Bill, as a counterpoint, I want my past back too. I grow angrier by the day as I see now the entire East Wing of the White House being torn down - to be replaced by a self-aggrandizing temple of greed to take its place, where the elites can gather a couple of times of year. It belongs to the American people, not to Trump - who continually demonstrates his low-brow aesthetic of excess and garishness. Trump likely doesn't know the history of the East Wing - or cares.
Sounds like you might be falling for the national narrative masters' latest distraction and what they're calling White House Ballroom Construction Derangement Syndrome. (WHBCDS is just too long to remember, so Malone recommends just sticking with WTF.)
You can't stop the dismal Tide-- indifferent, chaotic Universe that it is you must embrace it. I wanted a future like 2001 space travel, science, real progress solving disease, hunger not just greed and the pursuit of money & solely hedonistic material things. Its all lead to our so called modern world & Trump. Theres no easy answers other than to live bravely in these dismal times... Gotta love the old SAC Patch my Neighbor noticed mine on my Flt. Jacket. He was an Aircraft Mechanic on BUFFS B-52's. (can't believe they're still around. I have no doubt they may still be used @ 100 yrs. old.) when he was in. He didn't know he lived by a SAC Ex Sky-Cop! Motto:"Peace (was) Is our Profession"
As a member of the Carl Sagan-founded Planetary Society for almost 45 years, I too longed for the future depicted in "2001 A Space Odyssey." But the money needed went to the Pentagon, to murder untold millions of human beings in Viet Nam, etc., etc. And what did Trump's budget do to NASA? Slashed funding by 50% or so. These are all human foibles at work, not developments "mandated" by an indifferent Universe. None of this shit "had to happen." "The fault lies with us, not in our stars."
In regards to "Indifferent Chaotic Universe" I'm referring to my own beliefs of a Godless Universe--one that I prefer the God of Spinoza: "The rules of Nature are indistinguishable from God"
Sorry Fireman, I can't share your feelings about the old SAC patch. To me, it's just another icon of the God of War which is worshiped by so many. Were it not for our addiction to war, we might have achieved the future you wanted.
Yes, WRKnight I think unfortunately the Addiction to War is in our DNA we seem to be hardwired to War more than, or just as much as we are to the obsession to explore the planets, new worlds & the Universe. We are a most peculiar Race. Which obsession will win out!?
In some ways, there was a profound truth in the words of Agent Smith in his speech to Morpheus, where he likened humans to viruses that multiply and multiply and consume and consume until all natural resources are devoured, and then move on to another area.
It is probably a good thing that we are likely to destroy our planet and life as we know it before we are able to spread to others.
Sounds like we have basically the same morning routine, Bill. I'd add RT to the mix, though. It's way more objective and less biased than most US publications, even more so than many "progressive" sites.
During my Moscow visit in 2013, Russia Today was on the hotel TV system. I found their analysis/perspective refreshing, to say the least, compared to U.S. MSM.
In December 2010, I was protesting Obama’s wars at the White House with 130 veterans, along with Daniel Ellsberg, Ray McGovern and journalist Chris Hedges. We were all arrested, and the only media that showed up to cover this Veterans for Peace protest was RT. Their coverage was fantastic. I was hooked.
DirectTV used to carry them, until US paranoia set in, under Trump I(?), Biden(?), can't remember, they were branded a foreign agent or some such nonsense, rather than an "inconvenient truth" news source and other perspective. Chris Hedges even had a slot there, and he said they didn't interfere.
I looked forward to Oksana Boyko's program, I think it was called "World's Apart," perhaps a reference to the US (as it represents the West) and Russia (and others). A really intelligent, articulate, knowledgeable journalist, one got to learn of issues and other perspectives from watching her. Nothing comparable exists in the MSM.
Right, thanks for refreshing my memory, s-o-o-o much has been going on over the past two years I simply don't have the bandwidth or memory capacity to accommodate it all.
Speaking of Biden - must we? - his recent news on prostate cancer is indication that his time will be up, as with all mortals. It's standard for the obit departments of major newspapers to have updated, ready-to-print obituaries or "necrologies" for when that time comes. I ask how forthright will they be - "Bibi, can you ease off on the killings a bit, it's beginning to get embarrassing" - or whether they have to engage in the traditional hagiography for US presidents? Ditto for Dumbya and Trump, is there enough lipstick in the cosmetics department at Macy's to slap on these pigs?
It will all depend on what MSM outlet we're talking about. I wouldn't expect a hagiography job from the media in Trump's control (pardon my understatement!). And "for all intensive purposes," as many Americans say, DJT really does CONTROL these operations.
Actually, if we think about it a bit, DJT both controls and is a product of these operations, but I don't wanna give too much thought to the whole sordid mess, they're already consuming enough of my attention - necessarily so, to keep an eye on these bastards.
Do we think ANY of this would have happened if we had done our level best to PREVENT Donald J. Trump from EVER entering the White House again? Do we think they TOLD us with the Project 2025 EXACTLY what they planned to do? Do we think we EVER had a chance THIS PAST YEAR to get a third party into THE WHITE HOUSE? {Maybe in the future, we we worked REALLY hard at it, but this year?} Was our purity worth all this?
Do we think he is and WAS always the absolute FOCUS of the election he “won” to get here? Hmmmm. I wonder what we think of all that. ….
Ah, yes. There's that reference to "purity" again. I gather a "purist" is someone who just couldn't see the wonders of Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party. Someone who dared to vote for someone other than Trump and Harris. Or not to vote at all. They are surely to blame for Trump, not all the voters who cast ballots for him. And certainly we must never blame the Democrats for lying about Biden's fitness for office, then refusing to run a real competitive primary process.
I hate those "purists"! It's all their fault.
Seriously, if the Democratic Party keeps insulting voters rather than trying to win them over, it will continue to lose. If anyone is a "purist," it's mainline Democrats who insist you must vote purely and only for them, irrespective of how bad the candidate is.
Then again, I've also heard I'm racist and sexist for not voting for Kamala, even as I voted for Barack Obama, Tulsi Gabbard, and Jill Stein. I guess I was racist too for supporting Cornel West.
In 2026 and 2028, the Democratic Party had better learn to field charismatic, skilled, and qualified candidates with populist credentials and strong core (not corporate) principles, or they're going to lose again. And that's the "pure" truth.
