Stupidity: A Right, A Luxury

Photo: Rick Burnett Baker, Rochester NY

The Constitutional Right of Stupidity

"The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls

And tenement halls"

-Paul Simon

And so they are, and they’re graffitied on abandoned water tanks at a park in Rochester, NY.  Artists paint, and other prophets leave their take on whatever’s on their minds. Like a global crisis. 

We have the luxury in the United States of being able to be and remain stupid.  It’s a constitutional right, it seems.  My generation, Boomers, are a borderline generation whereby some of us learned critical thinking skills, (or we were at least made aware of that notion) and others of us are, for whatever reason, simply stupid. Not ignorant, just stupid. Ignorance can be remedied.  Stupidity, much more difficult to remedy if a person doesn’t know what ignorance is. And we in this country have had, and still do have, all the tools of knowledge available to us to NOT be ignorant. When a person chooses to not remedy whatever they’re ignorant about, then they become stupid. There’s just no excuse for that.  

Unfortunately, the generations after us Boomers - Millennials, or X or Z or whatever they’re called this month - are in jeopardy of being stupid, if not more stupid. Our country is seeing this daily on (un)social media, in general media, and in the streets with various protests around the country during this Covid -19 crisis.

 Photo: Sergio Flores/Getty 

Protesters have displayed some of the most moronic sayings on signs that I’ve ever seen. For example, a face mask represents tyranny. Clearly those idiots don’t know the definition of the word, and were sadly (stupidly) absent during history and civics classes in school. (Silly me: I’m assuming that those subjects are still taught in schools) The fact that those mental degenerates are allowed to be on the streets protesting should be their first lesson about the definition of the word ’tyranny’:  If they were living in a tyranny, they would NOT be on the street protesting. Morons.

Photo: Mark Makes/Getty 

More recently, I’ve seen a sign that conflates the issue of reproductive rights with the right to possibly endanger others’ health by not wearing a mask. No, Skippy, it’s not your body, your choice, it’s our bodies depending on your choice. To all these people, let me suggest that they pay attention to the tyranny of having to wear a car seatbelt.  Stop doing that, and if you’re in an accident, try to quickly recite the 1st Amendment  as you are hurled violently through the windshield of the car and flung to injury or death. God bless Amurhaka!  Choice, indeed. 

Finally, to any yuk yuks  who disagree with my assessment I’ll simply say this:  You’re wrong! This is a GLOBAL crisis. Get it? Amurhakins aren’t the only nation of people having to follow rules in this crisis. We are NOT special, nor are we grandfathered into some form of exceptionalism during this crisis. Get the hell over yourselves. Wear a mask. Social distance. Take responsibility for your lives and the lives of others. And stop being stupid:  Stupidity ain’t in the Constitution! 

© Rick Burnett Baker

June 1, 2020

Dead Pigs In The Sun: You're Fired!

Dead Pigs In The Sun: 

“You’re Fired!”

(Disclaimer: I think. Therefore, I’m neither Democrat nor Republican)

Here we go again, with President Trump saying that the New York Times should fire columnist Paul Krugman. Freedom of the press is fine and dandy if you agree with the press. If not, “You’re fired.”  Trump and Krugman have had a long-running feud that I won’t bother getting into, since I think both men have dubious qualities. 

What this latest spew from Trump brings to mind for me is how this same attitude, or mentality, or whatever it is, permeates (un)social media via memes that both the left and right of the political spectrum constantly share, particularly on Facebook.  

You’ve all seen them, and I know many of you ‘like & share’ them, thus enriching the click/bait trolls who make money off your every like and share, not to mention phishing your page for all your personal information. 

LIKE & SHARE if you think The View should be cancelled! 

LIKE & SHARE if you think Pelosi should be impeached! 

LIKE & SHARE  if you think Fox News should be banned! 

And on and on.  Guess what:  That’s just not the way the world or life as we know it works.  Don’t like Whoopi?  Don’t watch her show!  No one is holding their legally registered, open carry gun to your head.  Change the channel and watch “Guns And Ammo TV.”  

Don’t like Fox News?  Don’t watch Fox News. Same with all the other networks.  The problem with that mentality is this:  We have become a nation of (barely) functional illiterates. If you are one of those humans who proudly declares “I NEVER watch CNN, FOX, MSNBC, et.al.," then you’re part of the problem with our body politic in this country, and shouldn’t be allowed to vote in any election, I must opine. You don’t have a broad enough exposure to ideas and ideals to formulate a reasoned, logical decision about any given cause, issue, or subject. 

Back to the first paragraph:  American citizens in general, and registered voters in particular should be seriously concerned with the notions in Trump’s head  that members of the press should be or could be fired upon his calling. That’s a dangerous notion for any leader to continually banter about, although I don’t think it would be allowed to stand if our president tried to make that happen. 

