Picklesworth @Picklesworth@social.quodverum.com

Is it possible that McCauliffe's numbers were so bad due to the school board stuff that changing the subject, and even getting caught at it, was worth it? Because the whole Tiki thing changes the subject back to the red v. blue tribal thing and away from the government vs. families thing. It seems incredible that a clumsy, race-baiting false flag op is an improvement for them, but it probably is.

I am pleased to find that my state of Iowa has banned mask mandates by schools, cities, and counties.

The response, "We don't know what's coming down the road," said Rep. Christina Bohannan, D-Iowa City. "And we shouldn't tie the hands of local governments and school boards in responding to any kinds of future illnesses or threats."

My response? Tying your hands is PRECISELY what we want to do. You have shown yourself to despise our liberty. Get bent.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2021/05/19/covid-19-mask-mandates-iowa-house-votes-ban-schools-local-governments-coronavirus-public-health-cdc/5167025001/

Well, it took 13 months and countless human contacts, but I can finally say that I have the 'Rona. The great news is that I've hardly been around anybody but my family since I felt under the weather (though I tested negative last week). What's also great is that it fell between Easter and a family vacation. I was absolutely exhausted after a year of extra decisions and trying new things, plus Lent. And now we've got to quarantine for 10 days before a short week, then vacation. Almost perfect!

10/10
None of us do. I surely don't. I've been absolutely wrong-footed any number of times. I thought I could see what must happen. And I was wrong. But I do know this with absolute confidence. Trump has always played to win. I've read several of his books. He's never been interested in getting a participation trophy or even in placing second. He means to win and he'll do what it takes. And so they hate him. But not more than I love him!

End

9/10
They hate Trump because they can sense with him that it is destroy or be destroyed. And so they chose to destroy him at any cost. And they have chosen so poorly. Like Omer he put them constantly off-balance. They could never tell what was true and what wasn't, what was important and what was just a trick. They never knew what direction he was coming from and when he would arrive.

8/10
But they can't say any of this. And so they accuse Trump of being a liar (though lies are the very tools of their work). They tar Trump as a racist and a sexist (though they themselves have no respect for anybody but themselves - if indeed they have even that). They accuse him of being a crook (though they defraud a nation of billions, year after year, decade after decade).

7/10
Our American "elites" hate Trump because Trump plays to win and they like a rigged game. They hate him because he won't let them abuse us without a challenge. Trump makes them uncomfortable. They want to be able to steal and call themselves philanthropists; they want to despise their inferiors under the guise of care. They want to be the arbiters of taste and truth so that they can dismiss anyone they like without the bother of making an argument.

6/10
What I began to notice is that this bureaucrat didn't hate Omer for telling untruths. He hated him because Omer was going to do whatever it took to win. But rather than be honest about that fact, he raged against the dishonesty, as if all Bosnian bureaucrats and aristocrats were selfless truth tellers committed to justice!

5/10
"The main and only important thing for him is that at all times, with each individual, he achieves what he needs, through lies, the truth, threats, direct moral or physical pressure. All the rest: reputation, respect, morality, immorality, honor and logic, all that for him is mere words..."

4/10
And he resents this more than he can say. He tells himself that he resents it because untruths are being told; norms are being broken. "People consider him a dangerous liar and heartless cynic who respects neither himself nor others. But that doesn't bother him. He doesn't give it a thought. I've never seen a man so indifferent to what others think and say about him.

3/10
His letter continues by detailing the way that this marshal lies. He lies partially and fully. He lies brazenly. He lies subtly. He even tells the whole truth. Or perhaps the whole truth except for some meaningless detail. The bureaucrat recognizes that the lies put him off balance. He's never sure what's important or what's not. If there are travel plans, he can't be sure when the Omer will arrive or from which direction.

2/10
But there is a deeper resentment that grows. In the chapter in question, a bureaucrat takes to writing letters (which he soon burns) to express his frustration with Omer. "Oh, compared to him, what are all the liars of the world? Nothing. Dilettantes, unskilled novices, half-schooled pupils and apprentices. He lies with the inevitability of natural phenomena, he lies the way the wind blows..."

Thread 1/10
In finishing the novel "Omer Pasha Latas: Marshal to the Sultan" last night, I read a chapter that was fascinating. The book is about this Omer, a high commander in the Turkish army (circa 1850) who is sent by a reforming sultan to pacify Bosnia. He is immediately resented by the local aristocracy because it is their 'oxen' who are being gored.