Open Thread - 07-18-25 - And He's Off To The Rodeo
Is it rod-ē-o or rod-ā-o? I don't know but I suspect it's not much different than pronouncing Democrat or Republican, because in the end they mean the same thing.
He rode into Washington Town on his white stallion, Las Mentiras. Half of the town swooned, the other half retched. He vowed he would clean up the mess left by the previous rodeo, and make Washington town and the whole of the land great again. This was his time and vengeance would be his.
But first he must win the rodeo.
He promised to do many things, for the "good" people, and to the "bad" people. His words were like an elixir to some, venom to others. He spoke plain-talk, like a twelve year old. He thundered his righteous glory from shore to shore, from hill to dale. He lambasted his opponents with expletives, and mispronunciations, and volleys of fake news and he disavowed a court bound in lawfare. He wowed the people with coins of memes, coins bearing his name, and the name of his woman. His grand plans made the people's heads swim, with visions of intelligence, artificial in nature, and, a promise of wealth for all, especially his own.
Finally the day arrived, the day of the Great Rodeo of the Fifty States. His event? Bull-riding.
He drew the biggest and meanest animal in the land, a bull named Mierda. The crowd cowered when they heard his name and held their noses. This bull was more than just a man killer, it was an assassin.
It was a wild and tumultuous ride, Mierda twisted and bucked, spit and snorted, trying to horn him as he jerked his head from side to side. But he held on and rode him clean for the allotted eight seconds. He jumped from the bull and raised his fists in pugilist fashion so as to taunt his opponents. The judges scored the biggest most beautiful score, a score so high it had never been seen before. To put icing on his win, he jumped on Mierda again and for a second time rode eight seconds clean. Half the people swooned and half retched. But it did not matter any longer.
He was the Rodeo Champion for four more years.
And then, unexpectedly, after just a few short months into his Reign of Champion his swagger held less swag. His boots became worn from self inflicted six gun misfirings. He was showing his age and a tongue he couldn't hold.
His many promises were falling flat. The swooning people shrank in size, and the retching grew. Even though he was a Rodeo Champion the people wanted more. They became disenchanted and they clamored so, they wanted his promises kept.
He was the Champion, his ego roared. Sit down and be quiet he told his rodeo people. Fake News and the Rodeo Clowns were to fault for his broken promises, so he said. They were bad people and so was anyone who believed them.
His rodeo people clamored for heads to roll, his pridefulness swelled to a rage never seen before by mere mortals. His gaslighting was pissing people off. In an effort to waylay the rising tide of discontent he vowed to tame his wayward rodeo people, like the sheep they are.
And here we find ourselves, in the present tense, watching the bull jump the fence into the audience, as the rodeo people scramble from the charging horns, not wanting to be gored by the egocentric self inflicted implosion of the Rodeo Champion.
The Rodeo Song
When you hear the line " Here comes Johnny", substitute that with "Here comes Donnie" and it will put this song into context.
2:03
Comments
Good morning Free Rangers...
mayhaps it's that time that all Rodeo Champions must face, to ride off into the sunset.
An untold chapter...
of this saga, there's a growing faction of the people that just don't have anymore fucks to give.
If it involves
animals and beer, it is road-e-o.
If it involves shopping and American Express Platinum Cards, it is road-a-o.
And count me as one whose last fuck has indeed finally burned out...
However, having said that, I'm quite enjoying Coldplaygate. If you haven't heard of it, you most assuredly will: it is just prurient enough to become the shiny object du jour.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
It's a movement...
that sweeping the nation. Let's give it a name: The No More Fucks To Give Party.
Edit to add about Coldplaygate: The looks on their faces and their reactions on the Kiss Cam are one for the ages. Their marriages and possibly their careers are over.
For the ages!
https://x.com/i/status/1946182836035244200
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Hah!
Excellent!
I embedded it for you.
Thanks!
This will be a gift that keeps on giving... (;-)
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
This ain't donnie's first rodeo
.
it is what simpletons do
double-down on stupid
thanks for the entertaining OT!
Zionism is a social disease
There's a direct correlation...
between an electorate that half of votes for a Simpleton and the other half votes for Word Salads, and the powers behind the scene that offers up Pablum for the said electorate to vote for.
Post went the wrong place...
Meanwhile, here's a llama named Soldier drinking Crown Royal.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Crown Royal?
Soldier must be Canadian.
A Canadian llama hammered on Crown Royal, the ensuing spit fest would surely be out of control!