On the other side of the coin, my fine feathered, Democrat, Socialist, Leftist friends, I’m not letting you off the hook either. There is another red flag coming from your Schifty leaders. This past week Adam Schiff stated, “The president’s misconduct cannot be decided at the ballot box. For we cannot be assured that the vote will be fairly won.”  Nancy Pelosi had a similar, if not self-contradictory mindset,  in October 2019 when she said, “The voters are not going to decide whether we honor our oath of office. They already decided that in the last election.” In other words, neither of these political dinosaurs  give a flying hoot about elections and the decisions of the American voters. 

These types of comments should be warnings to all voters that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have our best interests in mind, and both sides would be happier than dead pigs in the sun if we had one party rule with NO elections whatsoever.  

Time for the voters of the United States to say, “You’re fired!” 

©️Rick Burnett Baker

January 26, 2020

Rochester, NY

Get The Hell Out & Merry Christmas. I Think....

OUT. Get The Hell OUT!

And Merry Christmas! 

Let us pray:  "Dear Lord, please protect me from your followers. At least those in the United States of America." Amen. 

It's that time of year again, when (un)social media is ripe with greetings and salutations for the holiday -er- CHRISTMAS season.  (Never mind about the some 12 to 15 OTHER holidays that are celebrated between October and January all over the world, including the United States.) 

Let's not OH-Fend anyone, especially the Red-Blooded American Patriots who are defending us all from the perpetual imaginary war on Christmas. I've been hearing constant rants about how offended millions of people are by Christmas trees, and the flag, haven't you?  Millions!  So stupid. 

If you are tempted to share and post such idiocy as the example above, do those of us who cerebrate rather than emote a favor:  DON'T.  I'd say do yourselves a favor if you are wont to post such blather, but I'll go out on a Christmas tree limb and suggest that it's too late for you.  The lumberjack has already chopped that one down. 

It's simply astounding how many people in this country actually think like this, and it's not just the HOLIDAY season when such nonsense gets circulated. We're all constantly bombarded by this idiocy with the sanctimonious qualifiers such as, "BET NO ONE WILL SHARE THIS," or, "WHO'S WITH ME?" My personal pet peeve on (un)social media is when people post a meme that ends with one of the most annoying statements, "LET THAT SINK IN." 

We all have our varied reasons for being on Facebook. There's nothing wrong with expressing opinions, but must there be so many defensive types who are so damned insecure in their beliefs that they have to be arrogant, aggressive, and downright hateful?  

The meme above is laughable for any number of reasons, not the least of which is that what we now call a  Christmas tree pre-dates Christianity as far back as ancient Egypt, and the Roman Empire.  It was the 16th Century when Christians co-opted that tradition for their holiday.  And having the flag conflated with Christmas and Christmas trees is a new 21st Century abomination. 

The only thing missing in this meme are images of guns, guts, and the Confederate flag. 

Let THAT sink in!  

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays!

©Rick Burnett Baker
December 5, 2019 

Even If.....

EVEN IF

DISCLAIMER:  I THINK.  THEREFORE, I’M NEITHER 

DEMOCRAT NOR REPUBLICAN. 

Ah, the good ‘ol days of “…And that’s the way it is.”

Despite a meme of Walter Cronkite’s image currently circulating on (un)social media that says he would report the news each night then simply sign off with no political agenda, we must understand that ALL news agencies have ALWAYS had political agendas and leanings.  Uncle Walt was no exception. He occasionally ended his broadcast with a commentary or opinion. On those occasions, he would not use his tag line “…And that’s the way it is.”  

These days, however, it’s crystal clear which networks and agencies support what political party, candidate, and ideology.  Most Americans know this, but few seem to actually bother reading or listening beyond the by-lines of news reports. Those first bold-captioned words will enflame, enrage, or embolden already held opinions and views of the reader. EVEN IF it's a lie. 

The image above of British online publication ‘The Independent’ is a perfect example of how a news agency promotes their agenda or opinion on any given subject simply through the by-line.  With Americans' attention spans shorter than a gnat, and the prevalent media bias against all things Trump, ‘The Independent’ blatantly plays this song and dance strategy to perfection.  

“Trump says ’no one more competent in the world’ than daughter Ivanka to replace Nikki Haley as UN ambassador.” 

Except that Trump didn’t say that.  With a by-line that is an outright lie, ’The Independent’  shows it’s political bias, and ensures that all those on the Democrat, Progressive, liberal, left side of the US’s political spectrum will immediately seize the by-line moment and blow millions of gaskets. 

