GOP Is Dead – Republican Party Now COP – Cowards On Parade

We really need to look at today’s Republican Party and understand just what they stand for. NOTHING! The party has adopted two planks for their candidate in the upcoming election. First make sure the border problems are never addressed. Second destroy our economy.

Those are the only two issues that they are interested in making happen. We still do not have a full budget for this fiscal year. Republicans actually want the government to shut down. They are actively working to ensure this goal is met. Not because of any desire to eliminate the so-called deep state, but because they know a government shutdown will hurt our booming economy.

GDP grew at 3.3 percent in the last quarter of 2023. Unemployment is at its lowest in decades. Inflation is getting under control and people’s wages, for the most part, have gone up. Things economically are looking good despite the Republicans claim that we are actually in a recession. Hell, even one of trump’s own economic advisors has admitted the economy is growing and strong under the Biden administration.

Remember, trump promised GDP growth of 2 to 4 percent. But, he never managed to achieve that. His successor has achieved it and there are no signs of it slowing down. As a result, and to make you afraid, Republicans want to shut down the government to cause a drop in the stock market and uncertainty in the economy. It is their attempt to crash the economy thinking they will gain votes if they manage to do so.

Then we have the border issue. It has been the Republicans who have cried crocodile tears about the border. They are always complaining about an “open border” and we need to do something about it. So Mitch McConnell asked one of his senior Republican Senators to work with the Democrats and get a bipartisan bill to address this issue.

That cooperation worked. There is a bill in the Senate that could come for a vote by next week. Even Republicans have called this bill one of the best immigration reform bills they ever saw. It gives both sides what they want. It even includes huge amounts of money for border security.

But, trump and his clown show don’t like the bill simply because they couldn’t come up with it when he was in office. They never tried. And even worse, it just might give Biden a victory that voters will appreciate. So, trump has been hounding his clowns in the House and Senate to “kill the bill”. Just like he has been pressuring them to ensure there is no approved budget and to force a government shutdown.

As usual, these clowns who care nothing about governing or even about our country are marching in lockstep with the fascist they want to rule over us. They are eager to kill the immigration bill because they only want to cry about the problems, not do anything about it.

They are marching in lockstep because the economy under President Biden is booming and getting stronger. That certainly not something they want because people just might be happy. Instead they want to scare you about an imminent collapse. Something that can and will most likely happen if they shut down the government.

Don’t take my word for it. Republicans have shut down the government several times in the past few decades. Each time a recession resulted and it took a long time to recover from that recession. The so-called party of business and economics appears to be transforming into the party wanting recessions no matter how much that hurts you and your family.

In the last administration we witnessed nothing being passed that was even close to bipartisan. As a result, we saw nothing passed at all that made your life better. In this administration we have seen bipartisan bills passed for infrastructure, inflation reduction and hopefully immigration reform. Things are getting done, but not because of any real help from the majority of Republicans in Congress.

Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction passed when Democrats controlled the House. Since the Republicans have taken control, NOTHING has passed. They aren’t even trying to pass the annual budget. They simply don’t care because their dear leader, the fascist trump, is ordering them not to do anything. And, right on key, the Cowards on Parade have fallen in line with him.

They are telling you that you do not count. You have no rights unless they tell you what they are. You have no right to happiness or even the right of dreaming of a better life. You are supposed to do what you are told and just shut the fuck up. They will let you know what to think, what to believe and how to live. That is what fascism is all about.

The Republicans have proven beyond a reasonable doubt they do not deserve your support or votes. They have proven that all of the word salads that keep spewing from their mouths are just that, nothing but words. They cannot be trusted to keep their word or promises. They only care about enriching themselves and ruling over you.

As a result, they are willing to do everything in their power to make sure the border is not fixed and to do everything in their power to crash our booming economy. That is not what Congress is supposed to do. It is designed to govern in order to make your lives better not worse. Republicans have opted for making you lives worse.

The seeds of fascism have already been planted in states like Florida and Texas. There governors are advocating for “shooting on sight” anyone crossing the border illegally. They are willing and actually defying Supreme Court orders. 

Other states have passed laws to make it illegal to transport anyone across the state in search of an abortion. The first step in making us have permission papers to cross state lines or to even cross county lines. If they can make it illegal for abortion, they can make it illegal for any number of issues they don’t like.

I would love to be able to say that the Republican Party is in chaos. But that would be a lie. The Republican Party we knew growing up has died a painful death. In its place is a fascist party hellbent on destroying our country by destroying everything we believe to be sacred. Our democracy, or dreams, our rights and our belief in what we want. 

They call a rainbow flag in a classroom “indoctrination”. Yet they want to force the ten commandments to be posted in the very same classrooms. How is that NOT indoctrination? We all know that it is, especially in a secular society where we can follow any religion we wish or none at all. Forcing that poster into classrooms is total indoctrination and they know it.

There comes a time in history when something needs to be done about ridding ourselves of fascist thinking. Today, fascism is rising fast all across the nation, and worst part is most people just aren’t paying attention because it doesn’t affect them personally.

America needs to wake up to the existential threat we are facing. We need to wake up and stop our sleep walk towards fascism. Otherwise, we will see our great nation fail in the worst ways. Your rights will be stripped and you will be expected to behave like “good little fascists”. 

Our nation has been the beacon of freedom in the world. Other nations wishing for equality have looked to us for the way forward. We have not been perfect, but we have grown and made progress. We became a better nation through all of the difficulties we have faced.

Today’s Cowards on Parade want to destroy all of that. Instead of being the guiding light for democracy, they instead want to be rulers even if it means destroying all of the ideals we hold sacred. Power above all else is their true mantra.

We really need to hand them the worst political defeat any party has faced. That includes all the way down the ballot in state and local elections as well. Otherwise the seeds of fascism will spread from one state to another. It is time to fight to save the soul of our nation. That battle ground is at the ballot box.

