Hell Is Too Good For These People II (Babylon Or Sodom? Eight.)

County road 233 under my feet
Nothin' on this white rock but little ol' me
I've got two miles 'til he makes bail
And if I'm right, we're headed straight for hell
I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun
Wait by the door, and light a cigarette
If he wants a fight, well, now he's got one
And he ain't seen me crazy yet
He slapped my face, and he shook me like a rag doll
Don't that sound like a real man?
I'm going to show him what little girls are made of
Gunpowder and lead
Well, it's half past ten, another six-pack in
And I can feel the rumble like the cold black wind
He pulls in the drive, the gravel flies
He don't know what's waiting here this time

Hey, I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun
Wait by the door, and light a cigarette
If he wants a fight, well, now he's got one
And he ain't seen me crazy yet
He slapped my face, and he shook me like a rag doll
Don't that sound like a real man?
I'm going to show him what little girls are made of
Gunpowder and lead
His fist is big, but my gun's bigger
He'll find out when I pull the trigger.

~Miranda Lambert, Gunpowder And Lead.

...

And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she said in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judges her.

And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. ~Revelation 18:1-10

...

"The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride." ~Volodymyr Zelenskyy, allegedly 25 February 2022, Associated Press.

Some FBI agent said the Epstein files could open a "Pandora's Box of National Security threats and geopolitical ramifications" unlike anything anybody has ever seen.

So the fuck what??

#1 At this point, there needs to be "Ramifications" especially if we don't want this shit to keep happening.

#2 I have an increasing feeling we have no idea just how far down the rot goes, almost especially in churches and "Red State" America. Pretty sure we can assume that Pedo-Con Theory is a thing at this point.

#3 And no matter how bad it is, look at Nick Fuentes and the bullshit he's saying and assume some people want worse.

Some of these fucking people don't care if they ain't got a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of nor a society to live in as long as they have Power over somebody else who cannot consent and who has no recourse.

And if they can't have it they still wanna spend all day jerking off to the idea.

Stop and think about that shit for a second.

THAT is what Trump represents to These Fucking People.

THAT is why they will bow down to Golden Idols of him.

I love my partner and my kid.

They deserve a decent life and freedom, too.

And all three of us can shoot, just sayin.'

I believe the operative turn of phrase is "Over my dead body, Puta."

You can take a lot of things away from a man. Cigarettes, the gym. You can take his freedom, his legs, but not his feelings. Not his feelings. A man loves a woman. Don't matter what kind of man he is, if he loves her, he wants her. He wants her body. He wants her to want his. So you say to him, "you can never make love again. You will never touch her in that way again. This is the last time. The last time. Forever." If that's not cruel and unusual punishment, I don't know what is. ~Augustus Hill, from the HBO series Oz, S1.E2 "Visits, Conjugal and otherwise."

Also, Trump is yammering about trying to plug up Volcanoes with cement, like that's not an idea some little kid would think up.

All this shit going on and the people doing it? They ain't got no leadership.

Worse, they think said living, embodied lack of leadership is God.

In fact, Jesus Christ only wishes all these "Conservatives" and Evangelicals had 10% of the Faith in Him that they have in *Checks Notes* Donald Trump.

Don't ask me, I only work here, and I will never understand it.

Or maybe I just don't want to.

We've got to take the neighborhood back. We've got to go in there. Just forget telling your child to go to the Peace Corps. It's right around the corner. It's standing on the corner. It can't speak English. It doesn't want to speak English. I can't even talk the way these people talk. "Why you ain't where you is go." I don't know who these people are. And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. Then I heard the father talk. This is all in the house. You used to talk a certain way on the corner and you got into the house and switched to English. Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can't land a plane with "why you ain't…". You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth. There is no Bible that has that kind of language. Where did these people get the idea that they're moving ahead on this? Well, they know they're not, they're just hanging out in the same place, five or six generations sitting in the projects when you're just supposed to stay there long enough to get a job and move out. ~Bill Cosby, the "Pound Cake" speech.

I'm starting to like everybody else's odds against These Fucking People.

When it all blows up, we can just go ahead and call it The Pink Revolution.

And I'm pretty sure at this point, it's gonna blow up.

Nobody will be more surprised by that than the media and all these overconfident shitheads in our government.

And these assholes are gonna lose.

Don't worry, that will be everybody else's fault, too.

Maybe it's just me but if the goddamned system is that compromised and corrupted it's probably a safe bet we need a new one...and I absolutely don't mean "Fascism involving all the SAME fucking people."