Now THAT …. << In 2026 and 2028, the Democratic Party had better learn to field charismatic, skilled, and qualified candidates with populist credentials and strong core (not corporate) principles, or they're going to lose again. And that's the "pure" truth.>> I most assuredly believe!
I hope they, too, have learned this awful lesson… So far, I am not especially enncouraged by what I see, but wegotta hope all the factions that want to see MAGA gone will rally…
Anyone who thinks the Dem. Establishment (not pointing a finger at anyone in a previous comment here, just generalizing) is gonna embrace a Bernie or a Dennis K. (out of the news so long I've forgotten how to spell his surname) is truly delusional. The Clinton style Corporate Dems are totally capable of cutting benefits like Social Security, Medicare, etc. but the cuts would not be as drastic as what Project 2025 is bringing down on us. Announced today: Social Security benefits to rise a MASSIVE (tongue firmly in cheek here) 2.8% for 2026. I predict here and now grocery prices will be up at least 10% overall by then, as the Extremely Stable Genius (time to abbreviate this as ESG??), the ESG's tariffs are still only starting to trickle down to retail consumer prices. We ain't seen nothing yet. If I'm wrong I'll hafta cease commenting on Economics!
Well, I hear some folks in California have started to (try to) cultivate coffee plants there. Will climate change allow them to succeed? Be that as it may, it would take ages to match the output of countries like Brazil, Kenya, etc. Coffee, tea, cacao will all be way up in price soon enuf. :-(
Criticizing the Democrats has nothing to do with my comment. I never said they are wonderful…I mostly say they are far too centrist and they are tone-deaf and feckless, and the Clinton faction is part of a Wall Street cadre that made the Obama years a disappointment. (I am firmly in the Bernie camp, actually) Of course(!) the Democratic Party failed. NOT MY POINT.
And I personally NEVER praised “the wonders of Harris,” so that is irrelevant and beside the point, too.
I am saying that every faction that did NOT make common cause together to dump Trump might have turned this tide … all are partly responsible for LETTING Trum take an election he should NEVER have won, and every faction that took their eye off the THREAt and got distracted by some other aspect…including ideological purity…needs to take a good look at what is happening and WHY…in the light of reality.
In the light of the consequences of …ah, yeah, purity.
How did we get here? WHAT could have headed this off? Seriously, not in some pie- in- the- sky case, but seriously last year… ?
Did we EVER expect A HUGE landslide shift toward a fringe candidate who might have done a hell of a lot more good running for the House or Senate??? Was last year the year to keep pushing for that person for president, with Trump on the horizon?
OR, maybe did we seriously need some more people voting for the NOT Trump, who was far from perfect but could have been talked to like a human being….
I have a really, REALLY hard time thinking the Dems would have been this hard on the military, health care, international aid, Ukraine, Gaza, the environment, trade….the frigging WHITE HOUSE EAST WING! … A lot of factions fell short.
Pat, my point here is that a false idea, "purity," is used by the DNC to smear those like me who want a candidate like Bernie Sanders. There are no "pure" candidates or people for that matter. Every person, and certainly every politician, is flawed. But some candidates are much better than others, e.g. Sanders over HRC and Biden.
My rejection of candidates like HRC, Biden, and KH isn't driven by purity but by principles. So, my apologies to the DNC for having principles and following them.
The DNC will keep insulting winnable voters like me and then wonder why I won't vote for Pete Buttigieg or Josh Shapiro etc.
Ah, Bill. I know you’re a good man. But that is exactly the “purity” I am talking about.The Democrats are nowhere NEAR as horrendous as this MAGA authoritarian crowd.
{The Rs resent being called Nazis and Fascists, so they act like Putin, for the sake of all that is holy…} The Dems may hold some policies and ideas that drive me up a wall, but in all the years they’ve been doing this, they never quit on international charities and things like our medical readiness and awareness, FEMA … All the foundations of our society…
My Dad was a journalist for nearly forty years, the last 20+ in Vermont. He is on a first name basis with Bernie and Howard Dean and Pat Leahy and so many more over the years. I’m a staunch Bernie supporter - but he was so committed to NOT letting DJT into office again, and he asked people to vote for Kamala.
I’m seriously afraid that … letting DJT take it, out of — What? Stubborn purity, it seems to me — could be the death knell to our democracy. Even if we pull it out of the fire, a hell of a lot of people around the world are suffering horribly — wars, famine, droughts, disasters, failed states, and a few fisherman in the south seas are dead, and we have NO IDEA if they were innocent or guilty of anything —
I’m saying it’s TOUGH to have to struggle with stubborn centrist Dems who think they can just depend on our votes even when they dither and waffle and defer too much to some vague “middle” where Wall Street lurks. But we needed to find better ways to move the Democratic stubborn old codgers to better policies, not spitefully vote for someone who could not win, letting Donald have it.
The Dems are STILL NEVER as bad as what we let in the door now — This is not just bad … THIS IS AWFUL. MONSTROUS. HORRENDOUS. And we may never recover. I HOPE we do, but I am not sanguine about it.
You never address my one thought — We desperately needed to gain strength in Congress, too, and I don’t know why, for the life of me, Ms Stein did not put her efforts there, where we also need to weild some savvy “power.” It was Congress that constantly thwarted the Obama agenda, packing the Supreme Court and chopping and slashing at the ACA to turn it into a pale reflection of the sort of health care system that Bernie advocates. If she had some constituency, why didn’t she put it to better uses. {Bernie sure as hell does!}
I just don’t get why people KNEW what the risks were and still let this happen.
I’m just at a loss. I know you say it was the Democrats’ fault for not running a better candidate, and for dumping on the likes of Bernie, etc… But you might notice, Bernie is a strategic guy. He’s been that way as long as I’ve known about him. He’s the real deal. And as an outlier, he learned how to leverage his activities and his influence — He did not put all his eggs in the Progressive basket, because he didn’t wanna see another outrageous Trumpian nightmare administration happen. He wasn’t willing to risk it. He’s a dedicated and committed public servant. And he knows when to bend a bit, to avoid disaster. He’s not a purist. He’s a savvy guy. And he has some clear vision.
