American Babylon (American Judgment Day II, Two.)

I don't preach a social Gospel I preach the Gospel, period. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned for the whole person. When people were hungry, Jesus didn't say, "Now is that political or social?" He said, "I feed you." Because the good news to a hungry person is bread. ~Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

...

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

...

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"

...

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. ~Revelation 6:5-6

I just saw this a little while ago.

Erika Kirk (who's wearing White Trash leather hot pants!) and JD Vance, all over each other in front of the crowd at some bullshit TPUSA conference. 

How the hell is this (by itself!) not a huge scandal?

My feeds are full of "Conservatives" making idiotic judgmental comments about SNAP recipients.

Oh, and here's what my partner and unofficial stepdaughter had for dinner tonight, Chicken and Pasta.

We just had that conversation, the one I've been dreading, about the SNAP pause. She's scared, and seriously wouldn't you be??

My partner is a medical professional and worked ten hours today.

To say that I'm angry about this juxtaposition of things does not even begin to cover it.

To say that I'm angry about this situation fucking over my partner and her kid?? That's a nuclear understatement. I'll kick in as much as I can to help, so guess what?? 

This crap fucks me up too.

And because of the (actual, not for rich people/Wall Street play-money fuck fuck games) economic situation, I don't even get to sleep next to my partner and listen to her snore (and then jokingly bitch about it in the morning) nor deal with the snotty teenager being a snotty teenager (which I don't mind because I remember when I was one, too.) 

Yes, I miss them, fiercely.

No, you don't have to understand it.

She's three hours away, and in a living situation that grows unhappier by the week because her (conservative, by the way) relatives are lazy as fuck and they are doing less because she's the kind of person that'll do more.

But I guess that's Okay for Republicans?

Yeah, It's only the rest of us that have to bust our asses. Fuck these motherfuckers.

And they ain't even pretending to care about the rest of us anymore.

In fact, they think the suffering of others is funny and want to inflict more of it, in the name of forcing people to work for food.

Sorry but that sounds like something out of the worst parts of Revelations.

And, how's that work for my partner, who works ten hour days already and barely stays on her feet now?? She's freaking exhausted!

Or how does that work for my one old customer at work who's retired but poor and can barely get his wallet out of his pants his hands shake so bad, 'cause of a spinal injury.

How does that work for my Mom who did everything right, even by basic Republican standards, owns her house and is retired with a pension and everything?? She doesn't qualify for any social services but is basically one fall or financial calamity away from being dependent on (for example) me and my partner??

Our system isn't working.

Not for regular people, anyway.

And it was that way before Trump.

And all too many of our supposed "Leaders" not just Republicans but too many Democrats as well, are primarily concerned with defending their place in the magical city and within that system and don't give a shit that their constituents ain't making it.

I'm warning you again that These Fucking People are like five minutes from trying to tell the rest of the world that "It's not the Mark Of The Beast when They do it!" and by the way corporations and the media will simply tout the convenience of being able to swipe one's right hand over the card reader or bow before it instead of having to carry a debit card or a smart phone. 

Yeah, I really do think that's how fucking debased and godless and obsessed with control these assholes are!

They don't give a damn if they...or you...go to hell because of it.

In fact, if Hell has a hierarchy and Heaven doesn't??

Yeah, they'd rather go there.

But I'll note, they do seem to be very afraid of all of the rest of us. 

So maybe they don't believe in an afterlife at all.

And that, my friends, genuinely makes me wonder just how shitty the fucking Republican agenda really is at this point. 

Like, goddamn, how much worse can it get if these motherfuckers are hiding out in senior officer's quarters on military bases already.

Sorry, but if you're not in the military you shouldn't be able to do that.

This American Capitalist bullshit is turning out to be more Godless than the atheistic Communist Soviet Union ever dreamed of being.

And judging from how MAGA reacts any time actual Christians (be they average folks or the Pope or Protestant theologians) post anything actually Christian about any of this stuff including simply quoting the actual Bible, verbatim?? Yes, I think These Fucking People are going to turn out more anti-Christian and in fact anti-Religion and far more violent about it than even the goddamned Khmer Rouge would have thought of being.