I mean we need to go down the list, check all the moving parts and re-haul things to get every fucking shithead that shouldn't be there out of Government, media, professions of arms and public life or Power, period, with some level of investigation in the process.

If that means somebody you "Like" gets fired, forced early retirement, or goes to jail, so motherfucking be it. Anybody who's done much of anything ever has had this happen at least once.

Among other things, I've never known anybody who wants to play gatekeeper on who they think should be an American, a Citizen or whatever, that I'd trust with much of anything. People who think America or hell, Life, should be a goddamned HOA tend to spend so much time thinking about who "should" be in the club that they're not good for much of anything else.

And like JD Vance at the Winter Olympics, they're usually all about getting in the way, taking up space and wasting resources to try and prove that they're the most special snowflake ever to even start with.

Because they're fucking narcissists, that's why.

Other people don't really exist to them, except as an inconvenience.

And this kind of view of the world has pretty much become a right-wing "Conservative" default setting.

I say this as a former conservative Republican myself, but of course there isn't one damn thing about any of this that's conservative. Most of these fools just want to kill and steal, they don't care about anything else. Conservatism means "Things As They Are" and is all about Revealed Truth and the wisdom of the ancestors. That's stuff that these fucking people despise.

There is a reason so many of these nuts like or have ties to Russia, just sayin.' Look at the conduct of that nation.

Or for that matter, why these assholes hate Ukraine (or Minnesota, apparently) so much.

And if you can look at that shit and how these fucking people wanna be like Russia and not be horrified?? All I have to say to you is "Fuck you."

It's going to come down to a fight, against people that Hell itself and the Devil and all his Demons are too good for and against "Men" who ain't lonely enough and could never be lonely enough to make them understand where they went wrong.

Such is the male ego, unconstrained. This is why I love the women in my life, my Mom, my partner and the kiddo, who constrain mine.

Because I'm not like Nick Fuentes and wouldn't want to be.

Some people think "Babylon or Sodom?" is the only question work asking, much less answering.

You either believe in freedom or you don't.

And either you're willing to fight for it or you're not.

Слава Україна!

Valin Hess: So what shall we toast to, boys? I can blather on about “To health” or “To success,” but I’d like to do somethin’ a little less rote. Where you from, Brown Eyes?

Migs Mayfield: How ’bout a toast to Operation Cinder?

Hess: Now there’s a man who knows his history.

Mayfield: No, I don’t just know it. I lived it. I was in Burnin Konn.

Hess: Burnin Konn?

Mayfield: Mmm.

Hess: That was a hard day. I had to make many unpleasant decisions.

Mayfield: Yes, you did. Entire city gone in moments, along with everybody in it. We lost our whole division that day. Man, that was like 5-10,000 people.

Hess: Yep. All heroes of the Empire.

Mayfield: Yeah. And all dead.

Hess: Well, it’s a small sacrifice for the greater good, son.

Mayfield: Depends on who you ask, don’t you think?

Hess: [irritated] What you gettin’ at, trooper?

Mayfield: All those people, the ones who died, was it good for them? Hmm? Their families? The guys I served with? Civilians, those poor mud scuffers, died defending their homes, fighting for freedom. Was it good for them?

Hess: But we’ve outlasted them, son. They’re eating themselves alive. The New Republic is in complete disarray, and we grow stronger. You see, with the rhydonium you’ve delivered, we can create havoc that’s gonna make Burnin Konn pale by comparison. And then they’re gonna turn to us once again. You see, boys, everybody thinks they want freedom, but what they really want is order. And when they realize that, they’re gonna welcome us back with open arms. Ah. To the Empire.

[Mayfield chuckles, then fires a blaster at Hess' chest, killing him instantly. He and Mando then shoot their way out of the mess hall] ~From The Mandalorian, Season 2, Ep. 7 "The Believer"

Seven

The Holy Quran says it, "Pilgrimage to the House [of God built by the prophet Abraham] is a duty men owe to God; those who are able, make the journey." (3:97) Allah said: "And proclaim the pilgrimage among men; they will come to you on foot and upon each lean camel, they will come from every deep ravine" (22:27). Every one of the thousands at the airport, about to leave for Jeddah, was dressed this way. You could be a king or a peasant and no one would know. Some powerful personages, who were discreetly pointed out to me, had on the same thing I had on. Once thus dressed, we all had begun intermittently calling out "Labbayka! (Allahumma) Labbayka!" (Here I come, O Lord!) Packed in the plane were white, black, brown, red, and yellow people, blue eyes and blond hair, and my kinky red hair -- all together, brothers! All honoring the same God, all in turn giving equal honor to each other. . . .That is when I first began to reappraise the "white man." It was when I first began to perceive that "white man," as commonly used, means complexion only secondarily; primarily it described attitudes and actions. In America, "white man" meant specific attitudes and actions toward the black man, and toward all other non-white men. But in the Muslim world, I had seen that men with white complexions were more genuinely brotherly than anyone else had ever been. That morning was the start of a radical alteration in my whole outlook about "white" men. ~Malcolm X.