It’s like squirting lighter fluid on smoking charcoal in a BBQ grill and creating a sudden explosive shot of flames.  I did that last summer and burned the hair off my right arm. 

‘The Independent’, as I suspect many other news agencies do, is hedging its bets that those seeing the by-line are simply scrolling with their thumbs, and won’t bother to actually read what Trump ACTUALLY said.  You see, the by-line leaves out two key words in Trump’s comment (reported in THEIR story above, no less) that totally changes the meaning and context of what he said:  “…EVEN IF…” 

I won’t be surprised to see this take on a life of its own in the next few weeks as people tell other people that Trump might appoint his daughter as UN Ambassador.  

And that’s the way it is.  EVEN IF it’s a lie.  

Rick B Baker 

Rochester New York 

October 10, 2018 

To Tweet Or Not To Tweet

To Tweet Or Not To Tweet: 

That Is The Backchannel

DISCLAIMER:  I THINK. THEREFORE, I’M NEITHER 

DEMOCRAT NOR REPUBLICAN.

And just like that, (to mimic innumerable (Un)Social media memes these days), Omarosa with her endless supply of secret White House recordings was never heard from again.

Yep, Bob Woodward’s book needed to be promoted, and The New York Times just HAD to publish an anonymous OPINION piece allegedly from inside the Trump administration that told of utter chaos in the White House. So many deflections and diversions to avoid reporting actual, factual news.  But let’s just be crystal clear about one thing: Next week there will be some other “sound-bite bombshell” to feed the American public’s gnat-sized attention span. 

But here’s this week’s clincher.  

Today, September 9th, 2018, there was a story reporting that Bob Woodward in a broadcast of CBS Sunday Morning told of a Trump tweet that was drafted…yes DRAFTED…that talked about pulling our military dependents from South Korea.  It was never sent because a “back-channel message from the North Koreans” said that they would consider this an indication that the US was preparing a military attack, according to a report from Agency France Presse (AFP).  The by-line of AFP’s report ran, “Trump Spooked Pentagon With Almost-Sent Tweet On N.Korea: Woodward”.  

Yes, “Don’t send that tweet out, or we will be angry,” said the North Koreans never. 

Ok.  Hold the phone.  Back up the bus.  Seal the missile silos. 

This so-called story raises more questions than the facts it doesn’t report.  

Are we to believe that Trump’s tweets are drafted, proof-read, vetted, and approved by White House or Pentagon staffers? If so, and even if not, how did the North Koreans know of Trump’s drafted tweet?  Is someone in the administration feeding inside information, i.e. Trump’s Twitter ‘drafts’ to the North Koreans?  Are the North Koreans spying and listening in on the White House? Have they hacked into Trump’s phone and know exactly what he’s going to tweet about before he tweets it?  

I mean, come on, America.  I’ve come to NOT believe about 90% of what I hear, read, and see in media these days, and I strongly doubt the other 10%. The story simply makes NO sense as written.

But this report just reeks of media fecal material. 

I personally think Trump is functioning (or not) on some other level NO ONE is familiar with, but Woodward is stretching credibility to the limit, in my opinion. 

Woodward’s glory days of Watergate and Deep Throat are decades past.  The movie isn’t even on anyone’s radar any longer.  And now he, like Omarosa, has a book to get promoted and up to the top of the NY Times Best Seller list.  

As for all this “anonymous” hooey, ENOUGH!  If all these media hacks are so intent on discrediting Trump, then out with it!  Give us your sources, say who said what to whom and when, and stop being self-promoting con-artists. Perhaps then you could actually facilitate a change in our elected leadership that so many voters are noisily clamoring for. Otherwise, put a sock in it.  

Here’s MY question:  Since this latest Woodward claptrap suggests that Trump DRAFTS his tweets, and since the story suggests others were worried about his proposed tweet, WHO IS TRUMP’S TWEET EDITOR? 

That might just explain a year and a half of this Trump Twitter Shit Show!  I see (smell) a new reality series in the making.  You listening, Omarosa?? 

September 9, 2018

©Rick Burnett Baker 

Photo ©Rick Burnett Baker 

Honor/Dignity

                                                           Click image to enlarge: 

Photo/Text © Rick Burnett Baker
All Rights Reserved

15th Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival

Today, July 2, 2016 is the last day of nine for this year's Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival.  I took time over the past week to look for a few festival shots that were not the usual photos of the crowds and the bands.  Here is a compilation of several photos I took over the past nine days.

I only took in two shows this year, the first being a concert by Makoto Ozone and Tommy Smith, and the second a performance by Lizz Wright.  Both were wonderful performances.  Maybe next year I'll just get a Club Pass, take the week off, and enjoy as much music as I can fit into a day!

Photos © 2016 Rick B Baker 

All Rights Reserved