jasonderoga86 | Entries tagged with truth

What is UP, Dreamwidth Family?

At long last, I’ve completed the next part in the Un-Iverse epic that is “The Pontue Legacy”, and getting it outta the way now, I had SO many good feels reading “Part IV: The Blessed Child.” This chapter left me with an even higher respect for series creator Matt Zimmer, especially given his statements on the entertainment industry and the dark side of fandoms. Not gonna preach too much about it, let’s just jump right in, shall we?

The Un-Iverse #12 – The Pontue Legacy, Part IV: “The Blessed Child”

• Oh, man, can you say coincidence? Reading the opening page with Zyle and Sarah promising each other’s partnership to the end while playing “True to Your Heart” by 98 Degrees w/Stevie Wonder from Disney’s Mulan soundtrack was just too perfect, especially with Zyle’s impulsive reluctance for perceivably “moving too fast”; she loves you, Zyle, and you know that can’t be bad… you should be glad! I don’t mean to invoke American politics, but Sarah’s view of Zyle’s leadership as the President of Kosram really echoes the current sacrifice of Joe Biden. Sarah refers to Zyle as the heart and soul of the movement to take the fight to Sorceress Augatha, basically calling him the hero, the Mjolnir-wielding Captain America who’ll assemble the resistance to make their stand. It just feels really fitting considering the current times and me happening to be playing “True to Your Heart” – you gotta be true to your heart, Zyle. She loves you; you can accept it now.

🎵True to your heart, you must be true to your heart
That's when the heavens will part
And baby, shower you with my love
Open your eyes
Your heart can tell you no lies
And when you're true to your heart
I know it's gonna lead straight to me...🎵

• Bob the Wizard was responsible for the banishment of the Dragons to the lair that now stands as the Dragon Council – damn, one human wizard single-handedly defeated an entire race of fire-breathing warriors means Bob was the shit. That takes guts from a human, magician or not. Gotta respect that. Eventually Augatha made a pact with them, but they broke the cardinal rule; they didn’t tell her they stashed the egg. And for that, well… it’s a “hell hath no fury like a woman deceived” lowdown in the works. And she’s already at the Council – our protagonists haven’t even set out yet. I believe the trope of “the shit’s gonna hit the fan” will commence in about the next two seconds it’ll take for me to scroll down to the next page, so…

• Dragon Springer, well met. You wouldn’t happen to know a human from Earth-1 named Jerry, would you? Judging by your attire, I think you two would get along great! Boco, you’d fit right in with the Sesame Street crew -- but you play nice with Elmo, got it? Larnath, my man, there’s a fella from Middle-Earth named Smaug who’d jive right with you, chemistry-wise. Oh, and uh, your cousin stopping by to say hello… and goodbye. She might throw in a “burn in muthafuckin’ Hell!” too, just giving y’all a heads up.

• Springer… see, Jerry from Earth-1 is known for fights breaking out on his pad, but I don’t recall him ever trying to start one. And if you know your “cousin” is a Sorceress, what exactly makes you think it’s a good idea to be lecturing her on the issue of respect? I mean, Boco and Lanarth picked up the hint that you overstepped your boundaries in one second just by doing that. Better prepare yourself, pal…

• See? Just like that, the ultimatum comes down. You already screwed up once by waxing pompous arrogance, Springer. You’d best hand over the goods now if you don’t want to lose your seemingly already meaningless life. The girl don’t play that, thought you’d have figured that out by now. And she’s implying it with the tried-and-true threat of intending to prove that indeed, there are many things worse than death.

• Holy—okay, this is new. Los Amigos Dragones have plotted something far more sinister as a response to Augatha’s threat; they’re blackmailing her. My repsonse? I’m just gonna paraphrase to ‘em: “Let me get this straight. You think that your cousin-in-theory, the most powerful sorceress you’ve ever beheld, of whom the Un-Iverse itself is terrified due to her immense power, isn’t a problem because you truly think you have an effective bargaining chip in play that’ll keep her at play… and you seriously wanna blackmail her, now of all times? …Good luck.” Ho-hoooh, this is gonna be good.

• Okay… I stand corrected on all counts. Turns out what I said before about Zyle was apparently only the tip of the iceberg. This guy isn’t just a magician’s apprentice, president, and hero – he’s the freaking namesake of this chapter of The Pontue Legacy. Dreamwidth Family, I give you… Zyle, the Blessed Child himself. And he literally is. I mean, the title card for the episode appears right afterwards, epic soundtrack by John Williams and all. And Augatha knows it, as Dragon Springer conjures an image of the other half of her soon-to-be-problem: a make-out session between Zyle and Sarah teetering on into censorship territory (we are watching a PG-rated visual comic, and Matt Zimmer is a man of standards). Sarah possesses knowledge about Pontue that if passed to Zyle will effectively Infinity Gauntlet-Snap Augatha out of existence. That’s some serious shit right there, and our Sorceress is terrified. It’s now decision time; like, split second decision time. Time to roll out the dice, deal her hand. This is one outcome she hasn’t foreseen.

• BUT she remains dead set on her goal – whether Los Amigos Dragones can keep the egg hidden matters not, and if Sarah finds the egg, our lady Augatha will have the princess dead at her feet anyway. Again, “hell hath no fury like a sorceress deceived” and all. Relishing the fact that she literally just played the three angry Gigante-lizards, Augatha boastfully takes her victory lap while Los Amigos Dragones look at each other with a singular facial expression that reads, “Dude… we just got royally fawked.”

