The National Hunger Strike

Image by Niek Verlaan from Pixabay

This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny. I write letters to my grandkids — the Stickies — eventual selves to advise them and haunt them after they've become grups and/or I'm deleted.   

Trigger Warning: This column is rated SSC — Sexy Seasoned Citizens — Perusal by kids, callowyutes, or grups may result in a debilitating meltdown.  

About

Glossary 

Erratically Appearing Hallucinatory Guest Star: Dana — A Gentlereader  

"Hunger is the best pickle." -Benjamin Franklin

Dear (eventual) Grandstickies and Great-Grandstickies (and Gentlereaders),

The national hunger strike has ended, the filibuster fuss still festers, and neither the Freedom to Vote Act nor the John Lewis Voting Rights Act has been enacted. 

However...

{Wait-wait-wait. What national hunger strike?} 

Well, it didn't exactly "go viral," but I'm still ashamed to admit that I wasn't even aware of it till a story about 40 "youth activists" hunger striking to get the bills passed caught my eye relatively recently. Turns out this was their second hunger strike, that I had completely missed the first one, and that...

{I repeat, what national hunger strike?}

Perhaps I should back up a bit.

As I said, I only recently heard about the National Hunger Strike. The first one started/ended and/or was temporarily suspended after 15 days back in December when Uncle Joe promised to make voting rights a priority in 2022. 

According to Fox News, UnPAC (who pay "youth activists" $15/hr.) cofounder Shana Gallegher said that the strikers had experienced dangerously low blood pressure, unbearable headaches, and upwards of ten pounds in weight loss. 

All fifty of the Republican Senators were/are opposed to both bills. All fifty of the Democratic Senators were/are for both bills, and would like to see 'em passed. 

(Since the teams are tied, Vice President Kamala Harris, who plays for the Democrats, was prepared to dash back to the Swamp from the Mexican border — Uncle Joe has placed her in charge of the mass importation of likely Democratic voters undocumented noncitizens  — to vote yea if either measure comes up for a vote.)

Big BUT, the filibuster kerfuffle continues apace. 

{I don't get it. Were the hunger strikers caught eating nutrition bars?}

What?

{Aren't Filibusters like Nutri-Grain bars?}

No. 

A filibuster ("talking a bill to death" -Wikipedia) traditionally refers to a legislator or legislators keeping a bill from passing by keeping the debate going to stall or block its passage, like in that classic movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington?

{I don't watch black and white movies.}

In our Republic, in the House of Representatives, only party leaders can try to talk a bill to death but any given Senator has that power. However, the Swamp being the Swamp... it's complicated.

Sixty senators can vote to end a filibuster. The filibuster isn't in the Constitution, it's part of the rules of the Senate, and the Senate can vote to change the rules whenever they feel like it. They can do away with the filibuster permanently, or temporarily, any time they want.

Another big BUT: It takes 60 votes to change the rules.

Fun Fact: The distinguished men/women/others of the United States Senate don't actually have to spend their valuable time talking a bill to death. Nowadays they can just play the filibuster card. If the senators on the other team don't have 60 votes to stop them everyone agrees to disagree and the Senate moves on to other important matters... like camera opps, or going to lunch.

{What's so complicated about that?} 

Listen, not being a lawyer, a politician, or a parliamentarian, and having a relatively small but relatively enjoyable life, I'm not, as they say (in fact I refuse) gonna go there. There are all sorts of procedural manipulations available to get around the 60 vote problem, you can look them up yourself if you like.

Suffice it to say it's possible for either party to get their way via a simple majority vote if they successfully invoke one of them and if they have 51 votes.  

A third big BUT: Captain Chuck (Schumer) couldn't get fellow teammates Joe (Manchin) and Krysten (Sinema) to go along. Some crap about wanting to preserve a 187-year-old rule/tradition that's helped to keep America from degenerating from a republic into just another mere fragile democracy. 

{Hunger strikers?}

Oh, yeah. 

