Open Thread - Thurs 07 Nov 2024 - Napalm Sticks
Napalm Sticks
I paid almost no attention to the recent elections in the USA. Both 'major' candidates make me ill, and I will do my best to pay NO attention to Trump, just as I did in the past, ohh, 30 years. As for the Dems, and Kamala, they'll get no real support from me, just a shrug of 'eh' about whatever they do. Yes, they might do some 'good' things, I guess. It'll be by accident, or as a way to manipulate people or give their donors something they wanted that the populace likes too. With the Dem leadership as it stands now, they surely won't do anything good for the working class. Sounds kinda like they were before FDR took over and read the writing on the wall.
A couple of weeks or so ago I read this poem, called McGenocide, by Caitlin Johnstone (Snoopydawg also posted the poem here, on this site). It really hit me hard, maybe because of reading the book, Bringing Mulligan Home, about the man trying to find out why his father (who fought on Okinawa in WWII) was like he was.
Something good: A rose from our garden. Yes, it's flowering NOW, the pic was taken a few days ago. Admittedly, we haven't gotten below freezing this fall, yet. And usually we do that in mid September. A couple nights ago we hit 33 as the low, but... that ain't below freezing yet!
Anyway, here's the start of the poem:
CNN says an IDF soldier has suffered trauma
because he had to run over too many Palestinians
with his D9 armored bulldozer.
Says he can’t eat meat anymore
because he had to drive over so much human meat
(he actually called it “meat”)
and it reminds him of all the blood and guts
and bones and tissue that would come squirting out
when he ran over them.
The poem continues and is really good, visceral and true. So it made me think and suddenly this song sprang to mind:
Country Joe McDonald and the Fish - 'I Feel Like I'm Fixing to Die':
Now, I was only a kid when the first Woodstock happened, so maybe I can be forgiven for not knowing all the protest songs, but listening to Country Joe I suddenly found this other song, Napalm Sticks to Kids by the First of the Ninth Chorus, one I'd never heard before. I was too young to be listening to protest and anti-war songs when the song was written and sung in 1970 and it is definitely a song that would not have been on the radio, right? Or maybe it would have been on the radio, but not where a 5 to 10 year old kid would be listening?
Napalm Sticks to Kids is much like Caitlin's poem, in that it's very, very graphic about war and what it does to the innocent and the 'other side'. It's from the point of view of the soldiers/airmen/marines/sailors doing the killing in Vietnam, and supposedly each verse was written by a different soldier or airman. And it really hit me hard. The song eventually became a marching song for the military and that is so weird, and yet, understandable. Gotta make sure the soldiers know what they are going to be doing and are desensitized to it, right?And actually that is desensitizing might be a good thing in some ways, because military personnel should be able to eat McDonald's, i.e. live a normal life, when they come home.
Here's the first couple verses, and no it doesn't get easier to listen to or read (full lyrics are here or in the video below) :
We shoot the sick, the young, the lame
We do our best to kill and maim
Because the kills all count the same
Napalm sticks to kidsFlyin' low across the trees
Pilots doing what they please
Droppin’ frags on refugees
Napalm sticks to kidsIt made us feel so good inside
When the strong men wept and the women cried
But what we really like is the children fried
Napalm sticks to kids
Here's a video with the song, the video just has still photos with the music so it's not super disturbing visually:
Thanks for reading. Keep on keeping on, we've survived the election after all. Here's the open thread - remember, everything is interesting if you dive deep enough, so tell us about where you're diving!
Comments
Happy Thursday!
Hope the day is going well for everyone, even if there is depression over the election. I'm sorry for the lack of replies to my last Open Thread, I read all the comments, but I went AWOL for my birthday before I had time to respond. I will not be AWOL today!
We may have our first freeze tonight, but I dunno, it's midnight and 36. So it might not get low enough. Been doing a lot of raking and pruning. Fun stuff. So what's up with you? How's everything? Whatcha learning and doing?
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Naplm sticks to kids
I think that was in response to the photo of 9yr old Phan Thi Kim Phuc.
I think the dems are over. The same old tone deaf excuses are in the forefront of "reasons" the election went the way it did. Bernie bros, traitor dems, white men racist women haters. No way is it dem policies and ignoring the working class. Half of me wants to break out the popcorn and watch the show. The other half has nothing but contempt and revulsion for that pack of losers. Not to mention kicking myself for all those years of hoping things would get better. Stupid me.
Optimism is healthy
.
