Category: Entertainment

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Madness! Posting this can get you arrested in London.

I know England has different laws.

For a long time England has been more authoritarian than the United States. That was a given. Generally, though the English have been running parallel with the U.S. about most things.

Freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, and such. English Parliament versus The U.S. Congress is something I’ve never quite grasped.

Videos of Parliamentary hearings in England appear very chaotic to my admittedly Americentric eyes.

That being said, their way worked for them and it wasn’t my place to poke at or criticize something that I didn’t understand. Their way of governing has worked for a very long time.

An article out of London deserves some serious criticism. The article that got me thinking about this appeared on Breitbart London. Here is a follow-on article from The Daily Mail If you’re interested in how some people in England are standing up and fighting back here is a link to The Bad Law Project.

Apparently you can be arrested in England for posting an “Offensive” image.

I suppose the creators of this abomination of a pride flag don’t like having the unintended consequences of their horrific flag “Artistry” called out.

Especially when it’s called out with truth.

Let’s be honest. The LGBTQI Jabber Jabber whatever community has become something that is quite ugly. This latest iteration of the Pride Flag illustrates this fact in spades. There is no artistry in this flag. No grace or beauty.

In fact when I look at it, I see exactly what the Trans, Non-binary, xyzlmnop, crowd wanted to convey. “We will be greater than the old LGB crowd and we will dominate you.”

It’s right there. The mathematical “>” greater than sign, moving left to right as if to eclipse the colors of what had been a joyous, creative, inclusive, crowd of people.

I’ve written before that my opinion of the LGBTQI Jabber Jabber whatever community, is no longer representative of the LGB community that I once knew and enjoyed.

Their claims of inclusion and diversity don’t actually stand up to scrutiny. Walk into a LGBTQI Jabber Jabber whatever community center, and express a different opinion and see where that takes you.

Walk into a similar bar or resort questioning any of the dogma the community clings to and be ready for a fight. Just asking the question seeking to understand why the community supports a particular position is perilous.

Question TransRights for example. Or state that you think the overturning of Roe was the right move because you think it should be legislated by the States not the federal government and WOW! Talk about a hornets nest!

Ask why they so universally hated Trump and they’ll look at you like you’ve got three heads. If they answer at all, it’s a strange melange of CNN talking points and feelings. Rather than cogent rational reasons.

Trump was a homophobe!!!! Really? Then why did he appoint openly Gay, Richard Grenell, to one of the more prestigious ambassadorships? Not really the act of a homophobe is it?

Why did Trump have Grenell serving as Acting Director of National Intelligence?

Why did Trump later summon Grenell to finish the Abrams Accords in an effort to settle some of the strife in the Middle East.

Hardly the acts of a Homophobe.

The irony of Grenell being accepted as a broker of peace and treaties in the Middle East, (known for their hatred of Gay people,) is completely missed.

The funny thing is that most of the LGBTQI whatever community don’t seem to know who Richard Grenell is. Fewer still know he’s Gay and that he and his Husband were together in Germany during his Ambassadorship.

Most of the LGBTQI point to Pete Buttigieg as the first high ranking Gay appointee in our government.

The difference is that Grenell just lived his life. He did his job, and was no different than any other ambassador or Director of National Security.

He saw no need to pound his chest about being Gay. He wasn’t in the closet, he just didn’t have his whole world revolving around his sexuality. I believe Grenell worked continuously during his treatment for cancer (I could be wrong about that). We didn’t hear much about it, but he was strong, steadfast, and honorable.

Can you say the same about Pete Buttigieg?

Yes, having children is a big deal. However when the supply chain is clearly broken and in chaos, perhaps Pete Buttigieg could have taken time out from his paternity leave and busy diaper changing schedule to actually do his job.

Why? Because the needs of the nation should outweigh personal needs. If he couldn’t do the job due to family obligations… Then, like any man he should have stepped down from the position, and stepped up to the responsibilities of Fatherhood.