Don’t vote based on party. Vote based on morality and decency. Then and only then will we be able to save our democracy, our nation and our way of life. Otherwise the shirts will win out and our lives will become miserable and the lives of our children and grandchildren will be in jeopardy. 

Think about that when you head to the polls.

To Quote Vince Lombardi – “What The Hell Is Going On Out There?”

I am going to be honest. Sometimes I want to write something and do my research and get totally frustrated. Not because there isn’t anything important to write about, but because there is so much bullshit coming from the right that I get frustrated and just don’t bother.

I know, I have to get out of this malaise and get back to doing something to do my part in protecting our great nation. But, the problem we are seeing on the right is getting to a point where chaos is just too meek of a word to use anymore.

Let me try to fill you in on all of the complexities about this process. We constantly hear from the right that President Biden is “mentally incapable” of being President. Yet, it is the other guy who continues to make stupid and confusing comments both during his speeches and his social media posts.

He has said it is great to be in Iowa City when he was talking somewhere else. He has confused Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi and accused Haley of failing to protect the capital against his insurrection. This weekend he wailed about Army Forts that had been named after Confederate figures having their names changed to real American heroes. He said: “We won world wars from these forts. Forts like Benning and fort this and fort that”.

Now as a 73 year old man, I would argue that if you can’t name the forts you are complaining about, don’t mention them at all. Would it have been too hard for his speech writers to include the names they want to cry about instead of letting him use fort this and fort that. 

And, all of this is coming from a guy who wants to remove us from NATO so his buddy Putin can wage a war there without fear of us intervening. He wants Putin to “rule” Europe I guess. One dictator helping another without doing anything.

These ramblings and rants are getting worse. Every time he gives a speech, he blunders and makes goof ups after goof ups. Yet, the morons in his rallies cheer all of his blunders and try to make them sound sane. In my opinion, the only candidate proving that he is “mentally incapable” of being President is this former guy. He can’t even conclude one sentence without either cutting it off to go somewhere else of goof up what he is trying to say.

As a result, where are the critics on the right crying about his mental incapacity? They are silent because they don’t care about any of that, they only care about getting this clown elected to form his fascist government. 

There is a bipartisan immigration reform bill being looked at to help ease the problems at the southern border. You know the number thing the right says needs to be fixed immediately or we will be “overrun” by all of these nasty people looking for a better life. But, those same people who claim all of the bad things at the border are not in support of the bill.

The crazy woman from Colorado who is switching districts to try to stay in Congress says “amnesty is a non-starter for me”. Okay, but we don’t know if “amnesty” is in the bill because it hasn’t been released yet. It is the simple fact that a bill to help ease the problem is under consideration that is the problem. Republicans, especially the chaos crowd don’t want any solutions. They will lose their crying towels.

And, just how can someone like her say that “amnesty is a non starter” when she fully supports “pardoning” the former guy if he is convicted of the 91 felony charges against him, including insurrection. That argument pales in comparison, yet there she is saying it.

Remember, it is a misdemeanor for crossing the border illegally into our country. There is a punishment that includes deportation or possibly six month imprisonment and/or a fine. The penalties for the Felonies trump is accused of could result on a very long prison sentence. 

According to these Republicans, it is okay to cause and support an insurrection to overthrow our government, but is a far greater crime to walk across the border without proper papers. How this equates to a reasonable discussion is beyond me.

Then we have the book banning craze on the right. Of course, that does not include banning books from a “conservative” author. Bill O’Rielly recently had two of his books banned in Florida public schools. He went totally ballistic over this but was all in favor of banning books he didn’t like. Hell, in their zeal to ban anything “inappropriate” one Florida school district even banned the DICTIONARY. 

You know I can almost understand why Florida would want to ban the dictionary. It includes the definitions for things like slavery and sex. My god how can we allow any book in schools that define words like those. Worse, it even defines “homosexuality”. The indoctrination is just too much to bear.

There is more talk about getting rid of Johnson, the current Speaker of the House. Why? Because he had the temerity to actually work with the Democrat leader of the Senate to pass a continuing resolution bill to keep the government from shutting down. I mean, how could any politician actually want to keep the government open when his caucus wants it shut down and totally dismantled in favor of fascism?

Besides, these crazies actually believe that shutting down the government will cause the economy to collapse. Of course, they will then try to shift the blame to Biden and Democrats who are trying to get a real budget passed and avoid this potential harm to a growing economy. YOUR job is at stake, but they just don’t give a shit about you or your family.

These are just some of the problems with the right wing in our country that make it hard to decide what to write about. I try to write about topics in order to inform my readers so they can make up their own minds about what to think. But with all of the chaos and outright lies coming from the other side it is hard to decide on what to talk about. 

It seems that the right wing want to flood us with stupidity so they don’t have to defend their inability to get anything done. The last several Republican controlled House of Representatives top the list of least productive. This current House has broken all of the records for NOT getting anything done. Hell, even their own members are crying about not having anything to “hang their hats on” during this upcoming election. That to quote the former guy is “very sad”.

Of course, they will still get votes because their followers don’t expect them to actually do anything. All their followers want is to see them on Fox News and other right wing media crying in their beer about nothing. It is one thing to cry in front of cameras and point fingers. It is quite another thing to actually come up with remedies for that which they are crying.

Their front runner to become their nomination to run for President is showing signs of mental instability every time he opens his mouth. But, they don’t care. They are willing to pardon that same person if he is convicted of felonies including insurrection against our country, but want undocumented aliens rounded up and deported and in cases like DeSantis and Abbott, shot.

In states they control, they have taken away civil rights of people and are proud of it. They ban anything they don’t like just because they don’t like it. They complain about everything but do nothing except ban things like abortion, medical treatment, books and religious beliefs they don’t like.

