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Remember that guy?

Apparently, the whole reason he inserted himself into US politics this year was to generate buzz for his new movie. WTF?

That's America for you!

I Want to Know What You're Thinking

So?

Why does THAT guy think it's up to HIM and his FRIENDS to write the country's future? What is HE looking to get out of it and what are THEY going to get for blowing up the world?

Everyone with half a wit who voted for Biden the last time, having held off on a run straight out the gate on account of his son, must have done some math in their heads about age/terms, right?

If Hillary was a consolation prize that nobody wanted, and Biden came off the bench 4 years ago to save the team that couldn't get it together without him, you'd think one would have written a hard four into the script with a replacement ready to let him off the hook in 2024 if age was a concern.

Nope.

Instead, they waited until a glitch in the Matrix led everyone to question their own reality and said, "Quick, quick, plug in a new script!"

Sorry, George,

...it isn't going Down Like That!

Do the math.

#2 is always a potential #1.

Or, did you forget how to spell potatoe?

I don't believe Biden is a man that wants to go out as a vegetable. There's so many objects falling from the sky right now, it's easy to take your eyes off the ball.

You have to make it all the way over the finish line before airing out your laundry.

Get it together!

#1 gives the keys to #2 after signing into law, the new: Age Limit for US Presidents.

That's sounding like an easy sell for most people walking the earth right now, let alone either side of an aisle. 

#2 becomes #1,

appointing (?) to be #2.

And maybe, for the greater good of humanity, they drum up support for a runoff election being added to the electoral process to finally put an end to the Nader Effect.

No more co-opted parties!

No more hijacked agendas!

Just a full spectrum of choices to wash away polarization like a rainbow after a storm.

Who better to get the phrasing right for such an argument than an attorney? The Every Vote Counts Act (EVCA).

Anyone willing to buy into that?

Anyone?

Anyone?

You, Tammy Baldwin?

You, Ron Johnson?

What's your REAL concern with that? Don't want to "work" for a living?

That goes for you, too, Mr. Grothman.

You've taken more than enough trips to the south now, it can't be a PERMANENT VACATION (some say second home). If all you can come up with is, "It's Biden's fault," you may not have the proper amount of imagination required for this one.

What's your grand plan for regulating all that's gone unregulated for as long as most voters have been alive? That's YOUR job, NOT the President's. This one, the last one, the one before that, the other one, the one before the other one or even the other one's dad!

Good grief.

If you really, and truly, did the math last time, you've already accepted that it's her call to make.

What happened between then and now?

A debate?

What people should really be asking is, "Who's upset with HER doing the play calling and WHY?"

Isn't that what everyone voted for last time? To ride out a play? Now, State Senators and US Representatives are crying foul...

"Hey, my turn buddy, back of the line.

Just four, no more!"

What are THEY looking to get? Is that what STATE RESIDENTS want or what their DONORS want? Go on, tell everyone what you're after and put a live feed on the constituents you represent. Let's see if they think what YOU want is worth scorching the earth over.

There is a ton of stuff that needs fixing right now, and it all gets written up by you all, CONGRESS, not the POTUS!

It shouldn't take the gates of hell opening to pen some legislation. That is some serious: poor planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on mine, bullshit.

Come on, out with it #TammyBaldwin,

tell #JoeBiden what you really want so you guys can work as a team. 

Or, are you looking to go backwards in time?

Eric Hovde can have all the cheese he wants.

But, if you don't respect your elder, it'll be Hovde P.I. going home with the entire bag of curds! 

Haven't you heard of a defensive wall?

Enough already, enough. 

The gravy train is over. You'll have to work a whole lot harder to keep up with the WILD CARD party!

The Technocratic Party? Live the meme.

The Evolution Party? Power FWD.

The B. Goode Party?

Could you imagine?

No more Theatre of Pain!

Just B.

