Random Notes from a Crank

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Gary Markstein has it correct that Moscow Don wants to be just like Putin. He's obsessed with being Putin's pal. 

And craven Republicans are not speaking out against his dealings with Russia and our abandoning of Ukraine. 

I wonder if there's any conservative outrage over the Home Depot commercials that have been running during NFL games. The commercial features Latinos speaking in Spanish. 

I did a simple InterWebs search that only brought up some lady bitching about them on FB. 

I'm surprised FoxNews hasn't covered this issue thoroughly. 

I can't catch a break in fantasy football. 

My Schlitzophrenics are 2-5, but I've produced the fourth highest amount of points in my ten-team league. And now in Week 8, two of my best receivers, Nico Collins and Chris Olave, have bye weeks. 

Random Notes from a Crank

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Joe Heller's political cartoon reflects the reality of how farmers are getting screwed by the current administration that many of them probably voted for. 

FAFO. 

It's just another effect of MAME: Making America More Expensive. 

And as Nice Anderson relates with the cartoon below, our tax dollars are paying for President Adolf to run a campaign ad he used years ago. 

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The Daily Show covered this issue well. 

And the Daily Beast also covered The Daily Show covering it well: "Daily Show Find Huge Hole in Trump's Campaign Ad Defense." 

Random Notes from a Crank

The New York Times has an interesting article/quiz about nuts that's fun and informational: "What's the Healthiest Nut?"

I'm a big fan of almonds, pistachios, Brazil nuts, and walnuts. 

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Alcaraz has it about right with the above political cartoon. 

President Adolf can lie all he wants about how there's no affordability crisis, but people who actually pay for things know what's going on. 

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Markstein speaks the truth. 

I saw that Moscow Don's approval rating is in the high 20s. It's hard to understand how it's that high. 

Then again, MAGA is a cult. 

MAME: Making America More Expensive. 

In other news, there seems to be some positivity going in the other direction: "Hispanic Voters, Abandoning Trump, Are Transforming the Midterm Map." 

Let's hope there is good news with the midterms. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Thank the Gods that the Supreme Court struck down President Adolf's scheme to disrupt mail-in voting during the midterms. Still though two of his lackeys were in dissent of the ruling. 

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Because of Moscow Don's stupid tariffs, Canada is looking for an economic partnership with the E.U.: "E.U. Offers to Make Canada 'Associate Member' as U.S. Ties Weaken for Both." 

If I were a Canadian leader, I'd do the same instead of trying to reason with fascist dumbass. 

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This strip from Rabbits Against Magic show the utter stupidity of trickle-down economics, also known as "voodoo economics." 

In other troubling matters, the I.R.S. under the is administration is even worse at collecting taxes and auditing the rich: "Billions in Taxes Go Unpaid. Under Trump, the I.R.S. Won't Say How Much." 

Random Notes from a Crank

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Where is the concerns from the GOP about the economic consequences of having so much debt? 

Thanks to Gary Markstein for the fine political cartoon above. 

President Adolf pledged to erase the national debt, and because of the tax cuts for the rich and companies/corporations not paying their fair share and this stupid war with Iran, it is only getting worse. 

The hypocrisy of Republicans is astounding. 

As I am sure the current dumbfuck administration in DC is reversing all kinds of steps to combat global warming, The New York Times reports that last month was the hottest month on record: "August Ties the Record for Earth's Hottest Month on the Books." 

We're all just sitting here living another day in Dumbfuckistan. 

If you are someone who actually thinks you'll get $5,000 dollars if the GOP wins the midterms, you're a fucking idiot. I bet you're still waiting for Mexico to pay for the border walls. 

I fear I'm stuck in another fantasy football situation in which the best running back doesn't get enough touches. Last year I had Kenneth Walker, who rarely got carries near the goal line. This season I drafted Jadarian Price in the sixth round, and I think the Seahawks will screw me throughout the season by not running Price in the red zone. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I got this image and quotation from some dude's Bluesky posting. It's true. 

Poltico has a good article about how gas prices are hopefully a major issue that voters take into account when they vote in the midterms: "A 'Sleeper Issue' in Red States This Fall: Diesel Prices." 

I've written about this important issue in a previous post: "Musing of the Moment: US Debt, Gas Prices, & Inflation." 

I agree with the professor quoted in the Politico article about how the Democrats are not seizing on this issue like they should. They need to talk less about "oligarchs and the billionaires" and more about pocketbook issues related to high gas prices, inflation, and food safety. 

