Editor’s Note: A version of this post was shared on my Substack. There are a few changes that were made here as part of a test.
There is a story one could tell of when a cougar leaves their lair. They disappear for a while and then they visit familiar places.
Sometimes they do so from their Addam’s Family hideaway and then make a note to come visit again once they return to their home in wine country.
Maybe they miss the one they thought they wanted as a mate and maybe they visit because they think found prey. One never does know certain what happens in their heads.
Perhaps they drink way too much soda with their ketchup sandwiches.
And now we bring you back to your regularly scheduled programming. Expect a new post later this evening.
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
― George Orwell, 1984
Two days ago I asked if people will make the time to read knowing very few will and do.
Somewhere someone has conducted a scientific survey delineating the impact of social media on reading comprehension and attention spans.
They’ll tell you about the negative impact it has and provide results that support their conclusions but I’m not going to provide you with that.
Nah, I’ll say it requires minimal effort to find people who are committed to ignorance in spite of facts.
The tin hat wearing flat earthers are a perfect example. Because I am the guy who sometimes has to verify the pot on the stove is hot I can share personal experience with these folks.
A man told me he doesn’t believe humans have ever been into space. It’s all a big psyop.
When the dude found out I am a Zionist he went on a new tear. I gave him a minute to foam at the mouth and suggested he might be a victim of a psyop to demonize Jews and Israel.
“The algorithm makes you fat, dumb and stupid. You’re not paying attention to what you are being fed or asking questions are you.”
He sputtered some ridiculous comments back and I asked why people magically ignore Qatari influence.
Take a look at the excerpt below and ask yourself whether it would be in the interest of Qatar to be one of the patrons of demonizing Israel and Jews.
‘Why has a country of just 330,000 citizens that is half the size of New Jersey and a leading patron of the Muslim Brotherhood plowed $400 billion dollars into the United States? This amounts to approximately $1.2 million per Qatari citizen — an enormous sum.
FDD’s Natalie Ecanow has labored for more than a year, collecting the receipts for these Qatari transactions, most of which have taken place over the past decade. But as Natalie notes, $400 billion is a lowball estimate. She erred on the side of caution. If you take the word of Qatari government estimates or even the White House, the total number may exceed $1.2 trillion.
Some Americans may welcome the generosity of the Qatari regime. After all, one could argue that a great many of these investments — spanning energy, defense, biotech and other important sectors — serve to benefit the U.S. economy and U.S. citizens. One could also argue that Qatar, like Japan, Canada, or other countries that sink billions in the United States, simply seeks return on investment.
But Qatar is different. There are more than a few reasons to question the largesse of the Qatari government. At the end of the day, Qatar is ruled by an Islamist, autocratic regime; Freedom House consistently ranks the country as “Not Free” in its annual Freedom in the World survey.1 And Doha’s failure to guarantee the rights of its citizens is not the biggest problem. Rather, it is the country’s tendency to support jihadi causes in the Middle East that raises significantly more concern. The country’s horrific track record in this regard distinguishes Qatar from other Gulf states that spread their wealth in America.
Though the U.S. government has delineated Qatar as a “Major Non-NATO Ally” and has positioned its Combined Air Operations Center at the Al-Udeid base in Qatar, this regime may qualify as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism.” The regime has sheltered Al-Qaeda.2 It was a patron for the Taliban before the group recaptured Afghanistan, ending America’s intervention there.3 The government is a longstanding patron of Hamas, the terrorist group that plunged the Middle East into violence on October 7, 2023.4 Finally, it is the primary patron of the Muslim Brotherhood, a global network of violent and nonviolent Islamist groups that seek the downfall of the West.5 Several branches of this network have recently been sanctioned by the U.S. government.
Twenty plus years of online engagement alongside of 57 years of life makes me certain some won’t care.
Some of those who be folk who think of themselves as good people who lack the self awareness to engage in self introspection. They don’t ever question their beliefs.
Some are caught up in the arrogance of their own ignorance and convinced their preferred side is the noble one.
I see it from the supporters of MAGA and the people that call themselves Democratic Socialists.
They continue to prove to me horseshoe theory is real. It takes little effort to highlight the similarities between Trump & Mamdani. Two rich men with grievances that pushed them into office.
Two men who make promises to make big changes to protect everyone from those terrible people on the other side.
Both have a habit of lying and or refusing to answer questions they find distasteful.
What About That Talking Penis Story?
I haven’t forgotten about it and as promised and am here to share it with you. It is true story that took place 20 years ago, kept alive through memory and posts written long ago.
Let me set the scene. I enter a public restroom in an office building in Los Angeles. Against the far wall there is a line of a half dozen or so urinals, only one of which was in use.
