Reading that Trump mulled over televising executions reminded me of my message to Trump that "24" isn't real.

 By Hal Brown

I originally posted this on Daily Kos. I am reposting it here after reading this in Raw Story:

Trump mulled televising executions of death row inmates: report

By way of introduction: This revelation is entirely consistent with Trump being a sadistic malignant (sociopathic) narcissist. He may not have acted out his sadism in violent ways (aside from sexually assaulting women) but I have no doubt he has violent sadistic fantasies. This report is similar to his asking about whether immigrants trying to cross the border could be shot in the legs (reference link). We also know he envisioned a border moat filled with snakes and alligators (reference link). He seems to have relished putting children and families in cages and separating kids from their parents.

The original story:

We know Trump lives in world where alternate reality and reality gets mixed up on what seems to be a daily basis. We know he doesn’t read and loves to watch TV. We know it seem like he lives in episodes of The Twilight Zone. He also may live inside TV shows which play on his paranoia. After all, he considers the clinically paranoid Alex Jones (of InfoWars and Prison Planet) one of his pals. Watch his “explosive” 2015 interview with Jones. Or don’t, just check this out:

Alex Jones, a voice of the so-called "alt-right" and perpetrator of conspiracy theories, told listeners that he received a call from President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend thanking Jones and his supporters for aiding in his victory. 

The online radio host, who casts doubt on the 2012 Newtown elementary school shooting that left 26 people — mostly children — dead, told listeners that he had received a call from Trump, who also spoke with world leaders from the United Kingdom, Russia, France and China in the days following his win. 

Considering Trump’s emphatic belief that torture works, I think it is vital we remind him that TV shows where the heroic anti-hero saves the world by brutally getting a terrorist to reveal where the nuclear bomb is hidden (within a time span of just one day) — if you were a fan you know how many times Jack Bauer did that from one season to the next.

Attention Mr. President, Jack Bauer wasn’t real. He was  a fictional character. Don’t believe me, look it up on Wikipedia. He was played by Keifer Sutherland.

Of course Bauer only resorted to torture when he absolutely had to. Cut to the timer on the bomb: 75 minutes 12 seconds, 11 seconds, 10 seconds, and counting.

Jack showing his compassionate side. From 24 Redemption Behind the Scenes – Kiefer Sutherland and Siyabulela Ramba on www.24spoilers.com/...

Jack wasn’t bad. He wasn’t a sadist. He wasn’t a bully. Mr; President, you could learn that from him.

 He did what he had to do to save the world or the country, and did it eight times over 192 episodes. He was loyal to his friends and had a compassionate side. But then, all of this was penned by talented screenwriters. 

Mr. President, you ought to catch up on Keifer Sutherland’s latest TV series where he plays the “Designated Survivor” who becomes president when terrorists blow up the Capital building during the State of the Union address. He’s be a perfect role model for you to follow as president. He know he’s unprepared, he is willing to admit that there are many things he doesn’t know… and eager to learn.

He’s a reluctant president. Modest, sincere, smart but not a genius.

You could model yourself on  “The West Wing’s” Jed Bartlett (even though he also has a Wikipedia page, alas he’s really Martin Sheen); but that would be too much to hope for.

Related from 2017: 

Donald Trump Wants To Make America Waterboard Again in HUFFPOST

“But do I feel it works? Absolutely, I feel it works.”

Jan 25, 2017, 06:18 PM EST

Todays other blog, here, is about the so-called UFOS.

Stop calling these airborne objects UFOS until we know they are UFOS

 By Hal Brown

One of the first depictions of a "flying saucer", by illustrator Frank R. Paul on the October 1929 issue of Hugo Gernsback's pulp science fiction magazine Science Wonder Stories. Although the term wasn't used before 1947, fantasy artwork in pulp magazines prepared the American mind to be receptive to the idea of "flying saucers". Public Domain

It was amazing to me to see White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explaining that the objects shot down weren't sent by outer space aliens. I am not suggesting she shouldn't have said anything about this although to me the 39 seconds she talked about it seemed too long. It seemed like a riff. 

She could have said simply that the three yet to be identified objects originated from a so far undetermined country. No matter how much she denied that they "things" were alien vessels there would be those who believed it was a deep-state coverup. 

I think that the use of the term UFO in reference to them was unfortunate because in common parlance it is synonymous with what used to be called flying saucers carrying aliens from other planets. 