• Now realizing their very lives are slated for execution, Los Amigos Dragones have no choice but to resort to Plan X – they have to kill Augatha or be killed themselves. It is time to release the Beast itself! Larnath seems most interested, judging by his sadistic grin and the fact that the mention of slaughtering Augatha just brightened his day in a nanosecond. Oh yeah, he’s gonna enjoy this.

• Zyle is a man after my own heart; to borrow a line from Milo James Thatch from the animated Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire, when it comes time to decide on something, it doesn’t matter if it’s the smart thing – what matters is if it’s the right thing. But his Veep suddenly drops in and seems visibly unsure of the viability of his superior’s mission. Zyle responds by invoking a “failsafe servant” protocol similar to America’s process in the event a sitting President dies or is otherwise unable to effectively carry out their duties; if Zyle never returns, due to loss of contact or being killed in action, then Kosram will have the Veep serve as an interim President. The Veep will also be tasked with providing continuing support for Princess Sarah in her quest to take back the Kingdom of Finn. The VP is honored but doesn’t sugarcoat the facts; he doesn’t have full confidence in his abilities and knows next to nothing about leading a kingdom. Again, I don’t mean to mention American politics, but the situation oddly reflects the times today – Joe Biden deciding to have his VP Kamala Harris lead the Democratic Presidential Ticket for 2024 (now with her own VP pick Tim Walz at her side), putting his hope and faith in her to protect and strengthen American democracy is quite similar to the trust Zyle has placed on his VP, confident that his possible successor will find his way through the pressures of a position of leadership. It’s a neat emotional moment where I see two people who are terrified of what the future may bring, but who have also accepted that fear and have focused on having faith in each other and the world to strive towards defying the odds. It shows the kinds of emotions that run through the minds of heroes who are pushed to the brink – sometimes to an acceptance that the ultimate sacrifice may very well be necessary – when the odds are mountainous.

• Oh my God, Disney nostalgia overload here! Just as our protagonists prepare for what is arguably a daunting travel prospect – a three-day trek, followed by another’s day worth of steady trek and ending with a flippin’ two day mountain hike… all on HORSEBACK, mind you – Zyle reminds us all again WHY they call him a “magician”; Nope, he didn’t say “hocus-pocus” (that would’ve been SO uncharacteristic of him, wouldn’t y’all agree?), he stylishly channels magical electricity like the BOSS he is, and transforms each and every one of our heroes’ equestrian transports into dashing Pegasus horses! Yeah, man, they goin’ to the Mountaintop in style. I’m seeing Disney’s Hercules flashbacks all over again… it’s… so overwhelming, and so… beautiful. Matt, I HAVE to express some REAL gratitude for this scene, as Hercules remains one of my favorite animated Disney flicks since elementary school (even if James Woods is a prick now). And our Princess, understandably, feels like she’s on Cloud Nine at this point with her personal Pegasus, the wind on her face, and the closeness of her sweetheart more present than ever… sigh…

• At Sorceress Augatha’s campsite, however, the situation is nowhere near as optimistic… at least, as far as the two sentient footwear entities, Fuzzy and Scuzzy are concerned. Fuzzy is visibly unnerved about Augatha’s brazen confidence over coming out as the victor in the conflict ahead, and especially about just how much of a potential MacGuffin that Zyle could be, given his status as The Blessed Child. Scuzzy doesn’t wanna hear it, as his faith in his sorceress remains unshaken. Or does it? I mean, let’s hear Fuzzy out for a second; Scuzzy wants to believe that Augatha generally always comes out on top, regardless of being wrong sometimes. But Fuzzy begs to differ on that, citing that the last time Augatha was “wrong” about something, well… the sun – the light that God was said to have “turned on” on Day One of “Project: Genesis” – ceased to exist for THREE FRIGGIN' YEARS. Three years without sunlight would surely kill every living being on this planet, no joke. Fuzzy’s basically asking, “do we really wanna risk THAT again?” And y’know what? Scuzzy suddenly gets it, and he silently calls his own prideful piety into question. And just when things couldn’t get any tenser…

• THERE THEY ARE! The Kosram Cavalry has already arrived (yeah, having wings kinda makes things a lot easier. The power of flight is so underrated in this day and age…) Tork and Augatha are understandably surprised, but the Sorceress is still not intimidated upon laying her eyes on the Blessed Child bearing down on her. That… can’t be a good sign. Sarah and Zyle join hands, seemingly preparing for some kind of ritual, with Augatha looking on with a pair of binos that look like they could give the night-vision goggles from Jurassic Park’s SUV transports a run for the money in efficiency, given the weather conditions at the moment…

• Winifred and Krac are psyched up and ready to join the others, but not before… oh, come on, Winifred. You KNOW you wanted to get in a little lip-locking with him. Don’t lie to us, you wanted that. You trying to give the princess some attitude on that? Lady, Sarah knows a romantic moment when she sees one. You saw her plant a nice one on Zyle lips right at the beginning of this chapter! There’s no shame on being open about your infatuation with your beau here. S’all good.

• Zyle says that to enter the mountain ahead, the earthly construct demands an offering: the blood of either a Magician or a Sorceress. He offers his own blood, which triggers an opening awash with heavenly light. Opening another door with Zyle’s blood leads our intrepid protagonists… right into the mitts of Los Amigos Dragones! Sarah politely requests the egg she’s been questing for, but the three reptilian giants say that’s to be decided later as there are more pressing issues to discuss. King Krac is already leery, judging by the sinister glares from the dragon buddies that this is NOT going to be a friendly meet-and-greet. Dragon Springer, glad that he has his guests right where he wants them, narrows his eyes and grins menacingly as he assures them they aren’t here for serve as sustenance for the three dragons’ bellies, but rather “entertainment”… Oh, God. If he’s thinking about enacting his version of “The Jerry Springer Show”, then I’m gonna say right now that in the Un-Iverse, that very thought has me scared as hell. And that… is where the cliffhanger ending is capped! Matt, you tease me so! Seriously, though, this is looking pretttyyy bad for the good guys. And while all this is going down, who’s holding back Sorceress Augatha? Damn, it’s ‘bout to get real bad, real soon.

