So it goes

vonnegut

By WhskyJack, a Trail Mix Contributor

Thinking about recent comments started me on a search for a Vonnegut quote. Why? This is his year.  We are living in a Vonnegut novel. Crazy , funny and dark.

OK, time for a trip to the basement where my books sit row by row.  Which one, which one………

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”  From Mother Night, Kurt Vonnegut

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Blonde Wino
8 years ago

Holy Boko-maru!   Excellent choice, Jack.  Vonnegut taught me how to time travel.

patd
8 years ago

beautiful, jack!

just a tho’t on last thread’s “deplorable” perhaps it was used in the old latin sense of “to weep for, to bewail, to grieve deeply for”…

she may have been lamenting the sad darkness of those basket cases.

probably trying to quote the sentiment of some jewish guy once who mumbled something about “forgive them for they know not what they do”

Blonde Wino
8 years ago

from Bokononism terminology —  we are currently in a pool-pah election cycle.  I know the trail karass has been the best at ferreting out the fomas.

 

Blonde Wino
8 years ago

enjoying the gossip of powell’s personal/public/political emails…the cyber fly on the wall.  I still believe powell dodged a big bullet for his service to GWB, same with Rice.  the ruskie hackavists continue to control our prez election with cyber hacks…DC Leaks is a ruskie front.  Reminds me of the old Outer Limits opening — There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We… Read more »

tony
8 years ago

Don’t Be Shocked. Mike Pence Has Always Been A Bigot.  Michelangelo Signorile In 2000, as a member of Congress, Pence proposed cutting off funds for HIV prevention, and instead diverting the money to “ex-gay” therapy programs. This, he said, would ensure that “federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus.” Instead, “resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.” He also said, “Congress should oppose any effort to recognize homosexuals as a ‘discreet and insular minority’ entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws similar to those extended to women and ethnic minorities.” In 2006, Pence said in a speech that marriage equality would lead to “societal collapse,” and called homosexuality “a choice.” Stopping gays from marrying wasn’t biased, he said, but was rather about compelling “God’s idea.” These… Read more »

RebelliousRenee
8 years ago

Ahhhh…. how wonderful to click on Trail Mix and see a picture of one of my favorite authors.  Yeah…  he would have had much to say about this crazy election cycle.

I not only highly recommend any of Vonnegut’s books…  I also highly recommend his recent biography from Charles Shields, “And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut A Life”.  Rick and I actually found his old house in Barnstable Massachusetts a few years ago after seeing a picture of it in that biography.

Great quote, Jack!

patd
8 years ago

the guardian: ‘You don’t fit the image’: Hillary Clinton’s decades-long push against a sexist press From the beginning of her career in the public eye, Clinton presented herself as an independent and ambitious woman – and the heat she got for it burnt her [….] But the idea that she avoids the press during this election because she hates them isn’t fair, he  adds, explaining that he thinks the press simply isn’t her priority. “She’d much rather spend her time trying to communicate with voters, I think the press senses that and gets offended by that,” Boehlert said. He also contrasts Trump’s treatment of the press in this campaign. “She respects their role. She’s not banning people from her rally, not insulting them in every speech, she doesn’t herd them into metal pens, and yet the press seems to be upset with her. They don’t seem to be upset at Trump,”… Read more »

patd
8 years ago

twit off the leash again:

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 9h9 hours ago

I was never a fan of Colin Powell after his weak understanding of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq = disaster. We can do much better!

Retweets 4,458
Likes 14,132

8:59 PM – 14 Sep 2016

patd
8 years ago

flatus, what say you about the drumpf twitting “We can do much better!” in re the good general?

[p.s. before you post it, don’t forget craig’s trail rule on ad hominems and excessive vulgarities] 🙂

patd
8 years ago

new ad according to huffpo is set to air on CNN Thursday night, uses Trump’s own words to paint him as impulsive and violent, a criticism his political opponents have frequently made. Fenton Communications, a public relations firm known for cause-related marketing, created and paid for the ad. The firm said it’s not working with any presidential campaign. Published on Sep 15, 2016 Donald Trump has been called a threat and a danger, not just to America, but the entire world. His words, “You’re fired” will take on an entirely new meaning if he becomes Commander in Chief. Right now, this ad is just an ad. But on Election Day, it’s up to you to make sure it doesn’t become a reality. A recent statement signed by 50 former Republican national security officials said Trump “lacks self-control and acts impetuously…He has alarmed our closest allies with his erratic behavior. All of these… Read more »

patd
8 years ago

raw story:  A panelist on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” delivered a righteous, “mad as hell and not going to take this anymore” rant about the insipid media coverage of Donald Trump’s scandalous foreign entanglements.