Pete Buttigieg had his husband, it wasn’t like his children had no-one to take care of them. Partners of high ranking government officials and soldiers have always carried the load when their spouse needed to attend to the needs of the country. Ask any military wife about that.

How many military wives have given birth to their children without their husbands? How many soldiers have come home after a year to meet their child for the first time?

The LGBTQI Jabber Jabber whatever community, even when confronted with these opinions and facts still cling to their dogma. Sometimes angrily or violently so.

I suspect that’s why the LGBTQI Jabber Jabber whatever community of England is so enraged when they see this.

Because it’s kinda true they’ve become the same kind of unthinking lockstep mob that once threatened to take over the world.

Notice any similarity???

Lest we forget, that same authoritarian dictatorship gassed gay men right along with the Jews, Gypsies, and anyone else they considered undesirable. There is even some evidence to suggest that the oh so stylish SS uniforms were designed by a Gay man. So hypocrisy isn’t new.

It’s not just the LGBTQI Jabber Jabber whatever community, in England. The same crowd and same dogma exists here in the U.S.

The same technological terrors of Twitter and FaceBook that caused this arrest in England are right here in the U.S. and they’re busily censoring free expression of opinion here, just as they do in England.

The difference is that our laws haven’t become quite as Gestapo-like as those in England. But the LGBTQI Jabber Jabber whatever community, here in the U.S. appears to be pushing for them to be.

Hate speech is an ill defined and bullshit term. Without clear definition anything can be construed as Hate Speech.

Memes, or images that you personally don’t like are not Hateful by nature. Although I could probably think up some that would be.

Even an image of bloody ANTIFA morons, or looters roped across the hood of a BMW like deer with a guy smiling holding an AR-15, captioned with, “Season is open, no bag limit!”

Is not hateful. It’s in extremely poor taste. It also sums up the mood of many Americans during the Summer of “Mostly Peaceful Protests”

Such an image would be censored instantly by the technological terror known as the internet.

It’s well past time for the perpetually aggrieved to grow a thicker skin. To Grow up and accept that the world and all the people in it do not exist to coddle their fragile feelings.

Maybe if they’d been called names in school, if they hadn’t been given safe spaces to cry, if they’ been graded on their achievements instead of given a pass just to move them to the next grade, they’d be functional people instead of crybabies in gender confused oversexed adult bodies.

Maybe if they’d heard, “Walk it off, go rub some dirt on it.” These crybabies would be better prepared to deal with a world that doesn’t and never will bow to their whims.

I personally think that weaponizing law enforcement and using them like Mommies and Daddies to settle hurt feelings is an obscenity. It’s a waste of time, money, and limited resources.

It appears, I’m not alone. As The Daily Mail article points out the police force’s own Crime Commissioner was displeased with the arrest of the 51 year old man for malicious communications.

Perhaps there is hope that the real adults will win the day.

I’m not holding my breath. I’m also not patronizing anything the LGBTQI Jabber Jabber whatever community has to offer.

I’ve wondered about opening a bar for normal LGB and Straight people. You know, a place that actually protects and allows free speech.

I don’t know what the name would be, but the tagline under the name would say something like, “Not a safe space… but a comfortable space to say what you think”

Nah… Probably go broke in the first month.

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Random Stuff

Power is off, The electric company is replacing poles and lines that were burned in the fire.

Looks like it’s going to be a long outage. On the plus side we had internet for about 12 hours! Whoo Hooo. With the power down, now we don’t.

I’ve still got 5G on the phone. That’s a serious improvement from the 1 bar of LTE that I’ve had since Saturday.

Saw an article in Apple News this morning, about a pet store in Thousand Oaks, CA where the owner has made addendum to their pet adoption policy. Part of the adoption questionnaire asks about gun ownership, gun control, membership in the NRA etc. They will refuse to allow you to adopt a pet if you don’t agree with their views on the matter.