#MusicLessons

Independence Day 2024

"Let us recognize this day we told a king to eff off and celebrate our commitment to handling our own affairs. Yeah, put down those tongs for a moment and ponder why so many are eager to shack up with one today."

Those words are ringing truer this year than last I'd say! 

On this 4th of July, 2024, I urge my American compatriots to eschew the barrage of vitriolic rhetoric and allow our Pale Rider to make it across the stream so he can safely dismount and hand the reins to his VP, where she may then appoint her successor. Any attempt at changing course now introduces far too many variables into the equation. 

“I do not allow myself to suppose that either the convention or the League have concluded to decide that I am either the greatest or best man in America, but rather they have concluded that it is not best to swap horses while crossing the river, and have further concluded that I am not so poor a horse that they might not make a botch of it in trying to swap.”  —Abraham Lincoln

If there were ever a time one could presume a dark force at play, manipulating our fate, it would be the here and now. Can't trust the media, they have too much to gain by gluing everyone to their developing story as they orchestrate a profitable chaos. Can't trust party chairs to shuffle the deck, they'd like to keep it stacked.

No, it's up to everyone to stand firm and "Hold the Line."

As much as a third party could be the answer to so many Americans' woes, unless the constitution is changed and a runoff election is added to the process between primary and general, those votes will forever remain spoilers. I have a feeling this would be a tough sell for both Democrats and Republicans as it would only make them ALL have to work harder. More work for voters, too, I might add.

But, if enough people rally for that change, maybe it could happen and finally put an end to the severe polarization plaguing this nation. If a small faction of the population was capable of reversing decades of progress, a larger one should be just as capable of paving a new path forward.

Have a safe and happy Independence Day.

Every last motherfucking one of ya!

#MusicLessons

Buckle Up, Rough Road Ahead!

I know things are moving fast, but I never thought we'd hit...

 "LUDICROUS SPEED!"

The previous corporation that laid claim to Lake Michigan (What does the FOX say?) with the promise of progress fell short of delivering the goods on account of realizing there was no way in the world they'd find enough workers willing to produce widgets in a zombie-like state.

Funny you mention that, I hear the "American Made" chip factory ramp up in Arizona isn't going so well. 

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/tsmcs-labor-practices-draw-serious-concern-in-arizona-the-companys-new-chip-plant-allegedly-struck-by-worker-abuses

What a relief to know it's not a state of Wisconsin thing, but an American "state of mind" thing. 

Efficiency at extreme scale doesn't come without having to give up a piece of yourself in order to get there. Maintaining it, means more pieces. Beyond that, you're talking full on DEHUMANIZER mode.

"Program the brain, not the heartbeat."

Enter our new digital savior...

https://uwm.edu/news/uwm-to-house-nations-first-microsoft-ai-lab-focused-on-manufacturing/

Hi guys! We're buying up that vacant chattel ranch down the road. Going in a whole new direction. We're gonna weave our AI deep into the inner workings of everything operating. "This way, to technical paradise." Feed the dream machine baby!

What about workers though?

Workers?

Where we're going, we don't need workers.

We got this guy, Not Sure (former Congressman & Chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP, rumored to be brokering a Palentir commitment, confirmed to be working with TitletownTech, linked with UWM and their Microsoft/OpenAI pipeline) and he's going to crank things up to ELEVEN!

Sure sounds like securing a path to victory for some sort of race, wouldn't you say?

Maybe Americans do need TikTok after all. Hustling for every last device owner's eyeball gaze could be all that's left. That, and sports. Workers need an escape from their jobs (some use the term careers) don't they? Because, like, work, can be a real drag, man.

That's not Freedom Rock!

This is FREEDOM ROCK!

Well, TURN IT UP, MAN!!

WOAH, man, taking THAT much freedom from someone requires an equal, or greater, level of compensation, and you ain't paying THAT, man.

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous!"

That's someone else's job.

In another land.

Far, far away from here.

"So far, I just can't see."

Who really WANTS that job anyway?

We got you WISCONSIN!