I gotta give props to Matt for this chapter in terms of emotions. The previous episode had a lot of powerful optimistic feels to it, and the moment between Zyle and Sarah were not only cute, but also real and human. I saw a lot of realism during those scenes, and for Gilda And Meek and The Un-Iverse, I always see that as one of this series’ strengths. Being to look at the past episodes from a more personal lens and not solely political ones (which, looking back, I think were mainly because the political climate in America prior to the rise of the newly christened Harris-Walz campaign dragged me to an alarming low, mentally speaking) has also made me really appreciate the work as something that is for all intents and purposes a story, first and foremost. I remember back in high school that my first “brooding superhero” comic “The Viper” was mainly politically charged (it was originally written to remind people of how America screwed up in Vietnam and as a voice to protest the calls for invading Iraq, given the known savagery of war and how it guarantees nothing both death and grief), but over time, I saw that writing it as a story first and ditching the anti-war tropes was a better idea. My series Sneakers’ U-Force is broader, focusing on awareness about the continued downplaying of the climate crisis and its very REAL consequences, and Lil’ Hero Artists turned out to basically become my personal expression on what it truly means to be an artist on my terms. It really shows how “writing from the heart” rather than writing “what sells” or “what the market wants” is what makes for successful series like Gilda and Meek and my own personal works. I have a whole new level of respect for Matt now, especially since he’s one of the few people out there who know how “the fans” actually DON’T know what’s best for mainstream IPs. Fans ARE the industry’s worst enemy in that regard, full stop.

Anyway, I’ll see you all again in the hopefully near future with a review for the next chapter in this arguably high-stakes saga in The Un-Iverse #13 – The Pontue Legacy, Part V: “The Dragons and the Egg!”

Peace and love to y’all!

Nana

--J.D.

Current Mood: GUUD stuff.
Current Music: 98 Degrees w/Stevie Wonder, "True To Your Heart" (Disney's "Mulan")

I'm wondering why it took this long for Boeing to be brought before the American people to answer for their complete debacle of airplane malfunctions. I saw so many of them over the past many months, and for me and Mom, it only served to reinforce how we don't like flying. I hope my dad doesn't have to fly a 747 back home from Ghana, because most of this half-year has been emotionally draining enough.

But it took this long for the truth to come out? I'm hearing that whistleblowers who were in the know were facing retaliation from Boeing employees. Obviously, someone didn't want the beans spilled here, but retaliation? This isn't an Italian mafia organization; last time I checked, it's an airplane manufacturer.

Looks like the only reason any Boeing staff members would want to silence whistleblowers was likely as displayed on the sign of one angry passenger, whose daughter died in a Boeing plane crash in 2019. If I remember correctly, the sign read:

"Money over passengers!"

That perspective seems to corrupt a lot of businesses these days, but Boeing deciding to keep the curtain down in the interest of making more and more money off of plane tickets is on a higher scale of unforgiveable. This could very well backfire on them and also on traveling by plane as a whole. A good chunk of people worldwide are afraid of getting on an airplane to travel, and this scenario only proves to make them even more apprehensive. Now that includes me, and perhaps my mom too.

Current Mood: distressed

The head of the Vatican has formally approved same-sex marriages. Any White Christian nationalists out there who have an issue with this? Tough. Your anti-LQBTQ+ "holy crusade" and rhetoric doesn't mean SHIT compared to the voice of God.

Love is strength. It's what God/Higher Power IS. Hate is cowardice and weakness, just like all one-track-minded cultist terrorist people are. FACT.

Current Mood: content

I was thinking about my little cousin who teaches 2nd grade, and how he was explaining to me and my other cousins about the conflicts between his White students and his Muslim students over religious ideals during our family Thanksgiving gathering. The White students didn't want to learn about Islam and Allah because in their minds, "Allah" wasn't the "one God" and thus a false idol. It was really saddening as he delved into the obvious implications of cancel culture, as well as this asinine agenda by right-wing Republicans to ban books they find "inappropriate" (read: exposing) to White children to prevent them from "indoctrination" and "feeling guilty of their White heritage". And right now, it's looking like the era of Seduction of the Innocent again, with any books covering race, gender identity, the blood this country was founded on, and African slavery brutality that literally BUILT this country being fed to flames in some states (a video surfaced of a White man using a flamethrower to roast banned, "woke" books. How about that.).

Obviously you can see where I'm going with this. Jazz Nevermore's new Strange Pixels DW webcomic covers the current disagreements covering AI art, but in a way that aims to educate, not to divide. Very much like Matt Zimmer's Gilda and Meek and the Un-Iverse, I think everyone should give this a read, if only for the fact that it opens eyes, and opens minds.

