Kurt Brindley's Blog, page 73

LIARS

 

#betyouthoughtthiswasapoliticalvideo

#nopejustsomegoofywhiteguyswithsynthesizers

#butiwillmakeitapoliticalpostofcourse

#dumptrump

#halthillary

#canwehaveamulliganplease

 

 

Filed under: Politics Tagged: Clinton email scandal, criminals, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Liars, megalomaniacs, music, music videos, politics

So here’s my conundrum… update #3

Okay… of course we knew Hillary Clinton wasn’t going to get indicted. And I don’t think Bill meeting with the Attorney General to ensure she didn’t get indicted really mattered. Elites don’t get indicted. Period.

And, who knows, maybe a typical Intelligence Community peon being investigated for the same crime wouldn’t get indicted either.

But we all know the IC peon would at least lose his or her access to classified material and/or his or her clearance, which would mean that he or she would be out of a job.

‪‎Hillary‬, of course, won’t lose her access, her clearance, or her candidacy for the president.

What a farce.

‪#‎elitelivesmatter‬…most

 

 

Filed under: Politics Tagged: Bill Clinton, classified material, crimes, elites, email scandal, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hillary Clinton, Intelligence Community, politics, president, presidential candidates

Ain’t That America…

#happyindependenceday

#befreeordietrying

#dumptrump

 

 

Filed under: Photography Tagged: Ain't That America

The Toe-Tappin’ Truth

As my About page attests, I like all kinds of music: punk, metal, industrial, classical, rock, rap, and just about any alternative therewith or without.

But it seems that whenever I listen to Bluegrass more than any other genre, I always find myself thinking…

Now that’s music.

Ralph Stanley, a legend of the genre, died recently. Most probably never heard of him. Those who have, probably heard of him because of the fantastic movie “O Brother Where Art Thou.” His presence and influence on the music scene cannot be overstated. He will be missed.

 

But probably my favorite Bluegrass (or Newgrass as they sometimes get categorized) band is Hackensaw Boys. I happened to see them live early in this century when they opened up for another one of my favorite bands, Cake, at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC. I’ve been a devoted fan ever since. The band has changed a lot over the years (one of the founding members joined Modest Mouse (another favorite of mine) in 2004) but they are still rockin’ it with their unique, toe-tappin’ Bluegrass sound.

 

Damn. Now that’s music…

hackensawboys.com

 

 

Filed under: Music Tagged: Bluegrass, Bluegrass music, Country music, Hackensaw Boys, music, music genres, music videos, O Brother Where Art Thou, Ralph Stanley

An Obligation Toward Intolerance

Protesting intolerance is not an act of intolerance;

it is an act of courage and an obligation to civility.

So, as I discussed in this post back in March, I posted to my personal facebook page that I was going to try to convince any of my friends who support Trump to not support him through a dialogue of compassion and understanding. Fortunately, I don’t have many friends who support him, so it hasn’t been much of a challenge for me there. However, there have been a few brush ups here, at this site, with drive by Trump supporters who want to try to “debate” their “positions” with me. One of these drive bys happened just yesterday.

The compassion and understanding approach doesn’t work quite as well with those who are not my friends, it seems. So, consequently, the gloves are off.

Here is my view on all of this dangerous Trump nonsense…

Based upon the words that I have heard coming out of his mouth, I regard Trump as a violent, racist, sexist, xenophobe megalomaniacal opportunistic failure of a bigoted buffoon who will say whatever he has to say to promote and enhance his self and financial interests even and mostly at the expense of those whom he promotes his services to. He must be defeated in his quest to become the president of my country at all costs. If you support him, then by default you support his violent and hateful positions, which, in my view, makes you, at a minimum, an enabler for violence, hate, and intolerance.

I will not stand by silent when confronted with such intolerance. If you show your support here for such violence, hate, and intolerance, I will take all measures necessary to silence you short of censorship. However, I will not rule out censoring things I deem too offensive.

If you do not like what I have to say here at my site, my blog, then I invite you to unfollow me and ne’er return.

But, remember, if you do come here and challenge me, I will bring it.

Fair warning.

#dumptrump

 

 

Filed under: Politics Tagged: bigotry, cheater, Donald Trump, hate, intolerance, liar, politics, president, protests, racism, racist, self-promoter, violence, xenophobia

I and Me Confusing You and Yours

Still confused about the whole “me” or “I” thing, I see.

Listen, just slapping “I” in every sentence where there is a need for a pronoun for you isn’t going to make you seem smarter, my friend.

It will make you seem just the opposite to those who know the rules…

So what is the rule when it comes to “me” versus “I” usage?

Grammatically speaking, when you are the subject of a sentence, use “I.” When you are the object of a sentence, use “me.”

Yeah, I know… so what that means for you in plain English/American:

Simply take out the other name(s), noun(s), or pronoun(s) listed in the sentence with you and use whichever pronoun for you (I or me) you would normally use in the same sentence without them.

