Bad Faith (The 5G Chronicles II.)

If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth. And this idea that government is beholden to the people, that it has no other source of power except to sovereign people, is still the newest and most unique idea in all the long history of man's relation to man. This is the issue of this election. Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves. ~Ronald Reagan

This week, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement.

The Right has spent this whole rest of the week coming up with various Cockamamie ideas for what the Biden administration should do, and generally shitting their colons inside out in panicked rage, because Biden is going to follow through on his promise to nominate a Black woman for the job. 

I don't remember seeing this kind of horse shit when Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor, or for that matter when George H.W. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas...although to be fair, the Thomas confirmation hearings absolutely did have people grappling with the issues of pornography and sexual harassment and there was a fair amount of assholery going on over that subject...even in my high school government class.

Hell, even a fair number of "Never Trump" Republicans have gotten in on the act, proposing that Kamala Harris resign and be nominated to SCOTUS and that Biden appoint Mitt Romney to replace her in some kind of pipe-dream coalition government.

First thing I said was, the theory is sound, but absolutely nobody will go for it, except Mitt.

I've got a better idea, if you want to go that way. Harris goes to SCOTUS, appoint Cory Booker to replace her. That way D's don't lose the tiebreaker vote in the Senate. Or hey, why not set another "First" and appoint Mayor Pete? First gay Vice President? Oh, you like that, don't you Jerry Falwell Jr? 

Or leave the Senate alone, call up Keith Ellison and see if he wants the job?

Inshallah, he would take it. 

Why not raid the House, see if Maxine Waters would like a promotion to Vice President, you know, do the real conservative thing here and stick with the status quo.

There, see how that works? Wait a minute, what do you mean "No, not like that?" Biden is the fucking President, he can appoint whoever he damn well pleases. That is literally his job.

Or does that only apply to Republican Presidents? Seriously, how old are you fuckers? Five?

Biden could keep the current balance of things, with only a slight change of variables, while still trolling every right-winger in the country.

Or he could just leave Kamala where she is and appoint whoever the fuck he wants.

See how that works, Conservatives?

 I'd go with that, because I guarantee you, you'll like whoever he comes up with on his own better than anybody I might suggest, 'cause I used to be one of y'all and I can and will find that two-meter exhaust port and drop a Proton Torpedo right down that fucker and blow up this Death Star of stupidity. Fuck you!

I'm tired of this bullshit and we, as a nation, need to stop humoring and indulging these fucking people because no matter what the fuck the rest of us do, short of becoming embittered fascist assholes ourselves, it'll never be enough and they will still [willfully] live under an escalating cloud or hate and resentment no matter what the fuck we do.

Because their whole damn problem is "Other People Exist."

And they'll make up whatever religious-sounding bullshit they have to, to make that sound righteous.

Basically, more than that on a serious level, it comes down to the same old same old, "Conservative" hypocrisy/ Of course they think they get to own the Supreme Court...even as they try like hell to hobble Congress, the Presidency whenever they don't have somebody they "like" in there, and societal institutions like education or the military.

In effect, the smaller the institution is, and the more concentrated its power, the more these damn people like it and want to control it. If the Court had 13 members, or 25 or 50, they wouldn't be as obsessed with it.

All any of these fuckers want is some kind of a magic bullet to maintain their imagined power and slow social change, and the truth is, these motherfuckers are desperate. 

They see the walls closing in, and they will stoop to any level...even if it takes burning down or sundering this whole country or subjecting themselves and whoever else they can reach to murderous fascism...to make that go away. 

Because of course, one hell of a lot of these fucking people demand that the rest of the world shout their shitty beliefs right back in their faces. 

You know, always a sign of a mature, stable philosophy that is held by grown ass adults. I mean, seriously, what the fuck is wrong with these people?

And naturally, the world never did that, and increasingly no longer even appears to because their beliefs have become entirely disassociated from reality. And the truth is, a lot of these people would rather live in a guarded prison camp of their own choice than face a different and changing world.

I mean, come on, seriously? I haven't heard this much shit about "Communism" or Satan since the 1980's. (And no, my family didn't go to the right kind of church for me to hear that kind of freakish bullshit every damn day, either. but it was still out there.) Communism hasn't been a thing since 1989 and the Cult Of The Satanic Panic was more of a thing than Satanism ever was...or ever will be.

But of course that shit flamed out, because you can't keep that sort of thing going forever, it eventually burns out because reality is under no obligation to bend to these fucking people's will and there just weren't any Satanist cabals there. But these assholes and their panicky, scared-of-everything bullshit ruined plenty of lives and wasted a whole bunch of people's money and time anyway. Because they think that's their right to do exactly that.

Some hole-in-the-wall school board in a Tennessee town banned the graphic novel "Maus" and another one somewhere else banned Harper Lee's literary classic "To Kill A Mockingbird."