I hope this administration doesn’t steer us over the edge of a cliff. Trump can never hope to be a Putin, but he’s trying. All he is really capable of is making a bigger and bigger mess. I don’t know what the Voughts of this world can do in the background. I’m just dismayed.
So being "good" and having progressive principles makes one a "purist"?
Geez, I thought I just wanted a candidate that cared about the working classes. One who's not bought by lobbyists, including AIPAC. So, for example, I should have voted for Kamala even though she, like Biden, enabled a genocide in Gaza and embraced military lethality?
No, being a good person makes you a good person. All the other is individual, based on what you do. Not absolutist. There’s a broad spectrum of people, and you’re one. So am I. We want a LOT of the same things, but see our way to them differently. You keep on saying Kamala, like Biden, enabled genocide. She didn’t oppose Bibi at all strongly enough, but I seriously, MOST VERY seriously do not think she would have sat by salivating over a chance to “redevelop” Gaza as a seaside resort while Bibi carpet bombed those people from pillar to post for a year, starving them, destroying their shelters and hospitals and TENTS … Gaza was and is one of the reasons I was so desperate to keep Trump out of Washington [his hatred of Islam, his pandering to Evangelical End Times Zealots, and his move to make Jerusalem the capitol not the least of the messages he was sending loud and clear]. Oh, my god, GAZA is part of the reason I was desperate to elect the NOT TRUMP. There was no chance Stein was going to be elected, and if Trump got in, we were going to get a TRUE genocide in GAZA, and it was going to spread to East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and more … This is one occasion when Kamala spoke about Gaza in 2024. <<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oogNVOqnChc&t=20s>>
I would have preferred more fire-in-the-gut from her, but that’s not how she speaks. I did think she would have been someone that people in the peace movement for Israel-Palestine could talk to rationally. I thought she could be moved to put greater pressure on Bibi and his mad cadre.
I truly do not think the horrors of this past year would have happened if we had stopped a second Trump administration. Of course, no one has a crystal ball, but that’s how I see it.
Hello Pat... Bill Clinton said, "Don't Make The Perfect, The Enemy Of The Good"... I believe that one of the Founders, Ben Franklin, said, "Politics Makes Strange Bed-Fellows'... Good Politics, is Pragmatic... Stupid Pursuit of Purity Politics has given us DJT 2.0...
We must try to find ways to take care of ourselves to be able to resist — IF we can turn it around without tearing it down, that is our only hope. I try so hard not to despair. But regardless of what we may be able to accompllish for our future, so many have already suffered SO much under this regime.
Hello Pat... To be Snarky, you could ask if they voted for DJT, in which case you could say, "What Were You Expecting From A 6X Bankrupted Convicted Felon?"...
Always remember it's OPM (Other People's Money) that The Donald pissed away with Trump University (!), Trump Wine, etc., etc. He never puts his own money at risk. Supposedly the demolition of the East Wing is being paid for by "private donors." And are we ready for the Arch of Trump?!? Eat your heart out, Gay Pa-ree! :-)
Hello Greg... DJT is Horrible with Money... DJT has pissed-away Billions Of $$$ of his own Money.... If DJT had not been Re-Elected, DJT would be in Prison, and Bankrupt by now... The National Debt just broke 38-Trillion Dollars... The Velocity of Debt Accumulation is Accelerating... 45-Trillion by 2029 if DJT stays that long?....
But the thing is, Donald has successfully kept Top Secret how much money he personally can access. Like in an emergency! "Drat, my limo is gonna need major repairs and I can't afford a new one. I'll have to tap my adoring supporters." When his finances WERE looked into--but not comprehensively, just to a limited degree--well, that produced the 34 felony convictions! :-)
I could rub some salt in the wounds. I do TRY not to punch down. In the end, though, I hope some people are opening their eyes, finally. If we can have a strategy to undo this mess ….
As a Canadian, it's sad I had to find the link to this Patriotic Canadian video in a comment in The Washington Post article: 'Trump says he’s canceling trade negotiations with Canada over anti-tariff ad' President Donald Trump claimed Canada “fraudulently used” an advertisement that featured audio from a 1987 radio address by President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs. (free link to article https://wapo.st/3JdxQBo)
This cover video of WE WILL SURVIVE shows why Canadians are becoming anti-Trump, anti-US Warriors because of the tariff trade war.
We have reached the point that even advertising troubles The Big Man, and he retaliates. There is speculation the US Congress will not reopen because the Speaker of the House would have to seat a Democrat who would cast the deciding vote to open the 'Epstein Files'. If true, I guess we would have our Reichstag Fire moment and we know where this goes.
I'm not sure enuf GOPers would find the actual intestinal fortitude to vote to release the REAL Epstein files, that is un-redacted, where I'm confident we'd find Trump's name multiple times. Of course it's been months now since Blondie (US Attorney General) "promised" such a release.
Apparently it's a House vote, and this new Democratic rep is supposed to put the vote over the top. But it's unclear to me whose "Epstein files" would be released - whatever might be in the hands of Congress, or the ones Blondie has which she said don't exist, even though she once said they did.
Not to worry - the Big Man has now said the new East Wing Versailles ballroom will be named after him - so everything will be okay.
Dear old Ronnie has been a Republican Saint for eons now. "Using him" against The Donald was rather clever. But we must bear in mind that Reagan, a shill for Libertarianism, was as ignorant about Economics as the current tragic occupant of the White House. That part that hasn't yet been demolished!!
The so-called Village People were excessively macho straight men mocking the Queer community. I can't think of any other reason Trump would claim to dig them.
I have that Album "Village People" in my Collection The Village People got their name it refers to the Manhattan's Greenwich Village, with its reputation as a gayborhood. YMCA was their biggest hit.
You may be right, with hope for Peace and a better World diminishing day by day with Trump and 3 years to go.
Now abides faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
My personal reference Bible was printed in 1855, before CanaDa & Israel came into being, and keeping watch, I'm convinced these words in that old Bible are unfolding in this Material World TODAY.