A bombshell Newsweek report revealed the extensive ties between the Trump Organization and investors closely tied to foreign governments — which could potentially pose a national security conflict, if Trump was elected — and MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski expressed doubts about the Republican candidate’s ability to show the proper character to serve as president.

Jamie44
8 years ago

Donny Deutsch was great this morning.  He really went off on Trump.  Mika was almost as up in arms.  Joe wasn’t there today so they were able to get a word in edgewise.  In any case, it took them long enough to locate their conscience.

 

Flatus
8 years ago

Pat I knew General Powell professionally and personally; I would trust him not to waste troops under his command. At the same time, I have no doubt that he would commit our people to brutal combat if that was the ‘right’ way to achieve important objectives. He was never closed minded in preparing plans; but, once the plans had been made and orders issued, the time for discussion was over. He and Alma gathered in one of our homes to meet socially with all of Fort Leavenworth’s sergeants major and their spouses so that we could know them on a human level. Doing that earned him deserved respect. And he was comfortable standing-up in the kitchen drinking beer around the kitchen table while the ladies were yakking in the living room. The poor guy was used to working within a military society where screwing-over one’s buddies was totally unacceptable. Naive?… Read more »

patd
8 years ago

well done, flatus.  not one cuss word by you (so justifiably deserved had you said it) towards he who cannot tell the difference from a good general and a bad generalization.  I do hope his twitter just lost him a few of those 88 so-called “military leaders” of his.

patd
8 years ago

speaking of the good general, from cbs: “I have a great deal of respect for Colin Powell, and I have a lot of sympathy for anyone whose emails become public,” Clinton said in response to a question from CNN’s Don Lemon on the Tom Joyner radio show. “I’m not going to start discussing someone else’s private emails. I’ve already spent a lot of time talking about my own, as you know.” Asked again, Clinton said: “I’m not going to comment on anything that is said in a private email.” Trump, meanwhile, took to Twitter Wednesday night to disparage Powell, seemingly in response to harsh words from the former Bush administration official. later in that same link on a different subject: Clinton also declined to answer whether she would ask for President Barack Obama to take back Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court should she win in November. “I think… Read more »

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

The timing on the free Snowden is all wrong and all they are going to do is cause a big giant mess

Trump= Oogie Boogie

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

Oogie Boogie was the main antagonist of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, voiced by Ken Page. He was a burlap sack filled with insects, two spiders and a snake for a tongue.

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

I think Powell leaked the emails himself

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

Mrs Greenspan the reason it’s close is because you have failed to do your job and because you have given Trump thousands of hours with no fact checking

you suck

Bink
8 years ago

Orwell, of course.

 

Hey, didn’t Powell lie through his teeth on the floor of the UN to justify a bullshit war?  All Nader did was run for President.

Bink
8 years ago

Remember his posters of fictitious mobile weapons labs?

patd
8 years ago

bink, both colin and hillary were fed a bunch of untruthiness by some very unreliable perps

Pogo
8 years ago

Vonnegut gifted me Breakfast of Champions, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Welcome to the Monkey House. I absolutely loved those works. And yes BW, he taught me how to travel in time, too. If he would have just given me the instructions on how to start, stop and go where and when I wanted, it would have been a whole lot more convenient.

patd
8 years ago

well, get use to hearing this from the gatlin boys.  🙁

https://youtu.be/1eWhbPjr29I

patd
8 years ago

sorry for that but

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Bink
8 years ago

He knew he was lying, pat.  I knew he was lying.  Everybody knew he was lying.  Hundreds of thousands died as a result of that speech.

Pogo
8 years ago

Drumpf disses Colin, whose shoes he is not qualified to shine, and who advocated the war drumpf supported at the time as he told Howard Stern. What a load of craptastic bs. I never bought the mobile germ warfare bs Powell sold to the UN, and certainly didn’t buy the mushroom cloud fear and loathing that came from his colleague Condi.  And I absolutely disagreed with him and her and their bosses shrub and darth.  I’ve come to respect Powell but none of the others.

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

Trump gives up the black vote by attacking the black pastor who stopped his speech –

he claims she had it planned . she also stopped a heckler. Trump invited himself to thank her for the work they’d done but now he is attacking her

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

gee ignorant hallie jackson   bill clinton had a balanced budget

patd
8 years ago

pogo & bink, you must not have seen or believed what col. Wilkerson said in this cnn story August 23, 2005:  Former aide: Powell WMD speech ‘lowest point in my life’

patd
8 years ago

kgc, he dissed the pope (leader of 1.27 Billion worldwide and 69.5 million u.s. catholics some who might be voters) and got away with it sooo what’s such a big deal about dissing a pastor of a smallish (in comparison) black church? anyway, she’s a woman so what does he care?

that tweet re powell doesn’t help him either with African americans

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

well patd he also got in a lot of trouble talking about the Khans and I think this will be made an issue

patd
8 years ago

politico:

Donald Trump “is a human leech who will bleed the country and sit at his golf resort laughing at the money he has made,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday.