Hell Is Too Good For These People I (Babylon Or Sodom? Seven.)

 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she said in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judges her.

And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. ~Revelation 18:1-10

...

During the past eleven days here in the Muslim world, I have eaten from the same plate, drunk from the same glass, and slept in the same bed (or on the same rug) -- while praying to the same God -- with fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of blue, whose hair was the blondest of blond, and whose skin was the whitest of white. And in the words and in the actions and in the deeds of the "white" Muslims, I felt the same sincerity that I felt among the black African Muslims of Nigeria, Sudan, and Ghana. We were truly all the same (brothers) -- because their belief in one God had removed the "white" from their minds, the 'white' from their behavior, and the 'white' from their attitude. I could see from this, that perhaps if white Americans could accept the Oneness of God, then perhaps, too, they could accept in reality the Oneness of Man -- and cease to measure, and hinder, and harm others in terms of their "differences" in color.

With racism plaguing America like an incurable cancer, the so-called "Christian" white American heart should be more receptive to a proven solution to such a destructive problem. Perhaps it could be in time to save America from imminent disaster -- the same destruction brought upon Germany by racism that eventually destroyed the Germans themselves.

They asked me what about the Hajj had impressed me the most. . . . I said, "The brotherhood! The people of all races, color, from all over the world coming together as one! It has proved to me the power of the One God. . . . All ate as one, and slept as one. Everything about the pilgrimage atmosphere accented the Oneness of Man under One God. 

~Malcolm X, 
Letter following the Hajj.

I'm gonna be totally honest about something.

The more I see of all this Epstein files shit, the more I think that Hell is too good for these people who did all these crimes.

Like, dressing up as Jesus to murder and rape somebody?? Honestly, I think Hell is too good for anybody who'd even think of something like that.

Blasphemy, Demon-worship, murder, rape, very probable treason and all of that likely on an industrial scale? I'm assuming vast levels of financial and other criminalities, and this demonic madness touches pretty much all type of shit??

These fucking people are bringing God's wrath on America.

Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. ~Ezekiel 16:49-50 (NIV)

It's not Bad Bunny.

It's not the Gay people.

It's not the Atheists or the Jews or the Muslims.

It's not People of Color doing this.

It's not the young people making 6-7 jokes.

It's Rich. White. Men.

It's a society that thinks a fake AI Jesus is some kind of an acceptable damned thing that's the damned problem.

That someone's selling this as an actual product is worse, if you ask me.

Or, from a Biblical perspective, same as it ever was, especially if you trade out "White" for the more coded or then-relevant terms like "Babylonian" or "Roman."

Empire, and the debasement it creates in people, is the goddamned problem.

I guess some people just really like the taste of boot-leather.

It's not just that, though.

It's that some people love the idea of a Caesar, or of an Empire, or of some other bullshit social meme, more than they love their own freaking children.

Even if they will never benefit, even if they will never get to participate.

Babylon or Sodom??

They don't care, as long as they get to know somebody else is suffering and to claim relative status over those people.

When men stop believing in God, it isn't that they then believe in nothing: they believe in everything. ~Umberto Eco

Even if all they get to do is work for next to nothing and spend too much of the rest of their time falling-down drunk because their lives are miserable and they lack either the desire or the imagination to change anything about their lives or themselves.

Even if MISERY is their politics, their religion, and their theology because they haven't been given anything the fuck else.

In fact, it seems like it's especially then that you get the worst fucking cases.

Some dude shot his own daughter in Texas recently because she spoke up against Trump.

Evidently he was drunk, and claimed it was a negligent discharge. You know, in most countries and even a lot of states in this one, handling firearms while intoxicated or even having a negligent discharge can be a criminal act. In some countries just that will get you locked up.

In most countries, just for being drunk with a gun or having an actual, no-shit Negligent Discharge you'll automatically lose your weapon and your license to have it for anything of the sort even if nobody gets hurt. In Texas, you can do a MAGA Honor Killing and lie about it saying it was an "accident" and no one will care.