That is today’s Republican Party. It is no longer a party who is willing to defend the Constitution, democracy or our way of life. What they want is to tell, us how to live, who we can love, who we must hate and rule over us like we are all little children who don’t know better.

In a word folks, that is fascism not democracy. Remember, they cheered when the former guy said “I will be a dictator on day one”. Any more questions?

Dear Republicans – Diversity Is Not Harming Our Military, You Are

In the last few years, we have heard all about our military from Republicans and none of what we have heard is the truth. These soothsayers of falsehoods want you to believe that our military is going the “wrong way” and cannot stand up to those “toxic masculine” militaries from other countries.

We hear complaints about our military being “woke” and that is the reason that we are having trouble recruiting new members. We keep hearing from those who never served a single day in the military calling Gen Z “unpatriotic” for not “rushing to fill the ranks”. And, of course, they say it is all because of the military being “woke”.

Speaking as someone who gave 20 years to the U.S. Coast Guard, I can tell you all of that is just political bullshit intended to make you more afraid of everything instead of being proud of the men and women who serve to protect our nation.

From what I can tell, these right-wing crackpots keep talking about how the military is too involved in “diversity training”. Well, let me clear one thing up for you. Back in the 1980s, the military started this “diversity training”. When the military started to allow women to serve in all aspects of the jobs, things needed to be changed and the military was the first to recognize this.

The military, whether you are talking about the Coast Guard or any other branch, requires team work to get the job done. We need to rely on each other in times of crisis and not hesitate in our duties to complete the task. This is necessary because one weak link in the ranks can cause total failure.

I was in the service when women were allowed to expand their duties including going to war or serving onboard ships of the Navy and Coast Guard. I can tell you that there was a huge outcry about women onboard ships. The main argument was that these ships would become basically floating brothels. Guess what, it never happened.

Because of all of this, we needed to look at how we did our business and how we managed all the new problems that might occur. In the old days we were told that “leaders are born, not made”. We found out that was also total bullshit. All of the branches of the military started what they called “leadership and management” training. This training was not just for officers or non-commissioned officers. It was for everyone who was placed in position of authority.

In order to meld a diverse group of people into a working team, we needed to understand that everyone did not have the same motivation and we needed to make sure that no one felt left out or “picked on” because they were different. So, despite it not being called “diversity training” that was exactly what it was.

The military has been ahead of the civilian population on many subjects. They were the first to fully integrate with African Americans being made part of the military and not some subgroup attached to it. They were given full rights under the military system. That was years before the government passed the Civil Rights Act.

Our military is a unique institution. It encompasses every sector of our society. It is based on the idea that we can train anyone to do the job and do it extremely well. We know this belief is fact because we have the best trained and most powerful military on the planet.

The lame bullshit coming out of the mouths of Republicans across the nation is really getting old real quick. Assholes like Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz keep saying we need the military to be more “masculine” like Russia’s. Yet, Russia is actually losing a war against the smaller nation of Ukraine Russia invaded. I guess “masculinity” isn’t the answer to military force and might.

The Republican party always called itself the party in favor a a strong national defense and a strong military. Yet, they are the ones putting the military down and saying it is weaker than ever before. They are trying to use the military as political pawns to get power and rule over us, presumably using the same military they are now denigrating.

As for the recruiting problem right now, we have always had periods when recruitment went down. Maybe we are having trouble attracting people because of all the ads on TV showing war wounded and how they are struggling with their lives right now. And, how they must turn to private organizations for that help because our own government won’t lift a finger to help those of us who need that help. We gave it all for our country, and the Republicans keep cutting the budgets for the VA and basically throw us on the trash heap to forget about us.

The military has its problems with many issues. Rape still takes place way too often, be honest one rape is too often. But, the military does recognize problems. Yes, it is often slow to react and put in place real changes to overcome these problems, but they are often way ahead of the civilian world in making those changes.

The fact of the matter is when you go into war, or into a life threatening rescue operation, you need to rely on the person next to you. You don’t give a shit if that person is a man or a woman or gay or transgender. All you want is to know they will do their job. And, they do their job. That is why our military is so powerful and so good.

When conservatives start throwing around the word “woke” I am not totally sure what they really mean. From their reactions and following words, I have come to the conclusion that “woke” means everybody is equal and should be treated fairly and with respect. Well, if that is what “woke” is, then I am woke and very proud of it.

The military has led our nation in all sorts of equality issues. If our diverse military is “woke”, then you can bet the rest of the nation will follow suit. Sorry Republicans, but our “woke” military is made up of the best people our nation has to offer. They are willing to risk it all for the safety of our nation and our democracy.

They are the best military in the world, and show no signs of weakening but rather getting stronger. But, the military knows the real definition of teamwork and they will do what they need to ensure that teamwork among the ranks. Military leaders are not perfect and are often slow to react. But, they eventually come around.

Too bad Republicans won’t take a lesson on teamwork from our brave men and women. If they did, they might even be willing to govern our great nation not constantly bitch about their so-called “victimhood” or blindly follow a man who says military members are “suckers and losers”.

I Am Sick Of Republican “Tough Guy” Cartoon Shows – Aren’t You?

Let’s be real for a minute. We are approaching the 2024 election cycle. There are some real problems we face as a nation that need serious discussion and solutions. Yet, they are always put in the background by one party over something really stupid.

Just this week, we have had 3 people shot and killed by a racist in a Dollar General store in Florida. We have had a professor at the University of North Carolina shot and killed during school hours on campus. We have had a 4 year girl shot and killed by a woman who claims she was “teaching the girl gun safety.

In the richest country in the world, we have 23 million children who are considered “food insecure”. We have roughly 20 million people who do not have proper health care insurance. Even during this booming economy.

