Note:

 Lots of wind damage from last night's storms.  Trees down everywhere. No internet. See you soon.

A Good Monday Morning

Your Sunday Soothingness

Just for you, because your Blog Editrix loves each and every one of you, another bit of Sunday Soothingness, a choice morsel drawn from your Beloved Editrix's personal digs. Here is a short track from a very uniquely talented, multi-disciplined musician named 'Bruce Zisis Maginnis'. This tune, from his 4th record and like his previous 3 offerings that include the excellent  'Emotive Piano' and 'Jazz Vault', explores a total different genre of music than the previous effort. This time he leans into the music of the Old South. From his newest offering"Borderlands" this is a haunting little tune titled "Misty Mountain".

~ Thank You Larwyn's Linx@ Doug Ross Journal for the Linkage! ~

Middle Finger Symphony Theater

 ~ No Tuxedos Required ~

A Dark Turn Down a Familiar Street.

There has been a major shift in the culture. In the past, whenever the Palestinian/Israeli conflict flared up, anti-Israeli sentiment in America was limited to the frothing fringe of the Left, with both the political Right, and the mainstream political Left standing in the support of the only liberal democracy in the Middle East, and both sides recognizing the cynical, self destructive tactics of Israel's extremist enemies which stalemate the situation (Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad).

But Gen Z goes into the evaluation of this long enduring conflict with a completely different mentality. That's because it has been significantly shaped by a radical cultural ideology, to which virtue comes from victimhood and suffering rather than from right conduct. People are entirely a product of their social circumstances (as Critical Theory Propagandist tell us) and the conduct of the oppressed is simply an expression of their desperation and suffering at the hands of powerful systems. Those systems are themselves the only truly “unethical” force that is in play, and they must be reformed in order to reform the individual. (no self reflection required)

In the summer of 2020, I watched nightly online live streams of senseless violence (including against the livelihood of civilians) that was justified by the cause: the alleviation of alleged suffering and oppression at the hands of law enforcement - by burning down mattress stores and burger joints. 

The Palestinian /Israeli conflict plays into this Oppressor/Oppressed (stronger/weaker) narrative where there is no “morality” there is only “justice” (which means “equity”). It leads to a justification of a “By Any Means Necessary” ideology , just as long as the means is not sufficient enough to turn the stronger party into the weaker party. Israel is the powerful, more militarily dominant liberal democratic nation so it must be wrong in this clash between itself and a poorer, chaotic struggling society. The advocate of traditional Western morality however judges each party whether small or great according to the morality of its intentional actions. According to that calculus Israel is, for the most part, a free nation attempting to defend its citizens, Hamas and the PLJ are obscenely immoral terrorist organizations that intentionally target the innocent, and the Palestinian people, victims of their own making now caught in the middle.

The unfortunate thing is that we now see this debate spilling over in the form of ugly leftist anti-semitic language and behavior toward normal American citizens who happen to be Jewish. And of course the rhetoric of classical anti-Semitism uses the exact same language of the oppressor/oppressed, "the Jews run the world, they own and control everything and we are their hapless victims." This was of course the rhetoric of the Nazis.

And as with the other paradigms of oppressor v.s. oppressed,  it doesn't actually matter if it's accurate or not.

Your Official Big Ass Almost Semi-World Famous Irredeemable Early Mid-Week Open Thread

It's been three long weeks since the last Big Ass Open Thread and lots has happened since, so I know y'all possess a few new brain wrinkles and are overflowing with recently absorbed knowledge and newly acquired information you're anxious to share with us all. Not to mention you're probably bursting with accolades for your Beloved Blog Editrix.

It continues to be a wild ride here on our third stone from the sun, so let us take a quick look from 10,000 feet....

The Repubs continue to threaten us with a loss in November to a senile clown with their circular firing squad and other antics .........3 Soros backed Negroes with a combined integrity of a street corner heroin dealer are prosecuting persecuting (like him or not) our former President like third world shitholes do, while the media cheers them on for ratings and future lucrative book deals............our coward-and- chief, who spends more time at home (where not subject to official call and visitor logs) than he does in the oval office, can't regularly make it past 12 noon without a visit from Dr. Feelgood (yeah I said it) shits his pants and lies his ass off and has gone to shouting like a South American dictator about his opposition on the campaign trail...........we are being reassured of the fact throwing $80K a year at an elite institution of higher learning can produce just as many idiots as intelligent people............and let's not forget 185 pound trannies beating up 15 year old girls in their own school restrooms.  But  if all that doesn't make you want to drink yourself into a stupor, Taylor Swift's new album is being criticized for being  poorly written..........OH THE HUMANITY!

BUT, on the upside, congress agreed to throw away send out more of your tax money and the Ukrainian civil service employees are assured of their 4 weeks of paid vacation and  Zelinsky's  ol' lady can take her regular summer Paris shopping trips. 

Okay, the floor is yours. Regular house rules apply. And use the damn coasters! 

Presented Without Comment.....

~ Thank You Larwyn's Linx@ Doug Ross Journal for the Linkage! ~