GOP Wants Us To Be Afraid – We Should Be Afraid – Of Them

The Republican party has decided that the best way to win elections is to convince us to be very, very afraid. They expect us to “run to them with open arms” to save us from this fear. Somehow, they believe that they are the “true answer” to everything that we may fear.

However, it is they whom we should fear. It is they who are passing laws and spreading misinformation about our fellow citizens to spread the fear they think will win them elections. Then, they also go around and complain about what they call the “nanny state” they say Democrats are forcing upon us.

Here is a simple fact that has been gleaned from data about gun deaths in America. If you live in the deep south, whether in an urban area or rural area, you are five times more likely to die from a gun shot than if you live in New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles.

Red States lead the nation in gun deaths. That is not a something made up, it is simple fact supported by violence data from the DOJ and the FBI statistics. But, Republicans want you to believe that someplace like New York City is where gun deaths are rampant.

So far, this month, we have had several incidents of shootings of innocent people. We have had the case of a young man being shot for ringing the wrong doorbell. We have had the case of a young woman killed because she and her friends pulled into the wrong driveway. We have had young women shot because they accidentally went to the wrong car in a parking lot. And, we just had 9 people shot and injured at an after-prom party.

The only incident of these shootings took place outside of red state control was the one of the wrong driveway. It took place in Upstate New York, a rural heavily Republican area. But, in something totally nuts, former vice president Mike Pence tried to “excuse” these shootings. He tried to blame it on our “out of control crime wave”. Of course there is no “out of control crime wave”. There is an “out of control gun violence problem”.

Of course he claimed sympathy to the families with the usual bullshit about “our prayers and thoughts are with the families”. Then again, they really are not since he decided to excuse these crimes with something totally bogus and totally false. These innocent people were not shot according to our former vice president because the people shooting them are crazy people who should never own a gun, they were shot because of some imaginary “crime wave” of which they are, and should be afraid.

Then we have the “nanny state” comment from that eminent Canadian Senator from Texas, Ted Cruz. In his latest rant, he complained about smoking of all things. Of course he was trying to make a point about choice and “my body my choice” again.

On Saturday he tweeted this. “Dems are nanny state authoritarians. I don’t personally smoke cigarettes, but if you choose to do so, it is your damn choice”. I don’t know what prompted this rant, but it shows once again the double standard of Republicans and their “it is y0ur damn choice” viewpoints.

See, if you choose to do something that they agree with, then “it is your damn choice”. But, if you choose something they don’t agree with, then it is “their damn choice”. Cruz complains about “Dems being nanny state authoritarians”. Yet it isn’t Dems who are passing laws taking away “personal choice” laws. It is the Republicans who are doing that.

We have Republicans taking away the right of a woman to choose abortion because it is NOT “her damn choice”. We have Republicans taking away the right of parents of transgender minors from receiving the medical care their child needs because according to Republicans it is NOT “their damn choice” to do what is best for their children.

It is Republicans who are banning books and not allowing children to read certain material even with parental consent because it is NOT “their damn choice”. You decide to smoke marijuana, Republicans say you cannot do that because it is NOT “your damn choice”.

Things that can affect the health and safety of people are naturally not included in this “your damn choice” under Republican views. You have the “damn right” not to get vaccinated against a deadly, contagious disease placing everyone around you at risk. You have the “damn right” to smoke in crowded areas knowing second hand smoke is dangerous especially to people with breathing difficulties. And now, we have it’s your “damn right” to shoot innocent people who accidently go to the wrong address.

This double standard would be comical if not so dangerous for our society. Republicans have anointed themselves as the “saviors of America” all the while they strip civil right after civil right from the people they are supposedly trying to “save”.

They have convinced their followers that “we know best” and all we need to do is “listen to their directives” and we can live in peace. If we choose not to go along, then we must face the consequences. That is the new religion of the so-called “Christian Nationalists”.

I cannot find one single case where Democrats in states they control have taken away a single civil right from their citizens. They have passed laws to ensure everyone is allowed their rights, but they have never “forced a belief” on anyone.

The true “nanny state authoritarians” are not the Dems. It is the GOP. The proof is in the laws they are passing and forcing on the population in several states. If they gain control of the federal government, you can bet these same laws will become national. And, with their rubber stamp Supreme Court with people like the corrupt Clarence Thomason their side, their un-American and un-Constitutional laws will become the law of the land.

Republicans want you to be afraid of everything, including your own shadow. They have lived in fear of becoming “obsolete” as a viable party for so long they have nothing else to offer us but fear and hate. Under that banner of fear and hate, they have failed miserably in governing. They aren’t even interested anymore in governing. All they want to do is rule over us like the authoritarians they really are.

They must be trounced at the polls next year. That utter defeat must be straight down the ballot from federal office to state and local offices. Otherwise we will continue along the path of their party spewing hate and fear as a means to get votes and power.

People’s Safety Just Doesn’t Matter To Today’s GOP

Okay, it is time to talk about the train derailment in East Palestine, OH. What happened there is a human tragedy. Because of this derailment, hundreds of people’s lives were disrupted and their safety has been placed at the bottom of priorities in favor of politics.

Train derailments are nothing new. We have had them since the railroad was invented. In my 70 plus years of living, we have witnessed train derailments under every administration. Not every derailment has caused anyone from the government to “show up” to the scene. There were derailments under trump and no one from the administration went to the scene.

However, in today’s “us v. them” Republican party, that has become a rallying cry for the fruit cakes. The problem isn’t that it took time for anyone from the administration to show up, the problem is that railroad safety has been downplayed by Republicans for decades.

Under the Obama administration, safety rules were put in place for the railroads. Included in those rules were a minimum of crews on trains, safer tanker car rules, electronic safety brakes on each car and even paid sick time for railroad workers.

However, under the trump administration, those rules were removed at the behest of the railroad industry. Profits obviously were more important to the railroad industry than the safety of their crews or the many towns and cities these trains traverse.

According to the initial findings of the NTSB, this derailment was cased by overheated bearings in axels. This caused the axels to fail causing the derailment. The warning systems apparently worked, but they triggered too late for the engineer to completely stop the train.

This train was carrying hazardous materials. In an effort to stop the spread of toxic fumes, they decided to burn the materials. The ground was saturated with the toxic material and rivers and streams near the site were contaminated. An estimated 44,000 fish were killed by the spill caused by this derailment.