Those are just a few things that need to be taken seriously. There are others like the rampant obesity and the fact that we are leading the industrialized world in maternity deaths during delivery. But, don’t tell Republicans about any of this and especially don’t ask them what they plan to do about them if they get power.

No, they have far more important things to “discuss” or rather cry about. The idea of actually working for you the people of this country doesn’t register on their radar and they are far more interested in making up stories and lying about them to make you believe they are all true. Naturally, they are intended to make themselves look like “victims” which is how they think they will gain power.

We all watched the Bud Light mess over one single thing to do with a transgender person. We watched them tell us how “the government is coming for your gas stoves”. They have now discovered another vainly and stupid to complain about. How much alcohol it is RECOMENDED you drink per day.

A little background. In this country, health experts have recommended, for years, that an adult male drink no more than two beers per day and that an adult woman drink no more than one beer per day. Note: the idea of “beer” is used as a measuring stick for alcohol consumption.

These are RECOMMENDATIONS and not law. However, these recommendations can change in the next few years. For example, in Canada, the recommendations were the same until recently when they changed their recommendations to two beers per week instead of per day.

That change in recommendations is considered possible in the U.S. but it can’t happen until at least 2025. Remember these are RECOMMENDATIONS intended to help us maintain better health conditions. They are NOT LAW and never will be.

That doesn’t stop Republicans from spreading their horrific lies. They are trying to make it sound like the government is going to force us to only drink two beers per week. So, up steps one of the biggest clowns in the Republican party, the Canadian Senator from Texas, Ted Cruz.

He went on Newsmax and cried and boo-hooed about the possibility of new recommendations. In his rant he said: “these idiots want people to limit drinking to two beers a week. That’s their guideline!” First off that is not the guidelines.

Then he went on and said “They can kiss my ass!” Then he took a sip from a bottle of beer. Actually, when he took his sip he was so awkward that he looked like he was choking on it. Now, I don’t know for sure, but Cruz looks to me more like a martini type of guy not a beer slugging type of guy.

All of this was to show “what a tough guy he is”. You know the same “tough guy” who kissed trump’s ass after trump called his wife ugly. The same “tough guy” who flew his state during an ice storm and went to Cancun.

This whole cartoon show is getting genuinely ridiculous. I believe that if the Surgeon General came out with a recommendation that you should “not punch yourself very hard in the nuts”, these Republicans would blow a lid over it and start showing up on Newsmax punching themselves hard in the nuts to show how “tough” they are.

It is time to show just how stupid and ridiculous the Republican Party has become. We suffer from a pandemic of gun violence, no health care for everyone, and other real problems that real Americans face every day. And, the best the Republican Party can come up with is a cartoon show about how tough they are by “rejecting the recommendations” about alcohol consumption.

But, when you look at what it really is, you can see just how they intend to get elected. By scaring the shit out of you with lies and falsehoods. It is just like “brown people are coming to your neighborhood to commit crimes”. Now it is “how much beer you should drink”.

These are the same people who still defend trump. I still can’t get over the idea that six of the eight candidates for the Republican nomination publicly showed that they would “support trump as their candidate even if he was convicted of crimes.

So, they put on these cartoon shows to show “how tough they are” and avoid answering any questions concerning the real issues we face as a people. Whether or not you agree or like them, Democrats are trying to offer solutions to our problems. Republicans are too busy defending a four time indicted former guy and showing us cartoons wailing about “recommendations” intended to keep us healthier.

We simply MUST vote the clowns and their cartoon shows out of office next year. We must vote them out from President all the way to dog catcher. It is the only way we can at least try to become serious about serious problems and hopefully fix most of them.

If you don’t think these Republicans are dangerous to our way of life and just being clownish, look around at how many children cry when they first see a clown. Clowns terrify more children than make laugh because of their goofy makeup.

If you wipe off the clown makeup from the faces of Republicans, you will discover mini-Putins under it all. That is not what our country is about or ever should be.

GOP Proves Once Again They Offer Nothing But Whines And Innuendos

As the election year approaches, we need to look at what the GOP is offering America. The answer of course is nothing except whining and innuendos without any merrit.

Last September, Republican members of the House sent a letter to the Attorney General asking that Weiss be named as a special prosecutor in the Hunter Biden case. In April, Republican Senators sent the same kind of letter to the Attorney General.

In both letters the Republicans said it was the only way to ensure the viability of the investigation and “maintain faith in our judicial system”. The Senators letter said: “Given the politicization of the DOJ under your watch and the importance of avoiding any appearance of impropriety, the undersigned request that you provide U.S. Attorney Weiss the full protections and authorities of a special counsel. This is one important action that you can take that will go a long way in restoring faith in our governmental institutions.”

Then the plea deal with Hunter Biden fell through. It wasn’t because Biden changed his mind or that Weiss changed his mind. It was because the judge didn’t like the language in the deal.

So, Biden pleaded not guilty and is facing a trial for his crimes. As a result, the Attorney General announced last week that Weiss was being upgraded to Special Counsel in the matter. Exactly what the GOP wanted him to do for quite some time.

You would think that would satisfy the GOP since they were getting what they wanted. Wrong! After getting what they wanted, they all started complaining and saying that it was actually a bad thing that they got what they wanted.

One by one, those who signed both of these letters started whining about Weiss being named as the Special Prosecutor. Weiss was appointed by the trump administration to oversee this investigation and is a Republican. Still, the GOP doesn’t like him to do what they wanted him to do and be from the beginning.

The Canadian Senator from Texas, Cruz, said that Weiss is a “wildly inappropriate” person to serve as the Special Counsel. Crackpot Marsha Blackburn called Weiss a “collaborator”. Except she never said who he was supposed to be collaborating with.