Keep it simple stupid: Talk about affordability issues. 

MAME: Making America More Expensive

I'm in Week 2 of my basic writing class that I'm teaching, and based on the results of my second reading quiz, I can already tell who has a strong chance of passing the class and who is more likely not to pass. 

Reading what I assign, paying attention, and coming to class on time make a difference.

Random Notes from a Crank

The Other 98%

I got that image from one of my social media accounts. It is deadly accurate. 

In a not surprising outcome, Canadian universities are actively recruiting professors from American universities to go up North: "Canada Hires 48 Scholars Away from Top Universities." 

That article comes from The New York Times. 

A newspaper I used to have a subscription to, The Washington Post, is sending me a couple of emails a week to get me back. I cancelled my subscription after Bezos interfering with the editorial board backing Kamala Harris for the presidency. 

It's sad to see the decline of that once great newspaper. 

In what is a deliciously rich case of situational irony, a stupid right winger got his ass deported: "Milo Yiannopoulos, Right-Wing Agitator, Deported Home to U.K." 

One of my favorite writers, Wendell Berry, passed away: "Wendell Berry, Writer Who Extolled America's Agrarian Past, Dies at 92." 

I mainly read his non-fiction and some of his poetry. Later in his life, my Dad really enjoyed reading his fiction. 

Musing of the Moment: U.S. Debt, Gas Prices, & Inflation

 

Here's one of the many gas pumps I visited as we drove back from Victoria, British Columbia after taking our oldest kid there for their start to graduate school. 

As The New York Times reports that the U.S. is in debt up to $40 trillion dollars, see "U.S. Debt Hits $40 Trillion as America's Borrowing Binge Continues," everyday Americans are getting screwed by sky-high gas prices and inflation. 

Moscow Don and MAGA are really MAME. 

Making America More Expensive

Americans are getting gouged at the pumps because of this stupid war the US has no business being in. And that price per gallon above isn't even close to the diesel price that are directly connected to all kinds of shipping costs.

As Americans suffer difficult economic consequences because of the Iran War, the feckless Republican cowards in the House and Senate do nothing to hold the current administration accountable.

Instead, the complicit cowards will kiss the ass and lick the Florsheims of a very dangerous, clownish, narcissistic, boorish, moronic mountebank.

I hope the mid-terms are a reckoning for good.

Random Notes from a Crank

Here are some factoids from the past few Harper's Indexes:

• Estimated capital investment to create one permanent job in a U.S. data center: $52,000,000
• To create one permanent job in any other sector of the U.S. economy: $322,000
• Estimated number of public comments submitted to the Trump Administration on its White House ballroom proposal: 32,000
• Percentage of those comments that were positive: 1
• Percentage of non-probationary employees laid off since Trump took office who worked in scientific agencies: 35
• Percentage of Americans who view their fellow citizens morally good: 1/2
• Of Canadians who do: 9/10
• Estimated number of protests that took place  in the United States in the first year of Trump's first term: 10,873
• In the first year of his second term: 39,154
• Estimated percentage by which immigrants to the United States pay more in taxes, on average, than U.S.-born citizens: 17
• Portion of Italians who say that when asked what them proud of their country, mention art and culture: 2/5
• Of Americans who do: 1/50

America, you can do better. Create really good jobs, stop the stupid ballroom, respect and fund science, embrace immigrants, and do better with art and culture. 

Those stats show us not as the United States but rather as Dumbfuckistan. 

If you're interested in the data center boondoggles, Mother Jones has a great in-depth article about data centers and AI titled "Empire Builders" with the subtitle of "How the American Oligarchy Went Hyperscale," which is the title on the magazine's website. 

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In the July issue of Harper's, there's an article titled "Happy Fucking Birthday: An Exhausted America Turns Two Hundred and Fifty." 

That title sums up my attitude toward to the 250th anniversary of our nation's beginning. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The USMNT got bounced from the World Cup. I listened to the first half on my phone as I was walking the dogs, but I watched the second half. 

The team looked good at the start of the second half, but then Belgium's third goal happened because of a diabolical mistake by the US goalkeeper. What a terrible way to end what has been a good World Cup. 

President Adolf's intervention to persuade FIFA to rescind Balogun's red card was ridiculous. Whatever that guys touches turns to shit. 

Moscow Don provides a reverse-Midas touch. 

Joe Heller depicts it well. 

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I don't know how well covered this topic has been, but the white supremacists marching in D.C. was disgusting. 

Sara Pequeno's opinion piece from USA Today is good read on it: "White Supremacists in DC? White House Claims That's Democracy." 

