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[Douglas Adams on the Fate of the Marketing Division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation]

As the writings of Douglas Adams recently crossed my mind, I thought this looks like as good a place as any for me to post about the 'Merican "tech bro culture." So, here it goes: 

Douglas Adams on the Fate of the Marketing Division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation

Right now, I can't help hoping that Mr. Adams turns out to be a prophet. Because, after all, Nostradamus didn't really nail down all of the specific details of his many prophecies either.

As I rarely sleep more than 3 hours at a time, I typically find myself wide awake at odd hours of the night. And, not being able to do much without making noise that would wake up the rest of the household, or the neighbors, I usually end up reading, or doing something on the computer. So, about two weeks ago, when I found myself wide awake and bored at 3:30 AM, I signed onto YouTube, in the hope of finding something of interest.

Somehow or other, a music video of the song "Over the Hills and Far Away" by Nightwish popped up on my YouTube homepage. Thinking it was a cover of the song of the same name from the Sharpe TV series, out of sheer boredom I decided to give it a listen. (A member of my European extended family had a major guest role in one of the episodes, so I'm a fan.)

Of course, the Nightwish song wasn't at all what I expected, but I thought it was pretty damn good! And so, I started binge watching more of the band's stuff right then and there. And, after learning that Nightwish's musical genre is "symphonic metal," I started searching for, and listening to/watching other bands who play music of the same genre, like Within Temptation.

So, I've been binge watching even more "symphonic metal" videos at odd hours of the night ever since. As of right now, my favorite lead singers are Tarja Tununen, and Floor Jansen. But, I hope to find others in the genre who approach their levels of talent.

[Trump's Transportation Secretary Announces Elon Musk's DOGE Will 'Plug In' To 'Upgrade Our Aviation System']

As per this announcement, the USCEO and his private Gestapo are going to be intimately involved with the new U.S. Secretary of Transportation:

Trump's Transportation Secretary Announces Elon Musk's DOGE Will 'Plug In' To 'Upgrade Our Aviation System'

Now, with me being old, unhip, and unfamiliar with the latest slang, I have to ask those who are much cooler than myself: Is Secretary Duffy using the term 'Plug In' as a polite euphemism for 'Be Pegging Me?' Of course, I do sincerely doubt that Secretary Duffy would even bother to utilize a euphemism, if that is indeed the case, what with the TSS regime being so honest and forthright about their real intentions and all.

[Hitler finds out what Elon did]

Hitler finds out what Elon did

[Stop attending panels meant to improve air travel, FAA tells employees]

My first thought was to post this on the "No, It's Not an Article On "The Onion."" thread. But, this article is not in the least bit funny:

Stop attending panels meant to improve air travel, FAA tells employees

As per this article:

"The Federal Aviation Administration has barred its employees from participating in a host of advisory committees intended to help come up with solutions to issues facing the aviation industry, including those related to safety and air traffic control.

A directive to employees, obtained by POLITICO, states that employees appointed to these committees "should not attend (in-person or virtually) ... until further notice." The directive comes as the agency and the airline industry are reeling from last week's collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the first fatal crash of a U.S. airline in nearly two decades."

So, if you have the misfortune of living in 'Merica in these dark times, you may want to consider contacting your U.S. representative and your two (2) U.S. senators in congress about this nonsense. Such actions won't take much more time than your normal social media activity, it might actually help rectify the current situation, and it just might make you feel a little better about yourself for having made the positive effort.

I'm seeing this quotation from U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) popping up on the internet today:

"Elon Musk you know, you can take the boy out of apartheid but you can't take apartheid out of the boy. He's out here doing Nazi salutes. Whatever."

This lady is an admirable, inspirational leader of the Resistance 2.0. We need many more like her.

[Pennsylvania flood museum temporarily closed due to flooding]

I found this on a UK news website:

Pennsylvania flood museum temporarily closed due to flooding

Well ... Johnstown, Pennsylvania is famous for its deadly flood of 1889. Or, at least it's famous for that particular flood in my state. And, the town has been hit with other notable floods since the 19th century. But still, when is enough, enough?

[ICE Arrests Speedy Gonzales Near US-Mexico Border]

ICE Arrests Speedy Gonzales Near US-Mexico Border

[The foreign policy of an American kleptocracy]

Their party's wealthy donor class, their partisan media, their opportunistic elected leaders, and their electorate call themselves the Republican Party, aka the Grand Old Party (GOP). And, I've been calling the latest version of them The Republicult™ for some time. But, I'm beginning to believe that their wealthy donor class and their partisan media, their most unmistakably dangerous people, should be called something that differentiates them from their opportunistic elected leaders, and their masses of thoughtless, undereducated, sectarian, redneck trailer trash who customarily vote their party's opportunistic elected leaders into public office. Of course, the word "oligarchs" is already in use for their wealthy donor class. But, to me, that particular word does not completely describe who and what their wealthy donor class, and their partisan media really is.

And, the following article does use the word "kleptocracy" to describe how the Republican Party's opportunistic elected leaders, their very own kleptocrats, operate to benefit themselves: 

The foreign policy of an American kleptocracy

However, when attempting to stand back and look at the "big picture" of the Republican Party, what I believe I'm seeing is a wealthy donor class and partisan media that is, in reality, the Disloyal Opposition. That is, I find it hard to believe that people like Musk, Murdoch, Adelson, Uihlein, Kock, the Mercers, et al, actually give a damn about our country's form of government being a republic, our republic's constitution, or the health and well being of our country's citizens. But, to comprehend what the Republican Party's wealthy donor class, their partisan media, and their kleptocrats really want, I do believe that all anyone need do is to FOLLOW THE MONEY.