So that's what level of this bullshit we're on now? Instead of a Christ-less Christianity, we're cool with basically a Godless version of Radical Islam??

I believe in no God, no invisible man in the sky. But there is something more powerful than each of us, a combination of our efforts, a Great Chain of industry that unites us. But it is only when we struggle in our own interest that the chain pulls society in the right direction. The chain is too powerful and too mysterious for any government to guide. Any man who tells you different either has his hand in your pocket, or a pistol to your neck. ~Andrew Ryan, Bioshock

Fuck these people and this bullshit.

How long before "Conservative" social beliefs and the memes thereof are simply appended to the worship of Baal and whatever other ancient demon-gods these fucking people dig up? I mean, I've studied history quite a bit, it's not like the pre-Islamic Middle East was all that great for women, either. In fact, to a great extent Islam was an improvement. (As long as it's combined with a little common sense, empathy and humanity, anyway, that's true.)

I think the truth is worse, I think as long as these nuts got to keep their bigotry, greed, hate and uptight social beliefs, they'd gladly worship Baal and Mammon and various Idols of Gold...not even out of any religious inclination, but simply because they think it's funny.

I find this shit incomprehensible and utterly horrific but basically, a Godless and Inhumane version of any existing religion probably won't even do it for these motherfuckers no more.

And not only because of my own beliefs or morals but because I love my partner and my kid, I don't wanna live in that kind of world.

You can take a lot of things away from a man. Cigarettes, the gym. You can take his freedom, his legs, but not his feelings. Not his feelings. A man loves a woman. Don't matter what kind of man he is, if he loves her, he wants her. He wants her body. He wants her to want his. So you say to him, "you can never make love again. You will never touch her in that way again. This is the last time. The last time. Forever." If that's not cruel and unusual punishment, I don't know what is. ~Augustus Hill, from the HBO series Oz, S1.E2 "Visits, Conjugal and otherwise."

The more I see of this bullshit, though, the worse it gets.

And I'd already seen enough.

But the truth is worse.

These fucking people see being an amoral, unnatural pervert as a sacred mission.

Not just being an amoral unnatural pervert, but refusing to even enjoy it, let alone to be dirty in an understandable fashion or to be perverse in any but the worst ways imaginable. 

These fucking people treat perversion the way their ancestors treated miserable Calvinist religiosity 50 years ago or how their parents treated Pentecostal narcissism and hungover altar calls 25 years ago, as some kind of joyless duty. They couldn't religiously bully everybody else into being miserable bastards so now they're trying to shock people into it.

And claiming "Shareholder Value" as rationalization is just a bit too much.

It's the worship of Baal and Mammon, but as performed by tight-assed Southern Baptists.

We've got to take the neighborhood back. We've got to go in there. Just forget telling your child to go to the Peace Corps. It's right around the corner. It's standing on the corner. It can't speak English. It doesn't want to speak English. I can't even talk the way these people talk. "Why you ain't where you is go." I don't know who these people are. And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. Then I heard the father talk. This is all in the house. You used to talk a certain way on the corner and you got into the house and switched to English. Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can't land a plane with "why you ain't…". You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth. There is no Bible that has that kind of language. Where did these people get the idea that they're moving ahead on this? Well, they know they're not, they're just hanging out in the same place, five or six generations sitting in the projects when you're just supposed to stay there long enough to get a job and move out. ~Bill Cosby, the "Pound Cake" speech.

When is enough gonna be enough, America??

Because as bad as things are, these assholes will keep pushing for doing worse.

Because a third of the population will accept it no matter what, more often than not.

I had to explain to somebody earlier today, like, sure if you think about it the Right-wing mania for control and totalitarian belief will arrive at the Mark Of The Beast sooner or later, but who needs that when you've got FOX News, right-wing Cancel Culture and consumption of total junk from some washed-up star that should've quit 20 years ago as a sign of some kind of bullshit partisan loyalty??

And when the people locked up in all that shit will accept damn near anything so long as it's got the label of "their" side on it??

We were talking about the dueling Halftime shows for the Super Bowl and how some people make all this crap their fucking identity.

And the sick truth is a lot of White dudes aspire to be the kind of men that ended up in the Epstein files.

There's a difference between a secular society, which follows no particular god but gives space for those who wish to, and a Godless one where mocking the Lord while committing sexual abuse is something that the moneyed classes might get away with, even for a time.