The wind whispers of fear and hate. The war has killed love. And those that confess to the Angkar are punished, and no one dare ask where they go. Here, only the silent survive. ~Dith Pran, The Killing Fields

Because yes, these MAGA "Conservatives" ideal world really is the Killing Fields of Khmer Rouge Cambodia, but with a fucking mall.

And when alleged ultra-Christians like Matt Walsh jerk off to the idea of starving the poor, I don't think you can tell me that I'm wrong.

And all of this is because American rich religious people who (whether they're smart enough to realize it or not) believe in puritanical Calvinism cannot ever be satisfied with what they have.

Like, how much money is enough??

And as for the rest of us?? When is enough, going to be enough??

I'm honestly starting to wonder what color our Revolution is going to be.

'Cause you either believe in freedom...and in your own life...or you don't.

They want to inflict the torments of Revelation on the world for kicks, but then say it's not Revelation when they do it.

Yes, if this crap keeps up, we're all going to face God's Judgment.

Them for doing it, us for allowing it.

Stop and think about that for a second.

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Yuri Orlov: [At Andrei's presidential compound showing the Liberian president a silver revolver pistol] The Glock is interesting. It is made of a polymer composite. Many of my clients feel that they can go through airport security without seeing a lot of bells and whistles. Personally, I do not recommend that. [Andrei chuckles glancing over at a guard flirting with a female staffer] On the other hand, if you are looking for traditional wheel gun, there is no substitute for six inches of muzzle energy of 357 mag I mean, of course, it will never jam. [Andrei shoots the guard flirting with the female staffer] WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!

Andrei Baptiste Sr.: [Aims gun at Yuri] WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

Yuri Orlov: Now, you gonna have to buy it! IT IS A USED GUN! How can I sell a used gun? [Takes pistol from Andrei with his son and bodyguards all aiming rifles at an entirely still business-focused Yuri]

Andrei Baptiste Sr.: A "used gun"? A "used gun"?! [Chuckles] That's a good one. You know? There is no discipline with the youth today. I tried to set an example, but it is difficult huh? Personally, I blame MTV. [Smiles and Yuri nods in acknowledgment] A "used gun"? [Chuckles heartily, gets up and extends hand for handshake] I think you and I, we can do business. ~From the film Lord Of War.

One

Osman Ali Atto: I see not catching Aidid is becoming routine.

General William Garrison: We're not leaving Somalia until we find him. And we will find him.

Atto: (scoffing) You've been here, what, six weeks? Six weeks, you tried to catch the General. You put up reward posters. $25,000. What's this, gunfight at K.O. Corral?

Garrison: It's O.K. Corral.

Atto: Don't make the mistake of thinking because I grew up without running water I am simple, General. I do know something about history. See all this? It's simply shaping tomorrow. A tomorrow without a lot of Arkansas white-boys' ideas in it.

Garrison: Well, I wouldn't know about that. I'm from Texas.

Atto: Mr. Garrison, I think you should not have come here. This is civil war. This is our war, not yours.

Garrison: Three hundred thousand dead and counting. That's not a war, Mr. Atto. That's genocide. ~From The Film Black Hawk Down.

Gotterdammerung (American Judgment Day II, One.)

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. ~Joel 3:9-14

...

Yuri Orlov: [At Andrei's presidential compound showing the Liberian president a silver revolver pistol] The Glock is interesting. It is made of a polymer composite. Many of my clients feel that they can go through airport security without seeing a lot of bells and whistles. Personally, I do not recommend that. [Andrei chuckles glancing over at a guard flirting with a female staffer] On the other hand, if you are looking for traditional wheel gun, there is no substitute for six inches of muzzle energy of 357 mag I mean, of course, it will never jam. [Andrei shoots the guard flirting with the female staffer] WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!