On day 6 of the second Hunger Strike, in January, 29 hungry and pissed-off young idealists got tired of being ignored and sat down on the steps of the Capitol Building and were busted by the man for "...crossing a police line, and crowding/obstruction/incommoding" said Ms. Gallagher, according to foxnews.com

Two days later they gave up, "We ended the strike because we lost, and it is really infuriating that nothing we did over the past year … was enough," said Shana Gallagher. By day eight they were "delirious" and "uncomfortable" and "tired." 

I suspect that Mr. Smith/Jimmy Stewart wouldn't agree with their politics but would be proud of them regardless. 

Poppa loves you,

Have an OK day

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...Because Joe Rogan

Image by Click on 👍🏼👍🏼, consider ☕ Thank you! 🤗 from Pixabay

This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny. I write letters to my grandkids — the Stickies — eventual selves to advise them and haunt them after they've become grups and/or I'm deleted.   

Trigger Warning: This column is rated SSC — Sexy Seasoned Citizens — Perusal by kids, callowyutes, or grups may result in a debilitating meltdown.  

About

Glossary 

Erratically Appearing Hallucinatory Guest Star: Dana — A Gentlereader  

"I talk shit for a living — that’s why this is so baffling to me. If you’re taking vaccine advice from me, is that really my fault? What dumb shit were you about to do when my stupid idea sounded better?" -Joe Rogan

Dear Grandstickies, Great-Grandstickies, Gentlereaders (and Neil Young),

I'm certain that there are very few H. sapiens that are not familiar with the fact that the Donald — and no shortage of other famous ancient Boomers — can't shut up, get out of the way, and find a way to amuse him/her or themselves without requiring a spotlight and an audience to get through the day. 

May I respectfully suggest:

 

Kids and grandkids? 

Philanthropy (without the need to fashion yourself a self-made expert on everdamnthing and who must share your wisdom and guidance with the little people, like Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg?).

Good ol' fashioned drug abuse and sexual debauchery?

New fangled, high-minded drug use? Contribute to/participate in the cutting-edge research being done with psilocybin by reputable scientists that are having amazing, life-altering, highly positive results? 

{Ahem.}

Sorry, what I had intended to say next was that there are probably people not familiar with the (now fading) use of the phrase, ...because Trump, a joking reference to the fact some people blamed the Donald, and many still do, for everything that is wrong with/goes wrong on the planet Earth. 

Thanks to Neil Young, and some fellow perpetual teenagers, ...because Joe Rogan appears to have at least temporarily displaced ...because Trump in certain circles. Not to worry Trumpeters and Trumpettes, I'm certain that the Donald will say/do something appalling enough to displace Mr. Rogan sooner or later. 

But just now, even National Progressive Radio has noticed, and is worried about the impact of, Mr. Rogan -- a sorta/kinda Eric Hoffer of the new millennium -- on the zeitgeist. 

Just the other day I was sitting in the parking lot of my local Gordon Food Service store prior to entering and purchasing a mess o' Purnell's Old Folks sausages (it's "goood-od") — if they were in stock and before the price rises yet again (tip o' the hat to Uncle Joe) — and listening to some over-enunciating women and soy-boy sounding men discussing the Rogan/Young kerfuffle. 

{A brief description of said kerfuffle for the unaware would seem to be in order.} 

Good point, Dana.

Joe Rogan is the host of a wildly successful, long-form podcast (2 - 4 hours) that's simply about Mr. Rogan shooting the sh... breeze with a guest or guests about something that Mr. R. finds interesting, relevant, and/or is curious about.

Rogan is an open-minded, intelligent, man with Deplorable roots who's interested in and curious about a wide range of subjects. He's also a successful comedian and actor with a mixed martial arts background who recently fled Wokistan (California) and now resides in Texas. 

He's not officially a liberal, a progressive, nor a conservative. He's Joe Rogan. He leans left. He's got some questions, he's got some opinions.