['He saw an opportunity': Analyst says key Trump ally poised to take over as king of MAGA]

I read this article about political strategist Chai Komanduri's opinion of Elmo the Oligarch back in November, but did not post anything about it on this forum at the time. But today, as I was cleaning up my political bookmarks, I realized that what Mr. Komanduri had to say a few months ago about our powerful USCEO has stood the test of time. So, here's the article:

'He saw an opportunity': Analyst says key Trump ally poised to take over as king of MAGA

As per this article:

"Elon Musk's motive for aligning himself with Donald Trump and MAGA world may not be as clear cut as it seems, according to a political analyst who said the tech billionaire has positioned himself as the new owner of the Republican Party and MAGA movement.

Think of Musk as the "man behind the curtain," said political strategist Chai Komanduri, except "he is dancing and prancing in front of the curtain."

"Trump 2.0 is very much looking like Elon Musk 1.0, he has taken over Trump and MAGA and the Republican Party in a manner that is very similar to the way Trump and MAGA took over the Republican Party 8-10 years ago," Komanduri said on Friday."

As I've already written, it is my opinion that one of Elmo the Oligarch's major motives for aligning himself with the TSS and the MAGAts is to gain access to the vast government funds and resources needed by the USCEO to establish his colony on Mars. I see Elmo as being an amoral opportunist who is strikingly similar to Wernher von Braun, another space "pioneer." That is, he is willing to align himself with anyone, and any group who will help him achieve his own personal objectives. It occurs to me that perhaps our ancestors unconsciously identified something sinister in the human psyche when they associated the Red Planet with Ares/Mars, their god of war.   

Chai Komanduri uses the following address on Bluesky social media: @chaikomanduri.bsky.social

[Pastafarian Strikes a Blow for What He Publicly States is Religious Freedom]

A young Texas Pastafarian has persisted in his quest to wear a colander in his driver's license photo, as per the following article:

Pastafarian Strikes a Blow for What He Publicly States is Religious Freedom

Now, as per this article:

"Castillo isn't the first Pastafarian to attempt to wear a colander in an ID photo, but he is the first to be successful in the U.S."

But, as per one simple internet search attempt, I found that this battle has already been won by other persistent Pastafarians in other 'Merican states.

["Trump fired the people in charge of airplane safety, and now airplanes are already falling out of the sky."]

5. Negative campaigns are extremely effective. Running a positive campaign achieves no more than does "Preaching to the choir."

Don't believe me? Then, consider giving some thought to how well the "When they go low, we go high" strategy worked out for the Democratic Party.

This line item also needs editing, as I realized it can be improved by making reference to the KISS principle. Now, everyone already knows, KISS is an acronym for "Keep it simple, stupid!" And, the author of the following article offers a great example of a clear, simple, negative campaign slogan that emphasizing the who, what, where, when, and why of one of the TSS's recent executive orders: 
 
"Trump fired the people in charge of airplane safety, and now airplanes are already falling out of the sky."

[Priest Defrocked After Copying Elon Musk's Salute at Pro-Life Summit]

This is unexpected, pleasantly surprising news:

Priest Defrocked After Copying Elon Musk's Salute at Pro-Life Summit

"Father Calvin Robinson was booted from the Anglican Catholic Church's ministry after repeated warnings about his political activities"

But, it won't come as much of a surprise if the USCEO gives Mr. Robinson a job in his administration, after he lifts the TSS's federal hiring freeze, of course.

[Democrats' playbook for Trump 2.0: Tune out the noise and focus on economic issues]

The Democratic Party's leadership is attempting to learn from their past mistakes:

Democrats' playbook for Trump 2.0: Tune out the noise and focus on economic issues

"As Trump floods the zone in his first week in office, Democrats are departing from their "resistance" strategy in his first term and zeroing in on issues that cost them the last election."

As per this article:

"WASHINGTON — Less than 48 hours after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a closed-door meeting with Democratic lawmakers to issue a warning and a clarion call.

The new administration was going to "flood the zone," and Democrats couldn't afford to chase every single outrage — or nothing was going to sink in for the American people, Jeffries told them, according to a person in the room who requested anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

Jeffries, D-N.Y., urged members to focus their message on the cost of living, along with border security and community safety."

And, while many in the Democratic Party's leadership are naive, overall they're not stupid. Taking back the U. S. House of Representatives in 2026 is a doable objective. And, the Disloyal Opposition Party does have a lot of senate seats to defend in the next election.

[A GOP lawmaker is defending Trump by describing poor kids as freeloaders]

This goes to the heart of what the opportunistic leaders, the kleptocracy of the Republican Party, are all about:

A GOP lawmaker is defending Trump by describing poor kids as freeloaders

As per this article:

"CNN anchor Pamela Brown raised concerns to Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., Tuesday that Head Start, an early childhood educational program that also provides food to low-income children, could be affected by President Donald Trump's attempt at a federal funding freeze. McCormick responded with the head-spinning suggestion that the country's child labor laws are too restrictive and that plenty of kids are freeloaders who ought to work for their lunch." 

This MAGAt currently represents Georgia's 6th congressional district. Now, it appears to me that the 6th is a "swing district." So, there's a very good chance that if this kleptocrat keeps "saying the quite part out loud," he won't survive the 2026 elections.

Anyway, if you want to know what the Republican Party's wealthy donor class, their partisan media, and their kleptocrats are all about, I believe that all anyone need do is to FOLLOW THE MONEY.