The list goes on and on of Republicans who wanted Weiss to be named a “Special Prosecutor” and are now turning against him. They obviously are not in favor of whatever truth of this case is. They simply want to cry and whine and complain and make all sorts of false accusations and make wildly false innuendos. That is their whole political platform.

The biggest argument they make against Weiss is the deal he struck with Hunter Biden. They claim it was a “sweetheart deal”. However, a look at similar cases with other defendants, this is by no means a “sweetheart” deal. As a matter of fact, it is mostly routine for rich people to get such a deal over avoiding their taxes.

This is the current GOP. They offer nothing to make your lives better. They have done nothing to help you live better. Their only answer to everything about the economy is to give massive tax cuts to the rich and hopefully it will “trickle” down to you. They have been saying that for 40 years and it has never “trickled down” to you.

This Republican House has done nothing except try to hold investigation after investigation into matters they really don’t have authority to hold investigations over. Hunter Biden is a private citizen and his tax problems are a matter for the DOJ not Congress.

They want to make sure that you believe that the President was somehow involved in all of this. There has been no evidence to say that is true, but they keep saying it anyway. Not because it is true, but because they know their base loves these innuendos and they have something to whine about.

If they really believe they need to “clean up corruption” then why aren’t they investigating the $2 Billion Jared Kushner received shortly after his father-in-law left office and he gave up his “advisor” position. It is just as weird that he received that money as any argument you may have about Biden. Yet, the GOP is not interested in any corruption from anyone associated with trump.

There is an old saying that “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.” Well, the GOP got exactly what they wished for and now all they are doing is whining about it.

Ask yourself. Just how can you trust anyone who gets what they want and then complain about getting it? What does that say about their integrity? If a person has no integrity they cannot be trusted. The GOP with their whining about the Special Counsel they wanted, makes it obvious they have no integrity. Therefore they cannot be trusted.

They must be voted out of office in the upcoming 2024 elections. That is the only way the GOP can rid itself of these wacko fascists and rebuild their party into what it once was. One with integrity.

Did The State Of Florida Just Formally Endorse Slavery?

The State of Florida has become the state where civil rights go to die. This has been true for a number of years now. Florida has the biggest population of neo-Nazi and white supremacists in the nation. They have attacked public education and has tried to make the idea of slavery as something that was mostly good for the slaves.

Now, they have formally said so. The Florida Board of non-Education has approved a new set of academic standards for K-12 schools on African American studies. And, to say the least it is jaw dropping.

In their firm desire to whitewash American history, especially when it comes to slavery in our nation, they have gone way too far and in my opinion have openly endorsed the concept of slavery.

According to these new standards, the children of Florida are supposed to be taught that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” Personal benefit?

So, according to these new studies, it was okay to kidnap people from their homelands, ship them thousands of miles across the sea, sell them into slavery to do the work for their masters, and it was all okay because it turned out to be good for them because they “learned skills for their personal benefit”.

The standards guide says instruction will also include mention of “violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.” It adds that students will be taught to “identify” famous Black people, but it fails to make it necessary for students to learn about each of their contributions, challenges and stories overall.

In other words, students will be taught to identify people, but not what they encountered or did to gain the “famous” status. They just don’t matter in the big scheme of things, so why bother to teach anything about them.

Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association said: “How can our students ever be equipped for the future if they don’t have a full, honest picture of where we’ve come from. Gov. DeSantis is pursuing a political agenda guaranteed to set good people against one another, and in the process he’s cheating our kids. They deserve the full truth of American history, the good and the bad.”

What is happening in Florida is a travesty and something I never thought I would see in our country. The Ayatollah and his politburo are actively trying to erase our history in favor of their white supremacy agenda. They are trying to make it sound as if “slavery wasn’t all that bad” so why teach about it?

You can believe what you want about all of this. But, no matter how you try to whitewash the language, these new standards, at least to me, is a full throated endorsement of slavery. It wasn’t all that bad according to these clowns. They learned something that benefited them. That is all bullshit. They only learned things to serve their masters better.

This situation proves that if you try to use the correct words, you can make everything look good and not evil. It isn’t just about slavery either. We have seen it in courtrooms around the country when a woman says she was raped and then is accused of “causing” her own rape because she was drinking alcohol or dressed “provocatively”.

We have seen it with those stupid “stand your ground” laws where someone can shoot an unarmed person and claim “I was standing my ground” and get away with murder.

It matters what people say. And, we must not look at the words but at the meaning of those words. In this case, the words obviously say that slavery was okay and “beneficial” to the slaves.

Is it any wonder that systemic racism has never died in our country? Just more reasons why these Republican clowns need to be voted out of office next year up and down the ballot.

We keep hearing about the fascist tendencies of trump and the Ayatollah. But, they are not the real danger. The real danger in becoming a fascist nation is if their politburos continue to hold power in Congress, State and local office. They are the ones who will allow a fascist to take power. That is why they all must go.

This new “standard” for African American studies in Florida proves just how far the Republicans will go to change our history and divide us even more in the cause of power for themselves.

Opinion: The Rainbow In The Sky Tells Me God Supports The LGBTQ Community, Not Hate It

The sight of a rainbow has some very interesting feelings that come forward. One of those feelings is the sight of different colors combining in the sky to form one of the most beautiful sights on earth. It brings a feeling of comfort to the viewer.

This all came to me as I sat on my front porch during a rainstorm and saw a rainbow in the sky. I looked at it and wondered why so many people hate rainbows. I wondered why rainbows have become such a hot issue especially for the right wing so-called conservatives. Just how has something so beautiful become a symbol of such hate?

Yes, I know that they all tell me that since the LGBTQ community took the rainbow as a symbol of inclusiveness and love, that makes it a target. The thought of inclusiveness in our lives is something that we must all utterly be against. So, as these clowns keep attacking the LGBTQ community, they use the rainbow as a symbol of their hate towards this community.

