!". This reporter is quite certain most of them have psychological or psychiatric problems as well, like delusions & hallucinations.

Via Ten Bears invaluable daily "As The Planet Burns" aggregation.

"Trump Says Republicans ‘Will Shove It’ Up Democrats’ Ass"

Political Wire clues us in:

“President Donald Trump said he doesn’t care what the polls and the ‘fake news’ are showing: he is confident the Republicans are going to shock the world — and the Democrats, in particular — and perform much better than expected in the 2026 midterm elections,” Mediaite reports.

Said Trump: “They’re in for a big surprise. It’s very simple: You gotta get out and vote. You gotta get out. You gotta vote for these guys. If you do that, we’re gonna win and we’re gonna win big.”

He added: “And we’re gonna shove it up their ass.”

After which each adult American will get US$5,000, won't we, you fat lying sack?

Additional bullshit: MEDIAITE's "subscribe or turn off your adblocker" crap, "powered by Admiral", which has never, ever, ever worked on any site for this reporter & his free AdBlock. And do you think the incompetent enshittifying jerks ever respond to their customer support form? Think again, suckers. How the hell does Admiral get away w/ this?

Popular Season For Songwriters

100°F-ish autumn, that is.

More Serenades

In honor of the heat wave. Oddly, I didn't steal it from BarkBarkWoofWoof, but heard the Joanie Sommers version on the radio, & the Coltrane-Hartman take was recommended by a robot/algorithm/something.

Marsha "Ol' Sparky" Blackburn Is A Truly Awful Person

Sarah Davis / The Hill:
Blackburn calls on Tennessee to ‘bring back’ electric chair after botched Christa Pike execution
Rena Rowe / Washington Examiner:   Blackburn calls to reinstate electric chair after Tennessee death row inmate's botched lethal injections

Leif Le Mahieu / The Daily Wire:   Blackburn Says She'll Resurrect Old-School Punishment After Botched Execution

Awful events in what must be an awful state, judging from their having returned this demon-possessed witch to the Senate in '24.

Meanwhile, back at Rancho El Stupido:

Emily Goodin / New York Post:
Trump dumbfounded on why death row inmate Christa Pike couldn't be executed: ‘Should be easy to do’  —  President Trump expressed disbelief about Christa Pike's botched execution, wondering how it could happen given that the lethal drugs should be “easy” to administer.

What say we bring back beheading? That's pretty certain. "Off with their heads!!"

16th Century Czech headsman Jan Mydlář, who has a Wiki entry.

That Blowed Up Real Good!

“This sinking exercise not only validated the power behind U.S.-U.K. offensive weapons but delivers a clear message to adversaries that the U.S. Navy and Royal Navy remain a ready allied force,” U.S. Navy Capt. Kelechi Ndukwe, Commander, U.S. Task Force 65, said in a news release.

So the U.S. & Royal Navies are able to sink a sitting duck that's neither moving nor firing back w/ only three different missiles & a torpedo. Not sure how impressed I am.

[Details at USNI News]

The End Is Near

75%+ through this annus horribilis, but it isn't over yet. Could well get considerably worse. More war losses, Election Day may be "Anything Can Happen Day", & prices & temperatures are still rising, yada.

As in temperatures of 100°F (37.8°C) predicted for tomorrow through Monday. So much for autumn in L.A., as Aug., Sep't. & Oct. are the hottest months. Guessing between poor circulation & anemia it won't bother me much.