This relentless effort to erase what doesn't qualify as White supremacy and preservation in the name of "Christianity" from school and library shelves is in reality nothing more than an effort to aid in right-wing plans to turn this entire nation into a White nationalist autocracy/personality cult for Trump, whom the Republicans see as their REAL God (it's true; MTG literally likened him to Jesus, and when Pence ran for President, he was called a treasonous Judas. That's saying something.), despite what they want us to believe. To add to the hypocrisy, their argument that these "woke" books are "inappropriate" because of things like violence, murder, incest, and infanticide... well, an article on IowaCapitalDispatch.com put it plainly, saying the The Holy Bible, which is shoved in people's faces nearly every day as the definition of holiness, actually covers ALL of that, and has been used (and still IS being used) to justify atrocities past and current. It's the Republican right-wing saying that students of the new generation shouldn't be free to learn and be open-minded because stuffy White "Christian" old-timers believe these young scholars must accept the status quo so they themselves can keep running the joint as they're afraid of change... hence the concept of their version of "conservativism". And the worst part of is, MANY students -- White students included -- see right through the facade and are calling out the stuffy old ones for this attack on their education. It's been more than two centuries, and Republicans still don't understand the concept of separation of church and state.

Jazz and Matt, good on you for taking the fight to this bullshit crusade. People need to wake the hell up.

Current Mood: contemplative

A Medium article I read this morning opened my eyes to the way wealthy people are mostly seen among the rest of society. It covers things I knew in theory but was never able to fully explain or put into a comprehensive statement. But it’s quite clear now.

They say too much money is a mental health issue. Suddenly that stereotype that most rich people are spoiled brats, some even known to have been born with a golden spoon in their mouth, makes a lot of sense. Even more frightening is the fact that some of the richest people on the planet have absolutely zero empathy, like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, or David Zaslav (okay, not on the planet in his case, but he still lacks any empathy). Some are really frauds behind the “successful” image, like Trump. In other cases, some people have massive wealth, but are (or were) unhappy with themselves, bordering on miserable, very much like the late Michael Jackson. In Musk's case, there's the story that shortly after he took over Twitter, an incident in which he was heavily booed led him to suffer a mental breakdown and literally lock himself up in his office, prompting his staffers to prepare to call the paramedics to possibly commit him involuntarily to hospitalization. And Trump, well, his fake business empire, his "wealth", is in serious danger and his already sucky mental health is spiraling into bloodlust -- he's getting hit where it really hurts. The real killer is that the general public unknowingly feeds into these people’s notions of superiority, whether they truly believe their status equates to such or not.

During our traditional Thanksgiving family gathering, I remember having a huge conversation with my brother and cousins about many things, among which were mental health, politics, religious extremism, “cancel culture”, the country’s unaddressed gun violence epidemic, and education being attacked by the “Anti-Woke” crusade. As everyone was packing up and heading home, I remembered bringing up the role of money with one of my cousins from Los Angeles. I stated that the adage that “money is the root of all evil” was certainly true in the grand scheme of things. He corrected me by saying, “The LOVE of money is the root of all evil.” It felt like the proverbial light bulb went off in my head. There it was. The true point.

Money by itself doesn’t bring happiness or harm to anyone. But the love of money, the obsession with money… that can destroy entire countries, especially if the ones who are obsessed command so much influence. Anyone who said “too much of anything is bad for you” would surely be rejected by these individuals and their fans/followers/worshippers. For all they care, some of them equate their wealth to godhood, and there are plenty of examples of that; one of them is in major legal trouble civilly and federally right now... and is still running for the highest office in the U - S - of - A. In short, the love of money really does corrupt people, and to a more grievous extent… makes them completely oblivious to humanity around them.

Man... I gotta say, that article was deep.

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: The Emperor's New Groove Original Soundtrack, "My Funny Friend and Me" by Sting

This is pretty much a message to my pals here who follow my comics currently on Comic Fury, Lil' Hero Artists and Sneakers' U-Force.

Comic Fury HAS descended into a heated, incensed, and controversial internet gladiator brawl recently, over something completely trivial. I'm not going to deny that, I've seen (and been a victim of) it myself. It pains me that as far as website conduct goes, decorum and simple respect have ceased to exist. The site I came to back in 2012 doesn't exist anymore. And right now, I'm shocked, confused, and most of all...sad.

My comics wouldn't have reached the success they currently have were it not for CF. Moreover, the drive to keep creating the pages and post them online wouldn't have been as inspired had it not been for CF. As I've always said, I don't care about how many views I get in a day, week, month, or even year. The whole point of putting this online is for the fact that there is always ONE PERSON somewhere on this globe who will give even a single look at my stuff. There is not a single story out there that NOBODY likes, and likewise, that EVERYONE likes. That experience spurred me forward to get to where I am now, and most of all, it's just the act of creating that fuels all of this. That's something I came to understand after watching Neil Gaiman's "Make Good Art" commencement speech long, long ago.

Therefore, I will still use Comic Fury, but only for posting my work and interacting with my fans. I'm inspired by Lady Jess continuing Promised Memories despite the current horrible situation at the site as a whole.

Matt Zimmer, TwedeeNimbus, and Jazz Nevermore, I totally respect your decision to drop CF. I've always encouraged this after my own experiences on what's left of the forums (they'll probably be fully dead soon). I won't even ask you to leave any more comments, what you've already said is good enough for me. However, I hope you'll still check my stuff out, your support through readership means the world to me.

I'll remain there, but as far as associating goes, I'm out. Flame wars and finger-pointing are NOT my idea of civilized discourse.

Current Mood: pensive

I was a fool to think that Rupert Murdoch would lay off the denigration of citizens in this country who have a shred of decency. Even after Fox News was literally OWNED by Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation lawsuit over its lies regarding the voting machines alleged "tampered with" in the last presidential election, he's STILL railing on President Biden. And now, attempted murderer David DePape faces a trial for an attempted murder of a public official. I hope the bastard rots for this, he knew EXACTLY what he planned to do and WHO he was REALLY looking for.