We must also remember that Republicans always tell us that they don’t need the federal government. They claim that the state can handle these kinds of things, that is until one happens in their state. Then, all of a sudden, the federal government is supposed to sweep into the area and “fix” everything for the state.

The railroad company Norfolk Southern said they would clean it all up. But, as usual in situations like this, they botched everything and the EPA had to step in to make sure the cleanup went smoothly. They also ordered Norfolk Southern to pay for the cleanup.

I was involved in oil spills many times during my time in the Coast Guard. We took over cleanup of major oil spills and then the government had to sue the company to get the money back spent for the cleanup. I believe this case will be no different.

The main point is that instead of talking about new safety regulations for railroads, the Republicans are instead talking about how the federal government “failed” the people by not showing up even though they rarely show up when they are in charge.

We need to look at what happened, the cause of that incident, and figure out new safety regulations so something like this doesn’t happen again. The problem is that the Republicans have stood in the way of safety regulations for decades and show no sign of changing that perspective.

They always complain that new safety regulations would “harm” the railroads and cause them “great expense”. Instead of worrying about their constituents health and safety, they are instead worried about profits for the railroad industry.

So far since this incident has taken place, not one Republican has mentioned new safety regulations for trains. Not one Republican has talked about the safety of their constituents who were affected by this derailment. Instead they only complain about the time before the government officials showed up.

In fact, the head of the EPA, which is responsible to oversee the cleanup of this tragedy has been on scene several times. And, he didn’t bring with him 13 year old bottled water with his name on them. He went to oversee the cleanup and make sure it is being done correctly. Only, no one wants to talk about that because he did his job as expected.

Republicans have tried to blame the Secretary of Transportation for the derailment. However, the Secretary of Transportation can only enforce the laws as written and he has no involvement in the operation of a railroad. Since safety regulations were removed by the trump administration, there isn’t anything that the Secretary of Transportation could do differently.

I know that perception is important. It would have been better if he went to the site before yesterday. Then again, politicians showing up at disaster areas usually hamper the recovery efforts so it isn’t always a good idea for them to show up quickly.

This isn’t a matter of when or who shows up at a disaster. It is all about fixing the problems and working to keep our citizens safe from this kind of disaster from happening again. But since we can’t be sure exactly what happened yet, and since Republicans say “it wouldn’t have prevented it so why bother”, we are forced to watch the clown show once again.

Railroads are the backbone of our transportation system that supports and makes our economy run. That doesn’t mean we can allow railroads to dictate how they will operate themselves. We need oversight and we need regulations to protect our people.

Railroads are transporting hazardous materials all across the nation. Every city, town, township, county and state in the nation has hazardous materials being transported through their areas. If it isn’t by railroad it is by truck. It is not unreasonable for the government to put in place safety regulations to ensure this material is transported safely through our communities.

I dare Republicans to stop their “blame game” and start negotiating reasonable safety regulations for our railroads. They need to stop being the roadblock for safety regulations that keep our citizens safe. Instead of pocketing dollars from railroad companies for their campaigns and then doing nothing to regulate the industry, maybe it would be a good time to start doing their jobs.

The problem is that Republicans don’t believe they need to “do their jobs”. They believe they can sit back, do nothing, prevent safety rules from taking place, remove safety rules when they gain power, and then just point the finger at everyone else. By doing that, they believe they can fool their voters and save the railroads billions in profits.

The tragedy in East Palestine might have been avoided if Republicans took their responsibility to protect the people of this nation seriously instead of the profits of the companies. If they continue to be the roadblock for safety rules and regulations, you can be sure this kind of accident will happen again. When it does, they will pull out the clown show and point fingers again. Only, they should be pointing their fingers at themselves.

When it comes to public health and safety, there shouldn’t be any political games being played. But, we definitely learned with the COVID pandemic that Republicans will use anything for what they consider political gain. Even the death of over one million Americans. This incident is just a continuation of their heads in the sand attitude when it comes to your health and safety.

Simply put, they just don’t care about you or your families! If this opinion hurts Republican sensibilities, tough shit. It is the truth.

Republicans – “Only We Can Define Free Speech”

Here we go again! Alex Jones faced a libel trial in Connecticut for his lies about the Sandy Hook Shooting. Yesterday, we was ordered to pay $965 million to the families he slandered. That on top of the $50 million he was ordered to pay in Texas in another trial for his slander.

But, as usual, the right-wing has attacked the courts and claimed that Jones did nothing wrong. They claim that he is being “persecuted” for lying about the situation and even causing his followers to issue death and rape threats against the parents who lost their children.

The apparent new leader of the Republican party tweeted this right after the verdict was announced: “No matter what you think of Alex Jones all he did was speak words. He was not the one who pulled the trigger. Were his words wrong and did he apologize? Yes. That’s what freedom of speech is. Freedom to speak words. Political persecution must end.”

First of all, the case was brought by the parents of those children murdered that horrible day. It was not brought by the Federal Government. So, how can we even think this is “political persecution”? Obviously the vacant space between her ears echoes with all sorts of stupidity.

Then we have to look at what is “free speech”. Yes, anyone can say anything they want. However, there are consequences to pay if those words are harmful to others. For example, if you yell “fire” in a crowded theater and people are injured in a potential panic, you can be held responsible for those injuries. Free speech says you can yell “fire” if you want, but if that results in harm to others, you can and will be held accountable.

The First Amendment does prohibit the government from issuing laws prohibiting free speech. But, there is nothing in the First Amendment that protects people from being sued over defamatory claims.

Alex Jones went on a full out attack on the parents of the victims of this tragic shooting. He claimed they were “actors” and that the shooting was a “false flag” to take way people’s guns. He claimed that the parents, who were suffering a terrible loss, were the “perpetrators” of this “false flag” and they should be the ones punished.

As a result of these false and defamatory claims, the parents suffered more mental anguish and were threatened with violence by Jones’ followers. Erica Lafferty, the daughter of slain Sandy Hook principal Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, pointed out that Jones was holding a press conference outside the courthouse as she was inside testifying how Sandy Hook conspiracy theory backers threatened her with rape and death because of Jones’ falsehoods.