Andrei Baptiste Sr.: [Aims gun at Yuri] WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

Yuri Orlov: Now, you gonna have to buy it! IT IS A USED GUN! How can I sell a used gun? [Takes pistol from Andrei with his son and bodyguards all aiming rifles at an entirely still business-focused Yuri]

Andrei Baptiste Sr.: A "used gun"? A "used gun"?! [Chuckles] That's a good one. You know? There is no discipline with the youth today. I tried to set an example, but it is difficult huh? Personally, I blame MTV. [Smiles and Yuri nods in acknowledgment] A "used gun"? [Chuckles heartily, gets up and extends hand for handshake] I think you and I, we can do business. ~From the film Lord Of War.

...

 [The Mandalorian and Cara Dune board an Imperial Shuttle carrying Dr. Pershing]

Shuttle Pilot: Easy, pal. Okay? I’m not with him. We can work something out - [co-pilot kills him]

Cara Dune: Drop your weapon.

Shuttle Co-Pilot: [holds Dr Pershing hostage] No. No, you listen to me. This is a top-tier target of the New Republic. This is a clone engineer. And if they find out that he’s dead because of you, you’re gonna wish you never left Alderaan. [notices Dune's face] I saw the tear. You wanna know what else I saw? I saw your planet destroyed. I was on the Death Star.

Dune: Which one?

Shuttle Co-Pilot: You think you’re funny? Do you know how many millions were killed on those bases?

Dune: Drop your blaster.

Shuttle Co-Pilot: As the galaxy cheered?

Dune: [coldly] Last chance.

Shuttle Co-Pilot: Destroying your planet was a small price to pay to rid the galaxy of terrorism. [Dune shoots him in the face. Dr. Pershing reels from the close hit, clutching at his ear]

~The Mandalorian, Episode 2, Chapter Eight, "The Rescue."

I saw this when I got up this morning.

Just JD Vance, the Vice President of the United States, trying to lie about Native Americans practicing infanticide.

No Native Americans did this, such a thing runs counter to the entire prevailing ethos of First Nations cultures as a whole. Like, even the Aztecs at their most bloody-minded didn't do shit like that.

In various places mostly in Northern Michigan I've lived around Native American people most of my life. I served with Native Americans in the military. I worked with Native Americans for almost 20 years at my last job, they don't do shit like that and they never did.

But do you know who has a documented historical record of killing children, and innocents, and women any time they think they can get away with it, and often in such numbers that you need statisticians to keep track of the bodies?? A certain kind of "Christian" does, that's who.

Like what kind of Independent Fundamentalist Racist horseshit even is this?!?!

And I've been seeing these Department Of Labor Nazi Posters for awhile.

Son, I'm only gonna tell you this one time.

If you want to keep working here, stay off the drugs.

These fucking people are trying to pump themselves up full of liquid courage for some kind of Gotterdammerung Scenario that only really exists in their own heads, but which they are trying to force on the real world as some kind of depraved self-fulfilling prophecy.

If they try it, they will lose, and badly, but they don't care.

The destruction is actually the point, killing the innocent and undeserving is the point because These Fucking People have been cooking their brains with End Times "Christian" apocalypticism for-basically-ever and because they're evil assholes with no reading comprehension, they think killing the innocent and undeserving is what "gods" even do.

Believe me when I tell you that modern "Conservatism" cares far more about the Turner Diaries than it does about the Bible. One of these things is not like the other one, but these fucking people are really that stupid and they don't care.

And they think if they make things BAD Enough, that their psychotic interpretation of Jesus will manifest and "save" them.

Never mind that their "interpretation" of Jesus is a false, self-serving one borne out of a (yet again) self-serving fear that they cultivate and maintain so that they have an excuse to kill people for basically no damn reason.

It's enough to make one wonder what happened to these people's alleged faith in the Ten Commandments. Thou Shalt Not Kill, yo.

The rest of the world isn't giving them a justification for their crap. 

So they're just trying to lie their asses off and make one up as they go along. None of this works like that but they don't give a shit.

And they somehow think God will let them get away with it because Man often has.

Either that, or nobody believes "There Is No God, and we're all damned anyway" harder than these motherfuckers.

Or worse...what they're worshiping at this point is neither Jesus nor Yahweh and I'm sorry to point this out but I think that disturbing possibility is on track to become the most likely.

