Dammit, the pond doesn't like to begin with a cartoon, but dammit, the pond refuses to begin with the Swiss bank account man ...
Can't the reptiles do better than the Swiss bank account man offering up some typical reptile both siderism? With scribblers like these it's easy to understand why the pond is reluctant to read the lizard Oz. Where's Henry? What have they done to the hole in the bucket man? He'd have done a ripper line in classical references, and mebbe even included a reference to Heil Caesar ...
Instead he's gone wherever Henrys go to do whatever Henrys do ... perhaps coach Eliza in the finer points of the English language ... and the pond was left with nothing this day ... just look at the state of the top of the digital page ...
Embarrassed by the Donald, the reptiles have decided to move on quickly. Just as the reptiles refused to talk about the Donald's taxes, they certainly don't want to brood about that notorious debate, which is why they sent out the lightweight Swiss bank account man to do a bit of both siderism for them ... but the pond finds it hard to let go ...
Truth to tell, the pond almost phoned in today to say it couldn't go on ... not with Strewth where our Henry should be, proudly at the top of the page and dealing with the issues of the day ...
But the pond pulled itself together, even though it couldn't give a rat's arse about all that's to follow ...
Well it makes a change from Comrade Dan bashing, but the reptiles were very short on that interim report, because it hurt SloMo's feelings, the poor ambushed things, because what's a few old farts dropping off the twig up against fingers pointed at SloMo's incompetence (an incompetence which helped send Victoria out of control) ...
The accusations hurt? But, billy goat, butt, it's the bloody Feds that stuffed up the whole aged care thingie, and it hurts a lot more if you happen to be dead when you didn't have to be ... but quickly now, let the reptiles put all this aside, so they can get on with bashing comrade Dan and doing some more Covid-measures denialism ...
Well that was short, if not so sweet, and at least it was longer than the reptiles' reports on the Donald's taxes, and if the unnecessary deaths of old folk distracts us from the role of Fox news and the Murdochians in the Donald's America, then it will have served its purpose ...
And it certainly beats reading about recovery plans and getting business on the move again. If the pond wants to go there, it will turn to the infallible Pope ...
By golly, that uniform has something of a fearless leader chairman Mao aspect to it.
How the pond misses its 6 am wake-up call as the first plane roared in on the third runway ... but speaking of infallible Popes and Maoists, the pond next turned with even greater reluctance to Tess, who is no Henry, not by a blathering long-shot ...
The pond's only excuse? It featured the cult master, though the pond has to say that it's a truly feeble cult master effort, and it should have been given the hook ...
As for the rest, when you lead with someone like Mike Pompeo rather than an explanation of the mysteries of transubstantiation, the pond nods off to sleep ...
The Catholic church is reprehensible in so many ways ... and yet is Mike Pompeo without sin, and able to cast the first stone, seeing as how his regime supports that notorious poisoner and bounty hunter of American soldiers, Vlad the impaler ... not to mention many other dumpster fires ...
How stupid does it get? Well good old Tess thinks the last time the Vatican did a bad deal was back in 1933. But what of the deal they did with Franco? What about Chile?
Come to think about it, what about the church's ability to reach an accommodation with all sorts of South American and African dictators?
Oh sure, the underlings might preach otherwise, what with liberation theology and such like, but Rome has always been adept at reaching deals with authoritarian governments, being deeply authoritarian itself, and home to authoritarians of the Pellist kind ... back to Rome, perhaps to keep on with his authoritarian ways ...
Sorry, the pond got a little head of the scribbler ...
Yes, and those outside the reptile bubble are well aware of the hollow sham that is the current United States, and manipulative bullshit artists of the Pompeo kind ...
Oh just finish it, put the pond out of its misery. It's not enough that the pond has lost our Henry, but must waste time on a church willing to pander to Donald Trump and his climate science denialism and his brutal dog eat dog form of capitalism? On all that, the reptile silence is deafening ...
Sheesh, the pond should care about the cult of the Virgin Mary, and other assorted forms of associated Catholic insanity? What about the cult of the hair?
How grim did it get this day for the pond? Well for its bonus, the pond for once had to acknowledge the existence of boofhead bum sniffers ... and while it couldn't cop the gossip at the top of the page, it could at least feature the lizard Oz editorialist ...
There is a way, of course, that the tut-tutting and clucking lizard Oz editorialist could help, given the Murdochians many failures in their duty of care, not least to the planet, but to just about everything else.
Order the Daily Terror to cease all coverage of the NRL forthwith, right now, in finals time. After all, the gladiatorial game - oh where is Henry with a classical reference? - is really only designed to give young men concussion in their youth and dementia and memory loss in old age. And the reptiles have been complicit in this for so long, using the assorted scandals to kill endless trees, so that their failing business model might struggle on ...
As for the rest, the pond really couldn't give a toss, because the lizard Oz also carries on like a lurid fan magazine doing a Hollywood Babylon about the lives of stars awash in the meaningless ennui of their wretched gladiatorial sport ...
Yes, yes, all that, but the pond never really believed in Rusty as a gladiator, and if your belief system involves a club and a rugger bugger game, why you might just as well believe in the Donald, Mike Pompeo and the virgin Mary, and worst of all, the reptile bubble of weird cult beliefs ...
