I am a huge Hunter S. Thompson fan and this administration sorely needs someone with a visceral way with words to eviscerate them the way Mr. Thompson did to Nixon.
I was given a copy of The Great Shark Hunt in the late 80s, possibly early 90s that looked road weary even then. I still have it. It is a little more tattered, the spine held together with tape, front and back covers completely missing. Even in this condition it is one of my prized possessions. Over the years, as our collection of physical books has gotten smaller this battered mass market paperback has remained. This book was my introduction to the Raider Nation, my oeuvre into American politics and the source of a personal mantra that might or might not helped me embrace the person that I am.
I saw a quote recently that help remind me of what is missing from American politics. While Jon Stewart and John Oliver are entertaining, they are primarily comedians backed by teams of writers. Hunter S. Thompson was a writer who dared to fuck with authority figures, it is a wonder he lived to oldish age. Hunter S. Thompson was both a student of the history of American politics and a futurist.
The quote that has resonated so much with me of late:
“The slow-rising central horror of ‘Watergate’ is not that it might grind down to the reluctant impeachment of a vengeful thug of a president whose entire political career has been a monument to the same kind of cheap shots and treachery he finally got nailed for, but that we might somehow fail to learn something from it.”
Over the years, I have found myself reading Warren Ellis’ Transmetropolitan, itself an homage to HST, prior to every election cycle but in order to survive this administration
Collecting my posted #AlternativeFacts for April 2017
April 1: Being poor is a result of poor choices and laziness, anyone can become rich if they try hard enough.
April 2: The entire bible; stoning, slavery, loving one another, etc; should be obeyed without question and used for making money.
April 3: There is absolutely nothing wrong with presidential advisors being paid by foreign governments.
April 4: Party policies & campaign contributors must always be a greater priority in voting than constituents being represented.
April 5: Increasing the suffering of the less fortunate is the Christian thing to do.
April 6: Undoing a previous administration’s policies is best use of legislative resources and shows true leadership.
April 6: There is nothing that encourages the love of a country more than indiscriminate bombing.
April 7:There is no evidence the Military-Industrial and Prison-Industrial complexes exist.
April 8: Bombing has been used as effective negotiation technique in predominantly white countries since World War II.
April 9: Citizens should only question the government authority/policies when it’s an administration they don’t like.
April 10: Homophobia, racism and sexism are normal workplace and governmental behaviors and do not need to be corrected.
April 11: Taxpayers should only complain about golf trips and vacations when it’s a black guy.
April 12: Terms and conditions are written in easily understandable language and exist for consumers’ benefit.
April 13: Any past wrongdoing discovered afterwards completely justifies a physical overreaction by law enforcement.
April 14: Cutting funding for or denying scientific research is making America great again.
April 15: The best way to stop corruption in DC is to appoint business people with conflicting interests and questionable dealings.
April 16: There has been no evidence of systemic racism or profiling by any police departments.
April 17: Legislators should have absolutely no understanding of any science or technology they are voting on.
April 18: Transparency in governance is too expensive and should always be first on budget cuts.
April 19: Tax exempt organizations should have the loudest voice in government.
April 20: Purchasing new military hardware over fixing crumbling infrastructure will make America great again.
April 21: States rights are only a priority when they support your legislative agenda.
April 22: Visitors to the White House are only classless when they are Black entertainers.
April 23: Praying for wealth, judging others and turning away people in need are the basic tenets of christianity.
April 24: State schools should always spend more on athletic programs than on faculty.
April 25: An uneducated and uninformed populace will make America great again.
April 26: This administration is completely ethical and transparent in their dealings and requires no oversight.
April 27: Kansas’ tax plan was so successful it should be implemented nationwide.
April 28: Good governance is voting for pay increases for yourself while simultaneously voting to defund safety net programs.
April 29: Evolution, Heliocentrism, Climate Change and the Moon Landing are all fake.
April 30: Historically, there have never been any issues when religion and politics were intertwined.
