Waking Up to a Non Fact Based World

On Tuesday night, November 8th, I was very disappointed by the preliminary national election results coming in that I went to bed hopeful.  Hopeful that I'd wake up to a new brighter November 9th, along with my other fact-based fellow US citizens.

Instead, I woke up to the realization that the White Walkers (aka the Walking Ignorant) have chosen not only the most unqualified candidate for POTUS in the history of our democracy, but also a majority (54 of 100) Republican senators who
- will approve SCOTUS nominations be more like Thomas and Scalia
- deny climate change exists
- believe that women should make 76 cents on the dollar that a man makes
- like pre-existing conditions and denied health care, when they'll finally repeal the Affordable Care Act
- want the United States to look more like the failed state of Kansas than the flourishing Republic of California
- want their wives and daughters to be 9s or 10s and that it's fine to "grab them by the pussy" when they have celebrity status
and...
- who do not care about actual facts. Facts, verified and authenticated, not Brietbarted, not trumped up, not delusional and paranoid fabrications.

The Down Jones has plummeted 750 points in less than a day as I write this last posting.  There's no sense or use in worrying or hand wringing.  All I, my family, and my friends who live in a fact based world can do now is endure the next 2 years, and then the next 2 after that.

I'll be advocating that the Republic of California build a wall on our Eastern Border, to stop the influx of non-fact based immigrants who embraced Breitbart and Infowars over Politifact and Snopes (and The Guardian, and The Economist, and every reputable media outlet and fact checking source on the planet).

And since history has proven that fascist regimens and the masses who support them are unkind to journalists, intellectuals, and others who live in a fact based world, this will be my last JustJoeP posting of the year.  Perhaps the last one ever, as there's really no sense to shouting into a hurricane's wind anymore.  The vast majority reject the facts I present, and it just makes my voice hoarse over time.  Mike Judge's prescient film Idiocracy and Scott Adams' predictions almost a year ago were more accurate than any logical, fact-based citizen of the world were willing to believe.  Heck, even Michael Moore - who is often incredible hyperbolic - was accurate in his Trumpland predictions.

The White Walkers have won for a generation.  Winter's not coming... Winter is here, already.  It arrived November 9th, 2016.  America, you had a pretty good run... 240 years.  Now, it's the Chinese's turn I guess.  Commenting further here will only damage my and my family's best interests, so with a heavy heart, I say good bye to blogging and social media.  My real friends, those who live in a fact based world, still know how to reach me.

Adieu.

The Walking Ignorant

My colleague Patrick coined a phrase this afternoon while he and I were conversing at work about next week's election:  "The Walking Ignorant".  Patrick is a resident of Georgia, a very smart guy, and he's a genuinely nice person as well as being a good co-worker.  Since "The Walking Dead" is supposed to be based in Georgia originally (now they're up in rural "Alexandria" Virginia, in the drawn-out series, that I honestly wish would just end - they killed off Glen in a meaningless, brutal, and gratuitous death by barbwire covered baseball bat bashing from the current incarnation of what the worst human urges could manifest themselves) so the "Walking Ignorant" label is particularly poignant.

"The Walking Ignorant" is aimed at supporters of Donald J. Drumpf (his real name, not "Trump" that he made up when he was a kid), as it symbolizes their willful ignorance of facts and their embrace of a false equivalency.  Their candidate Donald spouts lies constantly - according to Politifact more than 75% of the time he's lying - but they scream about Hillary Clinton lying about her emails?  Yeah, that's equally as bad.... right?  Or far worse?  No, it isn't.  Politifact rates Hillary Clinton as lying about 25% of the time, or, for those who are not good at math, Drumpf lies three times more than Clinton does, and the lies he tells are massive whopper ridiculous lies.  But "The Walking Ignorant" don't care about facts or lies or the existence of audio recordings of their candidate contradicting himself constantly, repeatedly.

To illustrate how incredibly ignorant and misinformed the typical Drumpf supporter is, all one needs to do is look at this Daily Show piece from Jordan Klepper who perfectly nails it:



The sheer ignorance, willful ignorance of these Drumpf supporters is beyond description.  It is impossible to write more outlandish racist and paranoid dialogue than what this clip depicts.

I wonder if Jordan feels like he loses a little bit of his soul... his life force... his will to live, when he does these kinds of field pieces?  I know I sure couldn't do it without wanting to slap most of these people upside the head who see themselves somehow as 'patriotic Americans' ... when they're really just an illustration of how massively misinformed the masses are within the American electorate.

People, facts matter.  Actual, real facts, not fabrications or things you 'believe are true' but which there is no actual factual basis to justify that they are true.

108 Year Drought Is Over

2 minutes ago, the Wall Street Journal stole my blog post headline... but that's OK WSJ.
Link here:  http://www.wsj.com/articles/chicago-cubs-win-the-world-series-ending-108-year-drought-1478149589

A 10th inning rain delay last night didn't dampen my spirits, as I watched in disbelief that the Chicago Cubs finally won a world series, after enduring a 108 year drought.  It was a great game, and a great series.  Sure, Cleveland has waited 68 years since they last won a world series... but I hope they win again in the next 40 years so that the Cub's epic loss record can remain.  I only wish my Dzia Dzia who died almost 30 years ago didn't have a chance to see his beloved Cubs win a world series before he left this mortal coil (he was alive for the 1908 win, as a very young child).

The videos at this early hour are not the most comprehensive or captivating, but I am sure better ones will be posted later today and this week.



Cleveland fought a good series, with very talented players.  I won't say anything disparaging here, though I often shouted less than positive comments at my television over the last week and a 1/2.  While Akron and Canton are two of my least favorite places neighboring Cleveland, where I have spent far too much time for work purposes, Cleveland itself is not a bad place, and Clevelanders (or Clevelandites?) are generally nice people, from the dozen or so who I have met.