This is kinda a tradition now, where I do all the little observational posts I would normally write on Facebook, all at once, here, whenever I’m banned. (and I’m currently on my 12th 30 day!). So if you guys want to share this around over there out of spite, great.
A. The most important news of all, SERVANTS OF WAR is out now, and I’m gonna spam this one like my ammo budget depends on it.
B. We are going to do something kind of fun to promote SERVANTS OF WAR in a couple weeks. This will be kind of an experiment. I’ll talk about it here and Jack will talk about on the FB fan page when it gets closer. FB ruined Book Bombs, so this will be screwing around with other forms of social media to see what happens.
C. Okay, the big one. WW3. Last time I did an update post about this I said I’m not an expert on global geopolitics, and unlike most of the internet I’m not going to pretend to be one. And the only thing I know about military issues is how the contracts work and how to fix the DOD’s terrible spreadsheets. So, just personal opinion, while recognizing my strategic limitations so all the self anointed Von Clauswitzes don’t come yell at me AGAIN, real brief version… fuck Vladmir Putin. I’m rooting for the little guy and I hope the clock is ticking towards when some oligarchs get pissed off enough Putin “commits suicide” by thirty rounds of 5.45 to the back or drinks a polonium milkshake.
C2. By root for, I mean I think we should have a 4 for $10 Javelin missile blow out sale. We’ve got ATGMS! We’ve got Stingers! We’ve got bombs and more bombs! You’ve got Russians? NOT ANYMORE! Because at Crazy Lockeheeds, everything must go!
C3. By root for, what I don’t mean is that I’m going to be a hypocritical scumbag like Stephen King, and expect my countrymen to kill and die so I can proclaim my virtue because I Care So Hard. If you feel that strongly there’s a Ukranian Foreign Legion and they’re taking volunteers… Oh wait… No. He didn’t mean like that. He meant your sons need to “take those punches” (i.e. get shot or burned to death). Not him.
D. Now, what I do know something about is observing human nature in this country, and many people are dumb, gullible, and partisan enough that they’ll tend to believe whatever reinforces the narrative they want to believe. There’s also Neil DeGrasse Tyson syndrome, where being smart about one topic doesn’t make you smart on other topics. So they’ll make up some bullshit, and rather than adjust as more information comes out, they’ll die defending Bullshit Hill.
E. On propaganda and the fog of war. Duh. Of course it exists. Its always existed. Every side does it. The internet just makes it faster.
However all those “legends” the deboonkers are so smugly debunking… You kind of miss the point. That emotional manipulation exists for a reason, and its important. You just need to try and recognized when it is aimed at swaying YOU, rather than to motivate the people doing the fighting.
F. On that note, I wrote this on Twitter last night:
Some people – “You’ve got to recognize the propaganda war, man! Don’t get played!” Same people – “I’m gonna knee jerk react to anything George Soros is in favor of in a way that I come off sounding like a shill for a dictator during an invasion!”
F2. Look, I get it. When you find yourself on the same side of a debate as people you’ve seen be sleazy liars for years, it is going to make you question yourself. But even a blind pig finds an acorn sometimes. If George Soros said hydration is good for you, you wouldn’t stop drinking water to spite him. The enemy of my enemy isn’t my friend. He’s just my enemy’s enemy.
G. Kinda related, but this is going back to domestic rather than international suckitude… Joe Biden is a drooling moron. Everything he touches turns to crap. Of course we don’t want that jackass leading us in a war. Don’t let vile progs shame you as a traitor. War sucks. War extra sucks when your leadership is a feckless imbecile and all the same generals who got butt fucked in Afghanistan are still running the show. When nobody got fired for that mess, that’s a clue they’re not going to rise to the occasion in the future.
H. So how about that State of the Union? The most positive thing I can say about it is that whoever is in charge of administering the pre-speech dementia drug/stimulant cocktail did a better than average job. Good work, team.
H2. Sure. We’re enabling a war by importing like 20% of our gas from a tyrannical douchebag, but GREEN ENERGY! (rainbows shoot from Joe’s hands and a unicorn flies by pooping free healthcare)
H3. Oh hey, NOW democrats are totally in favor of FUNDING the police. That whole massive spike in violent crime, totally not their fault. Now that rioting, looting, and burning cities isn’t helping them by holding voters hostage, democrats love them law and order again.
H4. Also, as the whole world is watching the exact kind of situation the 2nd Amendment was meant for, Ukraine is handing out AKs to anybody with a pulse, and Eric Swalwell’s “your AR-15 doesn’t do any good ’cause we can just nuke Nebraska” argument has once again been demonstrated to be the stupidest fucking thing ever, so obviously Joe Biden wants to push more gun control “because deer don’t wear Kevlar.” No. But you fuckers do.
H5. And finally, after years of calling half the country racist nazi hatemongers, and the “plague of the unvaccinated” didn’t die during “the winter of death and despair” NOW IS THE TIME FOR US TO SET ASIDE OUR DIFFERENCES AND COME TOGETHER. I swear these shitheads can’t help but channel an abusive trailer park husband. I’m sorry I hit you, but you deserved it.
H in Total. Well that was something. The SOTU was everything sucks, but its not our fault. Here are even more promises to fix the things we broke… I look forward to the midterms when you fucking scumbags take the worst loss in a century, get kicked out of office, and die penniless in a hobo camp.