"Mystery objects" is another I think more fitting term which is being used. General Mark Milley said that he'd just call them objects. Good on him...

Click above to enlarge.

Each time someone, whether a pilot or someone on the ground, sees something in the air they can't identify they call it a UFO and a segment of the public speculates whether it is extraterrestrial in origin. 

Only the first object was identified as a Chinese spy balloon. The three others weren't and they have not yet been identified. Moreover, none of them were flying. They were floating. Obviously all of them were objects.

Some, though not all, of the hysteria over an alien visit, incursion, or invasion could probably have been avoided it these objects were called something like  unidentified airborne objects and then shortened to UAO's. The change of merely one letter might have made a big difference.

Those who watched TV saw UFO on every chyron under reports about the objects.

If a UFO turns out to be an alien vessel what will be call it? It will be an identified flying object, and IFO, but then if and when it lands and isn't flying what will it be called? Alien spaceship or vessel would work. 

If or when aliens actually arrive we can only speculate as to why they came here. Perhaps they are Zorons from planet Xenos on a Star Trek kind of mission: 

To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no Zoron has gone before

Maybe the want to save humanity from itself, put us out of our misery because an advanced civilization deems us irredeemable I am pretty sure they won't announce themselves by floating objects in the atmosphere. 

I could be wrong about this. Perhaps the last three of these things are a big test to see how humans respond to mysterious objects in the sky and it is just a coincidence that this happened right after the Chinese balloon was discovered.

On the other hand, maybe the aliens have already met with the Chinese and are in cohorts with them.

Click above to enlarge

You can see her assure the viewers that these objects weren't sent outer  space aliens in this 39 second video clip. She did this more or less seriously although there were a few snickers from the reporters in the room and she did end smiling and saying that she loved the movie ET.

I won't bother linking to articles about this. You can look them up by clicking here.

Click above to enlarge

Today's other blog is about Trump wanting to televise executions, here.

Who is the mystery man with four pistols pictured all over the web?

 By Hal Brown

This photo was posted on the Duty to Warn Facebook page:

Click above to enlarge

Update: A poster on Mastodon found what may be the first post of this photo here. It is titled "Larry Croft spotted at a Subway in Marion, Iowa." I don't know who this Larry Croft is supposed to be. A search of his name isn't helpful. There is one Larry Croft listed as living in Iowa with previous addresses in Texas.

It could be this real person or this one. This post was viewed over 95,931 times since it was posted in 2020.. It led to 979 comments.

This Reddit post suggests the store is in Marion, Iowa. Note it was posted 14 days ago showing that a photo posted in 2020 has once again become controversial. 

Original blog story:

I did a Google Image search to see where this originated and learn more about it. It has been on Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook and a couple of websites. I can't determine who took it and who the person might be.  Whoever took the photo deserves some kudos because this guy might not have appreciated being photographed.

Above is from Google Lens, a part of Google Images, click here to see how it works.

He isn't a cop because he's not wearing a duty belt which would have a radio, handcuffs, a taser, flashlight, collapsible baton, pepper spray, and bullet magazines.

Even a security officer would have more accessories on the back of his belt.

I would find it interesting to interview him to end the speculation about his reasons for carrying four pistols. From the four magazine clips visible he has at least between 80 and 84 bullets on his person.

He has to know people will be looking at him. Is he trying to get liberals to react? Does he really feel he needs these weapons to protect himself? Perhaps he has fantasies of being Rambo.

I live in Oregon where open carry is legal. I have only once seen a civilian carrying a firearm. He had a pistol in a holster on his belt. I This was in the grocery shop checkout line so I waited and followed him out. He got into a pickup truck with a big Confederate flag on the back.

If anybody can track down the identity of the person who originally posted this photo it might help solve part of the mystery. I doubt we'll ever know who is in the photo. 

Because this post is on a closed Facebook page I won't add the comments to this photo. It led to some excellent ones, some serious and others snarky.

There were at last count 29 comments including several of mine. Hopefully those who posted them will give me permission to add them to this blog.

Comments:

From the Duty to Warn Facebook page

I'm trying to figure our a few practical matters.

He has at least 4 pistols. Unless he has simian powers (ability to use his feet like hands for firing pistol 3 and 4), what is he going to use to control 4 pistols ?