Like I really do think if the Antichrist showed up tomorrow and said "Hey, I'm the Antichrist, worship me!" and he was wearing a MAGA hat and a hand-painted sandwich-board sign that said "I hate N*ggers" around his neck or a T-shirt with some misogynistic "Go make me a sandwich, bitch" type of statement on it, these fucking people would worship him and literally tear down every crucifix or icon of Jesus Christ that they could reach.

What these fucking people worship at this point is hate and imagined social status and Whiteness, and any of that other stuff they claimed before this be damned.

It's not just hate, racism or stupidity...it's that this particular bullshit has been being marketed for awhile.

And now that things aren't working out how they thought, and they can't poison anymore of society than their own right-wing subcultures against all the people that they hate (which is basically everybody) they feel backed into a corner.

That's why there's this government shutdown and the SNAP pause and all type of other crazy shit going on. If you can't be popular and win everything, kick over the table and stomp off, it's the "Conservative" way since at least 1994.

And if you think their next move isn't going to be breaking up the country because since they haven't been able to spark off a civil war, you're wrong. They'll try just plain old war after that.

No, these idiots don't have any idea how any of that works, either.

But they think they have some kind of a bullshit "right" to inflict all the torments of Revelation on the world anyway, because these fucking people aren't "Believers" they're narcissists.

As for you, either you believe in freedom or you don't.

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When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 

~Matthew 25:31-45

Last Post

You were just babies then!" she said.
"What?" I said.
"You were just babies in the war— like the ones upstairs!"
I nodded that this was true. We had been foolish virgins in the war, right at the end of childhood.
"But you're not going to write it that way, are you." This wasn't a question. It was an accusation.
"I — I don't know," I said.
"Well I know," she said. "You'll pretend you were men instead of babies, and you'll be portrayed in the movies by Frank Sinatra and John Wayne or some of those other glamorous, war-loving, dirty old men. And war will look just wonderful, so we'll have a lot more of them. And they'll be fought by babies like the babies upstairs." So then I understood. It was war that made her so angry. She didn't want her babies or anybody else's babies killed in wars. And she thought wars were partly encouraged by books and movies.
So I held up my right hand and I made her a promise: "Mary," I said, "I don't think this book of mine is ever going to be finished. I must have written five thousand pages by now, and thrown them all away. If I ever do finish it, though, I give you my word of honor: there won't be a part for Frank Sinatra or John Wayne.
"I tell you what," I said, "I'll call it The Children's Crusade." She was my friend after that.

~From the novel Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut 

Wildfire (American Abominations, Five.)

I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do to their fellows, because it always coincides with their own desires. ~Susan B. Anthony

...

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 

~Matthew 25:31-45

...

[Mando visits the Armorer at the Mandalorian enclave on Nevarro, bringing the camtono of Beskar bars he got as bounty from The Client]

Armorer: [looks at Beskar bars as the other Mandalorians witness] This amount can be shaped in many ways.

The Mandalorian AKA Mando: My armor has lost its integrity. I may need to begin again.

Armorer: Indeed. I can form a full cuirass. This would be in order for your station.

Mando: That would be a great honor.

Armorer: I must warn you, it will draw many eyes.

Paz Vizsla: [grabs one Beskar bar and snorts at seeing the Imperial logo] These were cast in an Imperial smelter. These are the spoils of the Great Purge. The reason we live hidden like sand rats. [tosses the bar back on the table]

Armorer: Our secrecy is our survival. Our survival is our strength.

Vizsla: Our strength was once in our numbers. Now we live in the shadows and only come above ground one at a time. Our world was shattered by the Empire with whom this coward shares tables. [reaches for Mando's helmet to remove it but they fight until they come to knifepoint]

Armorer: [stands up to stop the fight]  The Empire is no longer, and the Beskar has returned. When one chooses to walk the Way of the Mandalore, you are both hunter and prey. How can one be a coward if one chooses this way of life? Have you ever removed your helmet?

Mando: No.

Armorer: Has it ever been removed by others?

Mando: Never.

Armorer: This is the Way.

