29 Face Palms to Go
What fresh hell awaits today?
Wake up every morning, sometimes way too early, due to a schizoid dog who is either desperate to pee, wary of various explicable and inexplicable house sounds or hangry, wander into the bathroom to do my business and, while I am sitting on the porcelain throne, inevitably wind up cradling my face in the palms of my hands.
It can be an oddly satisfying position. Elbows on knees, leaning forward, face engulfed by the palms of my hands, massaging myself awake, contemplating my dreams or the day ahead. But it also reflects the general unease.
What am I waking up to today?
What fresh hell awaits?
Yesterday was a reasonably good day on our march toward the nasty, inevitable divorce with the serial abuser-in-chief. Of course, he continues to have separation anxiety delusions about being allowed to remain in the household. And several of the dumber cousins and relatives continue to support his argument even as he spirals further away from anything resembling reality.
Pat Robertson, who has been around for far too long piously tormenting secular and non-Christian Americans alike, and Geraldo Rivera, who I vaguely remember being a good guy in the last century but I have no idea how that could be the case or squared with his present day conservative ramblings, have both, at least, publicly come around to the quaint notion that democracy had its say on November 3rd and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won. But we must remember that their fealty, to the people still showing up on State Capitol grounds with automatic weapons, without masks and sporting camouflaged cargo shorts while banging on closed doors and maligning counter protesters, is far more tenuous than the seditious politicians who are gathering in the Oval Office.
Even so, it is one small step for sanity.
Meanwhile, some guy named - and I kid you not - John Tabacco on Newsmax, a pop-up “news” outlet we’ve been forced to acknowledge because the King of the Diapered Toddlers gave them credence, went on the air at the lowest production value studio I believe I have ever seen in America (but now that I think of it maybe it’s purposeful and they’re trying to look like Russia Today) and read a statement retracting several conspiracy theories these guys have been peddling for months or years.
SPOILER! You’ll be relieved to know that Hugo Chavez, strongman of Venezuela, who has been deceased for a while now, had no role to play in the 2020 election results.
Of course, Newsmax was under duress of massive bankrupting litigation to make this kind of statement and, sadly, for them, even with this walk-back, with their tail firmly planted between their legs, they are going to have their day in court.
If we are lucky, they will be bankrupted out of existence.
Even the morally repugnant Fox News is feeling the heat of future court battles over their handling of a plethora of unproven allegations about, well, . . . you name it. Election fraud, downplaying coronavirus, Hunter Biden, the president’s inauguration crowd size. . . As per usual, money is what is going to make bad actors sit up and pay attention. Personally, I agree with PoliticsGirl (on TikTok, Twitter and probably Instagram) that media companies need to be clearly labeled. If we can’t have the Fairness Doctrine reinstated, the other solution would be to distinguish between what is news and what is entertainment.
My personal favorite solution would be to have George Soros, Bill Gates or Michael Bloomberg use some of their pocket change accumulated just since the pandemic hit make Rupert Murdoch an offer he couldn’t refuse and flip the cable channel on its head. Screwing with the minds of diehard deplorables everywhere. (Yep, “deplorables” is a perfectly acceptable descriptor now that the idiots voted for him a second time.)
Regardless, somehow we need to rein in the outsized influence non-news outlets like Fox, OAN and Newsmax have on the general population. Teaching kids to be critical thinkers and an overhaul of the education system would be A solution, but that will take generations. And who knows what the results will yield? We have labels with lists of ingredients on food products and labels on plastic buckets warning they could be drowning magnets for small children and labels on bedding and pillows for goodness sakes. Fine print and warning labels are as American as ‘freedom’ fries.
I couldn’t resist. Apparently there is a documentary. Freedom Fries: And Other Stupidity We'll Have to Explain to Our Grandchildren
It’s high time we place labels on our media outlets.
Clearly, they are hazards to our national health.
After the early morning face-palming and hot shower, it’s time for a two-handed, mug-wrapping, savoring of some fresh coffee.
Happy Solstice to All!
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Doonesbury! Thanks AAR Steve Laboff! Two days in a row! This is a good one regarding masks.
Also, for a more ‘scholarly’ read I recommend Marc Elias’ Democracy Docket column titled Profiles in Cowardice. I also recommend signing up for Democracy Dockets newsletter.
Thanks for reading and sharing. - JLM