Neil Young is a 76-year-old "rocker." He's upset about a couple of Rogan's shows/guests whose Covid opinions don't jive with those of the 81-year-old Anthony Fauci (which may or may not have shifted ,yet again, since these particular shows hit the web). So he played the Covid Disinformation card and demanded that Spotify drop Rogan or stop playing Mr. Young's music. 

Some of his fellow seventy-something "rockers" did the same thing. Spotify wished them well and complied with their wishes; the planet is still spinning.

Mr. Rogan, whose audience keeps growing as much of corporate media continues to implode, is currently under attack by a mob of torch and pitchfork-wielding Wokies, an offensive being led by his Lamestream competitors. 

He's gotta go, and not just because of this particular incident. 

He's an unashamed traditional man and rejects the teachings of the Wokies. He's obviously a nice guy that loves his life, his wife, and his kids. He's grateful for and amazed by his success and regularly points out he's as fallible as you and me so please take him, and anything you hear on his show, with a grain of salt.  

But because of his hoooge following, he's probably/hopefully impossible to cancel... which does not endear him to certain Neo-Jacobins ...because Joe Rogan. 

However, that hasn't stopped them from trying, or from large schools of digital pilot fish stalking him around the Dizzinformation Ocean. 

According to AmericanMind.org, "a media organization called PatriotTakes published a supercut [compilation video] of Rogan saying 'the n-word.'" I went looking and discovered that PatriotTakes has a YouTube channel with nothing on it but a brief introductory video  — about PatriotTakes. They have a webpage that consists of the same video — and a brief pitch soliciting donations. American Mind says they receive money from a shady SuperPAC called MediasTouch. 

Ain't democracy, transparency, and social media in modern America great! I can't find the original video on YouTube, but there are plenty of videos about the video because Joe Rogan.

What's important is the fact that a cracker used that word at all; the actual context is irrelevant. Virtue signaling and/or accumulating readers or viewers is all that matters. Find a dog bites man angle and damn the facts! Full speed ahead! Keep stirring the shyte or you're gonna have to get a real job. 

No less a beloved, storied institution than Inside Edition has reported that internationally renowned thespian and public intellectual, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, is upset about the crisis and has canceled his wildly anticipated cage match with Joe "The Racist" Rogan.  

 

Poppa loves you,

Have an OK day

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Hopin' For Some Global Warming

A Mr. Cranky's neighborhood episode. 

15% more words this week at no extra charge!

This is a weekly column consisting of letters to my perspicacious progeny. I write letters to my grandkids — the Stickies — eventual selves to advise them and haunt them after they've become grups and/or I'm deleted.   

Trigger Warning: This column is rated SSC — Sexy Seasoned Citizens — Perusal by kids, callowyutes, or grups may result in a debilitating meltdown.  

About

Glossary 

Erratically Appearing Hallucinatory Guest Star: Dana — A Gentlereader  

"Sharks are as tough as those football fans who take their shirts off during games in Chicago in January, only more intelligent." -Dave Barry 

Dear (eventual) Grandstickies and Great-Grandstickies (and Gentlereaders),

Unhappily, Neo-Hooterville was hammered by a horrendous heavy snowfall followed by single-digit temperatures not long ago. The majority of the resulting iceberg-covered sidewalks are still untouched by human hands or feet and I'm hopin' for some global warming because for some reason, this, or something very much like it, happens every year. 

As this is being written we're eagerly anticipating the arrival of a few days of temperatures in the balmy low-forties that the weatherpersons are predicting. Fingers crossed.

But as everyone knows, malevolent butterflies on the other side of the world regularly get together in the parking lots of their favorite bars after closing time and flap their wings so as to screw up the predictions of American meteorologists.

Personally, I think the Pooteen or Xi Dada is behind this phenomenon, maybe both of 'em.   

 

Nowadays, as you might imagine, passable driveways are important, sidewalks not so much. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled back in 1993 that homeowners have no legal obligation to shovel their sidewalks and no shortage of Hootervillians take them at their word.

However...