This incident alone shows absolutely no remorse on the part of Jones for his actions. Instead it shows his total disregard for the people he hurt and placed in danger from his followers. Yet, Greene doesn’t see it that way. She claims the whole thing is “political persecution”.

On the other hand, she isn’t afraid to declare that Democrats should be sued for defamation. Back in June she tweeted: “Defamation is a serious issue. Perhaps if Democrats keep lying about Republicans like @RepLoudermilk they should be taken to court”. This was over the report that Loudermilk held a “tour” of the Capitol the day before the Jan. 6 insurrection when the Capitol was closed to tours.

Nor has she spoken out against her hero, the former skunk, about his defamation suit against CNN for what he called a “campaign of slander and libel against him”. Hmmm. Sounds an awful lot like this case against Jones. He waged a “campaign of slander and libel against” the parents of slain schoolchildren.

I have been waiting breathlessly for anyone in her party to come out and denounce the tweet. I gave up because I was turning blue and I know no one will say anything bad against her or her words. They all seem to agree with them. But, that isn’t anything new. Republicans are always trying to change how and when people can sue someone, especially a company, but are very eager to run to court if their feelings are hurt.

We have all sorts of suits against people from Republicans. When they come out, not one Republican defends those being sued under the “free speech” claim they always make when they are the ones being sued. They believe only they have the right to “define what free speech” is. And, their definition is that they can say anything they want without consequences, but no one else can.

In my opinion, Alex Jones is a worthless piece of shit whose only purpose in life is to waste oxygen from our atmosphere. He offers no value to anything or anyone, except vacant headed people like trump and Greene. He is their spokesperson to incite violence.

Even after his verdict, he went on another rant this time about the Covid pandemic. After declaring it was a hoax for years, he now claims it was a “biological attack that killed tens of millions of people”. He also claims that when “we regain power” those responsible will be “arrested, tried and executed” for their crimes.

Of course, he did not offer any proof for this claim. Nor did he identify “those responsible”. An educated guess is he is talking about Democrats who tried to stem the pandemic through lockdown measure and the mandates for masks all of which he railed against at the time. I don’t know, maybe not mentioning his “targets” for those he wants “executed” was a result of his trial. Maybe he learned that naming people just doesn’t work that well.

We already know, from their own documents, that if the Republicans win control of the House, there will be over 70 investigations against their “enemies”. They have written it down and even named names of those they wish to “persecute” as Greene would say.

All of this shows exactly why Republicans must face the worst defeat in our nations political history in November. They are out for themselves and are willing to “sacrifice” anyone, especially parents of murdered schoolchildren in order to gain “support” from their wacko fringe.

From the very top of the ballot right down to the lowest level of government, Republicans must be defeated for the sake of our nation, our democracy, our freedoms and the future of our children.

Vote the bums out in November!

Conservatives Say Be “Very Afraid” And Cancel Halloween

Candy time

I don’t know. But, is seems like every time the conservatives want to “own the libs” they somehow are able to fail. There are two stories that show this ability to step on their own tongues. And, if they have their way, they will get their supporters to actually “cancel Halloween”.

The first comes from a great Republican in Texas. Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) tweeted out one of the most stupid tweets I have ever read. He tweeted this: “Since Joe Biden became president — 1.2 MILLION POUNDS of illegal drugs have been seized at our southern border. If you needed more evidence that this Administration’s border policies are contributing to a surging drug crisis – look no further.”

Um, excuse me. Does Rep. Fallon know what the definition of “seized” is? Does he understand that 1.2 million pounds of illegal drugs were stopped from coming into this country since Joe Biden became president? Does he know that is a GOOD thing and not a bad thing?

It makes us wonder if this airhead understands anything or if he thinks that stopping drugs from coming in the country is a bad thing. Is he saying we should NOT seize illegal drugs at the border? Here we go. He wants to “own the libs” but steps on his own tongue by showing that the administration is actually doing its job in trying to prevent the importation of illegal drugs into the country. If you want to look at it his way, the administration’s border policies seem to be working.

But, this comes on the heels of Fox News and their panic attack on air. In a month, we are going to see lots of kids dress up in their Halloween costumes and go “trick or treating”. But, Fox News apparently doesn’t want that to happen. They are trying to spread fear in parents in order to stop the annual fun holiday from even taking place.

Over the years, we have had to watch what our kids get in their Halloween bags. Every reasonable person knows that there are evil people among us and they might want to hurt our children. So, reasonable people have inspected their children’s Halloween candy for foreign objects that could hurt their children. This isn’t anything new. I did that for my children back in the 70s and 80s.

But, that isn’t enough for Fox News. Now, because they claim there is a new thing called “rainbow fentanyl” that drug dealers are going to hand out this drug to children. And as a result, children shouldn’t be going trick or treating.

First of all, rainbow fentanyl is not something new. It has been around for a very long time. Secondly, drug dealers are out to make money. They are not going to hand out “free” drugs to anyone. Children don’t have money, adults do and that is their targets to sell their drugs.

One twitter user had this perfect example of the double-standard Fox News and conservatives use all of the time. He tweeted: “Fox in 2021: If you aren’t taking huge deep breaths in crowded elevators during COVID you hate America. Fox in 2022: cancel Halloween because we saw on Facebook that hippies are going to use expensive drugs to kill white children.”

Conservatives want us to believe that we are not smart enough as parents to protect our children. No, we must listen to the fear tactics of them and only do what they say. Because they don’t like Halloween in general, they want to use any method to stop it from even happening.

I don’t say that lightly either. Conservatives have hung their hats on the idea of
“Christian Nationalism”. Christian Nationalists do not want Halloween as a holiday at all. They call it “evil and satanic worship”. Personally I have always thought the real reason they don’t like Halloween is because kids knock on their door looking for treats. They really don’t like children on their porch and they really don’t like the idea of spending their money for other people’s children. In essence they are real Scrooges.

So here we are. We have a member of Congress who seems to think that seizing 1.2 million pounds of illegal drugs at the border is a bad thing. We have a national so-called news network who want to frighten parents into keeping their children from enjoying Halloween. When in reality they don’t want those little brats ringing their doorbell asking for free candy.

