Who knew you were a playwright?! This is your miniaturized “Waiting for Godot” and it’s terribly good! Looking forward to a public reading, perhaps on television. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and lots of us are going mad or are madder than hell (see Network,” the movie).
I was at the Stand Up For Science Rally in Sand Francisco yesterday, cathartic (Yay Science! And Scientists (me)! And confusing (Why do I have to be here in the first place (actually second, I was there in 2017). I so appreciate the real history lessons from Prof. Snyder. The satire is too close to reality, as good satire should be.
And today, Stu, we find out that the Felon's minions have frozen all government travel grants, including the Fulbrights. As a Fulbright alum, I am horrified. But also, it strands hundreds of scholars, grad students, and teachers here AND abroad without funds. It is also, as part of their ongoing quest to destroy higher education's dedication to collegial exchange (ya gotta wonder why . . .) a kick in the teeth to the rest of the world that is particularly cynical and disgusting. https://woub.org/2025/03/07/fulbright-scholars-feel-stranded-trump-administration-suspends-funding/
Look no further than Cold Springs Harbor, Glen Cove Long Island. Between 1910 and 1939 eugenics studies were conducted, resulting in forced sterilization of “thousands of American citizens…”
Anti-immigration laws prevented the admission of those fleeing persecution in World War II.
Also, Elon Musk said, “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy, the empathy exploit... They’re exploiting a bug in Western civilization, which is the empathy response.” And, he said that empathy has been "weaponized." I'd love an explanation of what that last remark means, if anyone can enlighten me (oops!).
Musk described himself as having Asperger's Syndrome, an autistic spectrum disorder, in an interview in 2022. Stereotypical views of neurodivergent people often mention lack of empathy, but this is not a given. Some characteristics of autism are interesting though - obsessional behaviour, and intense literal-mindedness, together with great difficulty in interpreting social signals from other people, all of which Musk mentioned as part of his own experience. It's quite rash, therefore, to say to someone with these characteristics "I want you to cut trillions of dollars from the federal budget! I want you to sack thousands and thousands of employees! I want you to close down whole departments!" Likely to be taken absolutely literally.
Burnout and meltdown are also likely in circumstances of over-stimulation. So, no chainsaws, really.
What affects would regular use of Ketamine do to someone on the autism spectrum? I understand it can help depression but it also can cause disassociation.
Bill Gates says he is on the spectrum but I don’t believe he fired thousands of Microsoft employees.
Can Musk’s behavior and ketamine use be used to help get him out of our govt??
These two contrasting billionaires really do demonstrate how broad the autistic spectrum is, don't they. I am hoping Musk might actually meltdown dramatically sometime soon, without taking everything down with him, that is.
Actually, he is on the autism spectrum and some people on the spectrum have difficulty regulating their emotions or have difficulty "feeling" things. So that might be something. Still, he has NO place having a government role without being elected tot that role.
I guess if you can see humor in this, I can, too. This is only somewhat therapeutic. However, irony takes us too close to the absurd truth. The real question is whether the sycophants will see your statements as factual propositions!
If we in normal times and watching a fictional portrayal of what's happening today, we'd expect Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo and Chico to be the main characters. Come to think of it, they are: Groucho => King Donald; Harpo => Jovial Elon; Zeppo => Sedition Bannon and Chico => Litttle Marco. Problem is, this is real!
"Big Brother is infallible and all-powerful. Every success, every achievement, every victory, every scientific discovery, all knowledge, all wisdom, all happiness, all virtue, are held to issue directly from his leadership and inspiration." George Orwell, 1984
Between 2016 - 2020 I questioned whether we were living the prequel of George Orwell's 1984. In 2020, when Biden defeated Trump, I breathed a sigh of relief. But, that was only part of the story. We are still in the Orwellian battle for the future.
Letthem use the government's own citizenship test that immigrants have to pass to become citizens. 70% of Americans can't pass it. That would likely be 98% of the Red Hat Brigades.
I take that as a wry aside...but, consider the following, which may be apocryphal:
Idiot--from ancient Athens. When a citizen had been away from Athens for a substantial period of time ( 4 yrs) he was deemed an 'idiot'--someone who was insufficiently knowledgeable of the current state of Athens to be allowed to vote. Once said citizen had been back for a sufficient time to display awareness of Athenian politics/ challenges...they were considered no longer an 'idiot', and were able to once again vote.
Do you have any background for that? I have a degree in Classical Greek, but I focused more on drama (Euripides) and I don't know where I would have learned this. Thucydides? Plato?