There's a difference between being amoral and immoral. Anybody who's ever been to jail can tell you there's plenty of people with bad morals out there that'd never hurt a kid.

If we wanna fix this, it's probably going to come down to a fight.

'Cause I guarantee you these monsters have done worse than we know, and I'm willing to bet they'll do almost anything to hide that shit.

You have been warned.

Now what are you going to do about it??

Слава Україна!

Valin Hess: So what shall we toast to, boys? I can blather on about “To health” or “To success,” but I’d like to do somethin’ a little less rote. Where you from, Brown Eyes?

Migs Mayfield: How ’bout a toast to Operation Cinder?

Hess: Now there’s a man who knows his history.

Mayfield: No, I don’t just know it. I lived it. I was in Burnin Konn.

Hess: Burnin Konn?

Mayfield: Mmm.

Hess: That was a hard day. I had to make many unpleasant decisions.

Mayfield: Yes, you did. Entire city gone in moments, along with everybody in it. We lost our whole division that day. Man, that was like 5-10,000 people.

Hess: Yep. All heroes of the Empire.

Mayfield: Yeah. And all dead.

Hess: Well, it’s a small sacrifice for the greater good, son.

Mayfield: Depends on who you ask, don’t you think?

Hess: [irritated] What you gettin’ at, trooper?

Mayfield: All those people, the ones who died, was it good for them? Hmm? Their families? The guys I served with? Civilians, those poor mud scuffers, died defending their homes, fighting for freedom. Was it good for them?

Hess: But we’ve outlasted them, son. They’re eating themselves alive. The New Republic is in complete disarray, and we grow stronger. You see, with the rhydonium you’ve delivered, we can create havoc that’s gonna make Burnin Konn pale by comparison. And then they’re gonna turn to us once again. You see, boys, everybody thinks they want freedom, but what they really want is order. And when they realize that, they’re gonna welcome us back with open arms. Ah. To the Empire.

[Mayfield chuckles, then fires a blaster at Hess' chest, killing him instantly. He and Mando then shoot their way out of the mess hall] ~From The Mandalorian, Season 2, Ep. 7 "The Believer"

Six

There are times, however, and this is one of them, when even being right feels wrong. What do you say, for instance, about a generation that has been taught that rain is poison and sex is death? If making love might be fatal and if a cool spring breeze on any summer afternoon can turn a crystal blue lake into a puddle of black poison right in front of your eyes, there is not much left except TV and relentless masturbation. It's a strange world. Some people get rich and others eat shit and die. Who knows? If there is in fact, a heaven and a hell, all we know for sure is that hell will be a viciously overcrowded version of Phoenix — a clean well lighted place full of sunshine and bromides and fast cars where almost everybody seems vaguely happy, except those who know in their hearts what is missing... And being driven slowly and quietly into the kind of terminal craziness that comes with finally understanding that the one thing you want is not there. Missing. Back-ordered. No tengo. Vaya con dios. Grow up! Small is better. Take what you can get. ~Hunter S. Thompson, Generation Of Swine.

Joyless (Babylon Or Sodom? Six.)

There are times, however, and this is one of them, when even being right feels wrong. What do you say, for instance, about a generation that has been taught that rain is poison and sex is death? If making love might be fatal and if a cool spring breeze on any summer afternoon can turn a crystal blue lake into a puddle of black poison right in front of your eyes, there is not much left except TV and relentless masturbation. It's a strange world. Some people get rich and others eat shit and die. Who knows? If there is in fact, a heaven and a hell, all we know for sure is that hell will be a viciously overcrowded version of Phoenix — a clean well lighted place full of sunshine and bromides and fast cars where almost everybody seems vaguely happy, except those who know in their hearts what is missing... And being driven slowly and quietly into the kind of terminal craziness that comes with finally understanding that the one thing you want is not there. Missing. Back-ordered. No tengo. Vaya con dios. Grow up! Small is better. Take what you can get. ~Hunter S. Thompson, Generation Of Swine.

...

Valin Hess: So what shall we toast to, boys? I can blather on about “To health” or “To success,” but I’d like to do somethin’ a little less rote. Where you from, Brown Eyes?

Migs Mayfield: How ’bout a toast to Operation Cinder?

Hess: Now there’s a man who knows his history.

Mayfield: No, I don’t just know it. I lived it. I was in Burnin Konn.

Hess: Burnin Konn?

Mayfield: Mmm.

Hess: That was a hard day. I had to make many unpleasant decisions.

Mayfield: Yes, you did. Entire city gone in moments, along with everybody in it. We lost our whole division that day. Man, that was like 5-10,000 people.

