Cybernate, verb

I think he coined this word, "cybernate," because I go offline for long periods. Okay, that's totally narcissistic, so let's just move on to the part where it's a cool word, and everyone should start cybernating at least once ever two months, because it's good for the soul.

(source)

"Googleverse," is also a cool word, but it's too product specific, despite the fact that "google" is now also a verb.

Lastly, did Godzilla take on on the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man?  That would be epic ("NOM! NOM!")

Ethical Double Standards of So-called Conservatives

Trump followers and the GOP in general have long-held a double standard.  

For example, the GOP faithful loathe, loathe, loathe Bill Clinton for sleeping around.  Yet, he never bragged about it.  In contrast, Trump has bragged repeatedly about his philandering, because, you know, it shows how manly he is.  Trump is so manly, he's on his third wife - unlike Hillary and Bill Clinton who married only each other, and stayed that way.

Here's a really hot example, because it got flogged again at the Sept. 26 Presidential Debate.

• Trump's business dealings unethical but not illegal? Oh, well.

• Clinton's mail server unethical but not illegal? Burn her at the stake!

What was done with the infamous "Clinton mail server" was not technically illegal. Trump supporters should understand the distinction between legal - after all, Trump hasn't paid any personal income tax despite "being worth billions," which is technically legal - and unethical or incompetent, but somehow this distinction seems to elude so many people (especially Clinton haters);

The GOP managed to "lose" as many as FIVE (5) MILLION EMAILS - and apparently there was only ONE (1) Congressional investigation - not to be confused with the EIGHT (8) investigations of the Clinton mail server (which made for good publicity for the GOP witchhunters, but was a fuckwank of taxpayer dollars).

This "loss" of FIVE MILLION public records (remember, the American people pay the salaries of those public officials, therefore they work for US, therefore we own those emails that they "lost") is unbelievably unethical, yet somehow managed to avoid much legal action (because, you know, "the system is corrupt"). q.v.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_White_House_email_controversy

Sorry, luv, the facts are on my side, whether you want to accept that, or not.

Act Like An Asshole

I like this meme. I've addressed this topic before.  The problem is that people suck at forgiveness. We like to feel self-righteous and angry.  It makes us feel important (while at the same time simply revealing us to be petty and insecure).

Frankly, Mr Eastwood has done incredible things with filmmaking, and I hope that's how he is remembered.  Even assholes can create great artworks, and the world needs more great artists.

I choose to believe in Chemtrails

(warning: sarcasm ahead)

....because life is a lot more exciting from inside the X-Files episode. I mean, let's face it: deep down, we all want to be Mulder and Skully and find The Truth that eludes all those dense mundanes. We need to believe our lives are Important, and knowing The Truth is the ultimate way to Achieve Significance.

Just so we're clear. I take chemtrails exactly as seriously as I do anti-vaccination and the Rothchildes.

Trump Bumps on the Backs of Chumps

What the shit? I go offline for five minutes and Trump’s polls get a bump and Clinton gets poisoned by Trump apologists trying to validate their conspiracy lies of her “poor health.” Coincidence combined with conspiracy theory? 

Yeah, it really is, but the timing annoys the fuck out of me.

Trump has absolutely zero qualifications for President. None. Every living President - meaning the men who have done the damn job - say he is unqualified. You can't be a better judge than having done the damn job.

Also, anyone who bothers to use her (or his) fucking brain can tell that Trump is totally unqualified to run a business, let alone run a government. He's playing everyone for chumps.

The pile of reasons to disqualify Trump are long, sundry, and would pile up higher than his debt (which, by the way is at least hundreds of millions of dollars, not including the back taxes he continues to dodge ).

BFD that Clinton got exhausted on the campaign trail. Shit happens. She can still do the damn job better than anyone else in the contest. (There may be others - NOT TRUMP - less ethically challenged than Clinton, and they may be better qualified than Trump, but they still aren’t 1/20th as qualified to do the damn job.)

Phil Smith: Priceless

So, long ago, a friend of a friend of a friend sent me this link.  A long time ago, I laughed my ass off at the pure sarcastic gold of it.  Now, it's 2016, and the US Presidential campaigns are a total arse mess.  Somehow, this is both more and less raucously hilarious at the same time.

source
Phil Smith, Writer Dude

The average American gun owner has five guns; some people have hundreds

In the category of things that are interesting to know, but don't necessarily make a body feel better, here's this thread from G+.

I'm really glad I posited the question, but the answers actually freaked me the fuck out more.

Then again, I'm not a gun owner, so the idea of people who spend tens of thousands of dollars on tools built to kill just doesn't make a lot of  sense to me.  I've blown up my fair share of clay pigeons, but recognizing the destructive potential of firearms actually made me less comfortable about them existing.

That doesn't mean I think we should do anything stupid like try to ban firearms; rather it really makes me more open to thinks like mandatory training in the law before being allowed to own one, or mandatory liability insurance for owning one.

Trump's ideas are like his hands: Small

And that precisely nails the reason I want to yell at people who say dumb things like "Clinton voted to kill Syrians, but Trump never did!" Well, duh, but do you really want to find out how many Syrians he will vote to murder, because he can make a buck off it? 

This is the "billionaire" asshole who spends $55K of campaign donations to buy his own book, and probably kept the royalties in violation of Federal law. (The royalties on a few thousand books is zero to a real billionaire). 

This skinflint thinks small; he won't mind shipping a few thousand land mines to Syria if an arms manufacturer kicks back a few thousand bucks.

Trump is - and always has been - a con man - and not a very good one, either.

(And just so we're clear: I'm not denying Secretary Clinton's policies got Syrians killed. So don't even fucking run off on some bullshit tangent about Clinton, since this post is about Trump.)

Trump was inevitable

Two Glorious Years of Icarus Rants

September 2, 2016, marks the second anniversary of the Icarus Rants blog. Two years and 400 posts later, and human stupidity persists in being the most powerful force in the universe.

Turns out I'm not the only person who has noticed this - if you're reading this, then chances are you noticed it, too, and you appreciate having someone help articulate your feelings :)

I know I appreciate when you chime in with your comments and help me articulate the problem, and sometimes we even come up with some solutions, which then get floated in the world. Ideas being viral, you never know when those solutions might bear fruit, and we make the world a better place.

Sometimes I question my frequent re-use of my old posts. But I do it for the sad reason that the topics are still relevant. I figure no value in writing the same rant twice - better to extend the ongoing conversation - get people to see the old comments - don't reinvent the wheel - look at the old wheel and learn from it and make a better wheel.

Anyway. Thank you for going on this journey with me. I love you all.

(Image from clipartix.com)