As you can see, the REAL cancel culture party is the Republican Party. They simply hate the idea that people might actually have fun. We aren’t supposed to have fun. We aren’t supposed to let our children have fun on Halloween. All we are supposed to do is sit in our dark homes and be afraid of everyone they tell us we should fear.

That is how autocracies work. The population is only supposed to “follow orders” and “do what they are told”. We aren’t smart enough to know how to protect our children. We aren’t smart enough to keep our children trick or treating in areas we know the people. According to them, all across suburbia America, people are going to be handing out drugs to hurt our children. Your neighbors are intent on giving your children drugs just for, I don’t know what for.

The whole Republican thing right now is to make us afraid. Except when they want to kill you. Remember we were told we “cannot live in fear of Covid. We need to go outside”. Now they are saying stay in your basement on Halloween and be afraid that your neighbors are trying to “hook” your children on drugs.

It appears that the group that is afraid of their own shadows are conservatives not liberals. Just more reasons the Republicans must be voted out of office in November.

Last thing on something new. Hurricane Ian is heading for Florida and is expected to make landfall today as a Cat 4 or Cat 5 storm. How many hours will it take DeSantis, who claims he does not need the Federal Government for anything, is begging the Federal Government for lots of money to help in recovery for his state? He has money to human traffic migrants, but I bet he doesn’t have the money to pay for the recovery in his state.

Right Wing Heroes Are A Bunch Of Anti-Democracy Lunatics

The problem the right wing has today is that all of their heroes are anti-democratic lunatics. They openly defy the idea of free and fair elections. Most of them have sided with Putin in his illegal invasion of Ukraine. They are more interested in TV time than they are in solving problems. They are openly showing just how racist they really are. Finally, they are “self-proclaimed victims”.

During the confirmation hearings for Katangi Jackson hearing we witnessed the bitter racism thrown her way by Republicans. (Editor’s Note: The other day I mistakenly called her Brown instead of Jackson. It was my mistake and I apologize for that.) They brought up a book called “Anti-Racism Baby” as an excuse to not allow her to sit on the Bench. They tried very hard to make her the “poster child” for critical race theory. Marsha Blackburn even asked her what the definition of “woman” was. Later when Cruz got his shot, he complained that Jackson was the first person to be nominated to the Supreme Court who did not answer the question over the definition of a woman. Except, she is the only person nominated to the Supreme Court that WAS EVEN ASKED that stupid question.

All of the Republicans on the panel complained that “she wasn’t answering questions”. That is very rich from a group of people who have refused to answer questions for decades. The very same people who complained about her not “answering questions” have all engaged in side-stepping questions or simply ignoring them. Like Hawley and Cruz and Blackburn.

Finally on this topic we watched Lindsey Graham throw a fake hissy-fit because he got caught lying during his questioning. When the facts were brough out to him, he threw his fake hissy-fit and walked out of the hearings. These people are not interested in confirming a qualified person to sit on the bench. They are only interested in scoring points with their racist supporters and that was on full display over the last few days. These are some of the heroes of the right-wing.

Next is the apparent seditious Tucker Carlson. Since Putin invaded Ukraine, Carlson has gone on a personal expedition to parrot everything that comes out of Putin’s and Russian propaganda’s mouths. He has done everything he can to make people actually believe that we should all support and even go to war WITH Russia. He parrots every lie and false statement that Putin makes.

His apparent seditious behavior has become so bad, Putin has told Russian TV to “feature Carlson as much as possible” on Russian TV to show support for the war in Ukraine. And being the puppets of Putin they are, they are doing just that. As a matter of fact, there are reports coming out of Russia that some stories are made up and put out because they want Fox News to broadcast them. And Carlson is a willing partner in that scheme. He is so willing to help Putin out that it only takes a few hours before he starts parroting Putin’s talking points on Fox News airwaves. This apparent seditious lying Putin ally is one of the right wing’s heroes.

Then we have the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Ginni Thomas has been caught sending dozens of texts to Mark Meadows after the last election encouraging and even demanding that he and trump “overturn” the election. She is openly spouting against our Constitution and our fair and free elections simply because her hero lost.

Just imagine the outcry that would be deafening our ears if the spouse of a “liberal” justice on the court was involved in something like this. The outcry would be so loud we would all need hearing protection devices to keep our hearing. But since it is a “conservative” and Republican, there is nothing being said by the right wing or any Republican for that matter against her.

We all know that if a “liberal” justice’s spouse did anything like this, the Republicans would be howling for that justice’s immediate resignation. So where are the cries from Republicans for Thomas’ resignation? There aren’t any because they all agree with her that our free and fair elections are not what they want to happen. They want the authority to “declare” the winner regardless of the vote count. You know, just like Putin does. Another hero of the right wing.

Finally, we have those truckers who have been jamming up traffic around Washington, D.C. for the last few weeks. They are doing the protest because they don’t want any mask mandates. Well, mask mandates are not in effect. We are hearing that their numbers are dwindling. But they are still trying to make everything someone else’s fault.

These morons are slowly driving on the beltway holding up people from getting to and from work. As a result, more and more drivers are flipping them the finger as they pass the “convoy”. That is too much for these poor little babies to take. They are complaining that should not happen. They are right wing heroes after all and deserve to be treated better. They are also complaining that bicycle riders are deliberately getting in front of them and causing them to slow down even more. They can delay as much traffic as they can, but no one can delay them, according to their complaints.

But here is the best part. Their little parade apparently is having trouble finding places to “relieve” themselves. As a result, their leader is griping that they are peeing their pants on a regular basis. Of course, it isn’t their fault. It is the fault of the Mayor of Washington, D.C. and the police officers.

Now, I lived in Washington for a few years while in the Coast Guard. There are places to “relieve” yourself on the beltway but you have to get off the highway to get to a gas station. If they have to piss that bad, why aren’t they getting off and using a restroom? Well, if they do the “adult” thing, they can’t complain and blame someone else.

It has gotten so silly that these truckers are even talking about “making citizens arrests of the Mayor and Police Officers”. They don’t say what they would be making those arrests for or what “crimes” these officials have committed. They just want to blame someone else and will do whatever they can to make themselves look even more stupid, I guess.

These are the heroes of the right wing in the Republican Party. There are politicians talking heads who show racist tendencies, self-promoted victimization, apparent seditious behavior and anti-American rants.

