https://www.dailykos.com/user/Shebardigan/rss/index.xml News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Mon, 27 Jan 2020 04:17:08 +0000 Mon, 27 Jan 2020 04:17:08 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/11/22/1901256/-Why-was-the-sale-of-the-position-Ambassador-to-the-European-Union-not-a-hearing-consideration <p>The President has stated in public, regarding Gordon Sondland, his Ambassador to the EU, that he “hardly know[s] the gentleman”. </p> <p>His ambassadorial qualifications appear to consist entirely of “founder of a hotel chain” and “major Trump donor”.</p> <p>After some research, I am led to believe that his <strong>primary</strong> qualification is “<strong>The Check Cleared</strong>”.</p> <p>In the ecclesiastical world, this crime (sale of a high office for personal gain) is known as <strong>“Simony”</strong>.  Perhaps it could also be viewed as simple bribery.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Shebardigan) simony _1901256 Fri, 22 Nov 2019 18:27:26 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/11/16/1899940/-Another-way-of-looking-at-the-Ukraine-extortion <p>I have the oddest email messages in my spam archives, from somebody claiming to be named "Trump" some time back.  It looks like his spambots mistook me for somebody at the top of the political ladder in Ukraine.</p> <p>"Dear Beneficiary,</p> <p>"I am Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America.  In reviewing our records, we see that you are entitled (by act of Congress) to  USD446 million (Four Hundred Forty-Six Million US Dollars Only).  Please reply to this message with yo<span>ur</span></p> <div> <p>"* Full Name<br> * Postal Address<br> * Cellphone number<br> * Your nation's most recent annual Gross Domestic Product"</p> <p>and some additional contact information, including an obfuscated reply address at yandex.ru.</p> <p>Some time later, another note arrived that outlined some problems in obtaining My Funds, including the need to initiate a public disclosure of my initiating a criminal investigation of some Americans who apparently had done Bad Things (or not).</p> <p>What to do?  The Russians are constantly doing annoying things like invading, annexing territory, etc.</p> <p>Now today I get one from some New York lawyer advising me that I am in danger of being defrauded by scammers from some American congressional organization, and that I should ONLY interact with Rudolph William Louis Giuliani.  </p> <p>It's a puzzlement.</p> </div> rss@dailykos.com (Shebardigan) CheetoTweeto _1899940 Sat, 16 Nov 2019 18:34:04 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/11/16/1899919/-The-insect-Apocalypse-Don-t-Forget-the-Bees-But <div>In the continental US that I have visited recently, the signs of a 95% drop in the population of flying insects is something that apparently has not attracted attention or interest.</div> <div></div> <div>The first real job I had after Viet-Nam was in technical field service.  I covered half of Missouri and all of Kansas as the guy with the tools, spares and oscilloscope to get your information processing equipment back online.  In some weeks I m<span>ight put in a mileage chit for over 1,000 miles. </span></div> <div> <div>Stopping to refuel also meant scraping the insects off the windshield while the gasoline was flowing. An absolute necessity in mid-summer.</div> <div></div> <div>If anybody had told me back then that you could drive from Seattle to Dallas in late June and only hit four or five bugs, I would have asked which alternate universe their planet was in.</div> <div></div> <div>Such was the case for us three years ago.  And several round trips between Frisco (TX) and Austin or Houston.  Thinking about it a bit, it dawned on me that this had been increasingly the case for some years.</div> <div></div> <div>I think stories about the upcoming "Insect Apocalypse" have missed noticing at least one Horse.</div> </div> rss@dailykos.com (Shebardigan) InsectApocalypse _1899919 Sat, 16 Nov 2019 15:46:22 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/11/13/1899311/-Horrible-News-About-Adam-Schiff <p>I have just received a most remarkable disclosure in email from Lana Trump (Senior Advisor).  </p> <p>Apparently, Adam Schiff has "<strong>prevented Republican witnesses from testifying</strong>".</p> <p>How ghastly.  </p> <p>Somehow, the FakeNews Lamestream Media has led me to believe that <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/cheetotweeto?source=feed_text&amp;epa=HASHTAG"><span><span>#</span><span>CheetoTweeto</span></span></a> Himself had given orders that no one associated with his regime would obey a lawful subpoena to testify on his behalf, and thus fully exonerate him.  (How COULD they practise upon my unassuming simplicity??)</p> <div> <p>I now DEMAND that Adam Schiff permit Acting Acting Acting Chief of Staff Mulvaney to testify in public IMMEDIATELY in order to uphold the honour and integrity of our favourite Acting President..</p> <p>Otherwise, I shall surely sue him for Treason.</p> </div> rss@dailykos.com (Shebardigan) CheetoTweeto _1899311 Thu, 14 Nov 2019 05:21:53 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/4/13/1756978/-Remarkable-Documentary-Wild-Wild-Country-tells-us-things-we-didn-t-know-we-wanted-to-know <p>I have finished watching the Netflix documentary "Wild Wild Country".  It is an account of the movement centred on the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, especially detailing the entire series of events of their creation of the city Rajneesh Puram in rural Oregon, and the essential destruction of the nearby village of Antelope.