Unless he is in habit of dropping his pistols and loosing them, he would be much better to have multiple clips. (the extra pistols do him no good). But them is the question, how many rounds will fit in each of the clips he is carrying (and what about the understandable fear of extended clips ?)

Say the cops were called to the Sandwich Shop. Wouldn't his appearance make him an instant target to the cops ?

...  how very fearful this man must be in his life that he has to gear up like this. How sad for him. My thoughts were that he must have real problems with his own masculinity. In short, I called him a "pussy" with no disrespect to pussies.

Tribel website Comments:

Y.M.C.A. (on Tribel)

He must really be a eunuch to need four guns.

There is someone out there that recognized that ass, a man or a woman. :D And chances are they are 1.Just like him, or 2. too embarrassed to admit they know him. :D 

He's in a Subway. 

Bottom compensating.

Addendum: 

I was an auxiliary police officer for over 20 years in two cities. In those days we carried a revolver and six or twelve extra bullets. Here with one of our cats I am on the balcony at home with our cranberry bogs in the background.

Text only version: The Higher Power: Would Pence appeal to his higher angels and betray Trump?

By Hal Brown

Click here to see images used on blog:

View blog with pictures.

Read this: Pence testimony will hold key to proving Trump conspiracy charges: legal expert

Of all the people who were Trump sycophants none have the ability to reveal information which could lead to Trump being indicted, tried, and convicted of felonies which could result in him being incarcerated than his former vice president. 

The worst crime Trump committed was his treason involving the January 6th insurrection. It may be the most difficult to convict him of this, but it is far more serious than the Mar-a-Lago documents case or New York and Georgia state crimes.

Of all of the people who can testify under oath, swearing to God, to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, Mike Pence is probably the least likely to lie to protect Trump for religious reasons.

His religious beliefs may be mocked by cynics who say he put aside Christian values as he turned a blind eye to both Trump's history and his inhumane policies. We all seen photos like these (link) showing Pence gazing at Trump with a worshipful expression.

What mental gymnastics he engaged in to ponder what Christ would think about Trump may never be known. 

We know from survey data that a significant minority of Trump supporters believe he was anointed by God.

As a psychodynamically oriented therapist I can see how he would have related to Trump as a father figure because of some inner need. I know it seems impossible, unfathomable if you will, that anybody saw Trump this way but many people did and still do.

In retrospect he may have had a revelation, even a visitation from an angel who absolved him. It could have been Archangel Michael holding the Scales of Justice. He is known as the angel who will weigh souls on Judgment Day.

Pence may be saying the Prayer to Saint Michael § In the Leonine Prayers

Blessed Michael, archangel,
defend us in the hour of conflict.
Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil
(may God restrain him, we humbly pray):
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God thrust Satan down to hell
and with him those other wicked spirits
who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.
Amen

Pence may now believe he was under the influence of Satan. This would be consistent with believing that Trump himself was an agent of Satan who literally bedeviled him. 

All of this would accrue to the advantage of justice being served. 

As an atheist I respect people who live their religious beliefs and values and don't bend, twist, and distort the religious teachings, for example in the Bible and Koran, to justify intolerance and cruelty. No-one needs to believe in God to live by the simple saying "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" otherwise known as The Golden Rule. (Perhaps ironically the GOP's favorite amendment to the Constitution is the second and The "Golden Rule" was proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth during his Sermon on the Mount and described by him as the second great commandment. Wikipedia)

I think there are signs that Mike Pence already has, or is in the process, of redeeming himself. That I don't believe in God doesn't mean I won't honor him for returning to his personal God.

I may even say God bless Mike Pence....

The Higher Power: Would Pence appeal to his higher angels and betray Trump?

By Hal Brown

Background, Angel of Light (1960) Salvadore Dali

Text only version here.

Read: 

Pence testimony will hold key to proving Trump conspiracy charges: legal expert

Of all the people who were Trump sycophants none have the ability to reveal information which could lead to Trump being indicted, tried, and convicted of felonies which could result in him being incarcerated than his former vice president. 

The worst crime Trump committed was his treason involving the January 6th insurrection. It may be the most difficult to convict him of this, but it is far more serious than the Mar-a-Lago documents case or New York and Georgia state crimes.

Of all of the people who can testify under oath, swearing to God, to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, Mike Pence is probably the least likely to lie to protect Trump for religious reasons.