Oh who am I kidding. None of these people will die penniless in a hobo camp. That’s what all that insider trading is for!
I. On that note, even the Democrat’s friendliest polls predict a bloodbath. We are now up to 31 democrat congressmen retiring (because they get to see the accurate polls) like rats fleeing a sinking ship. And its only going to get worse because the last year has demonstrated to even the squishiest of fence sitters that democrats simply suck ass and everything they believe is wrong.
J. That said I fully expect the Republicans to totally squander this. You can never go wrong assuming they will let you down. How badly they squander it will depend entirely upon how well everybody goes RINO hunting in their states this year. And this is the year to do it. I’d like to see the Great White RINO go extinct. (sadly, Mitt is safe this cycle, and he’s the greatest, whitest, hair gelliest RINO there is).
J2. Seriously, there is change in the air. The GOP can usually be counted on to suck and fail, but even there things are shifting. People are sick of this shit, and I’m seeing more and more Republicans turning into a party of regular, working, normal, sane people. People who could be on an episode of Dirty Jobs, pay their taxes, buy guns, don’t want their kids taught insane bullshit in school, and don’t give a shit what color you are. I’m sure this causes the Mitt Romneys of the world to shed salty tears of sadness at their hedge fund board meetings.
J3. On that one, mea culpa, Orange Man. I got you so wrong in 2016. I thought you were going to govern like a New York Democrat. That was the second biggest political misjudgment I’ve ever made (with #1 being that Mitt Romney wasn’t just a ziplock bag of hair gel in human shape).
K. In local news, you all saw that school letter I wrote. (and by you all, I mean half the country now apparently 🙂 ) I can’t go into too many details, but good stuff has happened. You all need to get involved in your local politics and do something. Anything. Step up. Get the word out. This is the year for decent people to push back.
L. Did I mention Servants of War is out? If you go buy it Steve won’t have to be an accountant anymore. Won’t somebody think of poor Steve in all this? Accounting is hard.
M. Since we are talking about writing, holy moly, Brandon Sanderson’s kickstarter. He made like $13 MILLION dollars IN ONE DAY, selling 4 books directly to his fans. Wow. Well freaking done. When it comes to author hustle and churn, that man is the GOAT. He’s one of the only guys out there who makes me feel like a slacker. Respect.
N. I’ve seen some authors get depressed or jealous over someone else’s success, or try to turn it into an indy vs. traditional thing. That’s just silly. (my old pal the Guardian’s Village Idiot is apparently SUPER BUTT HURT but that moron is just sad nobody recognizes his brilliance, and he’s better than everyone else, even though he doesn’t actually write anything) Don’t do that to yourself. If somebody else makes a dollar they didn’t take that dollar from you. The pie is infinite. I think it’s kinda awesome. (and also, Tor had better be kissing some ass today, because if he sticks around there it is only out of loyalty/pity).
O. Justin Trudeau is really super lucky WW3 rolled around to push his stupid doughy face out of the news cycle. Justin Trudeau makes Mitt Romney look like a vertebrate. What a scummy little wannabe tyrant.
P. But for Americans, the real lesson there is the tactics that dirt bag used against the people who stood up to him. In the old days they’d just kill you to shut you up. Now they freeze your bank accounts and make it so you can’t work or feed your family, until you comply. They take away your voice and your legal ability to push back, taking options off the table until only the worst apocalyptical options are left… and if you use those, then they’ve got an excuse to kill you.
P1. All of these effeminate little sneering leftists are one bad day away from being Pol Pot. All of them. Never forget that. Once they reveal who they are they need to be driven from office and never let anywhere near any sort of authority ever again. They will happily destroy you and everyone you love.
Q. Okay, that was getting dark… So new episodes of WriterDojo every Wednesday! (little happy shameless self promotion there). The show has been a lot of fun to do, and I’m glad you guys have been enjoying it (and hopefully getting something out of it!)
R. Book of Boba Fett… What the hell was that? That was possibly the single most inconsistent thing I’ve ever watched. I can’t really describe my reaction as a viewer, because it was all of them. Binging it is like – Good. Good. Okay. WTF? Bad. Weird. Good. Awesome. Awesome. Cool. WTF? Dumb. Dumb. Seriously, Disney, I now you guys are an evil mega corporation, but you are a RICH evil mega corporation. Get your shit together.
S. Just so you know being a writer doesn’t just ruin reading books for fun, it also makes watching TV harder, because when you watch something that should be good, but the writing decisions are just stupid, you end up sitting there thinking of all the ways you could have done it better. Just be aware of that before you jump in on this career field. Its why I like to paint minis while I listen to audiobooks or stream shows in the background. I’m way less judgey that way.
T. There will be more info coming about the MHI game. I’m not ignoring your questions, its just that was a teaser and on a bunch of those questions the guys actually making the game are going to have to answer them. I’m just the dude who makes up all the crazy monster stuff. 🙂
U. Thought of another one, sign up for the newsletter. It’s ONLY book and merch related stuff. So if you are one of those people who loves my books but hates my politics (yeah, they do exist, oddly enough) the newsletter is only upcoming products and updates. And we don’t spam you. I maybe do one a month if I remember.
Normally I try to make it all the way to Z, but SOTU and WW3 got a lot of addendums!
