Hurricane Helene exacts a deadly toll upon the US Southeast, particularly in southern Appalachia

AP Photo/Erik Verduzco

Asheville has been isolated after Helene wrecked roads and knocked out power and cell service. {AP 28 September}

Am quite saddened. It has been nearly thirty years since I last visited Asheville and Western North Carolina. My parents have returned at least once, mayhap two or three times, in the years since. Asheville remains one of the most scenic and pleasant places I have ever experienced. East Tennessee, where I once had strong ties for many years, was largely spared the worst of the calamity, though poor Newport was not so fortunate.

Global warming—or 'climate change', if one prefers—is both terrifying and real, and largely man-made. For the longest time, before I parted ways with the 'conservatives' (now #Cult45) in 2015 and 2016, I was as adamant as any of them that global warming was a 'hoax' and that humanity was blameless for acts of nature. Yet now, I think, 'Well, if mankind ruins everything else, why would we not also be culpable for this?' In the eternal battle between humanity and nature, nature always prevails. Human beings do not respect nature, and the consequences of this disregard grow ever more dire with the passing of each day, week, month, and year.

Prayers are with all those affected.

Recent headlines:

Project 2025 would cripple NOAA and the National Weather Center. {Poynter 27 September}

The 1 October deadline threatens to shut down ports on the US East Coast. {Reuters 25 September}

President Biden leads a bloc of North American, European, Arab, and Pacific nations in calling for a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon. {BBC 26 September}

Trump signals that he is going to throw Ukraine to the wolves, calls their people ‘dead’ and their land ‘demolished’ - The American people shall have blood on their hands if (when) they vote to return this cretin to power. Слава Україні. {AP 25 September}

Despite his delicate feelings being hurt, Trump decides to meet with Zelensky during the Ukrainian leader's visit to the US. {BBC 27 September}

Another utterly shameful omen of where the US is heading: the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism reveals a sharp spike in Jew hatred and a ‘decline in allies willing to stand up against it.’ {Jerusalem Post 27 September}

Neo-Nazis use AI to rebrand a ‘misunderstood’ Hitler for a new generation - It is working, all too well. Far too many Americans today, particularly teenage boys and young males, are easily misled and disturbingly eager to embrace hate. {WP 27 September}

Jewish leaders have condemned Trump after he vowed to hold Jews and Catholics to account should he face defeat - Whether he wins or loses, this is all going to get worse. #Cult45 is champing at the bit to begin the slaughter of countless Americans. Without fail, Jews are always the first targets when societies descend into tyrannical madness. Nazi #Murica shall strive to outdo Nazi Germany in its wickedness. Mark my words. {AP 27 September}

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Justice temporarily served: Alex Jones loses in court yet again, but do not be misled into thinking that he and his kind are going away or shall ever face true consequences

Photo: CBS News

A Houston judge has ruled that all of Infowars’ assets are to be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the defamed Sandy Hook families {CBS News 25 September}

For likely the final time, justice appears to have prevailed in Texas—albeit only very partially, as Alex Jones remains free and shall never face true accountability, given that this Putin-backed cabal of theocrats and fascists (of which Jones is part and parcel) are about to be granted full control of the US by popular consent. It pains me, and enrages me, to have to acknowledge that the Sandy Hook families shall never receive the compensation they deserve; they shall continue to face harassment and demonisation by far right zealots (and possibly by federal agencies once they have been purged and replaced with Trump loyalists), as they have for over a decade now, and will continue to be shunned by the American people. Alex Jones is going to remain in business for a long time to come, profiting while millions in this shameful realm of #Murica, and countless souls around the globe, suffer the consequences of the division, evil, and malice he has been so instrumental in sowing.