A gaggle of aggravated citizens that managed to get out of their driveways showed up at a city council meeting to demand that the "city" should clear their sidewalks for them. I wasn't there but I'll betcha a bottle-a-pop the fact that Hooterville has been shrinking for years and can't afford to properly maintain the sidewalks currently hidden under the frozen tundra was not discussed. 

And...

I know for a fact that no one suggested merging with other surrounding "cities" and townships that have the same/similar problem(s) and should've joined forces a looong time ago.

{If you weren't there how do you know they didn't?} 

It's the local equivalent of saying Voldemort out loud, Dana, it just isn't done. 

On the other hand...

The good news is that the Hooterville School System, which has been on fiscal watch or in fiscal emergency (with the exception of 2016 - 2019) every year since 2003, was officially released from its current fiscal emergency on 1/27. 

Go Dragons!   

Unfortunately, at nearby Youngstown State University, which despite quite reasonable tuition rates (comparatively speaking at least), enrollment is so far down this year (I can't imagine why) some academic programs and staff have both been cut. Fortunately, the budget for the athletics program was increased by $885,000.

Go Penguins! 

The condition of the campus sidewalks after our recent blizzard made the local news. One freshperson was quoted as saying, “The roads and the sidewalks were disgusting...and it was definitely a slipping hazard for some of the people that have disabilities on campus.”

I know what you're thinking, gentlereaders, why didn't they pass out snow shovels to the students with athletic scholarships and tell them to have at it? I'll betcha a box-a-donuts it's against union rules.

{Feelin' folksy this week, Homer? I know for a fact you came up on the mean streets of Pittsburgh, and Sister Mary Mcgillicuddy taught you not to drop letters when pronouncing words.}  

   

Dang straight. I call it muh Dan Rather, pre-packaged folksy quips strategery. He's got FU-level wealth and he's still workin' at 90 in spite of the Killian controversy. I need a new columnist's chair, and I don't know how much longer my ol' space heater is gonna' hold up.   

{Do you smell smoke?}

Which brings us to Duuude, Dude's little brother and one of the Stickies that reside here at Casa dé Chaos.   

Duuude, who only a few months ago was a tiny kid with a big heart (that he wore on his sleeve), is now a broad-shouldered young man with a topknot and a big heart (that he wears on his sleeve) who once tried out for the middle school football team but was defeated by a combination of 90° weather and a mild case of asthma. 

Now in high school, while lifting weights in an afterschool program he was recruited to play football next season for Hooterville High by the coach. 

A lot of kids young men who have been on the team since ninth grade are graduating this year and there's a dearth of volunteers clamoring to replace them. Nowadays, all sorts of parents would prefer that schools switch to playing flag football, even in Hooterville. 

So the coach is doing what a high school coach has gotta do, find replacements wherever he/she/they can. Duuude is training hard four days a week after school and loving it. He's also discovered what his mom uses Epsom salts for. 

The morning after we got six feet of snow, and before the dramatic temperature drop the next night, Duuuude and a buddy were out shoveling sidewalks and getting all the work they could handle. I thought it was only for the money but I later found it was homework assigned by the coach. 

It seems he also acts as a life coach who has taken it upon himself to instruct his charges in the sort of old-fashioned values and virtues, like community service, that I thought would get him censored by the teachers union or the school district.

"He's an older guy, like you, Poppa." 

It would seem that our tiny high school could teach our local mid-sized college some big lessons. 

Poppa loves you,

Have an OK day

P.S.1 As I put the finishing touches on this missive a new winter weather advisory is in effect. As my cursor hovers over the publish button there's an additional three feet of snow on Hooterville's sidewalks.

P.S.2 Apropos of nothing above, recently some world-class economists released a meta-study, a study of studies, that concludes that lockdowns didn't do much to stop the spread of Wuflu, but did cause a great deal of collateral damage. 

This story has received almost no coverage by our (alleged) news media. 

Scroll down to share this column/access oldies. If you enjoy my work, and no advertising, please consider buying me a coffee via PayPal/credit-debit card.    

Feel free to comment and set me straight on Cranky's Facebook page. I post my latest columns on Saturdays, other things other days. Cranky don't tweet.