I just got off the phone with Dog Gone (yes, she's still around) and we were trying to figure out a word she used to describe how I tend to do way more things at once than most people do. Not boasting since it's way more of a fault than an asset.
On the other hand, it would be nice to remember the word.
I'm thinking it may be "corybantic".
There's a joke about the Russian Tsar during the Kievan Rus picking a religion:
The Tsar calls for representatives of all the world's religions to tell him about their faiths. The Islamic representative tells him that he will go to heaven and have 72 virgins if he dies for the faith.
--"Yeah, go on..." --"You can have as many wives as you want" The Tsar is getting interested. --"but have to give up eating pork." goes on the Islamic rep --"That shouldn't be too much of a problem."
--"And you'll have to give up drinking alcohol."
--"GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE."
Anyway...
This does seem probable.
He made his "fortune" using other people's money.
And pushing the envelope.
In this case he's building a questionable multimillion dollar project on the US White House during the middle of a government shutdown. People are doing without services while he builds something which will not last.
I'm not sure that is a real tribute to US political stability.
The issue that the White House is a historic building factors in as well. I've lived in historic districts pretty much all my adult life. In one house, I was severely limited as to what I could do to the exterior: any changes had to be approved by a committee. I now live in a very modern house, yet it is also historically protected as part of post-War reconstruction! There are some really ugly houses that are practically untouchable due to that protection. Fortunately, mine isn't that protected despite it's "historic significance".
Some historic listings even limit what one can do to the interior.
Yet, Trump can destroy a significant portion of the US White House with no problem.
Do you wonder why people are questioning this?
The US isn't fascist, it's an Oligarchy and has been for some time. It's quietly been one. The wealthy have lived in their mansions in peace for some time, although the large mansions are becoming difficult to keep: even for the super wealthy.
The real wake up call was the 2016 election where Bernie Sanders was sidelined for Hillary Clinton, resulting in Trump being President. Amusingly, this happened through the electoral college: an institution meant to prevent such occurrences.
There needs to be a significant change in US politics, but I don't see that happening in an Oligarchy.
There's a lot of irony here in using a Jacobite song: especially since the movement is pretty much dead. Unless you're a septic or out of touch with the world.
On the other hand, the current King is Charles, which was a poor choice for a name since Kings named Charles haven't had good runs so far.
He should have gone with Arthur.
But, the first Charles did rule during the start of the English Civil War, which is similar to the Civil War that is brewing in the US. One where the Constitutional power will be divided up to put paid to the myth of three equal branches.
Any Parliamentary system needs to have the power in the legislative branch with a weak executive head of state.
Otherwise, it does seem appropriate since Trump isn't very much of a leader. He's the cartoon villain. The heel of World Wrestling Entertainment kayfaybe.
More on why I think that Luigi Mangione is a total dickbrain. I mean he's supposed to be this tech genius, but he missed that it's Artificial Intelligence that is causing health care to deny claims. Lots more on this topic, but things would be vastly different if he had gone the AI route rather than blaming a human who was doing a job.
A new, far more evil set of players come up.
But they are harder to hit: especially if he's working solo.
This is a humourous take on why crypto is a scam.
And Robert Reich giving a more serious take on this issue.
The problem with the "no Kings" movement is that they have no idea what they are talking about, which I affirm as someone who has lived in monarchies (UK, Canada, and Belgium).
The real issue is the duopoly, which is realy only one party pretending to be different. The duopoly is the tool of the oligarchy, which is disgustingly obvious if one wants to admit it.
The US needs new players and parties that actually represent the people.
It’s nice to say ignorant things like « no kings » when Canada has a king and things are much better. The even more important aspect of that is that Canada IS BRITISH NORTH AMERICA!
Just remember that Canada is British North America and you don't need to take a guess about alternative history.
And you would be having new elections if you were like Canada and still had a king.
There are many advantages to ending the duopoly, but I am not sure I would go with the parties and the leaders proposed by this. While I talk about the Westminster system, coalition governments are much better than the gridlock which is endemic to the US system.
Also, realise that the taxes levied by Britain on the Colonies were the bill for the war caused by George Washington. I'm sure things could have come to a screeching halt had the British asked for money up front instead of letting things slide during that conflict.
Just look up Benjamin Franklin's
Because you might be living under a French system where militarised police (Gendarmes) are the norm had the British not funded the defence of the colonies.
Think about that.
There's a reason this man is looking so smug.
I am amazed that hacker, open source culture didn't prevail in the computing world.
Wozniak v Jobs
The old Apple II, which was something you could configure anyway you wanted. The iPod that allowd you to listen to YOUR music, not something pushed on you.
Like having Rachel Maddow invade my French Jazz playlist. PUTAIN DE MERDE! Je me fous complètement de la politique américaine.
OK, maybe the last statement isn't exactly true.
But, I don't want tech oligarchs running my life.
I want to give a shout out to this person since he caught my eye with a video about fixing an old MacBook Pro. This, of course, would be something of interest to me since one thing leading to electronics ending up in landfills is planned obsolescence.
And there are lots of reasons electronics shouldn't be ending up in the waste cycle, but the tech giants couldn't cre less about your health and well being. So, heavy metals (and I'm not talking music) in the environment isn't something they are too bothered by.
So, good on you, Hugh!
The bottom line is that if the US had a Westminster system, the government would be dissolved and there would be new elections. One of the characteristics of a government run under this is a llegislative body with an ability to dismiss a government by "withholding (or blocking) supply" (rejecting a budget).
Loss of supply occurs where a government in a parliamentary democracy using the Westminster System or a system derived from it is denied a supply of treasury or exchequer funds, by whichever house or houses of parliament or head of state is constitutionally entitled to grant and deny supply. A defeat on a budgetary vote is one way by which supply can be denied. Loss of supply is typically interpreted as indicating a loss of confidence in the government. Not all money bills are necessarily supply bills. For instance, in Australia, supply bills are defined as "bills which are required by the Government to carry on its day-to-day business"
It's also amusing that septics in their ignorance don't realise that the English Civil War was about who had the power: the monarch or the legislature.
The legislature won.
The
I moved from the Microsoft operating system a while back, I'm guessing in 2011 from my old blog posts. I have a serious dislike for tech giants having worked with computers for over 50 years (I started young), The hacker culture runs strong in me.
Besides, most tech pros use linux/unix.
Getting a linux computer for me meant using an old computer, or one that had originally been configured for windows (or Mac OS). I didn't realise that Dell sold them. The only drawbacks are you can't get these in most retailers and there's a five week wait: https://www.techradar.com/best/linux-pc#section-best-linux-mini-pc
On the other hand, this is a computer which is built for Linux.
For those of you who want to try this OS, you can make a trial USB drive and see how you like it:
There is more reason to switch to linux and ditch the tech oligarchs than you know.
I have been seriously thinking about returning to Linux for the reasons mentioned. Apple's Mac OS is based on Linux, but has proprietary things which force you to use their products. It's also fairly stable, which can't be said about Microsoft.
The one sickener for the switch is that Macs have some excellent tools for multilingual people.
I have to admit that she was one of the people in my circle. She actually preferred dogs. So long, Jane.