His religious beliefs may be mocked by cynics who say he put aside Christian values as he turned a blind eye to both Trump's history and his inhumane policies. We all seen photos like these (link) showing Pence gazing at Trump with a worshipful expression.

What mental gymnastics he engaged in to ponder what Christ would think about Trump may never be known. 

We know from survey data that a significant minority of Trump supporters believe he was anointed by God.

As a psychodynamically oriented therapist I can see how he would have related to Trump as a father figure because of some inner need. I know it seems impossible, unfathomable if you will, that anybody saw Trump this way but many people did and still do.

In retrospect he may have had a revelation, even a visitation from an angel who absolved him. It could have been Archangel Michael holding the Scales of Justice. He is known as the angel who will weigh souls on Judgment Day.

Painting by Rogier van der Weyden

Pence may be saying the Prayer to Saint Michael § In the Leonine Prayers

Blessed Michael, archangel,
defend us in the hour of conflict.
Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil
(may God restrain him, we humbly pray):
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God thrust Satan down to hell
and with him those other wicked spirits
who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.
Amen

Pence may now believe he was under the influence of Satan. This would be consistent with believing that Trump himself was an agent of Satan who literally bedeviled him. 

All of this would accrue to the advantage of justice being served. 

As an atheist I respect people who live their religious beliefs and values and don't bend, twist, and distort the religious teachings, for example in the Bible and Koran, to justify intolerance and cruelty. No-one needs to believe in God to live by the simple saying "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" otherwise known as The Golden Rule. (Perhaps ironically the GOP's favorite amendment to the Constitution is the second and The "Golden Rule" was proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth during his Sermon on the Mount and described by him as the second great commandment. Wikipedia)

I think there are signs that Mike Pence already has, or is in the process, of redeeming himself. That I don't believe in God doesn't mean I won't honor him for returning to his personal God.

I may even say God bless Mike Pence....

Sarah Huckabee Sanders' grim vision of a "woke mob" enforcing Satanic rituals

 

Click image to enlarge

This was the subtitle of this Salon story:

Sarah Huckabee Sanders' grim vision of a "woke mob" enforcing Satanic rituals

This is the real way the article appears.

Regular readers of my blog know that I often can't resist making my own version of images used to illustrate various articles.

Images I used to make my illustration

Excerpt:

I looked for any mention of Satanism or specifically of satanic rituals in the article but there weren't any. She may not have uttered his name because she believes, as some people do, that you must never say the name of a demon out loud.

The word "rituals" does appear three times:

"We are under attack in a left-wing culture war we didn't start and never wanted to fight," she proclaimed, although the antecedent of "we" was not altogether clear. "Every day, we are told that we must partake in their rituals, salute their flags, and worship their false idols," she said. 

That certainly sounds alarming, but specifics were again absent: What false idols and what flags, and where are these alleged rituals mandatory?

"Every day," Sanders said, "we are told that we must partake in their rituals, salute their flags, and worship their false idols." 

She also may have wanted to invoke this QAnon conspiracy belief...

... that liberal politicians and Hollywood "elites" are harvesting the blood of children to extract adrenochrome for its psychedelic and life-extending benefits. (Reference)

Sanders has company among the super-Maga high priests. None other than a blood relative of His Highness Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., believes that Hollywood satanic rituals will soon be exposed. Hollywood, Democrats, you say tomato they say tomatoh.

One could suggest that Satan is one of the Democrat's false idols, although it could be said that if you are a Christian who believes in Heaven and Hell to suggest that Satan is not real, i.e., false, would also be to say that God and Christ aren't real either. 

Let's assume for the sake of argument that Sanders is a sincerely true-believing Christian. This would mean that she believes in Satan, aka the Devil, Lucifer, Beezlebub, the antichrist and 25 or so other names from the Bible. As the righteous believer she is, she would believe both God and Satan are keeping an active eye on her and her activities. 

It would seem that in the State of the Union response she has mightily pissed Satan off. Why does he even need demons. He has a "woke mob" working for him. Not only are they woke, but they all are well educated and have significantly above average IQs.

I sure hope for her sake that God will protect her from this mob... not really... I am rooting for Satan. 

Seriously, though, unless you are a delusional MAGA nutcase there is one word in the Salon article title that rings as true as a church bell. 