These are the same people who bitched about wearing masks during the pandemic. 

Now they wear masks like ICE agents to hide their identities. 

Musing of the Moment: Analysis of the Iranian Deal

In a detailed analytical article in The New York Times, the journalist Neil MacFarquhar relates how President Adolf's stupid war with Iran has only made Iran stronger and made the U.S. weaker. 

Read all about it in "What Changed after Almost Four Months of War? Analysts Say Not Much."  

One of the big takeaways from the war is that Iran has clearly figured out that they can use the Strait of Hormuz to threaten the global economy. 

The lead Iranian negotiator of the tenuous deal that is likely to fall apart had this to say about how they know have leverage over the Strait: "This was a potential capacity that had never been activated. But our enemies--God created them fools--turned that potential into a reality." 

He called the current administration a bunch of fools. 

And he's right. 

The war has made the U.S. less secure. It's created economic havoc for Americans. And the so-called deal is much worse than the deal Obama brokered. 

What a bunch of fools. 

Random Notes from a Crank

from The New York Times

It's yet another day in Dumbfuckistan, there's an octagonal cage being erected on the front lawn of the White House. 

You can read about this idiocy in "U.F.C. Fight Venue Takes Shape on the White House Lawn." 

Truly deplorable. 

I watched part of the MLS match between LAFC and the Seattle Sounders the other. Wow. Since I'm used to watching the Premier League, I found it astounding how slow the MLS match was. 

It makes sense if one takes into account how countries' football leagues are ranked. 

Like other entities' rankings, the Opta Power Rankings rank the Premier League as the number one ranked league in the world, whereas the MLS is ranked 19th behind the leagues in Belgium (ranked 7th), Portugal (8th), the English Championship (9th), and the Netherlands (18th), among others. 

In fact, I think the English Championship, the second tier of English football, is ranked too low. 

For example, this Global Football Rankings site has the Championship ahead of Liga Portugal and the Eredivisie. However, they have the MLS ranked 10th, which is absolute nonsense. 

Tottenham Hotspure survived, finally. What a terrible season. 

The club needs to spend smartly in the off season and offload players who are not part of De Zebi's plans. 

However, with so many players coming back from injuries - Kulusevski, Simons, Kudus, Odobert, Solanke, and Romero - it might be difficult to acquire a lot of players with only the league and cups to play in. 

Like Ben on WeAreTottenhamTV (YouTube channel), I want Vuskovic to "bed in" next season and play a lot because I think, like many others, that Romero is gone this summer.

I'd like to keep Papa Matar Sarr even though some people want to sell him because the club have so many midfielders right now in addition to Jamie Donley, Alfie Devine, and Yang Min-Hyeok coming back after being on loan.  

Random Notes from a Crank

It's that time of the year when the state track meet comes to town, so this week the town I live in has an influx of all kinds of people with high school students residing in some of the college's dorms. 

So the dorms' parking lots are full of high school buses that show the mascots of the high schools. 

Some of the most popular mascots are Bulldogs, Tigers, and Trojans. 

The high school my kids both graduated from had the mascot of the Trojans, which I find curious. 

They lost the Trojan War because of silly wooden horse. You would think people would use the side that won that mythical war, but they'd just have to call them the "Greeks." And that's not going to work. 

The closest moniker we got is the Spartans, but that was only a part of the Greek force in the Trojan War. 

I like entities that have interesting mascots, such as Crimson Tide, Wooden Shoes, Cornhuskers, Bunnies, Grey Ghosts, and so on. 

Here in Dumbfuckistan, The New York Times have a succinct article about about how the Iran War is MAME: Making America More Expensive: "What The Iran War Is Costing You." 

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert had its final episode on Thursday. I'm pissed off because that show was basically my form of therapy during the Trump administration and the pandemic. Check out "Stephen Colbert's Last 'Late Show': Laughing Well Is the Best Revenge." 

It looks like I'll be watching The Daily Show and Jimmy Kimmel from here on out. 

Fuck CBS. 

Random Notes from a Crank

 

I got 100 of these stickers of President Adolf the other day. Every time I get gas, I will be affixing them to gas pumps. 

Other people need to do the same. 

It's been over sixty days since the lunatic started the Iran War. Congress needs to take away his wartime power. 

The New York Times has a great article about the end of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: "When 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' Goes Away, What Do We Lose?" 

I wonder what Colbert is going to do next. 

Young Americans don't have a good opinion of the economy right now: "81 percent of Young Americans Say Economic Conditions Are Bad or Terrible."