As I had enjoyed plenty o’coffee I had need of one and so I headed down the line a couple places past a gentleman at the front. He was a big guy, had to be at least 6’2, dark hair and wearing a dark suit. Not that I was looking hard, but I had to pass by him on the way to my own urinal.
As I moseyed on up to my special place I realized that he was saying something, but it was a bit muffled. I didn’t know if he was speaking to me, so I paused for a moment to listen.
Man: What are you afraid of? Why are are you waiting? Just do it.
It took a moment to realize that he wasn’t speaking to me and instead was speaking to himself. I probably wouldn’t have thought twice about it but what he said made me stop what I was doing.
Warning, this next part is going to be a little graphic, but it is an important part of setting the scene.
As you can imagine I was a little surprised by this. At the exact moment that he was speaking I had reached into my own pants and had my friend in my own hand. There was business to be taken care of and this other guy is babbling about fear, but that wasn’t all.
Man: We have done this a thousand times. You can do it, just relax.
Men, have you ever tried to urinate while the guy down the way is giving his penis a pep talk. I have to tell you, it is more than a little distracting. I must have coughed or done something to indicate that I was aware of him because the next comment was directed to me.
Man: Don’t you speak to your penis?
Me: Not usually, I am not sure that I ever do.
Man: I speak to mine and he answers me.
Me: Really?
Man: He is my best friend.
Me: Is there a camera in here?
Man: I don’t think so. I am serious, I always talk to my penis.
Me: Did anyone ever tell you that your best friend is a dick.
Man: It is not a joke. I use special visualization techniques to improve my performance.
I remember thinking, ” what the hell is going on here!” All the while I am looking for a camera because I am convinced that I am being filmed for some crazy television show.
Man: They have conducted studies that prove that you can do better in every aspect of your life. All you need to do is think about it.
Me: I have heard about some of those studies, but I can’t say that I remember being told to speak to my penis.
Man: You have to try it. It will make a big difference in your life. I know it sounds weird, but it works.
Now I am tolerant of many things and find people to be amusing, but I have to admit that the man with the talking penis was making me less than comfortable. So I did my best to finish what I was doing and get out of there.
As I was washing my hands the juvenile kid that lives inside my head decided to make an appearance. “My penis says goodbye,” I shouted as I dried my hands.
To which I received the following answer:
Man: Ted says goodbye to you too.
And with that I was left to ponder a few things. Who was Ted? Was that the name of the man or what he calls his penis. And when he said goodbye which form of the word “to/too/two” was he using.
Was it singular, or was he saying goodbye to my penis and myself. More importantly, did I really want to know the answer to that question.
I didn’t bother to turn around and ask. I just kept walking. In the end I decided that it was better for him to think that my penis and I are rude because there are some questions that I just don’t need an answer to.
Twenty Years Later
I remember sharing that bathroom adventure with my father and paternal grandfather.
It came after dad shared a story about a guy who placed his coffee cup on a urinal and then leaned forward and rested both of his arms above his head.
I made grandpa laugh when I told dad that I hoped the guy didn’t have a powerful stream that would make things waggle like an unmanned fire hose.
And then I added ‘it’s nice when you have some space between you and the next guy.
Grandpa died a few months afterwards and we said goodbye to Dad eight years ago this past week.
Can’t say I ever expected to share that story in a post in which I talked about concerns about Qatari influence.
Nor would I have expected to have had conversations with people about whether we’ll have to have our moments like the ending to Jojo Rabbit.
If you haven’t seen the movie you won’t catch the reference and even if you have you might not. But I can promise you some of your Jewish friends are thinking about such things and wondering if the stories we heard aren’t as far off in a distant past as we might like.
Some people have asked me why I engage with the haters online because they think it’s a waste of time.
I point out how every public post that talks about Israel gets slammed with hate. Sometimes they say it’s because people hate Netanyahu.
So I pull up a post about antisemitism and show the deluge of laughing emojis, comments that celebrate the hate and or justify it.
I ask if they blame women who wear short skirts for being raped and ask why there weren’t a million encampments across universities protesting Russia or Sudan.
I point out the double standards and share posts like The people who know nothing know everything knowing some of the people who so desperately need to read it won’t.
Because trying to bring change requires effort and we can’t rely on others to try to help educate others or fight algorithms.
When they ask me why I dance in the fire and shake my fists at the storm I smile and tell them a Taurus knows how to plant his feet and stand firm.
I know something about tearing down walls. Mountains aren’t built or torn down overnight.
This will be one of the great fights of some of our lives and much or most may be fought online.
Dig in and hunker down. There is reason for concern but there is also reason for hope.
“If you loved someone, you loved him, and when you had nothing else to give, you still gave him love.”
― George Orwell, 1984
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