Have you ever seen a llama
run? I don't know how you could tell... (;-) The trajectories of their head and their body are pretty much unrelated. It's called the "neck whip", and it is downright hilarious to watch.
Horses totally freak out when they see it. Our neighbors would always have to dismount and walk their horses by our fence line...
Besides, I never let him have more than half. If he wanted more than that, he needed to go in the house and pour his own. (;-)
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Like Buffalo Bill's circus...
..it is all just a show. The Donald seem to be coming unglued...telling his supporters, if they think there's something to the Epstein files, he doesn't need their support. Saying he will end the Ukraine war as he accelerates weapon deliveries. He's losing his base, and I bet will lose the midterms if he continues his unhinged approach.
Congress just passed the first crypto bill, the so called Genius Bill
I think TPTB want to crash the dollar to make the debt more affordable perhaps.
Lots of moving parts here domestically and abroad...on purpose. Keep the people distracted.
Thanks for the excellent OT filled with analogy.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I hear you, brother...
this whole Epstein thing seems so staged and contrived, from Bondi saying the files were on her desk to the current shitshow reaction. It's all a ruse to take our gaze away from something. I've been telling my better half that something's up from the beginning of Trump's tirade against his base.
My guess it's a distraction while they put their total surveillance plan into place, or, war, or a combination of the two.
Thanks for the kind words, it was fun putting this together.
Good morning! TGIF!
Trump was gonna fire Powell. Then, he wrote a letter to do so. Then he requested a congressional committee advise him on whether or not to send it. Then, this morning, he requested the DOJ be referred a criminal investigation on Powell for making fraudulent statements in obtaining a loan, the same lawfare that was used on Trump in obtaining loans for real estate purchases.
Aaannndddd...Trump campaigned on stopping political lawfare.
By this evening, he will have changed his mind about this.
Everybody, enjoy your Friday!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Heh...
Well, one way to say 'rodEo' is for the plebes
and serfs; the other, rodAo,' is for the hoity-toits who think they're the elite. Actually, most of them are merde. You know, this whole deal about CBS supposedly caving in to Maggot Brained by buying him off, cancelling Colbert, etc. is a lot of hot air. If the only way a country's press can report news, and get viewers to pay attention is jokers on late night, that country is in trouble! This has been going down since Raygun and Nixon, and I'm sure American History has quite a few other examples. As far as the whole Wild West crap is concerned, the only decent ones are the horses, and a few Native Americans. Rec'd!!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
It's a processs...
Analog records were king, then came tape, eight track killed tape, cassettes killed eight track, and CDs killed cassettes.
Broadcast TV killed the radio, now the internet is killing TV, where it's easier to corral the minds of the consumers, the primary reason for the messaging. The question becomes, what will kill the internet?
Analog records went full circle and are making a big comeback because of the quality of the product. Somehow I don't think that will happen with broadcast TV.
Thanks for the rec.
@JtC I think you are correct
I think you are correct, JtC. I have never really been into video: TV, movies, etc. I've always been a reading/book junkie, and I love and collect music. You're right about analog recording making a yuge comeback. There is an audible difference between it and digital. The constant complaint that video media fans have been making is that the content sucks/is boring and stupid. I've been hearing that one for years. Man, I just don't know anymore.
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Mainstream TV has been hopeless
for many years, in terms of entertainment value. I'll watch sporting events that interest me, but I cannot abide talk shows (since the end of Carson), news (since the end of Rather) or melodrama (ever).
Rant follows. Regrettably, my wife does not agree- she finds great value in melodrama. She's currently binge-watching "White Lotus" and "The Gilded Age", neither of which I can stomach for more than about 5 minutes at a time. "White Lotus" is particularly execrable: one-dimensional characters with absolutely no redeeming value, generally screaming at each other in contrived and predictable ways. The best part of that show is when one of the characters finally gets killed off. At least "Gilded Age" has nice costumes... I describe broadcast melodrama as "Why TV". (;-)
Video can't become obsolete soon enough, especially with respect to news or current events. People at other sites often post predigested sound-bite videos from current flavor-of-the-week talking-head pundits. I can't bring myself to watch them, because they combine all of the above-mentioned faults, but without the nice costumes. And nobody has gotten killed off on any of those. Yet. But I suppose that there's still hope... (;-)
No, I want what little news I will still take in to be in written form, not blathered at me by a made-for-video Manufactured Person.
