Friday Night Open Thread: Futilitarianism

Posted by Oppo on 3 September 2021, 9:00 pm

After reading about those hero kids in an earlier post tonight, why would anyone even want to debate the value of being a moral person?

Immoral people — even though they get all the great lines in plays — cannot look back on anything they’ve done with pride and satisfaction: they may revel in their pleasures, but take no pleasure in their revels. That’s not always the case, but it sounds nice.

On their deathbeds, they seem to wallow in their crapulence as much as those who never heard of The Simpsons. And that burns the rest of us up. Is there no price to pay in this world for immorality?

No, not really. Not necessarily, and certainly not proportionately. We (the moral folks) try to comfort ourselves with thoughts of a comeuppance in an afterlife, but that is cold comfort. Suffice it to say that cold comfort does not always suffice.

So I hope you can bear the whips and scorns of outrageous fortune, because that is the only kind you are going to get. The moral person sometimes does manage to shuffle off this mor[t]al coil with head held high, though, which sounds complicated but isn’t. And that’s reason enough to want to be a moral person. Oh, and I’ll bet the founder of your religion said it’s worth an awful lot, too, so you can bet He’s looking out for those hero kids and others like them.

Do you have something you’d like to share? A link? A joke? Some words of wisdom? A topic to discuss? It’s our nightly Open Thread, and you have the floor.

Link of the Day: Well, Not Technically a Link

Posted by Oppo on 3 September 2021, 8:00 pm

Thanks to Slapout for this, which must be making the rounds, because I’ve seen it too. If you haven’t seen it (or if you have), we’d welcome your diagnosis:

I am sorry that I have not been very responsive to your emails lately. I have been somewhat under the weather. My doctors have diagnosed me as having an acute case of Post Islamic Stress Trauma with Apologetic White House Fatigue, PIST-AWF (Pronounced pissed-off).
PIST-AWF is a newly defined disease that has become widespread and highly contagious. Doctors at the CDC released a statement disclosing PIST-AWF as a new disease.
It has already infected over half of the United States, and is anticipated to continue to spread. The disease itself affects the cells of a person’s entire body, then goes dormant. The disease ravages the body, and leaves serious side effects, including: embarrassment for your country, depression, anxiety as to when it will come to an end, and wondering how much more damage Biden can do and how long it will take to repair the damage once a new person takes over the presidency.
Symptoms include:
* Severe pain of the scalp from pulling your own hair while viewing your president pander to Taliban terrorists.
* Uncontrollable heartburn at 8:00 p.m. during the CNN coverage lies.
* Stomach cramps from swallowing the fact we elected Biden/Harris.
* Vomiting from viewing terrorists murdering innocent people routinely on the nightly news.
* Bleeding from the eyes. This is not Ebola. It is your eyes reacting to accidentally flipping to a channel that shows Al Sharpton as a so-called legitimate news show host.
Since the disease consumes the entire body, every infected person is then identified as the disease itself.
If you have these symptoms and consider yourself PIST-AWF, please notify your local election board and place your name on the list for a cure. It is expected, and sincerely hoped, that the cure will be available in 2022.

Other indications:

* The heartbreak of Psoros-ISIS

* Hypersensitivity to flatulance from the direction of your TV

* Getting bitten by Major

* Mesopotamiatheoryosis

* Loss of mobility, coordination, and about 60 Blackhawk helicopters

* Explosive deniarrhia

* General malaise and impotence (Pentagon staff only)

* Cold, clammy hands

* From behind you, when on stage with Biden

Wouldn’t Surprise Me

Posted by Oppo on 3 September 2021, 7:00 pm

Title and image submitted by Gumbeaux:

Hero Kids

Posted by Oppo on 3 September 2021, 6:00 pm

Title and images submitted by Gumbeaux:

“Colbie was born at 23 weeks, weighing only 1lb 2 oz. She spent 153 days in the NICU, had eye surgery and six brain surgeries. The doctors told us we wouldn’t know what to expect, yet here she is!”…with her doll to match.