Feed us your juice and we'll close loop the squeeze. "Know what I mean?"

Every last drop

And a little more

Ain't no telling

What's in store

Where we're headed

There's no way of knowing

Can't make it stop

The rowers keep on rowing 

Where the hell is this thing going?

"All aboard!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaa!

Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay..."

We're "GOING OFF THE RAILS ON A CRAZY TRAIN!"

UBI, UBI, that's the answer!

It will fix everything!

For everyone!

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!

Sounds great, in theory, but that only works if billionaires (the gods themselves) all give something back to everyone that got them there.

Problem is, they believe they already have. That's why, they're...

Billionaires!

Want to keep pulling the strings, then keep the hat filled. Kick some back, or keep jumping the moon. We all know doing both isn't possible, but picking one over the other sends a very clear message. There's only so many people on this planet that want to work just to consume more bullshit.

What happens when the genetically manufactured meat product someone ingests becomes a flesh eating virus that commandeers its host to continue getting more of what it needs?

Who, or should I say what, is going to put a leash on whatever that is?

It's about time the system got a rewire, don't you think?

Power off, POO POO HEAD!

#MusicLessons

Tick Tock, TikTok!

There's so much more to the TikTok debate than one nation sweeping up swaths of information about another's citizens. Especially, when those citizens are using the app to manipulate the strings of commerce.

Millions of micro partnerships converting views into cash, bolstering demand for inanimate objects produced all over the world. A once hardened, global trade architecture, dissolving into a remapped web of intercontinental shipping traffic.

Herds of human capital pumping out products to appease viewers mesmerized by slick content, employing all the right mechanisms to extract dollars from pockets without ever having to exit the app. Algorithms primped to ensure maximum engagement is achieved...

"Gotta have/do that, saw it on TikTok!"

Cut out the middle man and keep more for yourself. "Sky's the limit", they say, or is it the moon? Mars? Digital platforms replacing big-box retail giants as invisible, virtual fulfillment centers: Temu, Shein, TikTok Shop. Good? Bad? Depends.

Look what it did for this guy!

And, lest we forget, the genie rolling around in all that data, working it into a perfectly parsed visual summation, depicting trigger points plotted across overarching demographics and trends, complete with heat map overlays!

Feed that delicious, informatic stew to AI for a large language slurp and burp and you've got yourself some top tier, Grade A, James Beard level, crazy-ass, fusion shit right there!

Biddi-biddi-biddi-biddi-biddi-biddi-biddi, Buck! Biddi-biddi-biddi. The Emperor strikes back! 

Through a magnificent sleight of hand, an entire class of people is propped up by another, growing ever more dependent on a subsidized lifestyle that appears outwardly similar to that of a class that can afford to pay others to do everything for them.

Wooooo! (as in a Nature Boy Rick Flare, "Wooooo!")

That's more than complicated, that's winding complicated into the yarn of a masterfully knit sweater.

Now, "hold this thread as I walk away."

 

Which pin gets pulled when, and what happens to everyone after, if the act of doing so upsets the apple cart?

That's a whole lotta apples coming at ya, and nobody can eat that many apples.

But, yeah, keep saying it's a, "1st amendment thing."

Back to reality, security and social engineering on a colossal scale.

Can you imagine targeted campaigns alerting users with XYZ coordinates about this, that, or the other thing, directing them to go to, or flee, XYZ areas or take an XYZ course of action, immediately?

When an app that serves as a market control knob for the entire planet is also the main source of "news" for gobs of people, suffice it to say, things can get dicey real quick.

I mean, really, which high ranking official looked at all the intel on this and sat there saying, "hmmm, let's see where they're going with this."

They should've banned any and all assaults on privacy from day one, but that never happened. Too complicated, I guess.

Let's single out those most impressionable for a moment...

Push all the right buttons and activate a flurry of perfectly orchestrated lone wolf scenarios. A cast of marionettes, "swaying to the Symphony of Destruction!"