We see Republican states passing anti-LGBTQ laws on a regular basis. They pass laws about bathroom use, about medical treatment for LGBTQ, about drag shows, about drag book readings at libraries and anything else they can think of hating.

The real problem with all of this is that it is not the majority of Americans who wish to have these anti-LGBTQ laws passed. It is not the majority of Americans who wish to ban books that even mention a LGBTQ character. No, it is the minority of extremist right wing nuts who wish to control our lives.

In Wisconsin, the school board of Waukesha voted unanimously, repeat unanimously, to fire a teacher because she taught her class to sing the song Rainbowland by Dolly Parton and Miley Cirus. Why is this song so disturbing to these so-called school board members whose responsibility is to ensure our children get a real and a good education?

Well, I guess they took great offense at some of the lyrics in the song. Like: “Living in a Rainbowland / The skies are blue and things are grand / Wouldn’t it be nice to live in paradise / Where we’re free to be exactly who we are.” I mean, I guess you would NEVER want to teach your child anything like that. How dare anyone not believe that thinking living as who we are is so terrible we can’t even imagine the consequences?

A famous frog once asked why are there so many songs about rainbows? I guess he might also be wonder why we need to fire a teacher who taught this song and then realize we must because it advocates for acceptance. After realizing all of this, the frog would gladly hop back to the swamp and never take Manhattan again.

The Republican nuts who have pressed these anti-LGBTQ laws and ban books that include anything mentioning LGBTQ characters and fire teachers who teach a song about inclusiveness and rainbows tell us that their mission is led by “god” who hates LGBTQ community.

So, the other day I sat on my front porch and looked at the beautiful rainbow during a rain shower and wondered why all the fuss. Isn’t the fact that “god” makes rainbows actually says that “god” is in favor of inclusiveness, love and peace? Doesn’t this simple act say he supports the LGBTQ community just as he supports all of his children?

I don’t know about you, but that is exactly what is says to me. No matter which “god” you believe in, the idea of this beautiful rainbow made by your “god” is proof that he does not hate LGBTQ people. Just the opposite, he loves and supports them. So, how can you hate them so much?

Titan Tragedy Shows Just How Sick The Right Wing Can Get

It is official. The U.S. Coast Guard announced that debris was discovered on the ocean floor where they were searching for the Titan submarine. They said the debris field was consistent with a catastrophic implosion. 5 passengers lost their lives in this tragic incident.

There has been a lot of talk about this incident. There have been all sorts of discussions as to whether or not the Titan suffered from safety issues. There are reports that the owner, who was on the sub this trip, failed to follow advice from experts and failed to acknowledge the safety recommendations they made.

However, the right wing in our country are trying to lay blame everywhere except on the facts of the case. They have gone completely off the rails over this tragic event to try to make political gains off of the death of these people. That is about as sick as you can get.

Since the announcement, people have been arguing about a report that the Navy told the commander on the scene that they heard a sound in the ocean that was like an implosion. They are arguing that it was “kept secret” to cover up something. Well, let me explain. The sound made by a submarine imploding at those depths can travel as far as 1500 miles.

So, even if the commander on the scene received this message, he would not have called off the search because it could not have been shown it was the Titan that imploded. You don’t call off rescue operations until you are fairly certain there is no chance of survival. A sound in the ocean does not give you that certainty of disaster until you find wreckage.

But that doesn’t stop the wackos from trying to point the finger at anything that can be classified as “woke”. I don’t say that easily either. But, the proof is in the pudding as they say.

First up is Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) who claims this shows an “epic failure of leadership”. Just what the hell he is speaking about isn’t really that clear. He said: “I have been hearing a lot of concerning things from people, the civilian side who are involved in this. You know, we’ve got to look into it, see what’s true and what isn’t. … What appears to be the case is epic failure in leadership. Where exactly that leadership failure is, I don’t know. Is it the White House, Coast Guard, Navy? I’m not sure.”

Well, I am not sure what this clown is even trying to say. I know that he never served in the Coast Guard and has zero experience in search and rescue operations the Coast Guard are experts in. Just what is he trying to say? He is claiming that the failure of this sub is the fault of the Coast Guard, Navy or White House? How about it being caused by the company that built it?

There were reports of “tapping noises” the other day which gave some hope to the Coast Guard and the other agencies trying to find and recuse these people. But, those tapping sounds were not coming from the sub if it imploded on Sunday as we are now beginning to believe.

For someone like Crenshaw to make these accusations is astounding. He has no clue as to what he is talking about. He even said that “resources should have been there sooner”? Does he realize how much time it takes to get those resources ready and just how long it takes for a ship to travel the distance from shore to the scene? His statements are nothing more than a blowhard trying to become relevant over something he knows nothing about. It would be more useful if he just shut the hell up.

Then we have those wonderful right wing wackos who claim that everything that goes wrong is because of “woke”. Stockton Rush, the CEO of the company who operated Titan was onboard with the other passengers. The “woke” community has gone after him for the cause of the disaster because he suddenly became “woke”.

This all came about when a story reported that Rush said he had not wanted to hire “white guys”. Well, of course, in the anti-woke crowd that meant that because he didn’t hire all white guys, this disaster was all his fault. Of course it was Fox News that made the whole thing worse.

Referring to Rush, Jesse Waters said this: “There’s been lawsuits, there’s been accusations about slashing regulations. He’s quoted as saying he didn’t hire a bunch of 50-year-old white guys with military experience because he didn’t want his vessels to be not inspirational for a younger generation.” 

Of course, Charlie Kirk had to weigh in with his two cents: “If it is true, this person tragically passes away, the CEO of OceanGate and he says that he was choosing and selecting his personnel based on not wanting to have 50-year-old white guys, then you could make the argument, albeit rather cruel and blunt, he killed himself and his customers with wokeness.”