Hess: Yep. All heroes of the Empire.

Mayfield: Yeah. And all dead.

Hess: Well, it’s a small sacrifice for the greater good, son.

Mayfield: Depends on who you ask, don’t you think?

Hess: [irritated] What you gettin’ at, trooper?

Mayfield: All those people, the ones who died, was it good for them? Hmm? Their families? The guys I served with? Civilians, those poor mud scuffers, died defending their homes, fighting for freedom. Was it good for them?

Hess: But we’ve outlasted them, son. They’re eating themselves alive. The New Republic is in complete disarray, and we grow stronger. You see, with the rhydonium you’ve delivered, we can create havoc that’s gonna make Burnin Konn pale by comparison. And then they’re gonna turn to us once again. You see, boys, everybody thinks they want freedom, but what they really want is order. And when they realize that, they’re gonna welcome us back with open arms. Ah. To the Empire.

[Mayfield chuckles, then fires a blaster at Hess' chest, killing him instantly. He and Mando then shoot their way out of the mess hall] ~From The Mandalorian, Season 2, Ep. 7 "The Believer"

I had to work last night. Naturally, I didn't bother watching the Super Bowl. 

But all night I got to see "Conservatives" from Trump on down, ranting about it on social media.

Honestly there was only one person I talked to who watched the Kid Rock "alternative" halftime show (they said they were a fan) and they didn't seem very impressed with what they saw, although they sounded like they'd wished they had been.

The bits and pieces of both that I saw when I took my lunch break suggested that Bad Bunny was pretty good and Kid Rock was his usual should've-hung-it-up-20-years-ago self. On TBN (The Prosperity Gospel Liar channel) no less, 'cause that channel is fake shit.

I mean, just looking at their respective lyrics I think Bad Bunny should be the one who's more at home on a "Christian" channel if those people are who they say they are, and Kid Rock should not be there. Except of course, those fucking people aren't who they say they are.

As an aside, I'll note it appears somebody quietly shanked all that Q-Anon bullshit and dragged the body off into the woods somewhere, funny how that works, isn't it??

Of course the trouble is a lot of American "Evangelical" Christianity (even the Pentecostal crap) is rooted in both a deep joylessness and intense racism (with a big side order of narcissism) far more than it is in the Lord's Word...this despite the fact that the vast majority of the world's Charismatic and Pentecostal people are not White. Oh, and by the way, I'll worship with foreign (or non-White American) Pentecostals all day, among other things, because the vast majority of those people in my experience aren't narcissistic freaks looking to do me wrong, and if you want to see some rock-star passion for the Lord that'll fire you up almost no matter what you believe, go to a church with a bunch of Nigerians in it.

It's like my partner said once 20 years ago when one of our coworkers talked us into going to the Potter's House (the Pentecostal church across the field from our apartments) "Hanging with these people makes me want to go shopping!"

It's not for nothing that another friend of mine maintains a basic stereotype of Republicans as angry boring money-grubbing Calvinists who don't even like spicy food and who seem to have a pathological hatred for anyone having fun.

To paraphrase something Chuck Colson said once about Ayn Rand, these fucking people believe in a Godless and Joyless world where a [Rich] Man's self-satisfaction is the moral purpose of his life.

Which isn't that much of a shift from how Republicans used to be, but it's a noticeable one for those of us who used to be Republicans back in the day. One of these people giving me a bag of books when I was in the hospital (and so bored my brain was crawling out of my skull) after my accident is how I even read Atlas Shrugged.

I mean, I literally used to know old White Republicans exactly like that in real life. I equate those old men with shit like Elks Club roast-beef dinners where that shit was like leather under the goddamn heat lamps by the time I got to it for a fucking reason. 

That said, I don't think most of those people would have been MAGA if they were still around, a lot of these guys did have some principles (even if today some of their principles would likely be considered bad.) These guys didn't do conspiracy theories or make shit up as they went along. They would not have let Donald Trump in the Party. A lot of those guys hated Trump (who was then the archetype of bankruptcy, divorce and NYC Fat Cat Liberals.) 

I've written about these guys before.

Probably the closest there is to that today is people like MTG, Never-Trump Republicans and Thomas Massie. Like I said, I ain't saying those people were great. A lot of them really were joyless assholes, but there were lines they wouldn't cross.

The difference is a lot of them really did believe for themselves that this life wasn't especially meant to be enjoyed. MAGA on the other hand basically believes they can (and should) act like the Whores Of Babylon...but that you can't...even if you're just harmlessly minding your own business.