They go so far as to say if you’re a member of the NRA and lie to us on this form we’ll prosecute you for fraud. Because we will find out…

That seems a bit improbable, but whatever.

I applaud the owner for taking a stand. I think it’s partially incorrect, especially the part about the NRA. Then again that organization has been demonized for so long, then plagued with their own scandals… I supposed it makes sense that a liberal couldn’t help but see the NRA as a boogyman.

It will be interesting to see if the owner’s stance has any impact on their business, positive or negative.

I think they may find that their traffic will drop because some folks, regardless of their gun ownership or views on gun control, will look at these rules as an infringement on their privacy. That alone may be enough to drive business away. There are a lot of shelters, and breeders to select from.

Inadvertently this pet adoption place may add to the number of pets that eventually need homes if folks go the breeder route.

Nonetheless, This business owner’s policy is clearly stated and they have the right to refuse to do business with anyone they choose. (Unless it’s a member of some specially protected group.) It’s probably a good thing they’re a pet adoption business not a baker of wedding cakes…

So I support their right. I also compliment them on putting their money where their mouth is.

The insanity over the FedEx package that’s missing continues.

Yesterday I spoke with someone who seemed to think I should go back to the store where I handed the package to a person acting as their agent, who scanned the package while I watched, and start searching the place.

Frankly this rebooted my brain. This FedEx corporate moron was suggesting that I essentially perform an illegal search of a place of business where I was not an employee, nor was I law enforcement, nor was I that business owner.

When I asked the person very specifically if that was what he was suggesting he decided to back down on that completely unreasonable request.

I’m still blown away that a FedEx corporate employee would tell a customer that, the Customer should go search the premises of one of their Agent locations.

This however is demonstrative of the lack of training on the part of FedEx and may provide insight into why FedEx has become so damn unreliable.

I wonder if that’s why there are so many private bonded carriers operating in LA, Orange County, and San Diego. I was surprised recently when some documents were delivered to me via courier instead of UPS or FedEx. It was pleasant but the first time that’s happened.

I’ve got the BMW… Perhaps I could get a nice tailored suit and become “The Transporter” What are the rules? “No Names, Never open the package,” seems pretty easy to me. Gas prices on the other hand… hmmm.

Speaking of gas prices. I paid 6.79 a gallon recently. Amazing! Not in a good way. The only reason I’m not bitching up a storm about it, is that It had been more than a month since I’d last purchased gas. I figured, ehh, if I amortize it over the time since I last filled up it’s a big deal, but not world ending.

I was tinkering with going on a road trip just to blow the cobwebs out of the car and my brain. But I’m thinking that would be excessively extravagant.

I’d still like to do a road trip. I suppose if I drove straight to the California border then filled up in another state a road trip might be more reasonable.

I caught another article on Apple News I think it was originally printed in The Wall Street Journal, (I’m not too sure about that,) that reported a record number of Californians were taking up residence in Mexico. Apparently, the real estate market south of the border is booming.

Some of the reasons cited were, lower cost of living, lower cost of real estate, lower gas prices, lower food prices, and better quality of life.

One person interviewed for the article said that his family had saved 50% per month on their living expenses from their previous living arrangements in California.

He still commutes to San Diego daily for work, but in terms of better quality of life for his family, he said it was a reasonable trade off.

I’ll admit that when I first moved to San Diego, I considered renting a place south of the border. At the time I could have gotten a 2 bedroom 1 bath condo for $800 a month. The place was 2nd floor, 4 blocks from the beach, you could even see the ocean from the lanai.

Instead I settled for a 1 bedroom 1 bath for $1500 a month in Escondido. It was a choice that was about avoiding San Diego traffic. Had I done the Mexico condo, I’d have to drive through the nightmare of downtown San Diego morning and evening. In the end, I worked a goofy schedule which would have made the Mexico option viable… But that’s another story entirely.

