Maybe Belief Alone Isn’t Enough…
Yesterday, I mentioned that Trumps “legal team” sent a letter to CNN threatening them with action if they didn’t stop telling the truth about Trump. In part of the letter, they suggested a potential route of defense he might be planning to use, the idea that, perhaps, he really believed his own bullshit. (He didn’t. Everyone involved in the coup attempt KNEW they were tossing dung chips but felt that sticking to the lie was the best strategy…so they do.)

I’m no lawyer so I might need help squaring this but I have another similar example of belief I’d like to cite. The cons used to believe (who am I kidding, they likely STILL BELIEVE) that Hillary was running a child sex ring out of the basement of a pizza parlor. Lots of possible restaurants were “identified” with one unfortunate establishment finally being settled on as the actual store.

A 28 year old man, Edgar Welch, bought the story hook, like, and sinker, just like cons are supposed to do. Only he didn’t just sit back and whine about how terrible Hillary is. This guy took action. He went to the pizza parlor with his assault rifle and fired off three rounds. He didn’t hurt anybody. The important part, here, is that he truly believed he was doing a good thing in defending the children involved. The only hitch in his giddy-up was that, like so many conservative stories, it was pure, unadulterated bullshit – just like Trump’s whiny story about the election. Hell, the “losing” pizza parlor didn’t even have a basement.

I just want to say, here, I genuinely respect Welch’s goal. He thought – truly believed – children were being harmed and needed help and the dude jumped into action and tried to help. Whatever one thinks about the advisability of believing such a ridiculous story, the fact that he tried to help was a brave and selfless act. He was trying to protect children. HE got four years. How long should Trump get for trying to protect his own interests by overthrowing the Constitution?

I’ll tell you this: It doesn’t seem to matter WHY one commits a crime as much as the fact that the crime was committed. Mr. Welch’s belief wasn’t defense enough to keep him out of jail and it shouldn’t be enough to keep Donnie out of jail, either…

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Ronnie and Donnie…
Twice in as many weeks, now, I’ve written about the idea that our country has slipped so far we’ve reached a point where if one doesn’t vote with the Democrats, well, we’re all gonna die! Sadly, that’s not hyperbole. The official campaign message of the Dems is, “Go ahead, vote Republican. We dare you!” I hate the fact that voters in this country have been reduced to “vote for the corporate shill with the R after their name, or vote for the corporate shill with the D after their name. You have no other choice.” The part that bothers me the most is that it’s true, we have no other choice. These days, the Republicans are actively trying to kill us – all in service to their great Prophet Profit, of course.

Needless to say, I’ve been rather focused on the topic, of late. I was rather surprised when I happened upon an idea that probably should not have surprised me in the least. It is this: when the coup-de-grace comes to end the Republic once and for all, I won’t be surprised if it’s the Democrats who strike the blow.

This is not a prediction, per se. In fact, it’s a look backwards. Consider, it was Reagan (R) who introduced all the stupid ideas this country suffers from today; “Trickle Down Economics,” Deregulation, the so-called “welfare queen” and other such nonsense. But it was Bill Clinton (D) who actually enacted those things…and worse. Sure, he temporarily balanced the budget. Nice. In retrospect, though, that was a distraction to keep people complacent. That way, they might not notice the harm he was doing elsewhere. Mostly? They didn’t.

Clinton “reformed” welfare. Awesome. In practice, he only weakened the social safety net. His crime bill filled our prisons to overflowing with people who didn’t need to be in prison. Because of deregulation, he refused to act to regulate a new investment instrument called a derivative, despite warnings that they were economically dangerous. That lapse contributed mightily to the economic meltdown of the first part of this century. He supported NAFTA. As the “smartest man in the room” he should have understood the economic damage he would be inflicting on American workers. Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the law that, basically, eliminated independent journalism in this country. In a related note, the Clinton administration had to issue a special waiver to allow Rupert Murdoch to own and operate Fox “News.”

See? Republican Reagan called the play, but Democrat Clinton carried the ball across the line. Now, ostensible Republican (but really just self-serving egomaniac) Trump has called a new play: sedition. I don’t really see a Dem, certainly not Sleepy Joe, whipping up an armed and frenzied mob to storm government institutions but I CAN easily envision them doing just enough nothing to empower a second run at it by a more competent would-be autocrat.

I’ve long held that if one CAN do something to stop bad behavior but chooses not to, they become complicit. The January 6th Committee has been fascinating television but the committee has no legal authority. They COULD vote to disqualify Trump from holding public office but I suspect they won’t. The DOJ seems to be moving just slowly enough to allow time to run out on the clock. Once Republicans are back in power, the investigation will be shelved. If I may paraphrase, the only thing necessary for evil Republicans to succeed is for feckless Democrats to do nothing. And yet, I’m told, I have no choice but to turn to the Dems or all is lost.