According to Republicans, everything tragic that happens is all because of “wokeness”. Just how stupid can that be. Besides, what they are suggesting in their comments is exactly what Republicans believe how businesses should act.

You know, that sounds more like a business man doing everything he can to keep the costs down. If you really look at their talking points, a CEO allegedly ignoring experts and choosing to hire inexperienced workers in lieu of higher-paid ones, while also donating to GOP candidates, would be the opposite of wokeness. That all seems in line with standard operating procedures for the wealthy.

But wokeness has become such a pervasive party of right-wing ideology that it’s not just progressive ideals getting slapped with the label anymore — CEOs who plan ill-advised trips to the bottom of the ocean now qualify, too.

If the sub did implode which seems like it did, it was not because some old white guy wasn’t at the controls. It was because of a flaw in the design and building of the sub in the first place. We have had all sorts of “experts” who said they would not go on the trip because they were concerned with the safety issues.

Why aren’t these right wing nut jobs complaining about that? Why aren’t they demanding an investigation into how the thing was built and designed and what may have been safety concerns that were ignored by the company? Isn’t that the logical thing to do after a disaster like this? Isn’t that how we stop it from happening again?

According to Republicans the answer to those questions is no. They don’t care about the people who lost their lives. They don’t care if the company cut corners for higher profits instead of making sure it was safe. They are only interested in making headlines with stupid comments about “being woke”.

We are seeing just how sick and depraved the GOP can get. It isn’t pretty.

Misleading The American People – That’s Rich Coming From Republicans

Yesterday, the Republicans in the House of Representatives censured Rep. Adam Schiff. The measure was introduced by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL). In her resolution she accused Schiff of spreading “false accusations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia” in 2016. 

We know from the Mueller report that Russia was very active in helping trump in the 2016 campaign and that one of his campaign advisors was actively working with a suspected Russian agent and gave him election polling data. This isn’t about anything but “revenge” for Schiff’s roll as the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and his appointment as lead prosecutor during trump’s first impeachment trial.

Republicans across the board say he needed to be censured for “misleading the American people”. That is very rich coming from a party that is full of lying and “misleading” members. This party has such people as Marjorie Taylor Green, Paul Gossar, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, as well as others not to mention the serial liar George Santos.

These clowns claim that they want to “hold people accountable” for their actions and their lies. So, how come they haven’t censured the serial liar George Santos. This moron actually admitted in several interviews that he lied about his career, his life experiences, his education and just about everything about his life just to get elected. He is also under indictment for 13 counts of several different crimes. Yet, Republicans keep defending him and refuse to “hold him accountable” for his actions.

Then we have two Supreme Court Justices who have been outed for taking luxury gifts and trips from billionaires who also had cases come before the court. Neither of them recused themselves from any of those cases. Additionally, they did not disclose these gifts and trips as required by law. Yet, no Republican wants to “hold them accountable” for their serous breach of ethics.

How come Marjorie Taylor Greene hasn’t been censured for “misleading the American people” for things like saying the California wildfires a few years ago were started by “Jewish space lasers”? Isn’t that “misleading the American people”? This list can go on and on.

Then of course we have the biggest serial liar of them all donald trump. How come they are defending him for his lies and “misleading the American people” for such things as saying the COVID pandemic was “a hoax that will disappear in just a few months”? Or any of the other thousands upon thousands of lies he has told since 2015 when he first announced his campaign.

You must remember that the only Republicans who have been “censured” by the party have been those who voted for trump’s impeachment or served on the Jan 6 special committee. Unless you say something bad about trump you cannot be censured by Republicans no matter what you do or what you say.

And, don’t kid yourselves. This is just the first shot being fired in their “revenge agenda”. Republicans have proven they have devolved into an “authoritarian cult of personality”. They have shown no desire to “govern” but are mostly concerned with attacking anyone who says one bad thing against their “dear leader” trump.

You can expect more of these symbolic measures being brought up by the wacko Republicans in Congress. Rather than concentrating on ethics rules for the Supreme Court to stop the corruption clearly taking place there, they put their efforts to “punish” their opponents.

They say they want to hold people accountable, yet they defend their dear leader even after he is indicted for stealing and holding classified material in violation of the law.

We should look at their actions and ask “are they really holding people accountable for their actions”? Or, are they only holding their opponents accountable for actions that go against their dear leader? I think we can safely say the latter is the truth especially since George Santos hasn’t had anyone on that side of the aisle try to censure him for his serial lying and “misleading the American people”.

To be honest, a censure isn’t anything that has any real teeth in it. It is merely a way to publicly “punish” or try to “shame” the member who is being censured. However, in this case it is obvious that Rep. Schiff did not “mislead the American people” and it is merely a political ploy to get headlines and throw more red meat to their base.

I think Schiff said it best. He said he wears this censure as a “badge of honor” because it is based on his doing his duty as a member of Congress. He also said: You honor me with your enmity. You will never deter me from doing my duty.”

Well, maybe Republicans should learn what their “duty” is instead of playing “revenge political” games. Republicans have become experts at throwing out insinuations, false accusations and lies to the American people. They are very lousy at actually proving those insinuations, false accusations or lies.

They are a bunch of pathetic little children trying to play adult. They only take their orders from the real criminal in our politics and they are bound to defend that criminal at all costs. That is authoritarianism not democracy. Under our democracy, we don’t punish someone for having differing opinions. In the Republican world, that punishment for having a differing opinion is an absolute must.

I never dreamed in my 70 plus years that I would see either of our political parties stoop so low and become so petty. But, I guess that is what you get when you run your party based solely on fear and hate.

After the vote, Democrats started chanting “shame, shame”. But, Republicans cannot feel any shame because to feel shame you must have morality. This Republican party has no morality and they seem proud of that fact.

Juneteenth – We Must Ask Ourselves – Are We Really A Nation Of The Free?