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, (the US) and out of the mouth of the false prophet. (false beliefs about God in Judaism, Christianity & Islam)
For they are the spirits of DEVILS, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth ($Billionaires, Presidents, Prime Ministers, CEOs and other IDOLS of the People) and of the whole world, (the rest of the passive powerless) to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Behold, I come as a thief. ( when it's least expected) Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. Revelation of Jesus Christ 16:13-16
Armageddon was derived from Har Mediggo during the Roman Occupation of Palestine. God disappeared Israel from among the kingdoms for breaking the Covenant some 700 years before Jesus walked through the OCCUPIED West Bank. (see Deuteronomy 28 re Curses or Blessings)
The Israeli attack on Iran June 13 joined by the US, is the clearest SIGN, this World is on the Path to ARMAGEDDON and the battle of that great day of God Almighty with THEOCRATIC Israel vs THEOCRATIC Iran with US Christian Nationalism mixed in.
The Vatican, Jewish and Christian Leaders, Political Leaders and the MSM, did not recognize the RED FLAG warning when ISIS blew up the Islamic Mosque in Nineveh, Iraq in 2014 containing the TOMB of Jonah in the whale fame of Jewish/Christian tradition.
Jonah was told by God to go to a strange city and tell them they're on the Path to Destruction if they don't change their ways and direction.
The 2014 destruction in Nineveh was a Sign of the Times this Material World is repeating that Bible history of some 2760 years ago on that Path to Destruction. The People of Nineveh changed their way of thinking and direction and were not destroyed.
In 2014 the US CIA orchestrated the Regime change of the Democratically elected Russian friendly Ukraine government, installing the UN-elected US proxy anti-Russian government that immediately started shelling the Russian speaking Ukrainians bordering Russia.
I believe in focused, rational, constructive, creative analysis and decisive action. Whining and moaning I reserve exclusively for specific occasions, e.g. cutting my finger with a kitchen knife or hitting my hand with a hammer.
"I want my future back. But it seems the future is simply more of the past—more drilling, more bombing."
A bit of a riff on that line, within context. Boeing won the contract to design the B-52 in 1946, rather amazing just after the end of WWII. The prototype first flew in in 1952, entered service with the Air Force in 1955. Production ended in 1962, 744 units having been made. Today 74 airframes still exist, ongoing upgrades anticipated to keep them in service into the 2050s. Can you imagine, nearly century-old aircraft still in the inventory??!! Also, I guess what's past is prologue...?? A certain future seems unavoidable.
Saw the headline on the drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I did a little more than shrug, what number is this in the tally of Trump & Co.'s outrages?
To quote from The Firesign Theatre--a "psychedelic" comedy troupe many folks here may not be familiar with--"Forward, into the past!" I believe firmly in giving credit where due, even if it turns my stomach. So I have to say, once upon a time the Boeing Corporation actually turned out high quality products. The B-52s flew thru the American War in Viet Nam, and that is now 50 years in the past! That they are still air-worthy is rather amazing. Of course they're not famed for speed, so a nation with no significant air defense, like Venezuela, is an ideal target to be in US Imperialism's bomb sights. The drilling in the Arctic is not news, except perhaps if Trump has expanded the area to be drilled. Like to the whole bloody "preserve" perhaps? Sidebar comment: the two most openly pro-Trump (demonstrated by displayed flags and signs) houses on my block now sport solar PV panels on their roofs!! They must have sprung for the income generated by selling surplus power to the local utility.
Ah, yes ... if more people had picked up on Firesign, things might be different today. A little surrealism is good for the soul. At least it used to be. But enough. "High School Madness" is coming on soon, and a pizza from Nick's - no anchovies - is on the way.
Oh-ho, a fellow traveler! Welcome aboard. I think we're all bozos on this bus, BTW! :-) (See, now "the Straight People" have no idea what we're kicking back and forth here!)
Well, those 4 or 5 Crazy Guys could certainly give you a different perspective on things. I got the clone, and see you on The Funway. Failing that, maybe on the old Antelope Freeway ... (Remember: If you lived here, you'd be home by now.) Get a hare lip ...
Yes, "4 or 5 Crazy Guys Publishing Co." was a legal (I guess) entity the boys used to assert their copyrights. At other times, "Espeseth Music, Music, Music"! :-) Now, pardon me, as "uh, Clem," Barney the Bozo and I are off to see Dr. Memory. "Flip-flop mirror clone!"
Hello Bill Astore.... IMHO, the Popular US Culture has Stagnated, and Retrograded since the late 1970s... Didn't Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, launch Covert Actions against Central, and South American Countries in the 1970s. & and 1980's?...
I don't recall any overt US military actions against Latin America under Carter, though of course the attempt to overthrow Cuba's government has been underway well over 60 years. BIG FAIL!! Makes me very happy to point that out! If memory serves, the CIA years ago admitted to 600+ attempts to assassinate Fidel!! Unreal! No wonder Fidel felt a need to have a pistol on his hip when he addressed the UN General Assembly! But of course the Establishment screamed about him being "such a violent man!!" Tsk tsk! :-)
The duopoly represents the monied elites, they only pretend to care about polices that affect everyday people; their only real interest is in gaining more wealth.
Bill, as a counterpoint, I want my past back too. I grow angrier by the day as I see now the entire East Wing of the White House being torn down - to be replaced by a self-aggrandizing temple of greed to take its place, where the elites can gather a couple of times of year. It belongs to the American people, not to Trump - who continually demonstrates his low-brow aesthetic of excess and garishness. Trump likely doesn't know the history of the East Wing - or cares.
Sounds like you might be falling for the national narrative masters' latest distraction and what they're calling White House Ballroom Construction Derangement Syndrome. (WHBCDS is just too long to remember, so Malone recommends just sticking with WTF.)
You can't stop the dismal Tide-- indifferent, chaotic Universe that it is you must embrace it. I wanted a future like 2001 space travel, science, real progress solving disease, hunger not just greed and the pursuit of money & solely hedonistic material things. Its all lead to our so called modern world & Trump. Theres no easy answers other than to live bravely in these dismal times... Gotta love the old SAC Patch my Neighbor noticed mine on my Flt. Jacket. He was an Aircraft Mechanic on BUFFS B-52's. (can't believe they're still around. I have no doubt they may still be used @ 100 yrs. old.) when he was in. He didn't know he lived by a SAC Ex Sky-Cop! Motto:"Peace (was) Is our Profession"
As a member of the Carl Sagan-founded Planetary Society for almost 45 years, I too longed for the future depicted in "2001 A Space Odyssey." But the money needed went to the Pentagon, to murder untold millions of human beings in Viet Nam, etc., etc. And what did Trump's budget do to NASA? Slashed funding by 50% or so. These are all human foibles at work, not developments "mandated" by an indifferent Universe. None of this shit "had to happen." "The fault lies with us, not in our stars."