Matt Zimmer informed me about (and is, in fact, a member of) the website Daily Kos, where I learned that political violence and related hate crimes are skyrocketing. Just earlier this week, there was an attempted carjacking of a government vehicle by the home of Naomi Biden, Joe Biden's granddaughter. The Secret Service came in armed and fended off the attackers. As was the case with Paul Pelosi and another Texas Democrat, Henry Cuellar -- Cuellar was carjacked a gunpoint by three armed assailants who escaped with his car -- you don't need any education to know what the motive of these crimes were. MAGA extremism holds no regard for law and order, for the Constitution, for friggin' democracy. I remember conspiracy theories flowing out the wazoo about Pelosi's assault, from Elon Musk (who was forced to take his own tweet suggesting homophobic insinuations) to Donnie Jr., to loser-in-denial Kari Lake, all of them mocking or celebrating the incident. And everyone knows that threat of "We're coming for you, Nancy," was echoing in DePape's head.

Then Marjorie Taylor Greene, a bona-fide "Death to all Democrats!" "activist", gets a dark, detailed death threat via phone recently, and what does she say? "My family was threatened, I was threatened. Political violence has no place in America." Right. No place... unless the target is a Democrat. Well guess what, miss? Turnabout is fair play, especially when the Fuhrer of the GOP is preaching death to all Democrats (and all "RINOs")-- he's been doing it since 2015, according to Daily Kos.

As I told Matt recently, this fixation on hatred, revenge, and death can consume a person to literally nothing. At work I was watching a show in one of our clients' classes that was an Arthurian medieval tale involving a Mexican swordman driven by revenge over his father's murder. When he finally kills the one responsible, he is at a loss at what to do with his life afterwards. In Star Trek Beyond, Balthazar Edison became mutated into the alien Krall over his hatred for the now peace-pursuing Federation, longing for the return to the "struggle that made humanity strong." That lust for eternal violence ended up literally killing him.

I had a heart-to-heart with myself about my own actions lately, and I saw that my own attitude was admittedly turning me down the kind of hatred that these guys preach everyday... towards them. Make no mistake; I STILL hate them, with every fiber of my being. But no matter what, I refuse to drop to their level. I want NO ONE dead. As tempting as that might be toward these MAGA jerkwads, I'd rather they all rot in their own guilt in prison, to live out the rest of their days in cold, solitary suffering. Death by execution is too good for them. It's giving them the easy way out. I won't become that which I stand against. Nah, because I got something they don't: a heart.

Current Mood: rejuvenated

I recently became a member of the blogging website called Medium. It's a place where I can find different perspectives on various topics by various people. I mostly read about mental health topics, the comic book industry, and sometime politics. I checked my account today for updates, and well, again the horror in Maine was front and center. But the article also had an interesting title: ""God isn't fixing this:" The Controversial Headline That Divided America".

This article pretty much spelled what I've always tried to explain to others about my views toward this shameful normalization of gun violence and forced living in fear. What really spoke to me in this article were two words that both political parties (the Republican Party more than the Democrat Party) always use every time a mass shooting happens: "thoughts and prayers".

Every time.

I knew that these platitudes were worthless, but I couldn't find a way to express how. But this article, by a guy called Dan Foster, did the work for me.

As everyone knows, America considers itself a Christian nation above all else. And Republicans like to consider themselves devout Christians. But when one looks at them, it doesn't take a deep thinker to see through the facade. Foster goes even further and digs out a Scripture from the Book of Isaiah, which tells a story about the People of God (whom I will refer to as People, for simplicity) who ask why God has not blessed them and fixed their problems. The People had done everything to please him, be it fasting, worship, and other pious actions. They believed they were doing everything right, so why weren't they receiving and abundance of blessings and solved problems? Welp, the Almighty had two basic answers.

One, God had expected them to end injustice, to liberate the oppressed, and relieve the struggling of their burdens.

Two, God had expected them to stand up for and give unconditional support to the poor.

Pretty obvious where I'm going with this, eh?

For as long as I can remember, the Republican Party has done the exact opposite of those two expectations. They have relentlessly oppressed all marginalized groups. They are still passing laws to negate the significance of these groups. There are still invalidating the lives of these groups. They are relentlessly trying to maintain the status quo of systemic and institutional racism, sexism, and bigotry. And above all else, they are obsessed with maintaining a country where White, Christian, heterosexual Americans reign supreme.

For as long as I can remember, the Republican Party has always put their own personal gains above the American people -- including their own voters. They have always neglected those who struggle to provide for their families, and they heartlessly shun those who live on welfare and other benefits, dismissing them as lazy and not working hard enough (easy for them to say, they're rich and don't HAVE to work as hard), They are still trying to gut any kind of government assistance benefits like Social Security and the Affordable Care Act (remember, one time they tried to gut it, but had nothing to replace it at time). I can actually remember when Mitt Romney was running against Barack Obama in 2012. He also was dead-set on killing Obamacare. When he was asked what Americans could do when in need of critical care without Obamacare, he responded with, "They can always go to ER."

Seriously?

As a guy who had to go to the ER many times in a pinch because I had nothing better at the time (no real health insurance) and had to be sacked with hospital bills up the wazoo demanding 1,000 to 1,200 dollars each, I resent that completely.

But I'm getting off topic.

As I was saying, Republicans consider themselves staunch Christians with an unshakable devotion to God. But whenever a crisis happens and American people demand action, whether it's a natural disaster or a mass shooting, they are as silent as a nighttime grassy plain with only crickets chirping. The truth is, they aren't devoted to God, but rather hiding behind his name to shield themselves from the "heretics and nonbelievers out there who are the true sinners." Well, their Lord and Savior DJT was quoted saying that he "never asked for -- or needed -- forgiveness". And with their loyalty to him and him alone, I gotta ask them, "You guys really have the balls to talk about devotion to God?"