.
falling into despair flirts with the darker side
which is perhaps where the rulers would prefer
to herd us. Resistance still matters.
question everything
This is so true:
'Falling into despair flirts with the darker side...' I think that's why I've ignored a lot of the election stuff this year. And yes, TPTB want us there, so much easier to control when everyone despairs and every tiny little 'advance' looks good.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Comments about the Dems...
Spot on! I remember back when Clinton was running and I told myself, 'Well, he's a dem, it'll be ok' but I knew better, way back then. And nothing has changed. My mom wanted Kamala to win because she's a woman and 'black'. And I'm like, why does that matter? Her experience (none), policies (mostly bleh), and all of that matter. Not her color or her sex. And I'm a woman! Just any token female won't do. It was like in England when Thatcher was elected and re-elected. 'But she's a woman, it's historical!' No, her policies matter and she sucks!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Ps
Thanks for the OT.
Hey now
Nam was a blight on the national spirit.
We are still experiencing the ramifications.
Patriotism and poverty got all mixed up.
Some kind of sane policy would help.
Still reeling from the election madness.
Kamala may have had a psychotic break if her
handlers had her convinced she could win?
Quien sabe
onward
thanks for the OT Sima
question everything
Sane policy really would help...
And making service so that all classes have to be in the military, not just the poor. Or, making it so that there is little need for the military... A pipe dream, I know!
As for the election, why did Kamala think she could win? Why did the Dems think that? She was forced upon them with no primary when Biden 'stepped back', she never won anything when she actually tried to be president and quit after the first debate in the primary, she's not got that great a record in California... If the Dems had put forward anyone with like... a good history of work and so on, they'd have won. So that's probably why they didn't, eh?
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Are you implying the dems intentionally
.
.
lost the executive branch? And both arms of the legislature?
It wouldn't surprise me in the least. They are all so 'out of touch'
with the common people and our needs. Hari Kari almost seems
sensible. Never admit you are wrong is in the playbook. Just lose.
question everything
'Never admit you are wrong...'
Exactly. And they can blame all of the coming 'failures' on us, in the end, because they lost. So next time, vote Dem and 'we' won't lose. Unless, of course, things are bad and they want to lose.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
In addition to the things Biden didn’t do to help working class
.
which I posted yesterday here’s what he did to screw them
And remember Kamala said that she couldn’t think of a thing she would change from what Biden was doing. Not a single thing.
It wasn’t just Biden canceling the programs that Trump gave us, but the he allowed that really crushed people. Homelessness is up over 12% on his watch. Did Kamala even mention that or anything that was hurting us?
And he started his presidency by deliberately screwing us out of $600 for no reason after giving the parasite class billions…possibly trillions.
Signed…yours truly…
Snoppy
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Ack sorry about the typo in your name!
Eesh, I'm dumb sometimes. Sorry! I edited it and fixed the typo, so it's not there forever at least.
As for what Biden did (or didn't) do, it all fits in with his history of being an almost Republican. Or maybe that should be a right-wing Democrat. From the start, through his 50 years in the Senate, or whatever it is. He was always icky to me. Why people thought he'd be different than he has been all his life is beyond me. Maybe they thought his dementia would change him?
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
No worries
I got a kick out of the Snoppydawg….
Biden was a mean racist his entire career in the senate and what he did as president shouldn’t have surprised anyone who knew his record. I tried telling people, but they promised to push him left…
Both he and Kamala promised to work with republicans. Who wanted them to do that?
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
They needed
to work with the Republicans so they didn't have to give us our $600! Of course! *gag*
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Schadenfreude
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
You'd think their handlers...
would at least say something!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Look at the grin on her face
She knew what she was doing…but will shitlibs give her grief for it?
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Protest Songs
I don't remember that song either. Grew up in a suburb outside of Detroit. There was what was called an underground radio station. I'm sure they played it. But I also was younger than the average listener, a preteen around 12 or 13 when I found them. They also may have played it during the nighttime hours, when they would play even harder and more obscure rock music.
I feel so much empathy for all the people of Gaza. I almost feel guilty because I have a pantry full of groceries. I can't do much for them, but I can try to help others. I try to drop off food at the Free Little Pantry in the park at least once or twice a month. And I don't care if some "underserving" person gets it. I figure if you're having to go to a free pantry to get food, you probably need it.
Biden was just on TV with his cotton mouth. Can't hardly listen to him. He looks like he's well into his 90's. Then only thing I heard him say was something about "the soul of America." Whenever he brings up that tired old trope, my brain seems to turn off.
would that have been WABX?
.