In regards to "Indifferent Chaotic Universe" I'm referring to my own beliefs of a Godless Universe--one that I prefer the God of Spinoza: "The rules of Nature are indistinguishable from God"
Yes.., Gregory-- The Story of Us...!
I always feel better knowing there are more good guys than lousy ones, Fireman. I value your existence and your efforts in our world. Peace!
Thx. You as well Pat...
Sorry Fireman, I can't share your feelings about the old SAC patch. To me, it's just another icon of the God of War which is worshiped by so many. Were it not for our addiction to war, we might have achieved the future you wanted.
Yes, WRKnight I think unfortunately the Addiction to War is in our DNA we seem to be hardwired to War more than, or just as much as we are to the obsession to explore the planets, new worlds & the Universe. We are a most peculiar Race. Which obsession will win out!?
In some ways, there was a profound truth in the words of Agent Smith in his speech to Morpheus, where he likened humans to viruses that multiply and multiply and consume and consume until all natural resources are devoured, and then move on to another area.
It is probably a good thing that we are likely to destroy our planet and life as we know it before we are able to spread to others.
Sounds like we have basically the same morning routine, Bill. I'd add RT to the mix, though. It's way more objective and less biased than most US publications, even more so than many "progressive" sites.
During my Moscow visit in 2013, Russia Today was on the hotel TV system. I found their analysis/perspective refreshing, to say the least, compared to U.S. MSM.
In December 2010, I was protesting Obama’s wars at the White House with 130 veterans, along with Daniel Ellsberg, Ray McGovern and journalist Chris Hedges. We were all arrested, and the only media that showed up to cover this Veterans for Peace protest was RT. Their coverage was fantastic. I was hooked.
DirectTV used to carry them, until US paranoia set in, under Trump I(?), Biden(?), can't remember, they were branded a foreign agent or some such nonsense, rather than an "inconvenient truth" news source and other perspective. Chris Hedges even had a slot there, and he said they didn't interfere.
I looked forward to Oksana Boyko's program, I think it was called "World's Apart," perhaps a reference to the US (as it represents the West) and Russia (and others). A really intelligent, articulate, knowledgeable journalist, one got to learn of issues and other perspectives from watching her. Nothing comparable exists in the MSM.
Yeah, RT was banished from US airwaves not too long after the outbreak of fighting in the Ukraine. Thus, it would've been on Biden's watch.
Right, thanks for refreshing my memory, s-o-o-o much has been going on over the past two years I simply don't have the bandwidth or memory capacity to accommodate it all.
Speaking of Biden - must we? - his recent news on prostate cancer is indication that his time will be up, as with all mortals. It's standard for the obit departments of major newspapers to have updated, ready-to-print obituaries or "necrologies" for when that time comes. I ask how forthright will they be - "Bibi, can you ease off on the killings a bit, it's beginning to get embarrassing" - or whether they have to engage in the traditional hagiography for US presidents? Ditto for Dumbya and Trump, is there enough lipstick in the cosmetics department at Macy's to slap on these pigs?
It will all depend on what MSM outlet we're talking about. I wouldn't expect a hagiography job from the media in Trump's control (pardon my understatement!). And "for all intensive purposes," as many Americans say, DJT really does CONTROL these operations.
Actually, if we think about it a bit, DJT both controls and is a product of these operations, but I don't wanna give too much thought to the whole sordid mess, they're already consuming enough of my attention - necessarily so, to keep an eye on these bastards.
Do we think ANY of this would have happened if we had done our level best to PREVENT Donald J. Trump from EVER entering the White House again? Do we think they TOLD us with the Project 2025 EXACTLY what they planned to do? Do we think we EVER had a chance THIS PAST YEAR to get a third party into THE WHITE HOUSE? {Maybe in the future, we we worked REALLY hard at it, but this year?} Was our purity worth all this?
Do we think he is and WAS always the absolute FOCUS of the election he “won” to get here? Hmmmm. I wonder what we think of all that. ….
Ah, yes. There's that reference to "purity" again. I gather a "purist" is someone who just couldn't see the wonders of Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party. Someone who dared to vote for someone other than Trump and Harris. Or not to vote at all. They are surely to blame for Trump, not all the voters who cast ballots for him. And certainly we must never blame the Democrats for lying about Biden's fitness for office, then refusing to run a real competitive primary process.
I hate those "purists"! It's all their fault.
Seriously, if the Democratic Party keeps insulting voters rather than trying to win them over, it will continue to lose. If anyone is a "purist," it's mainline Democrats who insist you must vote purely and only for them, irrespective of how bad the candidate is.
Then again, I've also heard I'm racist and sexist for not voting for Kamala, even as I voted for Barack Obama, Tulsi Gabbard, and Jill Stein. I guess I was racist too for supporting Cornel West.
In 2026 and 2028, the Democratic Party had better learn to field charismatic, skilled, and qualified candidates with populist credentials and strong core (not corporate) principles, or they're going to lose again. And that's the "pure" truth.
Now THAT …. << In 2026 and 2028, the Democratic Party had better learn to field charismatic, skilled, and qualified candidates with populist credentials and strong core (not corporate) principles, or they're going to lose again. And that's the "pure" truth.>> I most assuredly believe!
I hope they, too, have learned this awful lesson… So far, I am not especially enncouraged by what I see, but wegotta hope all the factions that want to see MAGA gone will rally…
See this from Ken Klippenstein https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/democrats-bringing-a-pencil-to-a. I say the Dems are gonna tank in 2026, to say nothing of 2028.