Is it any wonder that nothing gets done in Washington? It takes two parties working to fix our problems and making compromises to help the average American. We have one party that is only interested in complaining about race issues being discussed, gender issues being discussed, mask mandates to protect the population and excusing a dictator for invading a democracy.

They complain about inflation and gas prices but have offered nothing to help with either. They offer nothing to the American People except whines, complaints and bitching. What they are is a bunch of babies who drive around in their trucks and piss their pants because they aren’t smart enough to get off the road and use a restroom.

Sorry, but my 9-year-old grandson is smarter and more mature than the entire Republican Party. How sad is that?

The Fraudulent “Election Police” Are To Investigate Election Fraud?

Several Republican Controlled states are trying to pass legislation to form “Election Police”. Why? Their argument is that this “unit” will prevent voter fraud and make us more comfortable voting. However, the “fraud” they are after really doesn’t exist. To be frank, there is no “massive voter fraud” in our elections.

For example, in Georgia, one of the states who want Election Police, there were a total of 64 cases of potential fraud in the last election. Over half of those cases were found to be caused by “administrative errors”. Meaning there was no fraud. Yet, the GOP controlled state did not want any investigation into trump’s intimidation of their own Secretary of State to overturn the results. The only investigation is being conducted by Fulton County District Attorney.

Florida, which already passed its version of this fraudulent “election police” claims to have had the “smoothest and most honest” election ever. So, why do they need their “election police” if their elections are so smooth and so honest? The answer is simple. They don’t.

The largest known case of voter fraud took place in North Carolina’s Ninth District in 2018. There the GOP conducted voter fraud with illegal operations to “vote” for people who asked for absentee ballots. But, the GOP doesn’t want to talk about their obvious voter fraud.

So, exactly what are these so-called “election police” supposed to be doing? Are they going to investigate urban areas in GOP states that limit the number of polling places to create long lines to discourage voting? Like the long lines we have seen in Florida, Georgia, Arizona and other GOP states. Isn’t limiting the number of polling places to deliberately create long lines to vote a “voter fraud” issue?

Or how about like in Georgia when the now Governor who was Secretary of State at the time he ran for governor placed over 100,000 registration applications in a drawer and never allowed those people to vote? Wouldn’t a reasonable person call that voter fraud, especially when he won the election by fewer votes than the number he kept from voting?

Then we have the current case in North Carolina. It happens that Mark Meadows is under investigation for “voter fraud”. It turns out that Meadows is registered to vote in two states. He is registered in Virginia and in North Carolina. Yet in 2020 he voted by mail ballot in North Carolina. However, it appears that he does not reside in North Carolina.

The address he used to vote in North Carolina is supposed to be a rental property that he never even visited much less lived in. In North Carolina, you must “reside” at your address for more than 30 days prior to being allowed to register and vote. Since Meadows never lived at this address, he must have committed voter fraud by voting in the state. He does not have any other “legal” address in the state.

So, would these “election police” be investigating Mark Meadows for his voter fraud? Or, since he was trump’s chief of staff would they turn a blind eye to his fraud. Remember, Meadows is one of the biggest screamers about “voter fraud” in the last election. That is very rich coming from someone who actually committed voter fraud by fraudulently voting in a state he is not a legal resident.

As cases run through the courts, it turns out that more and more Republicans are being charged with or investigated for voter fraud. It appears that the real culprits in this “massive voter fraud” scheme is their own party members. So how can they claim that the election was “stolen” from trump when most of the voter fraud cases are Republicans trying to vote twice for trump?

With all of this in mind, what is the real reason for this “election police” scam? Well, someone could argue that it is nothing more than an intimidation factor being placed in our elections. It is certain that since it is the GOP that are creating these “election police” that Democrats and people of color will be the main targets of these police forces.

There aren’t even all that many “rules” being placed in the legislation to make sure no intimidation or “showing up at polling places to watch the elections” can take place. What is to keep these “police” from showing up in predominantly Democratic areas and arguing about false voter fraud by voters? According to what is in the bills, there are not brakes on this kind of behavior I can find.

The whole thing about needing “election police” is dubious at best. Massive voter fraud does not exist in our country and that means there is no need for invasive tactics like an “election police”. Since these laws are being passed in Republican controlled states, one wonders just why? Is it because they see the writing on the wall that says they are becoming even more of a minority party? Are they trying to make sure they keep their power structure by intimidating or barring people from being able to vote?

Remember, in Texas, their new voter restriction laws has resulted in a record number of mail ballots being rejected. The numbers are very high and that is just for a primary. What is going to happen later in the year when the general election is held?

The real fraud in all of this is the formation of these “election police”. There is no reason for it, and there is no justification for it. Paranoia by Republicans of losing their grip on power because they don’t have any real policies is the only reason they are trying to make it all happen. How sad.

It Must Be Horrifying To Live In The Terror State Of Texas

The Republicans in control of Texas has turned the state into a State of Terror. They have managed to come up with their own Gestapo and are bound and determined to terrorize anyone who is not a heterosexual, white or male. This terror has found its way into normal Texas life as the state decided they have the right to tell people how to live and how to raise their children.

The same people who falsely cry about “freedoms” are now in a coordinated attack on portions of their population. And, as you can figure out, it is the part of society they just don’t like which according to their credo makes their terror justified.

The party that claims that the government should not get between you and your doctor has changed the rules on that. It now turns out that the government can get between you and your doctor if they don’t like what you and your doctor has decided is the best treatment for you or your children.

They have made a calculated assault on women’s rights. They have made a calculated assault on voting rights. Now they are attacking trans children and their parents. These children apparently must not be allowed to exist in the Terror State of Texas.

Earlier the Attorney General of Terror State of Texas wrote a non-binding legal opinion calling medical treatment for transgender children “child abuse”. He also said that the Texas Department of Family Protective Services should be required to “investigate” any family that allows such treatment. Then, the governor of the Terror State of Texas decided that was a great idea and ordered the department to investigate any transgender children who may have received medical treatment and even charge their parents with child abuse.

That order from the governor was challenged in court. At first, a judge ruled in a single case that stayed the department from investigating one family. Then the other day, he took that order and stayed all investigations of this nature. Naturally the Attorney General said he had appealed the decision.