Longtime: Darn it....don't know where I got my idea...and fear it may be wrong!
( I don't recall it from Thucydides, Plato, Aeschylus or Sophocles,
Herer's what I dug up, which lightly indicates there may be something to my suggested etymology:
Ancient Greek Roots:
The Greek word "idiōtēs" (ἰδιώτης) referred to a person who was not involved in public life or political affairs, essentially a private citizen.
Latin Influence:
The Latin term "idiota" (borrowed from Greek) initially meant "uneducated" or "ignorant".
Evolution of Meaning:
Over time, "idiota" (and its French and English derivatives) began to carry a more negative connotation, eventually leading to the modern usage of "idiot" to describe someone foolish, stupid, or mentally deficient.
14th Century Usage:
The first known use of "idiot" in English was in the 14th century, with the meaning "person so mentally deficient as to be incapable of ordinary reasoning
You have to factor in how the far right has applied the best science to effect the best voter suppression, the best gerrymandering, the best Russian hackers, the best Elon Musk hackers, Peter Thiel emissaries, all to ensure the rule of billionaires, oligarchs, state-organized mass murderers, and all the rest of our fully standardized-tested, dehumanized neutered elites.
forgive my lack of academic authority, but somewhere I read that in early Britain I believe ,only people who were landowners or acquired wealth were allowed to vote. The peasants were not considered informed enough or trustworthy to be able to vote. Of course in addition to the umpteen other discriminatory factors here.
All across Europe, Abby, serfs, chattels, and servants never had franchise.
It was a minor miracle that Maria Theresa, archduchess of Austria and queen of Hungary and Bohemia (1740–80), created systems of public elementary schooling. The Habsburg empire needed expert talent at many levels as modernity entered.
The franchise -- voting -- came in only later, and for long excluded those who did not own property. Most were tied to whatever land where they were born -- and tied to those who owned that land.
Many, fed up, came to America. My Scoth-Irish ancestors in the period before the American revolution. My German ancestors in the early 1840s. My Hungarian and Slovak grandparents (separately -- they met in the coal country south of Pittsburgh) 120 years ago.
Thank you for this. My ancestors also came in the 1600-1800's probably for the same reasons. It helps me to put things into perspective having this bit of historical knowledge.
I imagine those Europeans leaving behind the lands of serfdom and disenfranchised populations, didn't migrate to the slave states on arrival in America. But women however, women!!! Voting rights for all women in the UK, 1928. I think, around the same time for White women in the USA. And as for the right to vote of all Black people and Native Americans .....
The universal right to vote is less than 100 years old. I hope we can hang on to it.
"This is less of a satire than one might wish." I don't think the Authors of Project 2025 think this would be seen as satire. That is the scary part for me.
The endgame of survival of the fittest is survival of the wealthiest. And where does their wealth come from?
An interesting and little noticed mandate in the Old Testament is the complete teaching of the sabbath rest. 1/7 days for the health of humans. 1/7 years for the health of the land. 1/7x7 years which is called the Year of Jubilee is for the health of society when all debts are cancelled and everyone returns to their original portion of the land. You only have 49 years to amass wealth or fall into poverty. Not communism but common good.
Who knew you were a playwright?! This is your miniaturized “Waiting for Godot” and it’s terribly good! Looking forward to a public reading, perhaps on television. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and lots of us are going mad or are madder than hell (see Network,” the movie).
Yes, Francesca, as his last words say, "This is less of a satire than one might wish."
I was at the Stand Up For Science Rally in Sand Francisco yesterday, cathartic (Yay Science! And Scientists (me)! And confusing (Why do I have to be here in the first place (actually second, I was there in 2017). I so appreciate the real history lessons from Prof. Snyder. The satire is too close to reality, as good satire should be.
And today, Stu, we find out that the Felon's minions have frozen all government travel grants, including the Fulbrights. As a Fulbright alum, I am horrified. But also, it strands hundreds of scholars, grad students, and teachers here AND abroad without funds. It is also, as part of their ongoing quest to destroy higher education's dedication to collegial exchange (ya gotta wonder why . . .) a kick in the teeth to the rest of the world that is particularly cynical and disgusting. https://woub.org/2025/03/07/fulbright-scholars-feel-stranded-trump-administration-suspends-funding/
That’s awful.
I'll tell ya why, Linda. "Keep America Stupid" is their mantra.
and has been going on for years!!!
“We define what is natural and what is illness” sounds all too familiar like eugenics and the Aryan race.