Anyone who thinks the Dem. Establishment (not pointing a finger at anyone in a previous comment here, just generalizing) is gonna embrace a Bernie or a Dennis K. (out of the news so long I've forgotten how to spell his surname) is truly delusional. The Clinton style Corporate Dems are totally capable of cutting benefits like Social Security, Medicare, etc. but the cuts would not be as drastic as what Project 2025 is bringing down on us. Announced today: Social Security benefits to rise a MASSIVE (tongue firmly in cheek here) 2.8% for 2026. I predict here and now grocery prices will be up at least 10% overall by then, as the Extremely Stable Genius (time to abbreviate this as ESG??), the ESG's tariffs are still only starting to trickle down to retail consumer prices. We ain't seen nothing yet. If I'm wrong I'll hafta cease commenting on Economics!
Just don't buy anything foreign, Greg! :-)
Well, I hear some folks in California have started to (try to) cultivate coffee plants there. Will climate change allow them to succeed? Be that as it may, it would take ages to match the output of countries like Brazil, Kenya, etc. Coffee, tea, cacao will all be way up in price soon enuf. :-(
Criticizing the Democrats has nothing to do with my comment. I never said they are wonderful…I mostly say they are far too centrist and they are tone-deaf and feckless, and the Clinton faction is part of a Wall Street cadre that made the Obama years a disappointment. (I am firmly in the Bernie camp, actually) Of course(!) the Democratic Party failed. NOT MY POINT.
And I personally NEVER praised “the wonders of Harris,” so that is irrelevant and beside the point, too.
I am saying that every faction that did NOT make common cause together to dump Trump might have turned this tide … all are partly responsible for LETTING Trum take an election he should NEVER have won, and every faction that took their eye off the THREAt and got distracted by some other aspect…including ideological purity…needs to take a good look at what is happening and WHY…in the light of reality.
In the light of the consequences of …ah, yeah, purity.
How did we get here? WHAT could have headed this off? Seriously, not in some pie- in- the- sky case, but seriously last year… ?
Did we EVER expect A HUGE landslide shift toward a fringe candidate who might have done a hell of a lot more good running for the House or Senate??? Was last year the year to keep pushing for that person for president, with Trump on the horizon?
OR, maybe did we seriously need some more people voting for the NOT Trump, who was far from perfect but could have been talked to like a human being….
I have a really, REALLY hard time thinking the Dems would have been this hard on the military, health care, international aid, Ukraine, Gaza, the environment, trade….the frigging WHITE HOUSE EAST WING! … A lot of factions fell short.
But, ah…purity.
Pat, my point here is that a false idea, "purity," is used by the DNC to smear those like me who want a candidate like Bernie Sanders. There are no "pure" candidates or people for that matter. Every person, and certainly every politician, is flawed. But some candidates are much better than others, e.g. Sanders over HRC and Biden.
My rejection of candidates like HRC, Biden, and KH isn't driven by purity but by principles. So, my apologies to the DNC for having principles and following them.
The DNC will keep insulting winnable voters like me and then wonder why I won't vote for Pete Buttigieg or Josh Shapiro etc.
Ah, Bill. I know you’re a good man. But that is exactly the “purity” I am talking about.The Democrats are nowhere NEAR as horrendous as this MAGA authoritarian crowd.
{The Rs resent being called Nazis and Fascists, so they act like Putin, for the sake of all that is holy…} The Dems may hold some policies and ideas that drive me up a wall, but in all the years they’ve been doing this, they never quit on international charities and things like our medical readiness and awareness, FEMA … All the foundations of our society…
My Dad was a journalist for nearly forty years, the last 20+ in Vermont. He is on a first name basis with Bernie and Howard Dean and Pat Leahy and so many more over the years. I’m a staunch Bernie supporter - but he was so committed to NOT letting DJT into office again, and he asked people to vote for Kamala.
I’m seriously afraid that … letting DJT take it, out of — What? Stubborn purity, it seems to me — could be the death knell to our democracy. Even if we pull it out of the fire, a hell of a lot of people around the world are suffering horribly — wars, famine, droughts, disasters, failed states, and a few fisherman in the south seas are dead, and we have NO IDEA if they were innocent or guilty of anything —
I’m saying it’s TOUGH to have to struggle with stubborn centrist Dems who think they can just depend on our votes even when they dither and waffle and defer too much to some vague “middle” where Wall Street lurks. But we needed to find better ways to move the Democratic stubborn old codgers to better policies, not spitefully vote for someone who could not win, letting Donald have it.
The Dems are STILL NEVER as bad as what we let in the door now — This is not just bad … THIS IS AWFUL. MONSTROUS. HORRENDOUS. And we may never recover. I HOPE we do, but I am not sanguine about it.
You never address my one thought — We desperately needed to gain strength in Congress, too, and I don’t know why, for the life of me, Ms Stein did not put her efforts there, where we also need to weild some savvy “power.” It was Congress that constantly thwarted the Obama agenda, packing the Supreme Court and chopping and slashing at the ACA to turn it into a pale reflection of the sort of health care system that Bernie advocates. If she had some constituency, why didn’t she put it to better uses. {Bernie sure as hell does!}
I just don’t get why people KNEW what the risks were and still let this happen.
I’m just at a loss. I know you say it was the Democrats’ fault for not running a better candidate, and for dumping on the likes of Bernie, etc… But you might notice, Bernie is a strategic guy. He’s been that way as long as I’ve known about him. He’s the real deal. And as an outlier, he learned how to leverage his activities and his influence — He did not put all his eggs in the Progressive basket, because he didn’t wanna see another outrageous Trumpian nightmare administration happen. He wasn’t willing to risk it. He’s a dedicated and committed public servant. And he knows when to bend a bit, to avoid disaster. He’s not a purist. He’s a savvy guy. And he has some clear vision.
I hope this administration doesn’t steer us over the edge of a cliff. Trump can never hope to be a Putin, but he’s trying. All he is really capable of is making a bigger and bigger mess. I don’t know what the Voughts of this world can do in the background. I’m just dismayed.
So being "good" and having progressive principles makes one a "purist"?
Geez, I thought I just wanted a candidate that cared about the working classes. One who's not bought by lobbyists, including AIPAC. So, for example, I should have voted for Kamala even though she, like Biden, enabled a genocide in Gaza and embraced military lethality?
No thanks ...