With terrible gas prices and inflation happening on all kinds of products, the average person is getting screwed. 

Random Notes from a Crank

As expected, the Vice President's trip to negotiate with Iran was a total failure. 

And then President Adolf talked about blocking the Strait of Hormuz. How the Hell is that going to help anything? 

Meanwhile at home the cost of gas/diesel is driving everything up. 

Bill Bramhall 4/12/26 GoComics

In news not related to a stupid war the US is waging for no good reason, A-Day at the U of Alabama was Saturday. 

From the report I read from TiderInsider, the sophomore QB Keelon Russell had a solid day and stood out among the quarterbacks. 

I'm really interested to see which NFL team takes Ty Simpson. Will he be a first round pick? Teams have to love his footwork as a quarterback. He's so fundamentally sound but only has the one season to look at from a standpoint of experience. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I"m guessing this so-called cease-fire in Iran isn't going to last. And what President Adolf has done is damage the credibility of the U.S. 

The New York Times has a great analysis of this situation in "A Cease-Fire for Now in Iran, but a Blow to American Credibility." 

As one expert states in the article, "There has never been a time when the United States was more distrusted, by both traditional friends and by rivals, as at the present."  

Here's a visual representation by Bill Bramhall. 

And here's a cartoon by Clay Bennett that sums up his war crimes and financial crimes while in office. He's grifting America for his own personal gain. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Existential Comics is back it again by taking down Plato through David Hume. The comic explains why people vote for imbeciles and take positions on issues without a lot of forethought. 

As reported by The New York Times, The U.S. is back to bombing civilians in Iran: "New U.S. Missile Hit Iranian Sports Hall and School, Analysis Shows." 

As a result of President Adolf "excursion" (sarcasm intended), gas prices are skyrocketing, especially the price of diesel that drives up the costs of lot of products because semis haul all kinds of stuff around the U.S. 

Inflation and possibly stagflation here we are. 

Making America More Expensive

And the idiotic attacks on Iran are simply going to create less safety for Americans because many terrrorist groups are aligned with Iran from a philsophical standpoint. 

Making America More Dangerous

Here are some interesting stats and figures from the March "Harper's Index":

• Portion of people detained by ICE between October 1 and November 15, 2025 who had a prior violent criminal conviction: 1/20
• Who had no prior criminal convictions: 3/4
• Port of U.S. small business owners who plan to hire new staff or otherwise expand this year: 1/10
• Who worry that their business will not survive the year: 3/4

The cost of diesel fuel is going to drive costs for everyone. So I see why business owners are worried. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Gas prices are crazy high because of President Adolf's Iran War to distract us from the fact he's a pedophile. 

The tire pressure point is a good one. It's one factor I've paid more attention to over the past few years. 

When I was at a car dealership today to get my car's oil changed, it is difficult not to overhear the salespeople talking to one another and to customers. The one sales guy on the phone and in his interactions with other males has a tendency to call those guys "brother." 

As someone who grew up watching then WWF wrestling, I automatically associate the term "brother" with the likes of Hulk Hogan and other wrestlers who liked using that word. I just find it odd that "brother" when addressing a male person is a constant in some peoples' lexicons. 

The idiocy of President Adolf is on full display with European leaders not willing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

The Guardian informs us about Moscow Don trying to get help with the Iran War: "European Countries Reject Trump's Call for Help to Reopen Strait of Hormuz."   

Musing of the Moment: Attacks at Home

The Iran War is only going to motivate people prone to violence to attack the U.S. 

It appears many of the recent attacks on Americans on our own soil is the result of President Adolf's attacks on Iran and the bellicose rhetoric from the senile white supremacist and his drunk Secretary of Defense. 

There are all kinds of terrorist groups sympathetic to Iran. 

Check out the article in the New York Times: "'Sleeper Cells' and Lone Attackers: Security Experts Brace for More Violence at Home" 

Making America More Dangerous. 

Musing of the Moment: MAME-Making America More Expensive

I gassed up my vehicle before President Adolf initiated a war with Iran. At that time the price per gallon in my area of east central Illinois was $2.91. 

I drove past the station where I get my gas, and if I remember right, the price jumped to $3.19. 

As The New York Times relates, gas prices are soaring because of the administration's dumb military strikes in Iran: "Oil and Natural Gas Prices Extend Rally as Iran Attacks Escalate." 

The MAGA brand is really MAME: Making America More Expensive. 

And it's also maiming democracy and the Constitution.