.
a great 'underground' station, remember it well
would listen to Firesign Theater before school
set the mood for the day
question everything
@QMS Yes that was the
Yes that was the station. Loved it.
small world
glad you enjoyed it too!
question everything
WABX
Where did you live? I grew up in Warren. Also lived in Royal Oak and St. Clair Shores. Been in Florida for over 40 years now.
lived on a hill in rural
Jackson county
was able to pull in the signal from there
on my first Sony stereo receiver
late 60's to early 70's era
loved their east of midnight program!
question everything
Dropping off food at the pantry is GREAT!
I too, do not want to judge, test, or otherwise scrutinize food pantry recipients. There are no 'undeserving' there. Even if they are druggies or whatever. Even if they 'did it to themselves'. I give people standing at the corner money, just $20 or so at a time. Yes, they might be druggies, or immigrants, or just don't wanna work or can't work because they've been hurt. So what? They gotta eat! They have to have shoes and other clothes and shelter or at least a tent!
My parents listened to folk and protest music when I was a kid. So I might have heard the song, but I sure don't remember it. When I was a teen I listened to an underground radio station in... wait for it, San Francisco, CA. It was very radical, it even played 'Mexican' music! But I don't remember this song from them. And I can't remember the station's call sign, heh.
Brave of you to listen to Biden. I can't really. My stomach is not strong enough. And thanks for stopping by!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
This is brutal!
I’m relieved.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Wonder if she's hitting people...
Or yelling at her staff because she lost? Who knows. That she didn't make a concession speech, at least by that time, is nuts. But it's also very, very, very privileged, and she never actually learned what needs to be done on how to be a good politician and so on. It's ironic, because I bet if Trump lost he'd have done the same thing. Ick.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Dark days in America
.
I’ve been reading what IM Doc on naked capitalism has been seeing in his practice with the dem voters who have been driven batshit insane by the dem leaders and their mouthpiece media who have been pushing that Trump is a threat to them.
Yesterday the doc dealt with patients who had severe anxiety and depression over T's win. More today with severe anxiety symptoms and one person who was placed on a suicide hold. He’s very upset and worried about his patients and he says that they are upper middle class so it’s not economics. It’s just unwarranted fear. Trump was supposed to do all those things last time, but never did. Hell it’s Biden who has brought us to the brink of nuclear war!
Reading the shitlibs this morning many are cutting out family and friends who voted for Trump. No invites to the holidays nor helping them with anything they need.
Just read one guy saying that he will probably be committing suicide soon and describe how he will do it. Why? Because Trump is going to cut all social programs and dismantle social security.
Weird how they didn’t freak out about the many times democrats tried cutting social security. Clinton tried, but Monica Lewinsky saved us.
Obama tried, but McConnell saved us from the grand bargain.
Biden has talked about and threatened to cut social security his entire career, but shitlibs scoffed at the many videos of him saying that.
It’s despicable what dems have done to the base. As shown above it was Biden who cut social programs for the poor. Why? Republicans and blue dawg democrats wanted him to. Snip/snap! All gone.
Bernie says that it’s not surprising that the working class deserted dems after they deserted the working class. It’s not rocket science. But shitlibs are still insisting that the economy is great. I’m paying much more for groceries and gas. It’s been over $3 during Biden’s presidency. Oil has fallen and it’s still $3.49 here.
Biden decided not to crack down on the oligarchs who have been raising prices right and left. He left Powell in place after he admitted that he was raising interest rates to keep wages low. Powell destroyed the housing market.
But sure…fear what Trump might do.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Dang, I hope noone commits suicide over this...
It's a damn stupid reason. As for social security, both parties go after it. And I wanna know, why can 'they', the government, keep taking money from it so it goes broke, but it's a fund that working people pay into and the government shouldn't touch it. Drives me nuts and both sides do it!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
I think a lot of people are on the hamster wheel
...even though they are nominally upper middle class. So if a parade of horribles is associated with one or the other candidates for office, it can induce intense anxiety.
Property taxes on wildly inflated real estate values, exploding insurance costs, the other parasitic costs associated with "wealth" can render the seemingly prosperous appearances a liability in fact. The only people I know that are financially secure in this economic environment are worth millions, plural.
If you are middle class, a disabling accident, a serious illness, getting mired down in litigation, a death in the family, a natural disaster, can turn your world to shit overnight. The notion that a particular candidate makes it worse, may be illusory. The notion that someone else will save you or get you through it, is something to be avoided. You have to get yourself through it. Help from friends, community, government is great when it happens. But one has to persevere in spite of the challenges. If not, one could go down fast.