In a twist of unintended irony. The article mentioned that with so many Californians going south of the border. It was pricing Mexican citizens out of the housing market and contributing to rising prices in other things.

Free market capitalism can be a stone bitch! I suppose the Mexican government hasn’t gone “Woke” yet and started regulating for the greater good.

For shits and giggles, I watched Atlas Shrugged I, II, & III last night. These movies are adaptations of Ayn Rand’s book of the same title. The production quality is good. The disconnect with different actors playing the key parts is a bit disconcerting moving from one movie to the other but it’s easy to get over. I prefer Grant Bowler’s portrayal of Hank Reardon over the other two actors. Not that the other actors didn’t do good jobs with the character, I simply liked Bowler the best.

I know, there are lots of people who say that Atlas Shrugged is a Republican propaganda piece and that it has no merit in today’s world. Blah Blah Blah.

To them I’d say, “Turn off your bias, read the book or watch the movies and then tell me you don’t see some parallels between what happened in the story and what our government is becoming.”

Lots of regulation, ever expanding government, lofty idealistically admirable yet unachievable goals, do nothing committees, hearings which produce nothing and go nowhere, politicians making decisions without due consideration of the effects those decisions will have. Shaming of the wealthy for their achievements, etc. etc. etc.

I’ve read some biographical information about Ayn Rand, in some cases it’s said she was just writing fiction. In other cases it’s said she based the fiction of Atlas Shrugged on things she remembered from her childhood in Russia. Still other say she was prescient.

I don’t know which, if any of these conclusions are true. What I do see is, at best life is imitating art. At worst whatever madness led Russia to communism and all the horrors that we now know happened in soviet Russia, may well have taken hold in American politics.

Perhaps it was never a matter of IF it could happen, instead it was only a matter of When.

I know I’d like to be spirited away to “Atlantis”, by someone like John Gault.

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I never saw that coming…

As a child growing up in Florida, I remember going to Walt Disney World before they actually had a park.

We drove and drove and then there was a sign that said something like, “Welcome to the Future Disneyworld” There was a place to eat, and a gift shop of course. They also had mockups of the park as the designers envisioned it, and a nice little tour that explained what they were going to do to the area of what was essentially a kind of marshy chunk of land.

For a kid it was pretty neat, even though there weren’t any rides or much of anything else. After all I’d already been to Disney World well before it opened. Several years later, I went to Disney World and mostly remember the monorail.

Even then, large portions of what would become the entire park were still under construction. We were fairly regular visitors then. Each time we went it was a revelation because newer sections of the park opened. I recall ticket books and the like. That’s where the phrase, “E-Ticket Ride” came from.

After we moved out of Florida our visits to Disney World became less frequent and when I got to visit Disneyland in California, I was honestly disappointed. It was so small, noisy, cramped, and I guess due to the scale, it just seemed cheap. Yeah, Disney World spoiled me.

I think in the 35 or so years I’ve been in California, I’ve been to Disneyland maybe 3 times. At least one of those visits was back in the day when corporations could buy the park for an afternoon or evening and have private events. I honestly don’t know if corporations can still do that or if they would these days.

The last time I looked into going to Disneyland or Disney World I quickly dismissed the idea because it had become prohibitively expensive even with discount coupons offered by the company I worked for.

Occasionally, over the years I’ve been invited to join friends at Disneyland and after looking at the prices, politely declined. For that kind of money, I’d rather go to Las Vegas and enjoy more adult shows or entertainment. And so, Disneyland and Disney World dropped off my radar decades ago.

What I’ve been surprised to learn is that Disney World has enjoyed freedom from full taxation, and autonomy in their operations in Florida for 50 years. That kind of benefit had never crossed my mind. Like most folks, I assumed that Disney World had in fact been providing tax revenue to the state of Florida.

I applaud the Florida Legislators for stripping Disney of their tax exempt status. It sends a very clear message. Stay out of politics you’re a business, BE a business!