But he went even further in his statement. He claimed that since he appealed the decision, the department can continue to investigate cases. Except, unless a judge reverses that stay, that is a deliberate lie from the Attorney General. I have not seen anything from the appeals court that removes the stay on investigations, so if they continue under Paxton’s orders, they are in contempt of court.

As a result of these lies from the Attorney General, confusion reigns supreme in the Terror State of Texas. Parents of transgender children simple don’t know if and when that knock on the door will come from the department. They don’t know what the fate of their families will be. Many don’t even know what their rights are when it comes to things like this.

People in the Terror State of Texas are virtually living in fear of their own government. They know that it is the government of the Terror State of Texas that they must fear. The Terror State of Texas is literally threatening honest, hard-working, law-abiding people with removal of their children simply because the Attorney General and the governor want to rule in a state of terror, especially against their “political opponents”.

Paxton has said: “The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has a responsibility to act accordingly. I’ll do everything I can to protect against those who take advantage of and harm young Texans.” If that is true, then he MUST be investigated and held accountable because of the “harm” he is creating for young Texans.

Transgenderism is not an easy thing to live with. There is not only physical problems, but the mental health of the child is also at risk. We have seen way too many children commit suicide over the last several years. Many of those children were homosexuals or transgender and subject of brutal bullying. The mental harm caused by not receiving proper medical treatment is horrible. Yet, this thug wants these children to go through that mental anguish and simply doesn’t care if they live or die. He simply wants to score political points with the crazies of his party.

The governor is no better. Ordering the department to “investigate” all transgender children and families who seek proper medical treatment is creating a “secret police” organization out of the Department to attack political enemies. He is turning the department into his private Gestapo for political purposes.

The order now only involves transgender children. What other medical conditions will be next on the list of “unacceptable” treatment? When will it turn to other issues besides medical? Will he decide that if a family does not attend church every Sunday they are committing child abuse? When politics is used as a weapon against enemies, the sky’s the limit as to what can happen.

Hate, bigotry and ignorance are forever busy. Once a target has been conquered, another target must be found. No one in the Terror State of Texas is safe from this menace. I must also remind the Governor of the Terror State of Texas of one little thing.

If he had lived under Hitler’s Germany, and since he is in a wheelchair, he would have been one of the victims of the holocaust. It wasn’t just Jews whom Hitler killed. He killed mentally ill and physically handicapped people as well since he considered them a burden on society and an infectious disease to the “supreme Arian race”.

According to the Terror State of Texas Republican politicians, exposing children to a deadly disease by refusing to mandate masks in schools is okay. They don’t care if the children die or not, so why bother. But if you are a parent of a transgender child and seek proper medical treatment to make their life better, that is considered “child abuse”. Their laws are actual abuse since the result could be death. No one dies from being treated with puberty blocking drugs, which by the way are reversible.

I have friends and family who live in the state. Quite reasonably, I fear for their safety because we don’t know when the terror will shift to other groups or other special people. How long will it be before the Terror State of Texas decides that treating autism is also “child abuse”?

Opinion – Republicans Are Continuing To Take Away Our Constitutional Rights

In case you are wondering just how the right-wing got so big in the Republican Party, you need to go back some 60 years. This is nothing that has suddenly come upon us with the advent of the dictator wanna-be trump. It has been going on for decades. It did go through some revisions to what is now being called “freedom” cries.

The whole thing really started back in 1964. That year Barry Goldwater of Arizona was the nominee for the Republicans for President of the United States. In his acceptance speech he made two very disturbing comments that he believed in.

He said: “I would remind you that extremism in the name of patriotism is no vice”. He then went on to say the “I would also remind you that moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue”. According to Goldwater, if you call yourself a “patriot” you can be extreme as you want to be. On the other hand, if you want justice, then you must lock everyone up and throw away the key.

Fortunately, Goldwater and his party got crushed in that election. As a result, his movement was placed on the back burner for years. But that doesn’t mean it went away. It grew over time to a point now where so-called “freedom movement” has morphed into the autocratic movement. Instead of looking at the real world and trying to make our country better, they have instead become a party that is only interested in power and “winning at any cost”.

In the last few years we have heard a lot of talk about the “threat” to our democracy. The unfortunate part is that it is true. We really are facing a threat to our democracy. But it isn’t coming from the left. It is coming from the right. Instead of offering policies that would make us want them to be the party in power, they only attack and spread hate and lies in order to “own the libs”.

It is the right, and the Republican Party that is doing the “taking away our rights”. It is they who are making things illegal just because they oppose them. The examples are all around us if we just take a minute to look at them.

First is the “big lie” that the last election was “stolen”. It wasn’t and there is no evidence of any kind that suggests it was. However, as a result of this “big lie” states have passed restrictive voting laws aimed specifically at Democrats and people of color. If you want proof, look at the trump loving Senate Candidate in Nevada. The other day he said in Maricopa County, a heavily Democrat area, that voting by mail leads to fraud. Just a few hours later, in a county that is solidly Republican, he said that voting by mail is the “right thing to do”.

The conclusion of these two comments from the same person is easy. If you are Republican, you can vote by mail. If you are Democrat or are in a group of people that tend to lean Democrat, then you cannot vote by mail because you are committing fraud. There is no other explanation.

Then we have the bans on Critical Race Theory. These bans are targeting high schools and grade schools. The evidence that it has nothing to do with race or reverse racism is that CRT is NOT even taught in those levels of education. CRT is a college level course and is not a “required” class to graduate. Students must “sign up” for CRT like any other optional class.

The bans against CRT do not just ban the course. They actually ban the “discussion” or even mentioning of things like slavery or racism. The argument is that talking about these topics “makes white students feel uncomfortable”. Poor babies. They aren’t as “uncomfortable” as the millions of black people who were held in bondage in our country for hundreds of years.

However, the right says we must “protect our heritage” so we cannot talk about issues that shows that “heritage” as being racist and inhumane. We cannot talk about how we mistreated people even after slavery was abolished. That just might make the bigots feel “uncomfortable” and we can’t let that happen. No, they are the people who mostly vote Republican and they are needed to win elections.

We have a growing anti-LGBTQ campaign going on as well. In Florida they are trying to pass a bill that is called “don’t say gay” bill. In this bill, it would be impossible to speak about homosexual issues without a parent’s express permission. Say what? The bill also gives parents the right to sue a school district if little Johnny comes home and says the teacher asked about everyone’s family and then let another student talk about her same-sex parents. That is a violation of the law and the parent can sue because they did not get any notice that was going to happen.