No, being a good person makes you a good person. All the other is individual, based on what you do. Not absolutist. There’s a broad spectrum of people, and you’re one. So am I. We want a LOT of the same things, but see our way to them differently. You keep on saying Kamala, like Biden, enabled genocide. She didn’t oppose Bibi at all strongly enough, but I seriously, MOST VERY seriously do not think she would have sat by salivating over a chance to “redevelop” Gaza as a seaside resort while Bibi carpet bombed those people from pillar to post for a year, starving them, destroying their shelters and hospitals and TENTS … Gaza was and is one of the reasons I was so desperate to keep Trump out of Washington [his hatred of Islam, his pandering to Evangelical End Times Zealots, and his move to make Jerusalem the capitol not the least of the messages he was sending loud and clear]. Oh, my god, GAZA is part of the reason I was desperate to elect the NOT TRUMP. There was no chance Stein was going to be elected, and if Trump got in, we were going to get a TRUE genocide in GAZA, and it was going to spread to East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and more … This is one occasion when Kamala spoke about Gaza in 2024. <<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oogNVOqnChc&t=20s>>
I would have preferred more fire-in-the-gut from her, but that’s not how she speaks. I did think she would have been someone that people in the peace movement for Israel-Palestine could talk to rationally. I thought she could be moved to put greater pressure on Bibi and his mad cadre.
I truly do not think the horrors of this past year would have happened if we had stopped a second Trump administration. Of course, no one has a crystal ball, but that’s how I see it.
See "Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World" You Tube-- "The Lesser of Two Weevils!" :/ :O) A lot of Truth in Jest!!
But evil is still evil/In anybody's name. -- Don Henley, "If Dirt Were Dollars"
Hello Pat... Bill Clinton said, "Don't Make The Perfect, The Enemy Of The Good"... I believe that one of the Founders, Ben Franklin, said, "Politics Makes Strange Bed-Fellows'... Good Politics, is Pragmatic... Stupid Pursuit of Purity Politics has given us DJT 2.0...
Yes, Apache. And I’m desolate about all of it.
We must try to find ways to take care of ourselves to be able to resist — IF we can turn it around without tearing it down, that is our only hope. I try so hard not to despair. But regardless of what we may be able to accompllish for our future, so many have already suffered SO much under this regime.
Hello Pat... To be Snarky, you could ask if they voted for DJT, in which case you could say, "What Were You Expecting From A 6X Bankrupted Convicted Felon?"...
Always remember it's OPM (Other People's Money) that The Donald pissed away with Trump University (!), Trump Wine, etc., etc. He never puts his own money at risk. Supposedly the demolition of the East Wing is being paid for by "private donors." And are we ready for the Arch of Trump?!? Eat your heart out, Gay Pa-ree! :-)
Hello Greg... DJT is Horrible with Money... DJT has pissed-away Billions Of $$$ of his own Money.... If DJT had not been Re-Elected, DJT would be in Prison, and Bankrupt by now... The National Debt just broke 38-Trillion Dollars... The Velocity of Debt Accumulation is Accelerating... 45-Trillion by 2029 if DJT stays that long?....
But the thing is, Donald has successfully kept Top Secret how much money he personally can access. Like in an emergency! "Drat, my limo is gonna need major repairs and I can't afford a new one. I'll have to tap my adoring supporters." When his finances WERE looked into--but not comprehensively, just to a limited degree--well, that produced the 34 felony convictions! :-)
I could rub some salt in the wounds. I do TRY not to punch down. In the end, though, I hope some people are opening their eyes, finally. If we can have a strategy to undo this mess ….
Hello Pat... I understand your Sentiment... Unfortunately some MAGAs, like DJT, consider Kindness, Weakness...
Yes. Sadly, They do. They have no idea that kindness is far more an aspect of evolutionary fitness than their damned hard-nosed behaviors…
As a Canadian, it's sad I had to find the link to this Patriotic Canadian video in a comment in The Washington Post article: 'Trump says he’s canceling trade negotiations with Canada over anti-tariff ad' President Donald Trump claimed Canada “fraudulently used” an advertisement that featured audio from a 1987 radio address by President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs. (free link to article https://wapo.st/3JdxQBo)
This cover video of WE WILL SURVIVE shows why Canadians are becoming anti-Trump, anti-US Warriors because of the tariff trade war.
https://youtu.be/8peiLVFsLdw?si=V01uEhayGJ8vhssf
We have reached the point that even advertising troubles The Big Man, and he retaliates. There is speculation the US Congress will not reopen because the Speaker of the House would have to seat a Democrat who would cast the deciding vote to open the 'Epstein Files'. If true, I guess we would have our Reichstag Fire moment and we know where this goes.
I'm not sure enuf GOPers would find the actual intestinal fortitude to vote to release the REAL Epstein files, that is un-redacted, where I'm confident we'd find Trump's name multiple times. Of course it's been months now since Blondie (US Attorney General) "promised" such a release.
Apparently it's a House vote, and this new Democratic rep is supposed to put the vote over the top. But it's unclear to me whose "Epstein files" would be released - whatever might be in the hands of Congress, or the ones Blondie has which she said don't exist, even though she once said they did.
Not to worry - the Big Man has now said the new East Wing Versailles ballroom will be named after him - so everything will be okay.
The Trump Wing!
Ha!! After who else could we expect it to be named??
The Trump Blue Ball Rm!! :/ :O)
Hello TomR... 'Release The Kraken'.. Release The Epstein Files...
Dear old Ronnie has been a Republican Saint for eons now. "Using him" against The Donald was rather clever. But we must bear in mind that Reagan, a shill for Libertarianism, was as ignorant about Economics as the current tragic occupant of the White House. That part that hasn't yet been demolished!!
Just came across this anti-Trump US Patriotic cover of a song I remember, but can't identify the name.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQVjmRgZGy4
"YMCA" by The Village People
The so-called Village People were excessively macho straight men mocking the Queer community. I can't think of any other reason Trump would claim to dig them.
I have that Album "Village People" in my Collection The Village People got their name it refers to the Manhattan's Greenwich Village, with its reputation as a gayborhood. YMCA was their biggest hit.
It's really pretty hilarious that Donald likes to "rock out" to that song!! But he IS totally off his rocker, let's face it.
That Dance of his lmao I guess that gyrate will figure prominently in his new White House Ballroom...
I should have known! Do you like the videos? Any thoughts on WE WILL SURVIVE?