Eugenics is one of the most repellent ideas ever!
Look no further than Cold Springs Harbor, Glen Cove Long Island. Between 1910 and 1939 eugenics studies were conducted, resulting in forced sterilization of “thousands of American citizens…”
Anti-immigration laws prevented the admission of those fleeing persecution in World War II.
And I lived down the road from them!
Wow!
Unfortunately, it’s all too real to be satire today!
Also, Elon Musk said, “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy, the empathy exploit... They’re exploiting a bug in Western civilization, which is the empathy response.” And, he said that empathy has been "weaponized." I'd love an explanation of what that last remark means, if anyone can enlighten me (oops!).
Isn't Musk said to be psychologically unable to experience empathy ?
Yes. This is how he can create a theory of empathy, and a weaponization of the idea to serve his own chilling ends.
Musk described himself as having Asperger's Syndrome, an autistic spectrum disorder, in an interview in 2022. Stereotypical views of neurodivergent people often mention lack of empathy, but this is not a given. Some characteristics of autism are interesting though - obsessional behaviour, and intense literal-mindedness, together with great difficulty in interpreting social signals from other people, all of which Musk mentioned as part of his own experience. It's quite rash, therefore, to say to someone with these characteristics "I want you to cut trillions of dollars from the federal budget! I want you to sack thousands and thousands of employees! I want you to close down whole departments!" Likely to be taken absolutely literally.
Burnout and meltdown are also likely in circumstances of over-stimulation. So, no chainsaws, really.
Sociopaths lack empathy. He is one.
That, too!
What affects would regular use of Ketamine do to someone on the autism spectrum? I understand it can help depression but it also can cause disassociation.
Bill Gates says he is on the spectrum but I don’t believe he fired thousands of Microsoft employees.
Can Musk’s behavior and ketamine use be used to help get him out of our govt??
These two contrasting billionaires really do demonstrate how broad the autistic spectrum is, don't they. I am hoping Musk might actually meltdown dramatically sometime soon, without taking everything down with him, that is.
Actually, he is on the autism spectrum and some people on the spectrum have difficulty regulating their emotions or have difficulty "feeling" things. So that might be something. Still, he has NO place having a government role without being elected tot that role.
Musk’s plug for a robotic AI civilization and many humans as possible of his own offspring. Wonder if long term Ketamine use alters genes in children?
Great question!
He is set on creating his own Aryan race and he has so far, surpassed Stephen Miller!
Yuck both repulsive thoughts.
apparently it doesn't damage sperm quality.
Well, maybe “the empathy response” can cause people to part with money which Elon thinks should come to him. Therefore, weapon.
Western civilization is far from the only civilization which values empathy, by the way, Elon.
Well Trump certainly totally lacks empathy.
But isn't empathy a valuable trait for christianity and just generally caring for other humans?
I guess if you can see humor in this, I can, too. This is only somewhat therapeutic. However, irony takes us too close to the absurd truth. The real question is whether the sycophants will see your statements as factual propositions!
If we in normal times and watching a fictional portrayal of what's happening today, we'd expect Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo and Chico to be the main characters. Come to think of it, they are: Groucho => King Donald; Harpo => Jovial Elon; Zeppo => Sedition Bannon and Chico => Litttle Marco. Problem is, this is real!
I have prepared my sign today borrowing from min 22-24. For Freedom. Going to join others in New Milford to voice our thoughts and opinions. Best regards and Thank you! https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=Rz7wMWKHBqwK9xN5&v=Vea2fTYYypM&feature=youtu.be. Rules 1-4-8-9-10-12-19 and 20! And conversation with people
Thank You for your service, Sara.
"Big Brother is infallible and all-powerful. Every success, every achievement, every victory, every scientific discovery, all knowledge, all wisdom, all happiness, all virtue, are held to issue directly from his leadership and inspiration." George Orwell, 1984
Between 2016 - 2020 I questioned whether we were living the prequel of George Orwell's 1984. In 2020, when Biden defeated Trump, I breathed a sigh of relief. But, that was only part of the story. We are still in the Orwellian battle for the future.
Rep. 5 And then we can declare the Constitution unconstitutional
So true. So sad that the people who believe this don't understand the consequences. Maybe there should be tests for voting.
I would be afraid of who is making up the tests!
Letthem use the government's own citizenship test that immigrants have to pass to become citizens. 70% of Americans can't pass it. That would likely be 98% of the Red Hat Brigades.
Maybe there should be tests for voting.
