Fidel Castro: 1926 - 2016

About fifteen years ago, I read an anecdote about Fidel Castro's early life.  I have no idea whether the story is true or not; nothing turned up on any of the web searches I did.  Anyway, the story went like this:

One day during elementary school, Fidel Castro got into an argument with the school bully.  The bully challenged him to a fight after school.  Fidel took him up on the challenge.  The bully trounced Castro; beat the living shit out of him.  The next day, Castro walked up to the bully and challenged him to a rematch.  The bully again pounded the fuck out of Fidel Castro.

This exact same scenario happened again and again, day after day, month after month.  Castro never won any of these fights; got his ass kicked every time.  But by the end of the school year, the bully was scared shitless of him.

Happy Thanksgiving from William S. Burroughs

For awhile, back in the Aughts, I was posting William Burroughs' Thanksgiving Prayer every year.  Now that the American People have spoken, and told us to turn the clock back a few decades (or centuries), I think William Burroughs' warm and fuzzy Thanksgiving Prayer is more appropriate than ever.

Enjoy.

President Obama should APPOINT Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court. Here's How.

I'm not interested in grousing over the lost election, or pointing fingers over whose fault it was.

But more far-reaching than identity politics, party loyalty, who's worse, Hillary or Trump, yada yada, the biggest stake in the 2016 election was the future of the Supreme Court.  1992's "It's the economy, Stupid!" morphed into "It's the Supreme Court, Stupid!"

Bitch McConnell is now being praised for his shrewdness in not even allowing an up or down vote on Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court.  But maybe McConnell's sleazebaggery has backfired.  According to the Washington Post's interpretation of the appointments clause of the Constitution:

“The president 'shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint . . . Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States.' Note that the president has two powers: the power to 'nominate' and the separate power to 'appoint.'  In between the nomination and the appointment, the president must seek the 'Advice and Consent of the Senate.' What does that mean, and what happens when the Senate does nothing? [bold/italics added]

In most respects, the meaning of the 'Advice and Consent' clause is obvious. The Senate can always grant or withhold consent by voting on the nominee. The narrower question, starkly presented by the Garland nomination, is what to make of things when the Senate simply fails to perform its constitutional duty.”

Or as The Rude Pundit said:   “It's like when a president refuses to act on a bill within ten days while Congress is in session. It becomes a law, no?”

I don't claim to have any sort of legal expertise, but I say go for it.

Leon Russell

Leon Russell has died at the age of 74.

Aside from having a piano and vocal style totally unlike anyone else's, he wrote This Masquerade (more famously performed by George Benson) and Delta Lady (better known by Joe Cocker).

Here are some YouTube links to some of Leon Russell's music.

R.I.P. 

Any Silver Linings Here?

Looking for a silver lining in last night's Bizarro World travesty is sort of like losing your house, being relegated to a cardboard box and then saying “Hey, cool!  Now I won't have to deal with those neighborhood kids walking across my lawn any more.”

But in the long run — I know, we'll all be dead in the long run — there was one encouraging statistic in yesterday's election.  Voters in the 18 to 25 age bracket voted Democrat in almost every state.  The only red states were Kentucky, West Virginia, North Dakota, Idaho and Wyoming.

So, that's the future; if we can live long enough to enjoy it.

“If voting made any difference they wouldn't let us do it.”

Contrary to Mark Twain's famous quotation, voting apparently DOES make a difference, and they're trying desperately NOT to let us do it:

This is a voters' waiting line in North Carolina after early voting was eliminated.