The very unusual part of this law is that these kinds of discussions are limited to “age appropriate” students. But the bill does not “define” what age appropriate means. So, according to this law, high school teachers can be sued and barred from talking about LGBTQ matters. What it really boils down to is that homophobes can control what our children can talk about and learn about. it means “minority” rule.

The Republican party has told us for decades that “businesses know what is best for businesses”. Yet when businesses started mandating vaccines for the COVID virus, Republicans started passing laws and governors started issuing executive orders that made those mandates illegal. They claim that a business cannot tell their workers they need to be vaccinated simply because they don’t like the idea of protecting lives.

After the civil rights protests in 2020 several Republican states passed what they called “anti-riot” laws. In Florida for example, it specifically says a person may not “willfully obstruct the free, convenient, and normal use of a public street, highway, or road.” Yet the governor who sponsored and pushed this bill through his state legislature is now “urging on” the truckers in Canada who are essentially violating that specific language in his law. Can you say ironic?

Finally, as we discussed yesterday, some states have passed or are trying to pass legislation that would actually “make murder legal”. These laws are intended to protect armed shooters who take aim at unarmed people just because they are different or look different or the shooter just thinks it is normal. How bad is this? Well, just after this kind of bill failed in Missouri, the Democrat Candidate for mayor in Louisville, KY was the target of an assassination attempt.

In this attempt, a man walked into his campaign office, and after being greeted by the candidate took out a gun, aimed it at the candidate and opened fire. Fortunately, he was not injured and no one else in the office was injured. We still don’t have any details as to who the shooter was or why he tried to kill this candidate, but I find it ironic just when it happened. As of this writing, no one from the other side has condemned this assassination attempt. That speaks volumes to me.

As you can see, all of the talk about “they are coming to take your rights away” are really talking about the Republican party. It is that party that is passing laws to water down our right to free speech, our right to live safely and peacefully and our right to not fear for our lives.

It is the Republican party that is systematically tearing to shreds our Constitution, just like their hero trump tore to shreds documents he was supposed to protect. The rule of law in the Republican viewpoint is very simple. “If you agree with us, then you are law abiding. If you don’t agree with us you are law breakers.” This all the while their party defends trump and his continuous lawbreaking activities.

It is time that the Republican Party experiences another beatdown at the polls similar to the one it took in 1964. They are the party of extremism and authoritarianism. I shudder to think how many more rights and freedoms they will take away from us if they win back Congress later this year. They already have said they want to put in prison every member of the House Committee looking into the Jan. 6 insurrection. They have even made that part of their big campaign blitz.

If you love democracy and our Constitutional liberties, then you should start being very afraid of the Republican party and I mean right now. Otherwise, we will probably become another Russia.

What A Difference A Few Years Make With Republican Faux Outrage

Let us look back just a few years ago. Republicans were losing their minds over one thing. That one thing was Hillary Clinton’s emails. There were at least seven Congressional Investigations into her handling of those emails because they were on a “private server”. The chant of those days was “lock her up”.

For the record, there was nothing found during all of those investigations that showed any illegal activity. There was nothing in any law that prevented her from having a “private server” or even mixing her personal emails with business emails. The only law involving that is the Records Law that says executive government officials must turn over all documents to the National Archives.

The Republicans claimed that they were “uncertain” if she actually turned them over and claimed that any “deleted” emails were cause for “great national security concern”. That was the main focus of their investigations. But, as I said, they found no illegal activity in this case despite their promising to “blow the lid” off of Clinton’s “email coverup”.

Well, let’s look at today. Today we have discovered that the former president, trump, has broken the law several times and apparently has tried to hide whatever he doesn’t want the public to know. Just like in the previous case, he there are questions about if he turned over all of the documents he has from his time in office. Except, there is proof he did not.

We have discovered that while he was president, he handed over bags and bags of government documents to the Defense Department to be thrown into their incinerator. We also have proof that he tore up several documents. We know this because he actually turned over the torn-up papers that had to be taped back together. And we also know that the National Archives had to go to Mar a Lago last week to collect over 15 boxes of government documents he took there when he left office.

Of course, the biggest difference between trump’s actions and those of Clinton is that trump has openly broken the law. The Presidential Records Act requires the White House to preserve documents related to a president’s official duties. Those materials should have been handed over to the National Archives when Trump left office. It is clear he did not comply with that law.

One of the most persistent critics of Clinton was Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who used his powerful perch as chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to keep on her email “scandal”. But a funny thing has happened. He doesn’t seem to be to upset over trump’s actual law breaking in this matter.

Yesterday when asked about the revelations that Trump literally ripped up government documents that he was supposed to preserve as president, he said he’d need to read up more on the issue. Why isn’t he calling for a Congressional Investigation into the matter. Is it because he is one of trump’s most loyal lapdogs?

Of course, he is not alone. No one in the Republican Party has said one derogatory word about this blazon lawlessness by trump. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) who also was in favor of “locking her up” had this to say about trump’s transgressions: “I know there are legal requirements, but I really don’t know enough to comment.” HE KNOWS THERE ARE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS! Yet, he “doesn’t know enough” to comment? Really? How about commenting that trump “broke the law” and should be investigated for it.

Then we have Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) who was so “deeply concerned” about the proper handling of government information when it came to Clinton said this: “I can’t comment on that. I don’t know about that.”

Now, to be fair, one of the things that Republicans complained about the Clinton email affair was that she might have compromised “classified material” by using her private server. As someone who worked with classified material for years, that is a reasonable fear.

So, what about trump today? We don’t know what was in those 15 boxes of papers he took from the White House to Mar a Lago. We don’t know if there were any classified documents in those boxes. If there were, then trump not only boke the Presidential Records Act, he might also have broken several laws protecting classified material. And, if there were classified material in those boxes, what was he planning to do with them?

Now, I am not making any accusations here. I don’t know what was in those boxes of material. But, if the Clinton email scandal was worth all of the media attention and all of the Republican ire and all of the Congressional Investigations, then doesn’t this matter deserve the same treatment?