I take that as a wry aside...but, consider the following, which may be apocryphal:
Idiot--from ancient Athens. When a citizen had been away from Athens for a substantial period of time ( 4 yrs) he was deemed an 'idiot'--someone who was insufficiently knowledgeable of the current state of Athens to be allowed to vote. Once said citizen had been back for a sufficient time to display awareness of Athenian politics/ challenges...they were considered no longer an 'idiot', and were able to once again vote.
I am wondering why anyone in those times would leave the protection of the big city. Poverty? Illness? Crime and avoiding persecution?
Also an "idiot" was often deemed a person of a certain mental disability. As in the " the village idiot"
Do you have any background for that? I have a degree in Classical Greek, but I focused more on drama (Euripides) and I don't know where I would have learned this. Thucydides? Plato?
Longtime: Darn it....don't know where I got my idea...and fear it may be wrong!
( I don't recall it from Thucydides, Plato, Aeschylus or Sophocles,
Herer's what I dug up, which lightly indicates there may be something to my suggested etymology:
Ancient Greek Roots:
The Greek word "idiōtēs" (ἰδιώτης) referred to a person who was not involved in public life or political affairs, essentially a private citizen.
Latin Influence:
The Latin term "idiota" (borrowed from Greek) initially meant "uneducated" or "ignorant".
Evolution of Meaning:
Over time, "idiota" (and its French and English derivatives) began to carry a more negative connotation, eventually leading to the modern usage of "idiot" to describe someone foolish, stupid, or mentally deficient.
14th Century Usage:
The first known use of "idiot" in English was in the 14th century, with the meaning "person so mentally deficient as to be incapable of ordinary reasoning
Voting. Such a quaint notion.
No, not quaint, Dianna.
You have to factor in how the far right has applied the best science to effect the best voter suppression, the best gerrymandering, the best Russian hackers, the best Elon Musk hackers, Peter Thiel emissaries, all to ensure the rule of billionaires, oligarchs, state-organized mass murderers, and all the rest of our fully standardized-tested, dehumanized neutered elites.
forgive my lack of academic authority, but somewhere I read that in early Britain I believe ,only people who were landowners or acquired wealth were allowed to vote. The peasants were not considered informed enough or trustworthy to be able to vote. Of course in addition to the umpteen other discriminatory factors here.
All across Europe, Abby, serfs, chattels, and servants never had franchise.
It was a minor miracle that Maria Theresa, archduchess of Austria and queen of Hungary and Bohemia (1740–80), created systems of public elementary schooling. The Habsburg empire needed expert talent at many levels as modernity entered.
The franchise -- voting -- came in only later, and for long excluded those who did not own property. Most were tied to whatever land where they were born -- and tied to those who owned that land.
Many, fed up, came to America. My Scoth-Irish ancestors in the period before the American revolution. My German ancestors in the early 1840s. My Hungarian and Slovak grandparents (separately -- they met in the coal country south of Pittsburgh) 120 years ago.
Thank you for this. My ancestors also came in the 1600-1800's probably for the same reasons. It helps me to put things into perspective having this bit of historical knowledge.
I imagine those Europeans leaving behind the lands of serfdom and disenfranchised populations, didn't migrate to the slave states on arrival in America. But women however, women!!! Voting rights for all women in the UK, 1928. I think, around the same time for White women in the USA. And as for the right to vote of all Black people and Native Americans .....
The universal right to vote is less than 100 years old. I hope we can hang on to it.
I second that!
"This is less of a satire than one might wish." I don't think the Authors of Project 2025 think this would be seen as satire. That is the scary part for me.
Christ, reading this was like eavesdropping on a board meeting at the Claremont Institute!
The endgame of survival of the fittest is survival of the wealthiest. And where does their wealth come from?
An interesting and little noticed mandate in the Old Testament is the complete teaching of the sabbath rest. 1/7 days for the health of humans. 1/7 years for the health of the land. 1/7x7 years which is called the Year of Jubilee is for the health of society when all debts are cancelled and everyone returns to their original portion of the land. You only have 49 years to amass wealth or fall into poverty. Not communism but common good.
You can find this in Leviticus 25
and if your really lucky you can fly to Mars on a SpaceX and live there.
"The dark enlightenment will be better than that last enlightenment. Without the knowledge. And the humanism."
And that pretty much sums up Christian Nationalism.
All the religious zealotry and irrational habits of mind, and none of the ethics.
All the nationalistic zealotry and unthinking devotion, and no understanding of national interests.
"This is less of a satire than one might wish." ✅
I wish it could be performed tonight on SNL?