Not exactly apropos to this post, but it seems our commander in chief is approaching the Sarah Longwell Threshold O’ Doom:

Which most of old classical music, with its supposed “connection to popular taste”, was.

What does this have to do with Piker? Not much; it’s a couple degrees removed at this point. But it’s food for thought.

I came to think of this when thinking, of all things, about classical music in the 20th century.

It’s popular in many circles to condemn it for becoming dissonant and academic, and by association, “elitist”.

Turns out, that’s better than being straight-up elite—i.e. dependent on autocrats.

(I use “elite” as a perjorative here.)

Kinda-sorta parallel to the difference between “elitist” and “just f-ing elite”.

Piker and guys like him see academic-like institutions as the latter, when they‘re merely the former.

There’s nothing more genuinely “elite” than a world ruled by aristocrats and others immune from law.

ikr

Don’t mean to get sappy on here. I’m crying as I finally have my ged. I’m also driving, have a partner who loves me, and my independence. It took nearly two years after escaping my abusive family who told me I’m not worth it. It’s a happy feeling, but also very surreal. To have this means a lot.

He made a couple appointments on it in his first term, IIRC

Good morning and happy Earth Day to everyone who voted for Kamala Harris.

RFK Jr looks like an old ass baseball glove that was left in the oven too long.

BENNET: Do you agree that 89% of children who died from flu were unvaccinated?

RFK Jr: I don't know the exact number

BENNET: That is the exact number, Secretary Kennedy

RFK Jr: *death growls*

BENNET: You took down the HHS communications promoting the flu vaccine. Do you regret that?

Outside a building site, a big, tattooed builder asks to say hello to my puppy. I say, ‘Sure.’ He ruffles her tiny head with his huge hand. She loves it, leaning towards him. He says, in a deep, cigarette-rasped voice, ‘If I had a dog, I’d want it to be just like her.’

no one ever sends the fake folksy senator a gift article, apparently

no no no you misunderstood. I said YOUR voters live in a Republic, not a Democracy. OUR voters are very important and must be handled gently, like a tiny baby hummingbird

There's no amount of equivocating that will ever justify voters not voting for Kamala Harris.

Everyone who turned up at the polls should've voted for Kamala Harris because the contrast was stark. Trump started an insurrection on the Capitol building and people just forgot.

LeBron good

If a 'former' intelligence officer is telling you 'secrets' on a top-rated talk show, it’s not a leak. Ask yourself why they’re suddenly allowed to speak.

“You’ve lost ANOTHER animal corpse??”

Beyond that, people started down this merry garden path in the first place, I think, because of a very modern American tendency: Extreme inability to feel shame or even spite.

In a way, it’s our very market-enforced, careerism-enforced open-mindedness that demands we normalize guys like Trump.

Donald Trump, the Most Unmanly President Why don’t the president’s supporters hold him to their own standard of masculinity?

Sunk cost.

Realizing that they normalize—or even follow—someone so manifestly pathetic speaks volumes about their own so-called “manhood”.

I’m reminded of the visceral, days-long MAGA reaction to *this* article.

Rather than cause some soul-searching, it spurred many to dig in harder.

not funny AT ALL

And yet they’re totally into cocaine mustaches

Fun fact, as you might know: Reagan Airport is designed to make damn sure no one ever sleeps in it. Apparently they had some issues in the past with…people sleeping in it.

Which is no problem if every hotel within 40 miles isn’t booked solid with stranded international tourists.

Oh well. 🤷‍♂️

Suffice it to say I refused to get a hotel 40 miles away and take a 150 dollar cab (one way) to get there. Waited at the airport for 48 hours straight and was damn lucky to get rebooked at all.

I came out of that hating the East Coast and Reagan, both the airport and person.

That’s probably true in general. My one time missing a flight happened to be tramatizing as fuck, though.

I missed my flight in Reagan National summer of 2010, back before Airbnbs or Ubers were a thing…right before a storm.

Yeah, never do that.

Starter Pokemon Battle Royale 💥 Collab With @Gnoggin YouTube video by TerminalMontage

Trump was Pikachu here

www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...

Good news happening behind all the bad news.

The Onion Has a New Plan to Take Over Infowars

This is so amazing. A good thing happening in the world! I thought good things were over.

"Mr. Jones had no immediate comment."

Lol.

It seems like the fact that this political movement -- what, 25, 30% of the country? -- has effectively convinced itself of a grand collective paranoid hallucination ... that this hallucination has reached the highest echelons & is now dictating strategy ... ought to ...

I dunno, matter?