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Monday, May 8, 2023

Shoot du Jour

stilton’s place, stilton, political, humor, conservative, cartoons, jokes, hope n’ change, allen premium outlets mall, allen, shooter, texas

I live about 15 minutes away from the Allen Premium Outlets mall, where a deranged shooter went on a killing spree Saturday. Do I shop there often? No. Have I shopped there in the past? Yes.

Sadly, there really does seem to be a mass shooting almost every day now. People scramble for information to try to make sense of these tragedies while talking heads who really don't have a clue feel called upon to pontificate. Including me, it now seems.

As of this writing on Sunday morning the body count stands at nine dead (including the shooter) and seven more wounded. Or not - the news reports vary.  Victims range in age from 5 to 61. And there are appalling details that I have no intention of sharing here.

I'd like to say that no one I know was hurt or killed, but I actually won't really know that until the victims' names are released.

Meanwhile, like everyone else, I'm trying to piece together a story based on very incomplete and perhaps inaccurate information. We're told that the shooter was in his 30s and lived with his parents. It was reported that police requested a translator to talk to the shooter's parents, so we can assume that they (and he) weren't "from around here," as we say in Texas. Of course, ascribing any importance to that fact would label me xenophobic and bigoted, so I certainly won't do that. Nor will I speculate on whether the distinctive tattoo on the back of one of the killer's hands might be some sort of gang sign.  For all I know, it's just a bar code applied when these lunatics roll off the assembly line. 

Neighbors called the shooter "quiet" and "a loner," which comes as no great shock. He frequently wore the clothing of a security guard - but who knows if that was avocation or affectation? Had he worked at the shopping outlet? Was there a reason in his mind for this time, this place, and these people? I don't know. But I feel a need to know, as if an "aha!" moment will tell me how to ensure the safety of family, friends, and myself in the future. Which is a fool's errand; you can't outthink madness and evil.

So my thoughts ramble. I think about the young marine on a subway who took steps to subdue a man threatening violence to others and is now likely facing a charge of murder. And I wonder if this is going to dissuade possible heroes from coming to the aid of others in the future.

I don't want to waste time talking about guns. Guns, when used like this, are terrible tools rather than the actual problem. Mental illness is a problem. Isolation is a problem. Cultural degradation is a problem. The celebration of violence (I'm looking at you, John Wick) is a problem. The orchestrated pitting of one citizen against another is a problem. And our nation's loss of social and spiritual values is at the heart of it all.

In other words, I have nothing new to say and no magical insights. But I can confidently speculate that politics and politicians can have no positive impact on this nightmare. It is the soul of our nation that needs repair and real change will require a cultural shift that I can't even imagine. But I can damn well hope for it.

UPDATE

We know a little more now. The shooter was a 33-year-old Hispanic who was licensed as a security guard between 2016 and 2020 although sources aren't saying if he ever worked at the mall. CNN has predictably reported (in headline-sized type) "INVESTIGATORS PROBE POSSIBLE LINK TO RIGHT-WING EXTREMISM." The "possible link" being an insignia on the shooter's shirt saying "RWDS" which, according to the totally unbiased Southern Poverty Law Center, might stand for "Right Wing Death Squad," a group of bloodthirsty Conservative terrorists whose secret conspiratorial plans have only been thwarted to date because of their taste for matching embroidered polo shirts.

There has also been speculation that the tattoo on the shooter's hand represents the Hispanic "Tango Blast" gang based in Houston, although it is said to also be popular ornamentation for those in the Hip-Hop community. 

And Right Wingers, of course.

Friday, May 5, 2023

A.I. - A.I. - Oh!

stilton’s place, stilton, political, humor, conservative, cartoons, jokes, hope n’ change, kamala harris, artificial intelligence, biden

In a twist that even James "Terminator" Cameron didn't see coming, mankind was doomed yesterday when vice-president Kamala Harris was tasked with keeping Artificial Intelligence from wiping out humanity.

Ms. Harris met with representatives from Google, Microsoft, and other leading A.I. enterprises to discuss the potential risks of the rapidly metastasizing technology. It's unclear whether Harris got this existentially important assignment owing to her great success protecting our nation's southern border or her complete mastery of sophisticated scientific concepts. By which we mean "Venn diagrams." 

Still, putting Harris into such a critical position may not be the astoundingly stupid and surely fatal mistake it appears to be. Because the only way to slow down Artificial Intelligence at this point is to let it try to conduct conversations with the vice-president and melt its circuitry trying to figure out what the hell she's talking (and cackling) about.

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To give credit where credit is due, Kamala may actually have accomplished something in her talk with the A.I. moguls, because I just tried to use Microsoft's "Bing" A.I. art generator to make a picture of the vice-president battling an evil computer. And it turns out that users are forbidden from making pictures of Harris. So while WE may not be protected from A.I.'s abuses, it seems that she is...for now.

So this is what I had to settle for. Not a true illustration of the situation but, symbolically speaking, it captures the spirit of Kamala Harris matching wits with Artificial Intelligence...

And as long as I'm screwing around with an A.I. art generator, let me wish everyone a delightful Cinco de Mayo with this image of a government-funded mariachi band welcoming new voters as they enter our country...

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

One Good Intern Deserves Another

johnny optimism, medical, humor, sick, jokes, boy, wheelchair, doctors, hospital, stilton jarlsberg, tucker carlson, don lemon, interns

After so many years at the forefront of journalism, I feel like it's my duty to give back to a newer, younger generation. So I've opened my doors to these jobless guys and offered to teach them the basics of news gathering, analysis, and humor management. 

For starters, I'll have them see what they can dig up about sad stories of elder abuse like this one...

Biden's official announcement was both predictable and flabbergastingly awful. He wants to "finish what (he's) started" which I think we can safely assume is murdering our nation. He also declared that he needs to continue the fight against right-wing MAGA extremists who hate freedom, women, minorities, senior citizens, voting rights, health, and the sound fiscal policy of basing our nation's economy on freshly-printed Monopoly money.