I’ll tell you this: If we really must turn to and trust only the Democrats to rescue the nation, I just don’t see salvation in our future…

Burning Down the House…
Last week, I wrote a bit directed to progressives in which I pointed out that we, the people, do not, in fact, enjoy freedom of the vote and that progressives MUST vote with the Democrats or suffer the consequences – which have been made SO onerous and SO deadly to average Americans we either support the Democrats – like it or not – or suffer Fascism, authoritarian rule, and/or a Christian theocracy – all antithetical to a Constitutional, democratic Republic. There is no middle ground. I know some people who would love to hear me say so, feeling as though, perhaps, I’d finally “gotten the message.” But *I* feel like I’m acquiescing to the failure of a once-great nation. It’s like helping to put the fire out at the meth dealer’s house next door. You don’t care about the meth dealer. You wish you didn’t have to deal with the meth dealer. You know the meth dealer’s house in only on fire in the first place because the meth dealer is a moron. You wish the meth dealer lived somewhere else or was in prison. You help anyway, but it’s only because you don’t want THAT fire to burn down YOUR house.

I’ll tell you this: I cannot escape the reality that in a system in which I have no actual choice for whom to vote, where actual conscientious voting is seen as – even taunted as – “throwing one’s vote away,” there is no democracy, either. I don’t know what we’re doing anymore…

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Wrongheaded Insistence
OMG, my sides hurt. I’m laughing out loud at the Dumbass. He had his dumbass lawyers send a dumbass letter to CNN complaining they keep telling the truth about him and he really wants them to lie, instead. Well, the lawyer said it a little differently. The lawyer wrote, ‘“Accordingly, I hereby demand on behalf of President Donald Trump that CNN (1) immediately take down the false and defamatory publications, (2) immediately issue a full and fair retraction of the statements identified herein in as conspicuous a manner as they were originally published, and (3) immediately cease and desist from its continued use of ‘Big Lie’ and ‘lying’ when describing President Trump’s subjective belief regarding the integrity of the 2020 election.’

Even his own lawyer referred to Trump’s “subjective belief” as though we all have to credit his big lie if he insists he believes it. I imagine his supporters are happy about it and convinced that “he’s going to show them now” – but he isn’t. He’s lying and, based on ALL available evidence, he KNOWS he’s lying. He IS sticking to his lie assiduously, though, isn’t he? At this point, his big lie is SO far out of touch with reality, SO far away from anything that can be proven, I’m pretty sure he’s trying to establish an insanity defense.

You see, it doesn’t matter how many times I insist the moon is made of green cheese. The moon is not made of green cheese. It never has been made of green cheese. It never WILL BE made of green cheese. Humans have been to the moon and brought home examples of the rocks, not the cheese, that make up the Moon. My insistence that the moon is made of green cheese is just wrong and sticking to a wrong position that has been proven wrong over and over and over again eventually becomes a lie in and of itself – unless one is delusional but then, it’s a delusion. It never becomes true just because someone insists.

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At least at last we know…
The RNC has informed Trump that as soon as he announces his run as for president (which in his twisted brain means strongman/dictator) the RNC will stop paying his legal bills. That’s a curious thing, isn’t it? Did YOU realized the RNC was paying Trump’s legal bills? I know I didn’t and if I had been a donor to the RNC, I’d be PISSED OFF that they’re using MY money to pay for that loudmouth liar to keep lying.

Maybe the cons aren’t angry because they assume it’s probably not all that much. I mean, how much could it be? He hires the crappiest lawyers the law has ever seen, the only lawyers willing to work for him. Hell, they MUST be cheap, right? Sure. $1.75 MILLION dollars (and counting) worth of “cheap” – so far. Trump seems in no hurry to walk away from the gravy train. At one point, Trump told the RNC chair, Ronna McDaniel, that he was leaving the Republican party and starting his own party. McDaniel told him they would stop paying his legal bills if he wasn’t a Republican. Being the manly man he is, Trump immediately backed down and no one ever heard about his third party again. The RNC doesn’t want Trump to announce a planned run before the mid-terms and they speak the only language he might understand: money. They’ve told him not to announce. He won’t either.

They SAY it’s because they have to maintain the look of “neutrality.” Uh-huh… They also say they’re paying for challenges from when he was the Traitor President. Except they’re also paying for personal legal expenses for Trump, his obnoxious family, and his thieving company.