And that's to say nothing of a political party that believes gun violence is the best, or only, way to solve disagreements, the whole "good guy with a gun" (who's never been there when needed in a mass shooting, or is already gunned down in such an incident by the bad guy -- or guys -- with guns) simply because they have a noose around their necks by the gun lobby, and because in an indirect way, letting these bloodbaths continue helps them with this cockamamy "race/culture war", as most of them target marginalized/ethnic groups. They believe wholeheartedly in the Great Replacement Theory (a bogus concept if I ever heard one) and that's the best way for them to prevent it, regardless of how many casualties it takes. Ron DeSantis and Marjorie Taylor Greene can attest to that, with Greene wanting to kill Democrats and DeSantis inciting racial/bigoted hatred and murder through so-called "legislations".

I will end with this quote from Foster's article, which itself is from C.S. Lewis, the author of the Chronicles of Narnia books and a real Christian:

“If conversion to Christianity makes no improvement in a man’s outward actions — if he continues to be just as snobbish or spiteful or envious or ambitious as he was before — then I think we must suspect that his ‘conversion’ was largely imaginary; Fine feelings, new insights, greater interest in ‘religion’ mean nothing unless they change our actual behavior.”

One thing is certain above all else, and we've known it all along: the Republican Party is full to bursting with heretics and repeat sinners, and they're proud of it, because it gets them everything they want. And contrary to what they would have us believe, they show that America is not -- and never was -- the greatest nation on Earth.

Current Mood: contemplative

Gotta say, I was pissed about yesterday's massacre in Maine. I still find it horrifying that this is the new normal in this country because of money, corruption, obviously racist motives, and most of all, pure hate. And I will continue to condemn this shit as long as I live. But I had a cooldown moment at work today, and I'm more chill now.

I adopted the Serenity Prayer recently, because I was totally fed up with, well, everything after Oct. 7th, when Hamas decided to wipe more than a thousand Israelis off the face of this Earth. I still have a burning hatred towards anyone, or any country, or any continent that believes they're above anyone else. That kind of ideology has stained the concept of humanity from the early ages. The very idea that someone has to end another's life because of a disagreement is the most pungent of bullshit. But I'm not even going to dwell on it anymore, because I can't change it myself. I'm NOT okay with it, but I'm not dwelling on it anymore. And maybe someday, even if not in my lifetime, someone with power will step up and say "To hell with this obsession with guns. It's time for some common sense up in this piece!"

In the meantime, along with the Serenity Prayer, I'm also grateful for today, 'cause it was my first dive into yoga of all things. I read about a lot in the past, and even a Comic Fury webcomic covered it slightly in its newest chapter. I thought it was all "bendy-stretchy" and honestly, some of the poses I saw in the past looked damn painful and nigh impossible for anyone to replicate. But today was something simple, it was seated. It made sense, since our clientele at my job are disabled people, most of them in wheelchairs. Seeing them participating in the class reminded me of the good things in life. It almost felt like I was a parent watching a baby take its first steps, for lack of a better description. And two of our clients just tied the knot, too. Not a bad day, all things considered.

So, I'm gonna look into this stuff, and I'm sure I'll benefit in terms of being at peace with myself. Ditching mainstream media has already done wonders for me, and this can only help me more. So, cheers! 😊

Peace and love to you all,

J.D.

Current Mood: relaxed

I heard somewhere that Poland has ousted their extremist right-wing government in an election marked by a MASSIVE turnout. This is proof that autocracy can be dismantled and slain like a dragon. Still going silent on the news, but this does make me hopeful for 2024 here. We're not an autocracy -- we were from 2016 to 2020 (and sweet Lord Almighty, was it disgustingly vile), but never again. The Psuedo-Hitler was kicked out, and will NEVER return. No, not when a HUGE majority of American citizens overall DESPISE him.

Current Mood: excited

I am no longer an "American Christian", and after recent events, I don't really wanna stand and "preach" some more... but I gotta say one last thing for the day. I wanna give a shout-out to a real Natural_Beauty: she goes by "Lady Jess" on Comic Fury. This is also a shout-out to my soul brothas Matt Zimmer and Jazz Nevermore, without whom I would not be the stronger dude I am today.

Nah, man... turn off that organ. And ladies, kill the choir. This ain't church, this is Dreamwidth. I don't need any of that. I just need some eager ears.

Good. A'ight, now. Recently, America lost a trailblazer and the oldest female Senator in American history: the late and great Dianne Feinstein. She hails from my 'hood, a former Mayor of San Francisco, California. She will lie in state this Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023.

Naturally though, while the nation is in mourning, the MAGA numb-nutsacks out there as singing praises. She was anti-assault weapons all the way, and that made her a sworn mortal enemy of this pathetic minority of death-worshipping dipshits.

Lady Jess responded to my lamentations on this heartless derision from the right wing. She said that she recently received the newest copy of TIME Magazine. The thing is, the magazine had the face of another numb-nutsack, the all time king of baseless hypocrisy in social media and apparent apartheid fraternizer Elon Musk. She did what any sensible person these days would do with that mag: chucked it in the trash. I immediately responded with this statement, which I present to all, even those who don't know me, 'cuz I will not stay silent anymore. A wise 80-year old man said: "Silence is complicity." And man, is silence a damning thing these days more than ever. My response:

"That's the way, Milady. ✊🏾

I wanna apologize for the... *ahem*... intensity of this post, it's not how I normally talk. It's just that it infuriates me to no end when it's abundantly clear in any government at any time that dehumanization of those who don't meet the "select hierarchy" takes precedence over fighting for basic human rights for all. That kind of ideology has sparked genocides in the past, like the 1994 Rwandan Genocide in East Africa. I read the books about it, and I'm still horrified that any human could even conceive to push such a narrative -- and by propagandizing it through mainstream media, much like the right-wing is doing in America now, and we've all seen the results.