Yesterday we celebrated Juneteenth. This is the day, June 19, 1865 when the last of the slaves in the deep south heard about their freedom from slavery. On that day, Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of slavery in Galveston, TX. This announcement was the first time the slaves in deep Texas heard they had been freed.

Ever since, this day became known as Juneteenth and celebrated by African Americans as the day they truly became free. It took until this century before the nation began to celebrate it and it became a Federal Holiday.

There is still a problem though. The idea that slavery ended on that day did not stop the racism and hatred that led to the institution in our nation in the first place. Rather, it went more underground and found something new to make sure these freed slaves did not enjoy the freedoms they were supposed to receive under the Constitution.

In the years following the Civil War, the movement, almost exclusively in the south, was the concept of “separate but equal”. Laws that became known as Jim Crow were passed in southern states to ensure that African Americans did not have the right to vote or to equal protection under the law or enjoy the same freedoms that white people enjoyed.

This segregation policy lasted for decades and did not end until the Civil Rights bill was passed in Congress. We thought, mistakenly, that this would lead to end of discrimination and that finally we would be the nation promised to us in our Constitution. But, unfortunately we were wrong.

Racism and hatred has continued to attempt to rule over our people. The idea of racism being just about the color of one’s skin has morphed into more meanings over the years. Systemic racism is still something that is suffered by African Americans across the nation. Just last week, the DOJ after two years of investigations announced that the Minneapolis Police Department practiced racism in their enforcement practices. Not something we thought we would still be hearing today.

But in reality, we should know that this racism and hatred still exists and will continue to exist because we overlook the obvious culprit that drives racism and hatred. That culprit, at least in my mind, is religion. And, yesterday in one tweet, the right wing showed that to be true.

Josh Hawley, the ignorant and faux “man” Senator from Missouri put it all out there for all to see. He tried to claim he was celebrating Juneteenth with his tweet, but it was more a celebration of slavery than a condemnation. He tweeted this: “Today is a good day to remember: Christianity is the faith and America is the place slavery came to die”. That sounds innocuous. But it isn’t because it is a total lie and a whitewashing of our nation’s history.

First of all, America is not “where slavery” came to die. As a matter of fact, every western nation outlawed slavery decades before the U.S. did. And it took a Civil War which cost thousands of lives to end slavery in our nation. That is not opinion, that is pure fact told in our own history lessons, which is why the right wants to change our history.

Secondly, it was “Christianity” that was used by our nation and other European nations to justify slavery in the first place. It was “Christianity” that justified the Jim Crow laws that maintained a separate society, especially in the south. This so-called “praise” of Christianity as being the reason slavery was abolished is totally false.

The real thing to look at here is that this is just another attempt by a politician to help defend the past history of slavery and the continued racism and hatred that these so-called “Christians” have for everyone else on the planet. It is simply another attempt to justify the unjust laws being passed in states like Missouri where Hawley calls home.

As I mention before, discrimination has taken on many different labels. We also see this hatred and this justification from Christianity to “purge” other groups of people just because they are different.

Just last week there were protests because the LA Dodgers hosted the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence”. This is a group who dress up as nuns and they do lots and lots of charity work in the community. The protesters were claiming they were “insulting” the Catholic faith. But, the same people making this claim have “insulted” many groups they don’t like. They insulted Muslims, Hindu, Jews, Women, LGBTQ, Immigrants and loads of other people.

These are the same people who support voter suppression laws, anti-LGBTQ legislation, book banning, whitewashing history, and much more. We are supposed to allow them their hate without saying anything about it. The bullshit coming out of the right wing’s mouths is extreme. One city in Michigan banned the Rainbow Flag from being flown on any “government owned flag pole”. The excuse they gave was to “defend individual religious rights”.

What a bunch of shit! The idea of flying a flag to celebrate people and their lives and their achievements has nothing to do with “religious beliefs”. That flag has no “religious beliefs” attached to it. It celebrates the LGBTQ community as PEOPLE who live and love and contribute a great deal to our nation. It became a “religious” problem when the so-called Christians started complaining and calling the LGBTQ community “perverts” based solely on their religious beliefs. And, those are the same stupid and racist and hate-filled reasons they used to enforce slavery and Jim Crow laws. In other words, it is total bullshit, especially in a nation that is supposed to be secular with a separation between church and state.

I have written over and over that the number cause of racism and hatred towards others is religion. Every major religion is based on the principle that “my god can beat up y0ur god” and that makes “us” better than you. You can go to any of the so-called “holy texts” and pick out several passages that justifies your hate and your racism. That is because, like everything else, religion is based on a “pick and choose” system. You can believe anything as long as there is one sentence in your holy book that justifies it, and there are plenty to find if you are willing to ignore the rest of the book.

I am hoping that one day, our children and our grandchildren can live in a country that is really free. That they will live in a country where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Where equal justice really does exist and you are not punished for your race, religion, sexuality or sex.

I also know that as long as people continue to listen to these phony Christians and fake “freedom lovers” we will not see that equal nation for a long time. African Americans have suffered from racism since 1619 when the first slaves were sold in our country. 600 years later, they are still suffering from systemic racism based on religion and hatred fed by that religion.

But since hatred is forever busy, there are now new groups facing the same type of discrimination. Don’t you think maybe it is time to be “human” towards each other and show love instead of hate? After all, we are all part of the same race, the human race. And, if you truly are religious and believe we are all “children of God”, how can you hate your brothers and sisters so much?

In one of the Robin Hood movies, a little girl asks the Moor “why did god paint you black”? The Moor replied “because god loves wonderous variety”. If that is true, then why shouldn’t everyone love that wonderous variety? Don’t tell me you are “religious” and “love god” if you then use words from a religious book to justify your hate. It just proves you are a phony, just like Josh Hawley.