MAGA wants to live like Babylon, or like the Persian king's menagerie in 300 but they want everybody else to be dour uber-Christian peasant worker bees who just work for their profit while living in poverty because Jesus.

And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she said in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judges her.

And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. ~Revelation 18:1-10

Never mind that one of these things is not like the other one, and you can't really pull "Do as I say, not as I do" on a smart kid, no matter how much political power you think you have. The fucked up thing is adults try that on other adults all the time and some of them will pretend to go along with that shit.

And then go off and do worse in private.

I'm tired of this crap.

Among other things, people who are in the Epstein files or who think they need a bigger motorcade than the Pope have no business commenting on Latina dancers at the fucking Super Bowl.

It should go without saying that anybody who's still uncritically MAGA at this point doesn't believe in the Lord's Word. I'll say it again, I've seen the evidence that they don't.

Maybe we should stop trusting people whose main question in life is if they want to live in Babylon or Sodom?

You wanna stop this shit? Maybe we should crucify the White Jesus?

Don't worry, that one won't resurrect.

Again, you either believe in freedom or you don't.

And either you're willing to fight for it, or you're not.

Слава Україна!

No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride...and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well...maybe chalk it up to forced consciousness expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten. ~Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Five

During the past eleven days here in the Muslim world, I have eaten from the same plate, drunk from the same glass, and slept in the same bed (or on the same rug) -- while praying to the same God -- with fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of blue, whose hair was the blondest of blond, and whose skin was the whitest of white. And in the words and in the actions and in the deeds of the "white" Muslims, I felt the same sincerity that I felt among the black African Muslims of Nigeria, Sudan, and Ghana. We were truly all the same (brothers) -- because their belief in one God had removed the "white" from their minds, the 'white' from their behavior, and the 'white' from their attitude. I could see from this, that perhaps if white Americans could accept the Oneness of God, then perhaps, too, they could accept in reality the Oneness of Man -- and cease to measure, and hinder, and harm others in terms of their "differences" in color.

With racism plaguing America like an incurable cancer, the so-called "Christian" white American heart should be more receptive to a proven solution to such a destructive problem. Perhaps it could be in time to save America from imminent disaster -- the same destruction brought upon Germany by racism that eventually destroyed the Germans themselves.

They asked me what about the Hajj had impressed me the most. . . . I said, "The brotherhood! The people of all races, color, from all over the world coming together as one! It has proved to me the power of the One God. . . . All ate as one, and slept as one. Everything about the pilgrimage atmosphere accented the Oneness of Man under One God. 

~Malcolm X, Letter following the Hajj.

"The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride." ~Volodymyr Zelenskyy, allegedly 25 February 2022, Associated Press

No Sympathy For The Devil (Babylon or Sodom? Five.)

The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.

He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. ~Matthew 16:1-4

...

You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror, as you watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner
They'd be your partner and
You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain (you're so vain)
I bet you think this song is about you
Don't you, don't you?
You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive
Well you said that we made such a pretty pair and that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved
And one of them was me
I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee and
You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, you're so vain
I bet you think this song is about you
Don't you don't you, don't you? ~Carly Simon, You're So Vain.

...

Eli Sunday: Daniel, I'm asking if you'd like to have business with the Church of the Third Revelation in developing this lease on young Bandy's thousand acre tract. I'm offering you to drill on one of the great undeveloped fields of Little Boston!  

Daniel Plainview: I'd be happy to work with you.

Eli Sunday: You would? Yes, yes, of course. That’s wonderful.

Daniel Plainview: But there is one condition for this work.

Eli Sunday: All right.

Daniel Plainview: I'd like you to tell me that you are a false prophet. I'd like you to tell me that you are, and have been, a false prophet, and that God is a superstition.

~From the film There Will Be Blood.

Yesterday, Donald Trump basically admitted to the world (yet again) that he doesn't believe in jack shit and was offended by anybody wanting to pray. And like I said about it yesterday all these Evangelical preachers and shit just clapped like trained seals and laughed along nervously. I'm assuming at this point they're just hoping (more) people don't notice the combination of lusting after political Power, seeking after signs and wonders and thirsting for "Cultural Relevance."

Nobody acts more like it's all bullshit and they know for a fact that there Is No God than the Evangelical Christians do...especially the preachers.