... and that's how the pond wasted its day, this Friday, an epic bout of meaningless futility, and why instead it should have just noted this account, which collects British cartoons of the moment, here, run a Steve Bell, and slunk off into the night, and spend the weekend avoiding the sounds of collisions and impending dementia ...
"... and that's how the pond wasted its day, this Friday"
ReplyDeleteStrewth, DP, that's just about on a par with being allowed to only eat fish on a Friday: no good red meat to be seen anywhere, just Rabbitohs on the scamper.
But I did enjoy this one from Tess: "Vatican-based Argentinian Bishop Sanchez Soronado made the ludicrous claim that the Chinese state exemplified Catholic social justice teaching."
Now what's "ludicrous" about that ? It seems like a frighteningly accurate assessment to me. And here's just a little bit of holy music to go with it:
Angel Chorale Siyahamba
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGOiANtGmhE
Thanks DP. The first cartoon, of Trump as Caesar, reminded me of a review of Caesar's 'The War for Gaul' in which the reviewer reminds us that
ReplyDelete"Julius Caesar was the first génocidaire in European history. He tells us so himself, in a brilliantly structured third-person narrative that makes mass slaughter and the enslavement of whole populations seem mundane." (from the London Review of Books).I'd like to think that the cartoonist was aware of Caesar's history.
I was reading driftglass (https://driftglass.blogspot.com/2020/09/look-on-my-works-ye-mighty-and-despair.html) this morning:
"the end-state of the of the Republican party's two most important projects...First, the engineering of a voting base who will believe anything that Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson or Donald Trump shits into their skulls.
Literally. Anything.
This mob of mindless reprogammable meatbags is the Republican party's most monumental and long-lasting achievement. It has been the work of generations, and no expense was spared in cultivating it, purifying it, training it to proudly ignore all information except the words of their Dear Leaders and then using it as an electoral battering ram to accomplish all the terrible things that have been on the GOP's fascist bucket list for decades."
Do you think that the Tories here have similar ideas?
You don't reckon the 3rd Punic War precedes Gaius Julius by about 80 years or so, Joe ?
DeleteLike: "Rome contrived a justification to declare war on Carthage again in 149 BC in the Third Punic War. This conflict was fought entirely on Carthage's territories in what is now Tunisia and largely centered around the Siege of Carthage. In 146 BC the Romans stormed the city of Carthage, sacked it, slaughtered most of its population and completely demolished it. The previously Carthaginian territories were taken over as the Roman province of Africa."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punic_Wars
But you've almost got me convinced to make 'driftglass' a more regular read, especially when Holely Henry goes awol.
And this "the very idea that +60M of their fellow Americans really are a rabble of brain-dead racists who actively hate this country is literally inconceivable to them".
DeleteIt's a thought that disturbs me that a sizeable minority of people are very receptive to these sort of things. If the economy is growing and inequality is not so apparent the tendencies seem to lie dormant in most of them but, oh boy, if they feel aggrieved the age old trigger of racism can set them off at any time.
A slightly more humorous take, but still disturbing.
https://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow/videos/jordan-klepper-vs-trump-supporters/210669160181460/
I'm really not so sure it's actually a "minority", Bef. In my experience almost the entire human race is irrational to a greater or lesser extent about some grab-bag of nonsense. Even those who might be expected to be rational: mathematicians (no, not scientists) for example. The only distinction with mathematicians is that they have to "prove" their contentions via a long established and strongly critiqued process of logic. But outside of mathematics, they're just as gullible as everybody else.
DeleteBut even so, I'd expect fewer real scientists to fall for Qanon than average members of the general public.
Well, irrational isn't necessarily the same as racist.
DeleteA lot of folk are uncomfortable with different cultures for instance but don't react like PHON or Trump supporters. It seems to be more about emotion than logic.
No, but racism is decidedly irrational and "being uncomfortable" isn't the same as being racist. I'm quite "uncomfortable" for example with a lot of foods (especially those containing blood and those containing hard nuts and things) but that doesn't make me a racist either.
DeleteEmotion, of course, isn't a binary phenomenon, it's a continuum with a very great amount of irrationality up one end. But rationality is binary: a belief is either rational or it isn't.
Just in passing, that Jordan Klepper video was a joy.
DeleteOne for CA when he rises again:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJrS-TCHU-Y
Still here....everyday. Much running, jumping, standing still last few days.
DeleteLoved the clip GB.......very different. So much talent to discover. The reptiles are making matters hard for Dorothy this day.....bastards., but comments are very good.
Off to do a small family reunion ......with rules attached! Cheers.
CA.
Loved that 'guitar-violin' thing: a "dobro" violin ?
DeleteI'd never heard of Lanterns on the Lake before. So much to listen too, so little time.
Oh dear
ReplyDeletehttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-02/donald-trump-positive-to-coronavirus-melania-hope-hicks-covid19/12725310
But, butt Bef: “It affects virtually nobody”. We have that on incontrovertible assertion from the current POTUS. And I am so glad he realises he's "nobody".
DeleteThe efficacy of prayer
Deletehttps://twitter.com/TheTweetOfGod/status/1311893145441898496?s=20
Now if Murdoch is also sick I may have to reconsider my atheism.
Right, well in that case I'd join you ... but only if we can determine unambiguously which God to credit.
DeleteGood one Bef.
ReplyDelete