_______________________________

Footnotes:

Sarah Huckabee Sanders is not known to have ever claimed to be a witch or having had ever attended a Witches Sabbath. This is a midnight meeting of witches to practice witchcraft and sorcery; in the Middle Ages it was supposed to be a demonic orgy.

Above: Sixteenth-century Swiss representation of Sabbath gathering from the chronicles of Johann Jakob Wick. Note Devil seated on serpent-enlaced throne, witch performing the osculum infame upon a demon and another being aided by a demon to summon a storm from her cauldron, while others carouse and prepare magic potions

Unlike failed Delaware GOP senate candidate Christine O'Donnell she has never had to state that she wasn't a witch.

Insert: Francisco Goya (1746–1828), Witches’ Sabbath (1797-98), oil on canvas, 43 x 30 cm, Museo Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid, Spain. 

Addendum: No insult is intended as far as those who practice Wicca or Paganism. Differences  between them and Satan worship are explained here. The likes of Sanders and QAnon cultists don't know anything about Wicca and Paganism and I am sure think they all worship Satan. Of course this is not true (LINK).

Click above to enlarge

Reference to above here 

The Arkansas  federal funding as a share of total state revenue is 30.3%. Reference.

Satanic ritual abuse has been the subject of serious scholarship. Here's one such example from the Christian Research Institute website. ( See Wikipedia). Note that it was originally published in 2009 but updated in 2022.

The Hard Facts about Satanic Ritual Abuse

Here's the Wikipedia entry about satanic panic which is about allegations of ritual abuse.

This was in VOX in 2021:

Why Satanic Panic never really ended

The collective fears that consumed the US in the 1980s and ’90s are still alive and well — all the way through QAnon and beyond.

Mocking Scream'n Greene: Like shooting fish in a barrel

Mocking Scream'n Greene: Like shooting fish in a barrel

By Hal Brown

I couldn't resist adding her shoes to my illustration:

Link to above article, click here

I was not the first to make the comparison between Marjorie Taylor Greene and Cruella de Vil', not by a long shot. The jabs had to do with what she wore to the State of the Union address where she also screamed, not to her vocal outburst at the spy balloon briefing.

Here's an excerpt from the Raw Story article:

“When she got to ask questions, she was yelling out saying ‘bulls---’ and, you know, ‘I don’t believe you,’” said that lawmaker. “Just screaming and yelling, irrational in my estimation.”

I haven't read anything about what she wore to this. Since this was a confidential meeting and the media wouldn't be covering it she might not have bothered to wear her version of an attention grabbing clown suit or brought her I-spy-with-my-egotistical-eye balloon.

I use DuckDuckGo but of course you can use your preferred search engine.

Rather than provide links you can just do a web search and pick any stories you want to read. 

As far as I'm concerned this was the best article:

Excerpt:

The Walt Disney Company is suing Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for copyright infringement. The multi-media and theme park giant charges that the conservative politician knowingly infringed on their intellectual property, Cruella de Vil, and is suing for $150 million in damages.

That Disney might sue isn't as far-fetched as it may seem since the company is well known for taking trademark infringement very seriously. I haven't heard whether they are going after all those who used the Cruella DeVil images. Perhaps I will get nailed for using her in my blog illustration.

OnlySky Media's political pundit Andrew Canard posited an interesting speculation:

“I’m just waiting for the conspiracy theory that Greene is a plant funded by George Soros to destroy the GOP,” he said.

The State of the Union ranting led to people tweeting side by side images of her with this baboon.

There are numerous images of this particular not too distant relative of Marjorie Taylor Greene one could use for such comparisons:

   Here's another comparison. 

The person on the left is going to jail. Majorie Taylor Greene, as far as I know, has not requested conjugal visits. 

Below is Greene's idea of funny. What won't she do to get attention?

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene carried a white balloon ahead of the State of the Union (article)

You can watch the video she posted on Twitter here. Note that she was having someone make the video so she knew damn well it would be picked up by the media.

Her balloon stunt triggered Lauren Boebert, her rival for the lunatic spotlight, into a reaction (reported on MSNBC)

I wonder how many Republicans are expressing of feeling the same sentiment as the one reported in this article:

According to one disgruntled GOP staffer, "I don’t think someone who looks and acts like a cartoon supervillain heckling the president on national television is the best representative of the Republican Party."