And honestly, when they get caught they'll be mad about getting caught, not about their blasphemous, demonic involvement with Trump and all this horseshit. Honestly, I'm starting to wonder how many of these preachers and shit are just more Epstein Files demon-worshipers their own damn selves.

At the end of the day a lot of these motherfuckers worship an "Image" or a "Lifestyle," or Patriarchy or just basic Religiosity, and they're both very damn insecure about it and like a lot of conspiracy nuts or political weirdos (or just weirdos in general) they fixate on whatever particular weed they have up their ass.

As if the Bible were rewritten by Beavis and Butthead.

Actual belief or faith in anything be damned.

And they don't care how obviously-bullshit it all is or even blatantly looks like nor how much the entire Trump family is structured like a business transaction and fucking looks that way because a bunch of people who don't even wanna be there are trying to maintain some kind of "Image."

There are times, however, and this is one of them, when even being right feels wrong. What do you say, for instance, about a generation that has been taught that rain is poison and sex is death? If making love might be fatal and if a cool spring breeze on any summer afternoon can turn a crystal blue lake into a puddle of black poison right in front of your eyes, there is not much left except TV and relentless masturbation. It's a strange world. Some people get rich and others eat shit and die. Who knows? If there is in fact, a heaven and a hell, all we know for sure is that hell will be a viciously overcrowded version of Phoenix — a clean well lighted place full of sunshine and bromides and fast cars where almost everybody seems vaguely happy, except those who know in their hearts what is missing... And being driven slowly and quietly into the kind of terminal craziness that comes with finally understanding that the one thing you want is not there. Missing. Back-ordered. No tengo. Vaya con dios. Grow up! Small is better. Take what you can get. ~Hunter S. Thompson, Generation Of Swine.

I mean, honestly, it's the 21st goddamned century, I don't even know why these people bother. It's not like any of the remaining hardcore MAGA worshipers even care.

But I suppose it's part and parcel of the relentless Republican itch to be a miserable, pinch-faced unhappy asshole who thinks everything is shit and then tries to make it so.

I'll never get it, I was never that guy. Hell, if I tried to be like that I'd probably spiral out and relapse into addiction and/or end up dead.

And honestly, because I've seen so many MAGA's give up in disgust and quit that shit (not to mention quit advertising that they were ever in it) especially lately, I think it's the hateful mean smallness of it all that's the ultimate, genuine hook for the Billionaires, the demon-cultists, the genuine fascists, and the real "Trump Dick Riders" that'll be his last die-hard followers as it all goes to shit over the next year or so...and especially if it goes to shit in even less time.

Remember, there were 771 days between the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Fall of the Soviet Union.

We're about halfway through that timeframe at this point.

Anything but "Love Thy Neighbor" I guess.

The Evangelicals traded Christ for Trump, thinking they were going to make some lucrative deal with Mammon or the Devil but they never scored that meeting, the real Baal-worshipers wouldn't even let them in, and it turned out they didn't even get Trump but they they had to slap on a fake smile and laugh their way through him insulting them to their faces anyway.

And they traded away any "Witness" they may have ever had in the process.

I asked the question "Babylon or Sodom" and these idiots volunteered to go meet the Men of Sodom in front of Lot's house thinking they were gonna get something other than used and abused.

What's worse is I don't think they even care.

Like what's even the damn point??

Like, come on, people. You either believe in Christ or you don't.

These fucking people want to claim Christ but then also claim Worldly Power and because they try to do that, they get nothing.

But then they still try to act and look "Important" and what's worse is their followers are dumb enough to keep buying into all this and giving these motherfuckers money.

Among other things, people who actually do believe in Jesus are gonna have to fight to get the Faith and the public image thereof back from these assholes, if we don't want to end up like most of the rest of the civilized world where nobody gives a shit. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, and honestly the uh "Brand" maybe is too damaged for anything else.)

But I guess my viewpoint is that these fucking CHUDs don't deserve to have it.

They should be denied even the cold comfort of thinking they've (according to their own warped theology) denied Heaven to others.

And yes, these fucking people do think like that.

The question is becoming, why do the rest of us even put up with this shit?

No sympathy for the Devil, yo.

Слава Україна!

No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride...and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well...maybe chalk it up to forced consciousness expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten. ~Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Four

Yoda: "A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger. Fear. Aggression. The dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow. Quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice."

Luke: "Vader… Is the dark side stronger?"

Yoda: "No! No…no. Quicker. Easier. More seductive."

Luke: "But how am I to know the good side from the bad?"

Yoda: "You will know, when you are calm. At peace. Passive." ~From Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.