Multiply that by a factor of (who knows what) given the leader of a nation can command and control any and all directives for the app in question.

Can you say choreographed chaos?

But, that's true of US incorporated Meta, X, Snapchat, etc. (enter the claim that ALL social media apps collect and broker data on its users so what's the difference) Again, shoulda-coulda-woulda, but didna, and here we are.

Does that mean nothing should ever be done?

How many of those apps are allowed in China? Zero! Not one. Except, if you count TikTok's cousin, Douyin, the one that's only nice-nice smooth.

How's that for, "free speech?"

Last I checked, Meta is a publicly traded company, their decisions to do this, that or the other, not under the hammer of a particular nation's leader. Yet, stands to increase shareholder wealth immensely if TikTok goes down.

X, now privatized, is arguably under the lever of a single stakeholder, but that individual is not the POTUS, are they?

However, that stakeholder does shoot rockets into space, commands a constellation of communication satellites, manufactures autonomous, electric vehicles and is testing out a chip implanted into human brains that bestows telepathic abilities upon its users.

If our future were ever uncertain, it's coming at us in slow motion now. Might want to keep an eye on that guy, huh?

The more systems one integrates, the more powerful that system becomes.

Is there any sort of legislation that aims to restrict the monopolization of technological breakthroughs, a ban on connected dots per se?

Is that even possible?

Look, the level of sophistication required to command and control what users see through a hack of platforms similar to TikTok undetected makes the prospect incomparable to one person saying,

"I own you. Do what I say, NOW!"

Americans can't even be asked to do the speed limit in the US, let alone anything their democratically elected leader might ask of them, storming the Capitol to upend their own democracy in favor of autocratic rule not withstanding.

Uh huh, keep on scratching.

When a nation's freedom is taken for granted, that very freedom becomes its Achilles' heel.

End of story.

We've entered a new age of Imperialism, people.

May the Force be with you!

#MusicLessons

The Grand Distraction

All this "divide and conquer" crap is getting kind of creepy. Scott Walker's canon sounded far and wide. Fending off Putin's play for Ukraine, the ongoing dispute over the holy lands, Xi ready to annex Taiwan as China's super port, Brexit gone bananas, everyone itching for an exit of their own rather than sticking it to their scary uncle together. Definitely sounds like some sort of 3, 2, 1, Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

It all comes down to long range ROI.

How can the US continue to referee all the turmoil abroad and keep the west from falling victim to its own best intentions?

Both sides are pleading their case for which fronts truly need America's attention right now. One side's like, look, we gotta get our own up and down on the up and up before we worry about the side to side. Let's wait until everyone's decided amongst themselves who's willing to look after whom on account of which lines are being crossed where. The other side's like, no way, we got this. We can help everyone help us help everybody help themselves.

Meanwhile, election time keeps screaming toward the finish line, right off the rails and over the edge.

Well, if that doesn't spell: BAD FOR BUSINESS, I don't know what does.

Oh yeah, COVID, duh.

 *   Mask on, Mask on, Mask up.

COVID, COVID, it's coming for-yuh.

     Transmission rates are up.

COVID, COVID, it's coming for-yuh. 

      Vaccines aren't keeping pace.

COVID, COVID, it's coming for-yuh. 

   Mutations can't be CHASED!

* (sung to the melody of Mr Roboto by Styx)

Hey, guys, follow me for all the latest in AI! Do this. Look at that! Did you know? ChatGPT, LLM, Copilot, Llama, oLLaMA, Dolly, Pythia, Alpaca. Be the next big thing before it's too late! Feed the algos all your thoughts or get fucked by the finks that fed them first.

By the power of SourceForge.

YES.

That was a joke.

Knock. Knock. Who's there? Agent.

Agent who?

Girl you know it's true.

Neuralink. Neuralink anyone? Neuralink.

Neuralink?

Kilroy was here.

Great.

Where's Neo?

#MusicLessons