Mandalorians: This is the Way. [Vizsla and Mando let off each other]

Vizsla: This is the Way.

Armorer: What caused this damage?

Mando: A mudhorn.

Armorer: Then you have earned the mudhorn as your signet. I shall craft it. [The Mandalorian and the Armorer sit back down]

Mando: I can't accept. It... wasn't a noble kill. I was... helped by an enemy.

Armorer: Why would an enemy help you in battle?

Mando: It... did not know it was my enemy.

Armorer: Since you forego a signet I shall use the excess to forge Whistling Birds.

Mando: Whistling Birds will do well. Reserve some for the Foundlings.

Armorer: As it should always be. The Foundlings are the future. This is the Way.

Mandalorians: This is the Way.

Mando: This is the Way.

~From The Mandalorian, S1 E3 "The Sin."

I've been seeing this kind of crap a lot the last few days.

So-called "Men" celebrating the pause on SNAP, and demanding that things like basic health care, human rights or even the fucking vote be taken away from women.

I've got news for you, bros.

If you're talking about, or to women like this, as far as I'm concerned you ain't a man.

You're basically saying you can't get the girl if you have to treat her like a person or unless she is stripped of basic needs and the capability to provide for herself and (you think) she'll have to come crawling to you.

News flash: She Won't.

And if that's the case that you can't get the girl without the deck being so massively stacked in your favor that you're the only one with any cards?? 

That's specifically a you problem and there's something wrong with you.

If you don't love the women in your life enough to treat them with a little respect, why bother??

You don't deserve women.

Or gay dudes for that matter.

And you deserve to contract some virulent medical condition that's both exceptionally hard to get rid of and that makes jerking off painful.

It should burn when you pee, for fuck's sake.

I keep hearing about this "Male loneliness epidemic" shit.

Well, "Men" acting like this ain't near lonely enough and I say that as a Man.

These motherfuckers ain't lonely, they're assholes and women don't have to put up with it.

This crap isn't loneliness, it's narcissism and it's reached Zombie Apocalypse-like epidemic levels.

[Dr. Jenner is speaking to a recording camera.]

Edwin Jenner: Jenner here. It's Day 394 since Wildfire was declared and 63 days since the disease abruptly went global. There's no clinical progress to report. Item: I finally got the scrubbers in the east sector shut down to save power. Wish I could have done it a month ago, but it took me how long to figure it out. Too bad I never studied engineering. Could have saved a lot of amps. Item: Still not sleeping well. Can't seem to keep regular hours. Living underground doesn't help; not knowing if it's day or night. Just...feeling very...off. ~From The Walking Dead, S1 E5 "Wildfire."

Most of them can find the company of other assholes just fine. Socially, they ain't lonely. I imagine eventually, they'll give up on women and just do it to each other...until they figure out they don't like each other either.

Yeah, I realize that's not very politically correct or "Woke" to say. Too bad.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it. 

Fuck you.

I'm tired of cruelty, hate, misogyny and selfishness.

I'm tired of These Fucking People even trying to make God in their own image!

Literally the only way we're going to get out of this mess is solidarity and people coming together.

But some people just don't want to do that, not unless they get to dominate and hurt some other person in the process for no reason.

They'd literally rather die alone and miserable and reject God Himself than have to give a shit about other people.

And somehow they always manage to take it out on women first.

Like, bro, you do not hold all Truth or get to be the arbiter of other people's rights simply because of what you have in your pants.

I don't give a damn.

It really is that simple. If you don't like it, too bad!

And I'm honestly tired of so many people missing the point on purpose.

Sure, we were unprepared, our tools, our training, everything I just talked about, all one class-A, gold-standard clusterfuck, but the weapon that really failed wasn’t something that rolled off an assembly line. It’s as old as…I don’t know, I guess as old as war. It’s fear, dude, just fear and you don’t have to be Sun freaking Tzu to know that real fighting isn’t about killing or even hurting the other guy, it’s about scaring him enough to call it a day... “Shock and Awe”? Perfect name, “Shock and Awe”! But what if the enemy can’t be shocked and awed? Not just won’t, but biologically can’t! That’s what happened that day outside New York City, that’s the failure that almost lost us the whole damn war. The fact that we couldn’t shock and awe Zack boomeranged right back in our faces and actually allowed Zack to shock and awe us! They’re not afraid! No matter what we do, no matter how many we kill, they will never, ever be afraid! ~Todd Waino, World War Z (Novel by Max Brooks)

This shit is weaponized incompetence and willful stupidity on the part of institutions, media, and yes, men (and a few women hangers-on, in the case of idiots like Kasie Hunt.)