Recent headlines:

Trump throws temper tantrum disparaging federal law enforcement and demanding the State of Florida to assume control of the investigation into the (second) assassination attempt. {WP 23 September}

Trump suggests non-citizens will be given ‘serial numbers’ pending deportation. {TNR 23 September}

Michael Cohen, former Trump 'fixer' who later testified against him, is planning to leave the US when Trump returns to office - Also warns other prominent Trump critics, including Liz Cheney, to consider leaving the country now. {Boing Boing 25 September}

More confirmation that Russia, Iran, and China employ AI tools to sow chaos in US politics, especially to undermine Kamala Harris - Such meddling has been public knowledge since 2016, yet gullible and eager right-wing Americans shall continue to lap up these lies, facts be damned, so long as these foreign actors remain unchecked. Hence, how and why an elderly convicted felon is going to win back the White House and a bloody civil war is coming. {WP 23 September}

Zelensky: Russians are using Chinese satellites to photograph Ukrainian nuclear plants in advance of potential strike. {ABC News 24 September}

Russia’s Duma takes up legislation that would fine individuals and legal entities for spreading ‘childfree ideology’. {News.az 24 September}

‘Free speech absolutist’ Elon Musk has complied with gov’t censorship demands on X more than Twitter did before his ownership. {WP 24 September}

‘US intelligence has warned Donald Trump of "real and specific" threats from Iran to assassinate him’. {AFP 24 September}

Even after the events of 6 January 2021, and with civil war looming, Congress still does not have a comprehensive plan for continuing operations in the event of a mass casualty incident. {Politico 23 September}

Nowhere in #Murica is safe from redneck bulls**t (quite literally): Final bull that escaped from rodeo at Massachusetts mall captured. {WCVB 23 September}

Study reveals no heightened risk of autism in children born during the first year of the COVID pandemic. {CIDRAP 24 September}

CDC: Severe obesity continues to soar in #Murica, particularly among women. {AP 24 September}

Severe flooding in central Europe provides a deadly preview of the future impacts of global warming. {BBC 25 September}

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Post-debate Reuters/IPSOS poll: Harris fails to surpass fifty percent, with eleven percent still undecided, even after Trump’s notably poor performance

A political cartoon lampooning Donald Trump supporters. Illustration: Monte Wolverton

While I do not place too much weight on polls, here is proof this election is going down to the wire, regardless of how low Donald Trump will sink. It is crucial to always acknowledge that Trump commands the largest and most loyal political cult in American history, and Kamala Harris, as a mixed-race woman, faces the additional challenge of running in a country that harbours deep and violent prejudices against women of colour.

This may not be the optimistic spin most reading this want to hear, nor am I at all happy about having to say it, but it serves as a reminder that in a more rational, just, and moral society, this race would not be close, and a vile and criminal figure like Donald Trump would never have risen to power in the first place. 

I have said it before, and I shall say it again: we have not yet witnessed the full extent to which White America will go to avoid being governed by a coloured woman. Trump’s most devoted supporters will stand by him, no matter what he says or does or how frail he becomes. Prepare accordingly, to whatever extent possible, for mass bloodshed is on the horizon.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Trump voters care more about hurting you than they do about their own welfare

It is deeply terrifying that millions of seniors and disabled individuals who rely on Social Security shall vote to return the cretin to the White House. Every last Trump voter knows full well that he and the GOP is hellbent on ending Social Security and Medicare, despite any claims they make to the contrary. Trump voters are willfully voting against their own economic interests, knowingly hurting themselves in order to ‘own the libs’. That is how much #Cult45 hates the rest of us living in their #Murica. We are witness to a sickness that defies all logic and common sense, and are standing on the precipice of civil war.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Is Kamala Harris within striking distance in Texas and Florida?

NEW POLL SHOWS FLORIDA, TEXAS WITHIN MARGIN OF ERROR IN HARRIS-TRUMP RACE {The Hill 6 September}

Polls are garbage, and I trust what my instincts continue to tell me: this is a nation beset with malevolence, anger, and ugliness. Trump embodies what America has become, which is why so many millions identify with him and remain so steadfastly loyal. This is also an undeniably racist and misogynistic country. Had one asked me before Trump’s rise to power, I would have dismissed that notion, but it turns out that half the country decided it would be an excellent idea to conform to every negative stereotype and perception of this nation and its people. Nevertheless, my instincts have been wrong on rare occasions, and it is vital that the American people prove me wrong this time. Otherwise, it will be national suicide.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.