However, I will admit to one specific guilty pleasure: the closest thing to watchable broadcast TV for me is Dateline (which I prefer to pronounce as "dat-el-ini"). And I mostly like that for the way Keith Whatshisname pronounces the word "murrrrrder", with a properly cynical purr. That can be a tolerable escapist whodunit taken in moderation, now and again. Gawd only knows that they are never going to run out of raw material. And it feels as if about half of the shows feature crimes committed here in Colorado... (;-)
Rant off. That felt good: thanks for allowing me to vent!
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
@JtC I think the internet is
I think the internet is killing itself really. Enshittification, through conglomerate censorship and SEO optimization controlling access to actual information, has made the "internet" progressively worse over the last 15-20 years, such that it's utility is nearly nil. I am eternally grateful to have been led to this small oasis of clear thought at C-99. Otherwise, yeah, just trying to find out basic information on the internet these days is a huge PITA.
I couldn't agree more...
if it's not dead already, rigor mortis is setting in. We're a consumer based society and it shouldn't be any surprise that the internet would devolve into a consumer based utility.
What I see possibly next in line for the process I mention above, is when the internet-of-things combines with consumerism and is beamed directly into what is left of human mind. I hope to be long gone when that day arrives, I don't want to witness any of that stuff. At least now we can shut it off if we want.
@JtC I was born into a
I was born into a space family, and as far as I'm concerned AI is a bunch of plastic (phony) BS. I have a double MA in psycholinguistics so when I read BS, I know it. I know I will be long gone when/if your cyber nightmare comes to pass. Thank gawd for small favors!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Good morning Johnny y todos. Insofar as many rodeos have a
traveling component, I can't but wonder if there are not, perhaps, rodeo roadies? Whatever the case, I understand that part of Chairman Drumpf's Great Leap Foreward is to do away with all of that calf-roping and bull riding type of stuff in favor of mma tag-team marathons.
There is a caution that the rodeo song contains "inappropriate language" and I can't figure out what any of that language is inappropriate to except perhaps libraries and art galleries, but certainly not rodeos.
I saw an article that we're stiffing the Swiss on an order they placed for Patriots because we need to send them all to the Ukies. 1) Who the hell would attack the Swiss anyway? 2) Really?
"Hypersonics, Drones & Dead Zones: How Russia Beats Patriot Systems" is a photo head in today's Sputnik leading to [ https://sputnikglobe.com/20250718/want-to-wipe-out-patriot-systems-ask-t... ] So maybe the Swiss should just get their money back and be happy they never tood kelivery. A somewhat edgier perspective comes in the form of an RT headline
ah well,
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 --
Grabbing bulls by the horns...
and wrasslin' 'em to the ground, riding up on baby calfs and ropin' and wrasslin' 'em to the ground and tying their legs up overlaps with mma tag teams, so there's that. Maybe the two could be combined into a modern day Roman Coliseum event with man and beast ropin' and wrasslin' the daylights out of each other. I'm not sure if that's grandiose enough or not, but it has possibilities:
That disclaimer was classic Marketing 101, meant to draw in the reader:
Who would want to attack the Swiss? Chocoholics, for one. The Swiss are well armed, I'd be careful in that regard.
The Swiss are better off without the Patriots.
I like that RT headline:
Delta Airlines is discontinuing their of offering seats at a set
price. Henceforth, they will price each seat on what the purchaser is willing to pay. How would they know? Will Palantir sell then our data? While I'm at it, why is Palantir sharing with or selling our data to Israel? Why the fuck does the Israeli government need my data anyway? Or Palantir, for that matter. Maybe all consumer goods will be individually priced one day. If Delta can do it, so can Walmart. (Bet I am willing to pay more for salsa than most everyone on the site, as well as Miller Lite.)
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
According to...
the now defrocked Klaus Schwab, "You will own nothing and be happy" in the future. So none of us will be able to afford consumer goods and services anyway.
Although that wont stop Palantir from knowing everything about us, money or not.
@JtC PISS on Palantir. Folks
PISS on Palantir. Folks like me and my TPW posse and your gang on here are these yahoos' worse nightmare.
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Personalized Pricing --
designed exclusively for you.
I hate salsa and Miller Lite, AI.
I mean it. And hamburger meat, mustard, onions, flour, salt.... I just buy it so my pantry looks so very cool. I would not buy dill pickles otherwise, they are just for looks and tang, so I am only willing to pay 20 cents for a big bottle. Otherwise, suck it.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981