For instance:

A copy was given to Rick, Steve, and (me/I).

Copy is the subject. The people are the objects.

Without Rick and Steve in the sentence we would easily know to say:

A copy was given to me.

So, the correct sentence would read:

A copy was given to Rick, Steve, and me.

Another example:

Betty, Jane, and (me/I) are going to the library.

The three people are the subjects.

Without Betty and Jane, we of course would say:

I am going to the library.

So, the correct sentence would read:

Betty, Jane, and I are going to the library.

Piece of cake, right?

Of course it is. But that means you’ll have think (to do the grammar math) first before you speak so that may continue to cause you/us some problems.

Anyway…

Follow this simple grammar hack and you and me will get along just fine, my friend.

;)

 

 

Filed under: Language Tagged: communications, dialogue, grammar, grammar hacks, grammar humor, grammar tips, grammar usage, hacks, humor, language, me versus I, writing, writing tips

The Benghazi Tragedy Four Years On…

Benghazi was a tragedy. The security situation that enabled the deaths of four Americans was a tragedy. The US Government’s response to the tragedy was a tragedy. Everything about it was and is tragic.

Especially the politics of it. Tragic.

If you haven’t yet, I strongly recommend watching “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.” In it you’ll see the responsibility for the tragedy can be spread throughout our government; especially at fault are the State Department, the military, and the CIA.

 

But if we as a nation are going to investigate tragedies long after the tragedy has occurred, why aren’t we still investigating the biggest national blunder, cover-up, lie, and tragedy committed by my nation since the Vietnam War?

Benghazi resulted in the death of four Americans. The lies and incompetence that got us into Dubya’s Iraq War resulted in “…4,425 total [American] deaths (including both killed in action and non-hostile) and 32,223 wounded in action (WIA) as a result of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Wikipedia).

Four tragic deaths are still being investigated after four years. The investigation into the tragedy of the Iraq War, then, should last for 17,700 years.

 

And let us not forget Dubya’s culpability due to his incompetence that resulted in the deaths from the Hurricane Katrina tragedy.

 

 

Filed under: Politics Tagged: Benghazi, Benghazi investigation, Benghazi report, CIA, cover-ups, Dubya, George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Hurricane Katrina, Iraq War, politics, State Department, Tragedies, Trey Gowdy

The Brexit of Trump and the Trumpery of it all

So, Donald Trump has been talking a lot on Twitter, of course, and other places about the similarity between the Brexit vote and his candidacy for president.

Many people are equating BREXIT, and what is going on in Great Britain, with what is happening in the U.S. People want their country back!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2016

"@DarrenWaggener: @realDonaldTrump What has happened in the UK in the last 12 hours is exactly what will happen in November..vote TRUMP 2016

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2016

I agree. The same type of people who voted for Brexit in the UK seem to be the same type of people who are supporting Trump here in the US (I’ll leave it up to you to determine what that “type” is). However, I believe the biggest similarities between Brexit and the Trump phenomenon will be in the consequences of each. We are seeing already the devastation Brexit is wreaking upon the world…

Sadly, I believe the consequences of a Trump presidency will be even worse… much, much worse.

To quote my good friend Mellow Curmudgeon:

There’s an oldish word (used more in the 1700-s than nowadays) that my dictionary defines as “something showy but worthless” and traces back to an old French word for deceiving or cheating. The word is “trumpery” and it is ready for a comeback.

I concur.

 

#ABT

#anybodybuttrump

#friendsdontletfriendsdrivedrunkorvotefortrump

 

 

Filed under: Politics Tagged: Brexit, disaster, Donald Trump, financial disaster, global disaster, politics, stock markets, trumpery, United Kingdom, United States

Ashtabula

I’ve never heard of Canadian folk singer David Francey before yesterday but apparently he has heard of my boyhood hometown of Ashtabula, as he sings about it in this lovely song of his.

I also learned yesterday that his tour will bring him to my Southern Pennsylvania manhood hometown in October. How cool is that?

Very.

davidfrancey.com

 

 

Filed under: Music Tagged: Ashtabula, Bob Dylan, Canada, Canadian folk music, Canadian musicians, David Francey, folk music, folk singers, music, Scotland, Scottish folk music, Scottish musicians, singer songwriters

Perfection

In response to long-time political columnist and pundit George Will leaving the Republican Party over Donald Trump as its nominee for president, Trump tweeted:

George Will, one of the most overrated political pundits (who lost his way long ago), has left the Republican Party.He's made many bad calls

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2016

This morning on Fox News Sunday when asked to respond to Trump’s tweet, George Will said:

Trump has an advantage over me. He can say all he knows about any subject in 140 characters. I can’t.

My response to Will’s response to Trump’s response:

Perfection.

#ABT

#anybodybuttrump

#unfortunatelyimwithher

 

 

Filed under: Politics Tagged: Donald Trump, Fox News Sunday, George Will, political pundits, political quotes, politics, pundits, quotes, Republican Party, Trump, twitter