I think we're in a situation where the odds are shifting to the downside
You may be right, with hope for Peace and a better World diminishing day by day with Trump and 3 years to go.
Now abides faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
My personal reference Bible was printed in 1855, before CanaDa & Israel came into being, and keeping watch, I'm convinced these words in that old Bible are unfolding in this Material World TODAY.
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, (the US) and out of the mouth of the false prophet. (false beliefs about God in Judaism, Christianity & Islam)
For they are the spirits of DEVILS, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth ($Billionaires, Presidents, Prime Ministers, CEOs and other IDOLS of the People) and of the whole world, (the rest of the passive powerless) to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Behold, I come as a thief. ( when it's least expected) Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. Revelation of Jesus Christ 16:13-16
Armageddon was derived from Har Mediggo during the Roman Occupation of Palestine. God disappeared Israel from among the kingdoms for breaking the Covenant some 700 years before Jesus walked through the OCCUPIED West Bank. (see Deuteronomy 28 re Curses or Blessings)
The Israeli attack on Iran June 13 joined by the US, is the clearest SIGN, this World is on the Path to ARMAGEDDON and the battle of that great day of God Almighty with THEOCRATIC Israel vs THEOCRATIC Iran with US Christian Nationalism mixed in.
The Vatican, Jewish and Christian Leaders, Political Leaders and the MSM, did not recognize the RED FLAG warning when ISIS blew up the Islamic Mosque in Nineveh, Iraq in 2014 containing the TOMB of Jonah in the whale fame of Jewish/Christian tradition.
Jonah was told by God to go to a strange city and tell them they're on the Path to Destruction if they don't change their ways and direction.
The 2014 destruction in Nineveh was a Sign of the Times this Material World is repeating that Bible history of some 2760 years ago on that Path to Destruction. The People of Nineveh changed their way of thinking and direction and were not destroyed.
In 2014 the US CIA orchestrated the Regime change of the Democratically elected Russian friendly Ukraine government, installing the UN-elected US proxy anti-Russian government that immediately started shelling the Russian speaking Ukrainians bordering Russia.
The rest is recent history!
Stop the World! ARMAGEDDONoutahere...! :/ :o)
"I want my future back."
All of us want you to have your future back. Let's all roll around on the floor whining and pining and see if we can work some magic.
Stop Global Whining...!
I believe in focused, rational, constructive, creative analysis and decisive action. Whining and moaning I reserve exclusively for specific occasions, e.g. cutting my finger with a kitchen knife or hitting my hand with a hammer.
"I want my future back. But it seems the future is simply more of the past—more drilling, more bombing."
A bit of a riff on that line, within context. Boeing won the contract to design the B-52 in 1946, rather amazing just after the end of WWII. The prototype first flew in in 1952, entered service with the Air Force in 1955. Production ended in 1962, 744 units having been made. Today 74 airframes still exist, ongoing upgrades anticipated to keep them in service into the 2050s. Can you imagine, nearly century-old aircraft still in the inventory??!! Also, I guess what's past is prologue...?? A certain future seems unavoidable.
Saw the headline on the drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I did a little more than shrug, what number is this in the tally of Trump & Co.'s outrages?
To quote from The Firesign Theatre--a "psychedelic" comedy troupe many folks here may not be familiar with--"Forward, into the past!" I believe firmly in giving credit where due, even if it turns my stomach. So I have to say, once upon a time the Boeing Corporation actually turned out high quality products. The B-52s flew thru the American War in Viet Nam, and that is now 50 years in the past! That they are still air-worthy is rather amazing. Of course they're not famed for speed, so a nation with no significant air defense, like Venezuela, is an ideal target to be in US Imperialism's bomb sights. The drilling in the Arctic is not news, except perhaps if Trump has expanded the area to be drilled. Like to the whole bloody "preserve" perhaps? Sidebar comment: the two most openly pro-Trump (demonstrated by displayed flags and signs) houses on my block now sport solar PV panels on their roofs!! They must have sprung for the income generated by selling surplus power to the local utility.
Ah, yes ... if more people had picked up on Firesign, things might be different today. A little surrealism is good for the soul. At least it used to be. But enough. "High School Madness" is coming on soon, and a pizza from Nick's - no anchovies - is on the way.
Oh-ho, a fellow traveler! Welcome aboard. I think we're all bozos on this bus, BTW! :-) (See, now "the Straight People" have no idea what we're kicking back and forth here!)
Well, those 4 or 5 Crazy Guys could certainly give you a different perspective on things. I got the clone, and see you on The Funway. Failing that, maybe on the old Antelope Freeway ... (Remember: If you lived here, you'd be home by now.) Get a hare lip ...
Yes, "4 or 5 Crazy Guys Publishing Co." was a legal (I guess) entity the boys used to assert their copyrights. At other times, "Espeseth Music, Music, Music"! :-) Now, pardon me, as "uh, Clem," Barney the Bozo and I are off to see Dr. Memory. "Flip-flop mirror clone!"
Hello Bill Astore.... IMHO, the Popular US Culture has Stagnated, and Retrograded since the late 1970s... Didn't Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, launch Covert Actions against Central, and South American Countries in the 1970s. & and 1980's?...
I don't recall any overt US military actions against Latin America under Carter, though of course the attempt to overthrow Cuba's government has been underway well over 60 years. BIG FAIL!! Makes me very happy to point that out! If memory serves, the CIA years ago admitted to 600+ attempts to assassinate Fidel!! Unreal! No wonder Fidel felt a need to have a pistol on his hip when he addressed the UN General Assembly! But of course the Establishment screamed about him being "such a violent man!!" Tsk tsk! :-)
Bill, there's so much happening it's hard to keep up!
Recommended reading : Trump Is Laying the Groundwork for Stealing the Midterms
https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/us-politics/trump-is-laying-the-groundwork-for-stealing-the-midterms/
It essentially confirms the likelihood in this article posted 6 years ago, is being planned: https://rayjc.com/2019/10/17/leaked-us-military-manual-for-policing-homeland-internment-camps-for-political-dissidents/
The duopoly represents the monied elites, they only pretend to care about polices that affect everyday people; their only real interest is in gaining more wealth.
Lie, Baby, Lie. Politicians lie so easily.
A Protest video, I DID NOT CONSENT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD4N5UatnVg