In remarks from the Senate floor, Reid (D-Nev.) called Trump “a spoiled brat” and “a notorious con artist.” And he argued that the GOP nominee’s history of dubious business practices would carry over into a presidential administration.

“Let’s be clear about Donald Trump. He’s a spoiled brat, raised in plenty, who inherited a fortune, used his money to make more money, and he did a lot of it by swindling working men and women,” Reid said. “Why would he change as president? The answer is simple. Trump won’t change. He is asking us to let him get rich scamming America.”

patd
8 years ago

huffpo:  Harry Reid: Trump Barred From Casino Business In Nevada Due To Sordid Record

“I may not be an expert on a lot of stuff, but I’m an expert on gaming licenses,” Reid, a former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, told Post reporter Ben Terris. “You can’t have filed 14 bankruptcies, cheat people out of stuff. In gaming circles, if somebody does something bad once, you can’t get a gaming license. He’s done something bad his whole life.”

Terris’ story notes that Trump did, in fact, secure a gaming license from the state in 2004, but has chosen not to use it. Reid, however, insisted that the state would not allow Trump to build a casino now, even if the real estate mogul wanted to do so.

RebelliousRenee
8 years ago

Yeah…  I remember Colin’s UN speech also.  I remember thinking…  “gee, I respect this guy, but I think he’s fabricating this whole story”.  I too have regained some respect for him.  But Condi…   she’s supposedly some kind of genius and yet she willfully played ignorant….   no excuse, IMO.

Jamie44
8 years ago

RR

I knew the UN speech was wrong but even though totally opposed to the invasion, I gave Powell the benefit of a doubt along the lines of possibly some other knowledge.  My son served under him.  To this day, he considers Powell a truly good man and great leader.  So if he wants to have a snit fit at Hillary now that’s okay.  He knows the GOP left him and as long as the majority of that anger is directed at Trump that is even better.

 

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

I think Trailmixers are in the same karass

patd
8 years ago

harry wasn’t the only one giving ’em hell on the senate floor today politico: Elizabeth Warren scolds Trump for not coughing up tax returns Furthering her feud with Donald Trump, liberal firebrand Elizabeth Warren took to the Senate floor on Thursday to chide the Republican nominee for not releasing his tax returns. Warren mused about what may be buried in the 12,000 pages of tax forms Trump has declined to release. The New York businessman has eschewed the tradition of transparency for presidential nominees to disclose their tax returns, citing an ongoing audit. “We know he has gotten Russian oligarchs with close ties to Vladimir Putin to fund his businesses. Is he still doing that? We know that he has financial ties to political dynasties in Turkey,” Warren said, citing news reports and the scant publicly available information. “We know that he’s wrapped up in aggressive pipeline plans in North and… Read more »

xrepublican
8 years ago

Bink, do you think there was some reason at that time that Powell should have distrusted george tenet and doug feith ?

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

Read the Newsweek article   His business interests in Turkey are in direct conflict with the interests of the US

craigcrawford
8 years ago

Back in Orlando with our crazy Toby Dog — she can actually stand up and walk! Beginning to think maybe she ran away from the circus, quite the performer.

xrepublican
8 years ago

Why Methodists Can’t Trust trump !

Trump lies about the pastor from Flint

Pass it on.

Sturgeone
8 years ago

No Gatlin Zone

if BW should start a cult….I’m joining.

Pogo
8 years ago

OK, this is a real world mystery. Imagine 5 people sitting in a bar in New Orleans.  The 1st is from Cleveland Ohio, a 50 something Female lawyer, the 2nd (me) from Birmingham Alabama, a 60 something male lawyer, the third from San Antonio Texas, a 30 year old female Baker, the 4th a 20 something black woman from Mississippi semi-professional and the 5th a 60 something gay bartender from Indiana. Four of the five people support Hillary Clinton, and one supports Donald Trump. Figure out which one supports Donald Trump and why.  Have fun.

xrepublican
8 years ago

gatlin brothers : bad for America and bad for Jesus

xrepublican
8 years ago

Pogo, I’ll guess that the gay bartender from Indiana is for trump, cuz trump ‘is pro-life.’

It’s the most preposterous answer I could come up with on the spurt of the moment.

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

I’m going with the baker from texas because Texans are crazy