I suppose in truth they have indirectly paying taxes via sales tax and various tourism taxes from hotels, restaurants, airfares, and car rentals for tourists visiting the state. But no matter how you slice it, Disney had a dang good sweetheart deal. Even if they were paying reduced taxes, over 50 years that has to have added up.

You also have to wonder what the environmental impact of Disney World has on the vast tract of land they occupy. The trash alone must be monumental. Food waste, paper, plastic, human waste, you name it. Typically, Disney parks are immaculately clean. But in the case of Disney World… Where does it all go? What happened to the natural environment in that swath of Florida? Was any of it preserved?

To be fair, in the 60’s undeveloped Florida land was seen as opportunity and in need of development. Then, very little concern was paid to environmental issues. I strongly suspect that had it been practical the Florida Everglades would have been paved over for housing projects.

Disney could have kept its mouth shut about the Florida Parental Rights Bill. Certainly some of the Disney lawyers must have read the bill and informed Disney executives that much of the media hyperbole was not factual.

The Parental Rights Bill wasn’t an open assault on LGBT… lmnop people everywhere.

I do have a concern now that because of the wailing, gnashing of teeth, and over the top dramatics, that there may be an open assault on all LGBT people’s rights.

My concern is not due to the Parental Rights Bill. It’s due to the reaction and conflation of what I think of as the vocal lunatic fringe, the LGBT… lmnop, with the LGB community at large.

That conflation coupled with the “Normal” LGB community’s parroting of whatever the HRC or as OutSpoken puts it, “Gay Inc.” tells them to believe or think, may set gay rights back by decades.

The LGB community fought very hard for a very long time to win the rights that they were guaranteed by The Constitution of the United States. In many cases, those rights could arbitrarily be abridged for no other reason than they were homosexual.

LGB folks have the right to marry, to not face discrimination in housing, their workplace, or any other aspect of their lives. That was what we were fighting for, and we’ve achieved it for the most part.

Will we stand by while a lunatic fringe seizes our voice and uses it to polarize parts of the nation who tolerate us, into our enemies?

The gender fluid, crossdresser activists, should not, and do not speak for all the LGBT community. Nor do virtue signaling corporations.

Let the LGB community speak for ourselves. Generally, we just want to live our lives, love who we love, live quietly, and be left the hell alone.

It’s time for the LGB community, the real LGB community to stand up and roar.

The first and best place to start is roaring at Disney and the “lmnop” fringe by siding with the Florida legislature. Yes, I said side with Florida lawmakers.

Children should not be sexualized in the schools, Full DAMN Stop!
Parents have the responsibility for their children’s behaviors until they’re 18, Parents should also have the right to generally determine what their children are taught in public schools.
Public schools prohibit teaching a religious belief system, it could be argued gender fluidity is simply another belief system.
Disney World should be paying fair taxes and should not enjoy a sweetheart deal if they’re going to enter into politics.
Disney World is an entertainment venue, not a Political Action Committee. If they choose to be a PAC, they shouldn’t be, in effect subsidized by Florida tax payer dollars.

Most LGB people knew there was something different about them from an early age. But at that early age, the difference was irrelevant to them. Something that was an occasionally passing thought, quickly and easily superseded by a sparkly butterfly, or the next baseball game.

The time to address the difference is when the difference becomes an irrefutable issue that occupies a lot of a child’s brainpower. For most, it started at puberty, 3rd graders typically aren’t there yet.

After children have entered puberty, and are questioning all the weird changes in their bodies and minds, I’m all for providing useful education and the knowledge that they’re not alone or abnormal. Until then, let children be children and don’t trouble them with sexuality or pronouns.

I call upon my brothers and sisters in the LGB community to stand up to the insanity. Say “No” to the fringe, remind them that we are inclusive but that a larger majority of us are quite content being the gender we are, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Remind them that it is our work, our voice, and our lived lives they are usurping. Perhaps remind them of the old adage: They’re nothing scarier than a full grown adult queen.