</p> <p>Unlike many documentaries about controversial or dramatic events, there is no narrator to interpret things for the viewer.  All the voices are those of participa<span>nts, including Ma Anand Sheela (Bhagwan's "personal secretary" and the effective head of the group until near the end), the group's principal attorney, various group members, as well as residents and elected officials of Antelope, Oregon, and law enforcement personnel at the local, State and Federal level.  There is extensive broadcast news footage, and print journalism images.</span></p> <div> <p>The participants narrate events and describe their attitudes and feelings as they were at each stage of the drama.  We see many persons evolve and change, for better or worse, and others remain largely unchanged.  All the major parties to the drama are allowed to make their own case.  </p> <p>For those who have been involved with organizations that can be described as "cults", whether from the inside or the outside, there are many hauntingly familiar elements.  The contrasting heights and depths of human nobility and stupidity are often arresting.</p> <p>I had no idea what Sheela's fate was, heretofore; the entire affair dropped out of the news cycle back in 1985.  Her present-day perspectives are both enlightening and chilling.  The story of "release" by the Australian woman who carried out the unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Bhagwan's physician was riveting.</p> <p>Highly recommended.</p> </div> rss@dailykos.com (Shebardigan) BhagwanShreeRajneesh MaAnandSheela RajneeshPuram Review WildWildCountry _1756978 Sat, 14 Apr 2018 03:56:17 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/1/9/1467780/-America-s-Other-Drug-Problem-Why-Open-Carry-Is-Even-Worse-Than-You-Think <p><strong>DISCLAIMER AND CLARIFICATION: </strong></p> <p>I am not an anti-gun nut.  I don’t hate firearms and I am not afraid of them. Projectile weapons, whether toy or functional, have been part of my life since shortly after I learned to walk.  The details on my DD Form 214 note that of the two years, eleven months and two days of my period of active service in the Regular Army, Viet-Nam service consumed 362 days.  I have trained and qualified on the M1, M14 and M16.  I also carried other pieces at various times during that era.</p> <p><strong>TL;DR Introductory Narrative:</strong></p> <p>One evening in Nha-Trang, I was given light duty because of a medical issue (DON’T purchase and eat a mango from friendly local vendor without extensive precautions) and instead of Sergeant of the Guard duty, I was assigned to prisoner escort duty.  My job was to convey the subject to a point where he was to be collected the following morning, and make sure he was still there for collection, employing whatever means necessary.</p> <p>To make the job easier, I was issued the iconic handgun, the M1911, with web belt, the other stuff that designated me as “under arms”, and a “don’t mess with me” brassard.  Inspecting the piece, with which I was already entirely familiar, I found a full clip, no round in the chamber, and all mechanisms in good estate.  All was right with the world, at least in my tiny corner of it.</p> <p>Until, in the wee hours of the morning, I began to think about the whole experience. </p> <p>I was bothered.</p> <p>Strapping on that comfortingly heavy artifact had wrought a change in me that I had not considered before. </p> <p>I was a different person. </p> <p>No longer the scrawny, kinda weird kid who was an electronics wiz, I was now nine feet tall, very muscular, entirely covered with hair and most definitely someone who had made grade E5 eleven months in.  I had the instrumentality to enforce my least whim, and something deep within noticed, approved, and gave indication that it would like more of the same.</p> <p>The person I had become was one I did not like at all.  Necessary in the circumstance, but not for everyday use.  I had earlier hints of this, but when you are busy getting your RF squad in position during one of those frequent terrorist incidents, the M16 is only a part of what is happening to you.</p> <p><strong>THE GIST:</strong></p> <p>Unlike myself, many people <em>like</em> the person they become when carrying a weapon, especially when nobody else, except for nearby members of their tribe, is visibly armed.</p> <p>Unfortunately, like many other psychoactive drugs, carrying can fundamentally change your decision making process.  You might find yourself putting rounds into a vehicle driven by a suspected shoplifter in the Walmart car park, for a recent example. </p> <p>And it can definitely be habit-forming. </p> <p><strong>WELL REGULATED:</strong></p> <p>Considering the phrase “well regulated militia”, I recall that the most heavily gun-controlled environments I have ever experienced were military installations, especially those in a combat zone.  Folks who didn’t have a duty reason to be under arms, but just liked to swagger around with weapons handy, would have been swiftly taken into custody and sent to the stockade for further processing, assuming that they didn’t get into a fire fight when the CPs came to arrest them.</p> <p><strong>THE UPSHOT:  <em>SKEDADDLE!*</em></strong></p> <p>I have good reason to remove myself and my family immediately from any area where people are wandering around heavily armed but ignorant of the basics of trigger discipline.  Especially when their judgment may be clouded by a drug that cannot be detected in a Field Sobriety Test.</p> <p>* Or, in Texas, <strong>absquatulate</strong>.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Shebardigan) bozoharam OpenCarry WellRegulatedMilitia YallQaeda _1467780 Sat, 09 Jan 2016 18:33:16 +0000