What really troubles me is your statement about trashing that TIME magazine. That is another part of the problem -- all of mainstream media is giving people who preach this hatred and bloodlust a voice. On online forums -- Comic Fury forums included -- there is a creed that the general community goes by. That is creed is often worded as, "don't feed the trolls". We learn in high school that bullies do what they do because they crave attention. Without the attention, they lose their power and their influence.

Knowing that, I can't for the life of me understand why all mainstream news outlets (CNN and MSNBC are guilty in this too) give these jerkwads airtime or space in their other media. Just on Friday I watched a CNN anchor futilely try to get a Florida politician to clearly condemn Trump's call for Gen. Mark Milley to die by hanging simply because he didn't agree with who I've dubbed the "Turd-in-Chief" on some issue with China. The guy refused to do so, and even tried to pull the typical whataboutism on Democrats. Seriously? When was the last time a Democrat called for a Republican or even one of their own to be killed for something so stupid? When was the last time a Democrat contested an election with violence that killed five of the nation's own top police officers? Why wouldn't the guy address that logic?

Because it's not a matter of he wouldn't. He couldn't. Anyone with even half a brain can put two and two together here. The bully mentality that thrives on attention is clearly at play here, and in the most dangerous way possible. The politician couldn't condemn the threat because if he did, then he too would be put in the crosshairs. That's how it's been working ever since January 7th, 2021 -- defy the bully, or in this case, in the GOP's own words, the Leader, and you will pay... most likely with your life.

President Biden said it perfectly in his address to Arizona to honor the late John McCain, particularly after trashing Trump for his "Hang Mark Milley!" threat, and even made it personal when he condemned Mr. 45's trash-talking about the military he callously accused Obama of disgracing by telling him to his face: "Listen, Mr. 'America's Favorite President'. You don't get to be raised in this country, escape enrollment in the military based on phony excuses, then become Commander-in-chief and dehumanize American warriors who died for your ass. You, who lack government AND military experience, don't get to talk shit about a prisoner of war, a war you never served in. You, who have never served, don't get to decide who in the military dies for treason, when you yourself committed such on January 6th, 2021. And most of all: You have no damn right to diss my son Beau as a sucker and loser, when you faced a global health crisis in Covid-19, even got infected with it -- and ultimately RAN AWAY from your job to 'fix it' in favor of plotting to stay in power and rule as an autocrat... and an illegitimate and immature one at that. You are the only "sucker and loser" here, in every sense of the word. You're a coward, shaking and sweating under your fake blonde toupee because your glory train is on a collision course. You'd best stop the ride, or the crash will come much sooner than you think."

I strongly believe that it's MAGA itself that has the death wish, and come November 2024, that death will arrive on swift wings. America has had enough."

So, there you go. After nearly being screwed by the nation's mental health system and yet finally starting therapy with a therapist who himself believe the system is broken, being singled out for discrimination and refusal of admission by skin color and mental disability at a nightclub in front of my pals by a cocky-ass bowler hat-wearing White guy three Fridays ago (ironically, the club had Black female bartenders), and finally tearing some new assholes (as my buddy Matt so eloquently put it) into a punk-ass bitch on Comic Fury who brought his 4chan bullshit to a hardworking enthusiastic artist's webcomic page to toot his cobweb-clogged horn, I am done with standing by and letting ignorance rape this society, this city, this nation up the wazoo. At the end of last year, I was sickened to see that MAGA fucktards were patrolling polls in many states decked out in their usual gung-ho tactical gear and obligatory AR-15's. Malcolm X was right, to me, this is gonna be the definitive "Ballot or the Bullet" Presidential Election. And I already know who's coming out on top and who's gonna crash and burn. The Turd-in-Chief overplayed his meaty, lumpy orange hand by stupidly letting slip his guilt and his autocratic intentions. You gotta be a flippin' dumbass to broadcast an autocratic agenda, and name it "Agenda 47" to add insult to injury -- geez, for fuck's sake, now you're declaring an electoral victory more than a year from now? What the hell have you been snorting? He's obviously so stupid he had to lie about a lie to cover up a lie and rinse and repeat like 20 times, which always equals a collapsing house of lies.

He fucked up, and all he can do now is stoke fear and call for assassination after assassination. For God's sake, now his punk-ass is decreeing that all of mainstream media reporters be hanged for treason. Guess his sugar high just spiked from all those damn Cherry Cokes. His head's obviously caving in from the fat of all those pizzas and cheeseburgers.

People, there's no need to even worry about this guy becoming President again. Even if lawyers are too cowardly to invoke the 14th Amendment and this dipshit tries another Jan. 6, remember: He's not President anymore. The only army he'll have is a fringe bunch of rag-tags hillbillies with AR-15's and tactical gear. Countless Proud Boys and Oath Keepers (including their leaders) are quite sealed off from his rallying cries now -- languishing in prison where they should've been years ago. He and his redneck rebels will be facing the entire fucking American Armed Forces, commanded by none other than the father of a so-called "sucker and loser". And when all is said and done, the mantle of "sucker and loser" will be placed unceremoniously on the head of the man who will be remembered in world history as America's first (and hopefully only) failed autocrat. He will then writhe in obscurity until his last breath and let me say this: his remains will not be buried among the other American presidents who upheld their Oath of Office. They will be buried at sea, hopefully alongside those of Osama bin Laden.

