Category: Politics

Lightning Strikes

The Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, the U.S. Capitol, and the Washington Monument were all struck by lightning last night. The best line I’ve seen on the socials so far: “Jimmy Carter told God what’s going on down here.”

Others are saying it’s the Tower card in tarot come to life. If you’re not familiar with tarot, here’s the Tower card:

The Tower card in tarot.
Image: Wikimedia

The Tower means sudden, world-rocking change. It’s disruption of the highest order, often accompanied by crisis and danger. WHEEEEEE!

Then this morning a Tesla Cybertruck exploded and burst into flames in front of a Trump hotel in Las Vegas, killing one person inside the vehicle and injuring several others who were standing nearby. According to NBC, the blast is being investigated as a possible terrorist attack.

Yeah, ya know, those things have a tendency to do that. They’re notorious for catching fire, not unlike Apartheid Clyde himself blowing up and melting down time and again. Excuse me, Kekius Maximus.

Really, someone needs to do a welfare check on that guy. Where’s his family? He’s been having a very public breakdown on his social platform since Christmas Eve. I really would not be surprised if at some point he barricades himself in and starts screaming about aliens and liberals and Laura Loomer coming to get him. If he didn’t have such an army of mush-brained worshippers hanging on his every word, I’d almost feel bad for the guy. It’s clear his doctors are failing him, and my prediction for him is that he’s going to end up either having a psychotic break, which the media will call “exhaustion,” or shedding his mortal coil like Matthew Perry, who died of a ketamine overdose in October 2023.

And through all of this, not a peep from Mark Zuckerberg. I’m no fan of billionaires, I don’t care for his business practices with how Meta handles personal data, and I hate that he’s in with Tiberius Tinyhands, but I have to admit the man is smart. He knows how to keep his mouth shut, his thumbs still, and his profile low. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep an eye on him—it’s often the quiet ones who wreak the most havoc—but he’s not making a braying ass out of himself the way so many in TrumpCo and the GOP are these days.

At any rate, if the last 24 hours are any indication of what’s in store for the U.S. this year, I’m going to need to stock up on popcorn. I like the lime-flavored stuff.

December to December

Today Holidailies asks: How is this December different from last year?

Last year I was recovering from a massive heart attack. Yet somehow, I managed to do almost everything I usually like to do—see the state Christmas trees, have brunches with friends. I even put up a tree for the first time in 10 years. The only thing I didn’t do was go out on New Year’s Eve. This year I’m seeing John Oliver at the Kennedy Center, so I’m looking forward to that.

Things are a little more hectic this year, though. Or at least they feel that way. It’s probably because this time last year I wasn’t commuting to the office twice a week. I didn’t have to do that until April, after my cardiac rehab was over. I also have a freelance project this December, whereas last December it was all I could do to get through 40 hours a week at my day job.

Last December felt different, too. Work wasn’t going so well (if you know, you know), and now it’s going well. Last year there were conflicts around the world, but this year there is even more conflict and civil unrest, and now we have Apricot Pol Pot returning to the White House in January. About the only thing I’m looking forward to about that is the inevitable clash he’s going to have with Shut-Me-Up Elmo Muskrat (who I wrote about almost to the day last year). The honeymoon is only going to last so long with those two. Not even D.C., which is loaded to the gills with big egos, has enough room for both of theirs. The falling out will be epic, no doubt, and I’ll be there for it.

Might have to put some Old Bay on my popcorn, as neither of those ghouls are locals. I put a dash of Old Bay on a lot of things. It’s super good on popcorn.

And now I’ll leave you with this little gem:

An "elf on the shelf" pooping a chocolate kiss on a picture of Donald Trump.

Deny, Defend, Depose

Second entry of the evening. Hey, I WILL have 31 entries for the month!

I may or may not have mentioned here (and probably not) that Pluto is now in Aquarius. That is supposed be an era of tearing down structures and institutions that serve only a few to the detriment of humanity as a whole. The last time Pluto was in Aquarius, we had the American Revolution and the French Revolution.

Well, since Pluto entered Aquarius on November 19:

There are mass protests in Georgia.

The people of South Korea resisted martial law.

The French government collapsed.

The assassination of a billionaire health insurance company CEO may very well have touched off a class war in the U.S.

I’m not a hardcore believer in astrology. It’s more of a fun thing to learn, and the geometry comes in handy while shooting pool. But maybe we should brace ourselves, because Pluto will be in Aquarius until March 8, 2043. Hey, I’m 58 with one heart attack behind me already. This may be the rest of my life! Bring it on, I say. Just tear it all down. It’s the only way things will ever change.

Some images from around the internet:

A banner hanging off a bridge. The banner says "Deny. Defend. Depose."

This next one is a railcar.

The words "Deny, Defend, Depose" spray-painted on a railcar.

And my favorite:

Chalk writing on a sidewalk that says "We're not from the left or the right. We're from the bottom and we're coming for those on top."

I expect to see more stuff like this. I also figure that there is more where the CEO shooting came from. Americans have pretty much had it with our health care system. It doesn’t matter what political persuasion one holds dear: Anyone who has had private health insurance has had a problem with private health insurance.

In other news… I went on a city-walk yesterday. Here’s a Christmas tree. This is Holidailies, after all.