Maus just rocketed up to #1 Amazon bestseller, and To Kill A Mockingbird remains a literary classic. I read both in the 1980's and it didn't hurt me. These people are just on their latest kick to try and degrade or destroy education, period.

Meanwhile, Spotify is losing famous artists like Neil Young, millions of subscribers and literally billions of dollars over their decision to keep Joe Rogan on the platform.

And Kyle Rittenhouse is apparently looking at hawking NFT's. My guess is, because no one else will have him and that whole grift is overrun with Nazi Fucking Trash anyway. So Freikorps Kyle will fit right in.

We can all step up and stop this now, or the day will come when these assholes are coming for Capitalism, personal choice, and your freedom. 

Don't take my word for it, I'm serious. Listen to what these fucking people are telling you their own damn selves. And no, they're not being the least bit subtle about it either. There is no code to crack, these aren't dog-whistles anymore, look around!

To see these people's ideal world, you have to look no further than the gulf between internet stuff that was established a decade or more ago...like Facebook, Google, PayPal, Twitter, and YouTube...and the shit that's coming up now like Cryptocurrency, Gab, GETTR, and NFT's.

The concepts of a decade, much less a generation ago...just aren't shitty enough for these people.

And it's only going to continue to escalate. If the whole NFT thing is any guide...well, Nazis want to be able to take your money and for you to have no recourse...or likely, even to be able to find the thief.  

And similarly, since within its own house American Conservatism has already become an authoritarian yet Godless theocracy dedicated to shitty Republican beliefs, they're seeking the power to "Excommunicate" Republicans now...presumably those who aren't fascist enough.

And don't doubt that the day will come when these fuckers brand their shitty beliefs as a religion, and then alter their politics accordingly, simply to try and take advantage of that label...because it's all in bad faith...and they'll misunderstand that label too, on purpose and with malice aforethought.

Like, you thought the Religious Right was bad? Well, I'm a former member of the religious right and I'm here to tell you I think the non-religious Right is much worse, at least religion...and religiosity...put brakes on some of these people's behavior. Now they don't even have that.

*And It Will Get Worse.* 

Do Not doubt this.

Because what these fucking people want to do is hurt people, and kill and rape and steal...but then they want to go home and be safe and feel righteous about it, too, while being "protected" by some strongman, real or imaginary, forever.

Why do you think, pre-Trump, these fuckers spent 50 years embracing Authoritarian Christianity...and then abandoned it, the very second that it became unnecessary?

Or worse, the second something they thought they'd like better turned up.

What the fuck do you think they're saying when they glorify ancient Spartans and say stupid shit like "Molon Labe?"

And trust me, every last one of these motherfuckers is happy as a clam that saying "I'm a shadow on the wall of Plato's cave, it's the ideas that are really important" or even "Jesus Loves Me, This I know" is no longer the price of admission.

Seriously, all these far-right idiots are lacking right now is a government (or perhaps more importantly, a lack thereof...see also, Libertarianism) that will let them do whatever fucked up shit pops into their heads, and some way to feel justified for their cruelty and evil, racism and theft, and have such things be endorsed by whatever ruler is present. I'm serious. 

These people want to live in a world that makes 1990's Afghanistan look safe and sane and like an intellectual powerhouse and technological juggernaut by comparison.

So they can feel like men. For five minutes. Before they die.

Because trust me, they never think about the fact that there's much worse people out there, who are far worse than their most inflated visions of their own toughness.

Or that they might be creating their own enemies, or killing themselves, or that other people don't have to put up with the cruel, evil bullshit that they see as the point of existence. 

And yes, that's exactly how they see it. These are the people who look at the whole COVID-19 mess and think "If I die, I die." They don't think about it being a horrible death because, well, they don't see life as any different. The cruelty is the point...even when it's self-inflicted.

Likewise, they don't care if they're being taken advantage of, or if the money is being hoovered out of their pockets...because they see that as the Right of Power to do it, and so long as they think somebody they don't like is getting it worse they'll play along, Lyndon Johnson had it right this whole time.

The cruelty and the racism are the goddamned point, and it's all a bad-faith religion to these fucking people.

Yes, on top of that, they believe they get to go to heaven and you don't...without any damn reason for it.

Because the entire point is the "You. Don't" part.

But remember, this is America and the Constitution and our own traditions of expanding liberty say we don't have to put up with this shit.

So don't.

It's that simple. If you want a better country, you have to be a better citizen and show the fuck up and vote and fight for what you believe in.

Because if you don't...they sure will. And then these fascist sons of bitches will say you're the bad guy if you show up to defend yourself.

Do you get it yet, why history and law and even simple things like personal choice and the ability to vote with your feet or your wallet that comes with concepts of capitalism and human rights fucking matters?

Why do you think they really wanted to build a wall?

And why do you think, now that it didn't work, they want to wall themselves off from the rest of America, And then, to have within those walls some killing fields and a mall?

We have to stop putting up with this escalating foolishness. 

But that means you have to stand up.

So get after it.

Part I