We are on the side of life, MAGA isn't. And after November 2024, that crusade will die a swift death. To close, I will paraphrase Morpheus from the Matrix film franchise.

This is America -- and we are not afraid.

Peace and love to you all.

-- J.D.

Current Mood: determined
Current Music: peaceful white noise

Mind you, I still use Amazon.com. But as of today, I've lost all respect for the World's #1 Online Retailer.

Why do I feel this way, do you ask? Well, take a gander at this list for Best Sellers in the Books department, and look at who's #1:

Amazon.com - Best Selling Items in Books Department as of today, 9/23/2023

I saw a link to this "#1 Best-Selling" title from the retail page of another title on Amazon that made my heart sink even further. The title in question was Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, by the publisher Pantheon, part of its Pantheon Graphic Library.

I also heard that about 3 or so days ago, a Texas middle school teacher was fired for reading this very book to her 8th grade class. She gets fired for doing that 3 days ago, while garbage like this "#1 Best Seller" still holds its place in Amazon's rankings today.

Boy, am I glad I don't live in a red state right now. 'Cause if I were, after seeing this, I'd tell the first politician / "concerned parent" / whoever to look at these stories, these events on Amazon and in mainstream news. And then I'd tell them:

"Alright, listen. I want you to look at this. Really look at this. Look at this, and then record yourself the next time you feel the need to call the Democratic Party the new Confederacy. I want you to listen to that recording of yourself 3 times every day, for 30 days. Afterwards, I don't wanna hear any more bitching about indoctrination, White children's guilt / victimization, and especially freedom for all. Then, I want you to take a Bible -- yes, THE Bible, the one you always claim to study/read religiously and fully believe in -- and swear on it that you believe in your country and the Constitution. Do it, now. I’ll wait."

...

"You’re back? So, you did it? For real? Good. Keep that oath, ‘cause if you break it again, you’ll not only be flipping off your country… you’ll be flipping off your God. I don’t think you want that on your conscience.”

***

As for Amazon, well, I guess they don't have standards anymore. Let it be noted: many independent news platforms have reported that far-right extremists have used Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) print and e-book platform many times in the recent past to publish manifestos and other hate-infested rigamarole and actually make a hefty profit before trying to enact their offenses, get arrested, and then have their accounts suspended and their titles ripped off all storefronts by Amazon itself. The fact that these kinds of people can have that kind of outlet to make money -- to compete in, for God's sake -- the same marketplace as unknown authors (like yours truly) trying to make a splash in an already saturated market is... troubling, to say the least. 😔

Current Mood: disappointed
Current Music: peaceful white noise / sounds of rain for relaxation

It looks like true conservatives and liberals have come together to state the constitutionally obvious: The 14th Amendment is going to be a very hot topic this election season. I heard that lawsuits are being filed to invoke the 14th to block Mr. 45 from the ballot. Fingers crossed for this -- if this fails, then the Constitution is in effect null and void, just like he wanted. The guy has proven to be the biggest threat to this country since the Confederacy. Hell, at this point, he is the Confederacy, reborn. He refused to to condemn Confederate extremist ideology in September of 2020 because he needed to use it as a contingency plan if lies wouldn't be enough to keep him in power.

But, it also looks like the clown's delusions know no end. Not only does 45 still believe that he had absolute authority to do anything -- including to abuse confidential documents that could very well have compromised national security -- but now he's gone and made up a new constitutional amendment to make himself an exception to the original one. He's even given it a half-assed name: The 14 1/2 Amendment. He says it's "super-legal" -- yeah, and it hasn't even been ratified yet.

What does it do? Well, in his words, this would mean all federal officials in violation of the 14th Amendment would indeed be barred from holding public office... except for him. The reason for this exception should open the eyes of every open-minded soul on this soil. In his words:

"It basically exempts me from any bad laws due to my incredible past service as the greatest president ever to rule America.”

The source material for this quote was from this article blog on Medium.

Ladies and gents, the Orange Führer just officially let the cat out of the bag and admitted everything. Exempting himself from being banned as a result of inciting an insurrection with a made-up-on-the-spot amendment addendum not even yet ratified is effectively an admission that contrary to what he's been babbling recently, he did have something to do with 1/6/2021. And notice the word highlighted in red. It's in red 'cuz it's a red flag, it's an admission of what the guy thought he was when his saggy orange ass plopped into the leather seat behind the "resolute desk" of the Oval Office. To him, it wasn't a leather seat -- it was a throne. And let's not forget, in his rants against the indictments filed against him on Truth(less) Social, he referred to himself as "The King".

It makes you wonder why people are even being asked if they believe a man is innocent when that very man is deliberately stalling court cases and investigations, promoting violence against his prosecutors, and sending coded messages to his supporters to assassinate his political enemies whom he says are trying to kill him.

If this country is any bit about law and order and defending democracy and the Constitution as it says it is, this should be an open-and-shut case. The evidence is damning. The accused are doing everything they can to slow or outright escape their inevitable judgement. An innocent person lets a case proceed unimpeded. A guilty person... well, you get the idea. I mean, if you know you're innocent, do you really need to make up something to protect yourself from conviction? Why not let the truth speak for itself? Oh, right -- because you're not innocent.

Failure to see this through will be tantamount to setting fire to the Constitution of the United States.

Peace out, y'all. *drops mic*

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: peaceful white noise