Like, I don't even know what these fucking people think they're getting out of this bullshit at this point.

You either believe in freedom or you don't.

If you don't stand up and fight, it'll get worse.

If you think all these narcissists will stop at any recognizable point short of everybody either bowing down or fighting against them (and note that either will fuel their narcissism, and they don't care if they get destroyed) you're flat-out wrong.

These fucking people want rights without responsibilities, wealth without work, and Salvation without either belief or sacrifice.

They want the world handed to them on a golden platter without them having to fucking do anything.

None of this is sustainable or works that way, and continuing to try this shit is wrecking pretty much everything.

And when people realize what they've done, everything is gonna suck by then and everybody is gonna be mad about it.

And honestly, part of why I believe so strongly that this bullshit is going to come down to a fight is that a hell of a lot of people...especially but not exclusively "Conservatives"...will rather lash out at other people than sit in it and think about what they've done.

When that happens?

Guess what? We're going to find that liberals, LGBT folk, People of Color and women will have figured it out that they don't do as well unsupported in war zones and they'll have started working together and defending themselves.

People are getting sick of this bullshit.

Sooner or later, that's going to have an effect.

Think about that, for a second.

Слава Україна!

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (who so readeth, let him understand:)

Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains:
Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. ~Matthew 24:15-18

Four

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profits me nothing.

Charity suffers long, and is kind; charity envies not; charity vaunts not itself, is not puffed up,

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Rejoice not in iniquity, but rejoice in the truth;

Bear all things, believeth all things, hope all things, endure all things.

Charity never fails: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

And now abides faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

~1 Corinthians 13 (KJV)

Light And Darkness (American Abominations, Four.)

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.

...

I don't preach a social Gospel I preach the Gospel, period. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned for the whole person. When people were hungry, Jesus didn't say, "Now is that political or social?" He said, "I feed you." Because the good news to a hungry person is bread. ~Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

...

[Mando visits the Armorer at the Mandalorian enclave on Nevarro, bringing the camtono of Beskar bars he got as bounty from The Client]

Armorer: [looks at Beskar bars as the other Mandalorians witness] This amount can be shaped in many ways.

The Mandalorian AKA Mando: My armor has lost its integrity. I may need to begin again.

Armorer: Indeed. I can form a full cuirass. This would be in order for your station.

Mando: That would be a great honor.

Armorer: I must warn you, it will draw many eyes.

Paz Vizsla: [grabs one Beskar bar and snorts at seeing the Imperial logo] These were cast in an Imperial smelter. These are the spoils of the Great Purge. The reason we live hidden like sand rats. [tosses the bar back on the table]

Armorer: Our secrecy is our survival. Our survival is our strength.

Vizsla: Our strength was once in our numbers. Now we live in the shadows and only come above ground one at a time. Our world was shattered by the Empire with whom this coward shares tables. [reaches for Mando's helmet to remove it but they fight until they come to knifepoint]

Armorer: [stands up to stop the fight] The Empire is no longer, and the Beskar has returned. When one chooses to walk the Way of the Mandalore, you are both hunter and prey. How can one be a coward if one chooses this way of life? Have you ever removed your helmet?

Mando: No.

Armorer: Has it ever been removed by others?

Mando: Never.

Armorer: This is the Way.

Mandalorians: This is the Way. [Vizsla and Mando let off each other]

Vizsla: This is the Way.

Armorer: What caused this damage?

Mando: A mudhorn.

Armorer: Then you have earned the mudhorn as your signet. I shall craft it. [The Mandalorian and the Armorer sit back down]

Mando: I can't accept. It... wasn't a noble kill. I was... helped by an enemy.