The best training I ever had in my life, was survival training, not the prepper or woodsman part, but the psychology of survival as opposed to "giving up the will to live." I know there are some circumstances that are insurmountable. I see the people living on the streets every day. Then there is the daily horrible news from the Middle East and Ukraine.
Ms. So noticed today, that the automatic/digital check out counters at one Walmart nearby were shut down, because locals had figured out a way to scam them, and steal in the aggregate every day thousands of dollars. In another more prosperous and "white" community a few miles away, the digital check outs were still open. Me, I actually prefer the human at the cash register, but that's just my idiosyncrasy. I'll wait in line.
Earlier, I was fooling around with a basic Mandarin blueprint video after a hiatus of four weeks, and google started feeding me some tiktok videos from China, I had heard this one once before and I really like it-
Jin Sheng Yuan (今生缘) By Chuan Zi (川子) original song with (english) Lyrics
They translate 缘 yuan as "affinities." It didn't seem right to me, so I looked and looked, a better meaning is destiny or fate in the context. In Korean in yeon 인연 or 因緣. The latter is also the name of a famous Lee Son-hui hit which I've been stuck on for many years. The Chinese song Fate in this life, is about fraternity or brotherhood. The Korean hit is about an unfulfilled love relationship.
語必忠信 行必正直
Bits and Pieces
IIRC they have a large plant in Tennesee
I was, at the time, in the thick of it and never heard that song either
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Go Linder!
It's it funny how all governments do the same stuff, of course. So they put together a proposal with some good things, and one bad thing that TPTB want, and they get really mad when the proposal won't pass because of the bad thing. And people suffer because the good aspects of the proposal never passed. How surprising.
I'm kinda hoping the monkeys stay free (and are not infectious, of course). Maybe they can help out the Nissan workers...
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good protest song, sima.
Sometimes the harsh truth is supposed to be sung about out loud.
It is in the low 80s here, but my property in Colorado got snow. Wish I were there. Sigh...
I love your Last Rose of Summer, sima. It is always the little things, ain't it?
You know, I have visited several concentration sites in and around Germany and Poland. I know what happened. I saw the evidence. I am unhappy about seeing it happen in real time. And I can do nothing about it.
Trump is an ultra-Zionist guy. Who knows what the Epstein Files would reveal about him? More genocide comin' Gaza's way.
I appreciate your OT, chica! Thanks!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Wow, low 80s...
That would be HOT weather here, :). We hit 32 early this morning, for a couple minutes. Whatever frost it made quickly melted and no plants were affected, yet. Our highs have been in the low 50's.
Having visited some of the concentration camps too, seeing Gaza just makes me so sick and feel so helpless. Why can't the Israeli's see different? Actually I have a half-written blog post on that and the long history of it all. I guess I should finish it!
Trump loves conflict, war, hurting others (and so do many other politicians). I think it makes him feel like the man his Daddy never let him be. Gag.
Have a great weekend!!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
You have a great weekend too!
When I think Trump might stop a conflict, I am reminded of his brag about the MOABs.
The shit made allegedly made America great post WWII, kept it great for a long time, won't keep America great now or in the future.
It is hot, tee shirt weather, sweat if walking or sitting in the sun. I wish I were viewing snowy mountains. Sigh...
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
We've got snow on the mountains...
Finally. It's on the Olympics and lower Cascades, and up in the passes. I'm glad not to be in it, but I do love looking at it. Hot and sweaty would be weird right now, for me. I think I've lived in the north too long. Heh.
Trump won't stop anything, unless his friends and money people want him to. And they don't want that. Hopefully, he won't start anything, but what an end, right? He gets close to dying because of his age and he makes sure the whole world does too! And that's his selfishness (and lots of other pols too) on display right there.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Can't say I've ever heard that song
But it is a good one.
Peter, Paul, and Mary had a couple of protest songs at the time I was registered for the Draft. And the Smothers Brothers were masters of inuendo and subterfuge that squeaked by the censors. And by the same token, The Rocky and Bulwinkle show had writers that were laying antiwar bits between the lines, hilariously.
Censorship was real even back then as evidenced by Rusty Warren's "Banned in Boston" album being one of the most leftwing parts of the country today.
Thanks for that tune.
And the OT.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I loved Rocky and Bullwinkle...
as a kid. I was too young to get the innuendo and so on, then. Now, I sure do get it when I watch the old shows :). Smothers Brothers were awesome too. Once again, I didn't get the jokes, then. I do now. I going down a rabbit hole about Rusty Warren. As for Peter, Paul and Mary, they were great. I did get to listen to them as a kid, Mom insisted. Good memories, and good to see you! Have a good weekend!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so