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said there should be “accountability” for what Trump has done. “His treatment of public records, which belong to us, the taxpayers, is another sign of his total and utter contempt for the law and norms and proper conduct. It must be that he has a lot to hide because he doesn’t want anybody to see the records of what he’s doing.”

Therefore, it must also be investigated. In 2015 Cornyn was very concerned about Clinton’s server. He said at the time: “It raises serious concerns for Americans who believe in open government and the accountability of our highest officials.” Well, Senator, here is your chance to call for investigations into trump’s handling of government documents. Why are you so silent? Or are you telling us your party’s “outrage” over the Clinton email thing was just political theater and not real?

What a difference a few years make.

The Sick, Deranged Death Cult Speaks Out – Again

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Wow, over the last few days we have heard more from the sick and deranged death cult. We have learned things that even Republicans never knew. We have heard comments that are so far outside of reality, maybe we should start to consider if these people need mental health tests to find out what is ailing them. It would be for their own good.

Let us look at some of the weird comments made in the last few days. First we have Aaron Rogers making all sorts of misleading and false claims about the Covid vaccine. He did not get vaccinated and now has the virus. I wonder how many other players he “infected” before he tested positive for the virus.

One of the most outrageous lies he said was that the current round of the pandemic “is not a pandemic of the unvaccinated”. Well, I don’t know where he got that information from, but over 90 percent of everyone in serious condition in the hospital from the virus are “unvaccinated”. The proof is there. But this “quarterback” lied because he needed to have an “excuse” for his lie about why he didn’t get the vaccine. I wonder if it would be possible if another player who played a game against him came down with the virus and decided to sue Rogers for “endangering a safe workplace” because he didn’t get vaccinated. What would his right wing supporters say about that?

Then we have the fascists in Congress telling us that having a good and functioning infrastructure is actually being “communist”. I guess that means that Dwight D. Eisenhower was really a communist not a Republican. I know they are too young and too stupid to realize that it was Eisenhower who started the interstate highway system. So, he must have been a commie.

Then, worse of all, I guess we should also declare the former guy a commie as well. He held several “infrastructure weeks” during his four years in office and “promised we would have the best infrastructure the world has ever seen”. Of course he never came through with that promise, but the very fact that he even dreamed of improving our infrastructure makes him a commie.

The usual dopes in Congress are the ones calling everyone who voted for the bill names. We have the infamous crazy lady telling us that “infrastructure is communism”. We have a Congressman under investigation for child molestation saying “Republicans just gave Democrats their socialism”. The lying Cawthorn, you know the guy who claimed he was scheduled to attend the Naval Academy even though his application was declined, claimed that any Republican who voted for better infrastructure is really a “democrat” who call themselves Republicans.

In total 13 Republicans in the House of Representatives voted in favor of the infrastructure bill. They know that it means the potential for millions of good paying jobs and a healthier and better economy. The economy cannot grow with the failing infrastructure we currently have.

So, here is an idea. Any member of Congress who voted against the infrastructure bill should be told their “district” won’t get any of the money in the bill. If their roads need repair, they are on their own. If their lead water pipes start poisoning their constituents, they are on their own. If a bridge collapses, they have to fix it on their own.

Now, that is not a serious suggestion. But, we need to understand that once the money starts to flow, these clowns who voted against it will be first in line to hold out their hands for their districts. Then, they will tell their constituents what a wonderful thing the infrastructure bill was and how they, who voted against it, should get all of the credit. They have done it before, and they will do it again.

With all of the “go after our own” for voting for this bill, we have learned that Ronald Reagan was really a “Rino”. I guess the fascist wing of the party wants to take away his sainthood. They don’t believe he was “tough” enough or “mean” enough for their liking.

Finally, they decided to go after, of all people, Big Bird. The Sesame Street Character is beloved by children all across the country. According to his creators, Big Bird is a forever “six year old”. Last week, the FDA and CDC announced that the vaccine is now available for children between 5 and 11. Children over 11 have been able to get their shots already.

Saturday, Big Bird tweeted this: “I got the COVID-19 vaccine today! My wing is feeling a little sore, but it’ll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy. Ms. @EricaRHill even said I’ve been getting vaccines since I was a little bird. I had no idea!”

Now, Big Bird has been advocating for children to get their vaccines since the 1970s. The idea that he would encourage children to receive this vaccine is not big surprise and something that we figured he would do. You also notice, that there is nothing in this tweet “demanding” anyone get the vaccine. He figures that since he got the vaccine, children would not be afraid to get theirs.

But, that is not something that the death cult wants to hear. It goes against everything they have conjured up against the vaccine and even the pandemic since it first started. It is almost like they want us and our children to die from this horrible disease.

Naturally, the first to “squawk” about this tweet was the “I’m going to Cancun while Texas freezes” Senator Ted Cruz. He actually tweeted this in response to Big Birds announcement: “Government propaganda …. for your 5 year old”. The best comeback to Cruz came from Walter Shaub, the former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, who responded to Cruz’s tweet, writing, “You are vaccinated.”

Cruz wasn’t alone in his criticism either. Of course the right wing fascist media wing went after Big Bird as well. People from Fox News, Newsmax and other right wing media figures chimed in and accused Big Bird of “brainwashing” our children.

Of course, depending upon your point of view, Big Bird has more or less been a propaganda machine. He has also advocated for children to look both ways before crossing the street, to brush their teeth so they don’t get cavities, and to wash their hands after using the toilet. These are obviously propaganda topics used to “brainwash” our children to be healthy and safe. We can’t have that kind of stuff being transmitted over the airways, can we?

So, there you have it. According to the fascist wing of the Republican Party, we now know that Dwight D. Eisenhower was a communist because he got a huge infrastructure package passed. The Republican canonized Saint Ronald Reagan wasn’t even a Republican he was just a RINO. And, Big Bird who has advocated health and safety issues for our children is just some sort of “commie” propagandist.

We were also told that if anyone votes in Congress for any bill that helps improve the lives of their constituents they are Democrats regardless of the letter behind their name. Which should tell you all you need to know about which party is really interested in your best interests, not their own. If they claim that only Democrats are voting to improve your lives, then why would you vote for any Republican since by their own admission they don’t care about your welfare?

The sick and deranged death cult is alive and well and still searching for headlines and not caring about you. Nice party.