Armorer: Why would an enemy help you in battle?

Mando: It... did not know it was my enemy.

Armorer: Since you forego a signet I shall use the excess to forge Whistling Birds.

Mando: Whistling Birds will do well. Reserve some for the Foundlings.

Armorer: As it should always be. The Foundlings are the future. This is the Way.

Mandalorians: This is the Way.

Mando: This is the Way.

~From The Mandalorian, S1 E3 "The Sin."

Apparently, Allie Beth Stuckey (whoever that is) is worried about Islam.

For the love of fuck, why??

Bitch, let me tell you, if this whole Trump SNAP shutdown goes through, maybe you should be, depending on how American Muslims handle the situation...because Islam actually scripturally mandates Charity and helping the poor as one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

It's not optional to feed the hungry and help the poor in Islam (Of course it's not optional in Christianity either and technically there's just as many Muslims who'll fuck around on this point as there are Christians because people are people, but it's an actual commandment in Islam.) 

I happen to have known a lot of Muslims, starting with one of my Air Force bros who was an African American convert to Islam, but I made friends with a bunch of Muslim international students in college over the years, I had Muslim neighbors for years down in Mount Pleasant (Hell I lived next to the Islamic Center for three years!) and my doctor is a Muslim dude from Sudan. 

I know a little about this stuff, Seriously.

If the Muslims step up and help feed hungry people, guess what?? They're still doing more than one hell of a lot of Evangelical Christians and "Conservatives" are to help out at the present moment!

Islam also discourages racism, and forbids the use of alcohol and drugs. One of my college friends, a dude from Egypt, said that's why so many White American "Conservatives" hate Islam. It's harder to control and manipulate people when you cannot cloud their minds and divide them against their neighbors.

Oh, and the Satanists are stepping up already, too.

While Christian Nationalists like Joel Webbon jerk off to the idea of shooting down their neighbors at the local Walmart Super Center.

Again. 

This is hardly the first time they've wanted to murder other people. And if you don't think these guys will try to hurt or steal from struggling people or attempt to sexually abuse women because of this whole SNAP thing, you're wrong.

I seem to remember being taught "Thou Shalt Not Kill" and to respect the chastity, married status and/or consent and personal boundaries of women as a part of my Christian upbringing.

But then, I was never one of These Fucking People, either.

And I'll note that plenty of people who were (Tea Party Joe Walsh being a prime example) got sick of all this bullshit, same as the rest of us, and changed sides.

There's been a lot of that, there will be more. 

Treat those people kindly.

I used to be a Republican myself, until 2008. Conspiracy theories and racism were deal-breakers for me. I voted for Obama and never looked back.

How we get through this is Solidarity, helping our neighbors, giving a shit about other people.

And we'll probably have to fight off motherfuckers like Joel Webbon in the process, I'm serious.

Some people would rather kill and steal than be alive, they'd rather hate than eat.

And worse, they think themselves religious for being that way.

Seems like even Satan would reject that crap, his church clearly does!

The rest of us? If we want to fight off these motherfuckers, we're all on the same team whether we want to be or not.

You either believe in freedom or you don't.

You can choose the light, or the darkness with its fires.

It's late, choose now.

But you have to choose.

Слава Україна!

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profits me nothing.

Charity suffers long, and is kind; charity envies not; charity vaunts not itself, is not puffed up,

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Rejoice not in iniquity, but rejoice in the truth;

Bear all things, believeth all things, hope all things, endure all things.

Charity never fails: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

And now abides faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

~1 Corinthians 13 (KJV)

Three

America counts millions of Muslims among our citizens, and Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country. Muslims are doctors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms, and dads, and they need to be treated with respect. In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect.

This is a great country. It's a great country because we share the same values of respect and dignity and human worth, and it is my honor to be meeting with leaders who feel just the same way I do. They're outraged, they're sad. They love America just as much as I do. I want to thank you all for giving me a chance to come by, and may God bless us all.

~George W. Bush, remarks at Islamic Center of Washington D.C. September 17th, 2001.