I’ll tell you this: I don’t understand how these payments could be viewed any way other than campaign contributions. If Trump doesn’t have to pay his own legal bills he has no incentive to stop with his frivolous claims AND it frees up campaign money he SHOULD be on the hook for. I suppose if the RNC donated the exact same amount to any candidate running it would all balance out in the wash but there’s no word there have been any such payments to other potentials. (It would be hilarious to watch all the cons coming out of the woodwork trying to collect their payments in kind. The Republican Presidential field would have, like, 666 candidates…all with their grubby little hands out.)

Well, it looks like Steve Bannon is going back to prison, at least for a short time. His sentencing is scheduled for October. He was found guilty of Contempt of Congress for refusing to respond to subpoenas. Two charges were filed. One for refusing to turn over paperwork the other for refusing to appear. Apparently, he tried to defend his actions with the assertion that he was complying with counsel. Only…he couldn’t supply the attorney who offered the “advice” nor any evidence to support the claim.

This happens from time to time. Because of our corrupted media, cons get used to going on television, saying whatever pops into their pea-brains in the moment – and then getting away with having said it like it made perfect sense. No follow-ups, no probing questions of any kind. They get fooled into thinking that trick likely works all the time. But it doesn’t work in court. Lawyers do this trick they call “cross-examination” in which they DO ask follow-up questions, things the talking heads never seem to think of. Things like, ‘And just who is this attorney who offered up this “advice?”‘ That’s when the con finds out, “I’d rather not say.” is an unacceptable answer. Then they go to jail for awhile.

Bannon was convicted on both counts. Each count carries a penalty of one year and $100,000. There’s a minimum requirement of six months. It’s hard to say what will happen since this country seems dead-set on dismantling itself and discarding the rule of law but if I was the one doing the sentencing, I’d throw the book at this guy. He’d do two years and pay $200,000. No, not because I just don’t like him. I don’t. But my personal feelings about a defendant should not enter into the question.

To my knowledge, nobody has been convicted of Contempt of Congress charges for a long, long time. Decades, in fact. That’s because the vast majority of true Americans recognize Congress’ authority. But Bannon isn’t the only character behind Trump’s criminal coup attempt to tell the committee “no.” He’s just the first to face charges. It’s an excellent opportunity to remind those in the “we just don’t want to comply” camp that not complying is not an option. I guess it’s not supposed to play into the reasoning, either, but Bannon should still be sitting in prison for stealing all the money from his ‘Build the Wall Fund’ scam. He’s only out because his criminal co-conspirator, Donald J. Trump, used his ill-gotten power to pardon Bannon in the first place.

I’ll tell you this: Steve Bannon clearly belongs in prison and in a country that operated on the rule of law, that’s where he’d be heading for a couple of years…

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Can you believe Texas? Look, I get it. The anti-abortion crowd feels empowered right now. They’ve corrupted the highest court in the land by packing it with kangaroos and know they can get away with just about anything their fevered little minds can envision – so they’re going to try. After the “way-too-high” court overturned Roe vs Wade, several companies in the punishment states started offering to cover the expenses of people who make the trip they now have to make to manage their reproductive opportunities. That is, several companies offered to pay the expenses of traveling for abortions. In my most cynical moments, I might suggest that the companies did so to help keep points off of their health insurance but that’s just because I never trust stated corporate motivations. Besides, it doesn’t matter why. So let’s just agree they’re doing it out of concern for the welfare of their employees.

In response, Texas Republican lawmakers sent to companies on record saying they’ll help, a letter threatening legal action against those companies if they actually DO help. In a July 7 letter from the Texas “Freedom” Caucus (Isn’t THAT ironic?) they claim they can criminalize anyone who “furnishes the means” for an abortion. I guess their position is, you’re “free” to do as you’re told…

It’s not bad enough that the most vulnerable victims of the conservatives are always the poorest people. The punishment states are trying to punish women who can pull together the resources to travel to smart states, too. They want to punish anyone who gets an abortion, no matter where the abortion occurs. This is not hyperbole. In Ohio, the state Attorney General threatened legal action against an Illinois doctor after she performed and abortion for a 10-year old rape victim – in Illinois! Texas is pushing for the same privilege.

Now, I understand how easy it is for the kangaroos to use a hand to simply cover the part of the Constitution that’s bothering them, then declare they “don’t see it in the Constitution” but the rights of citizens to travel between the states and to enjoy the rights of that state while they’re there is, actually, written into the document. It’s in Article IV. The very first line of Section 2 says, “The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of the Citizens in the several states.”

Of course, it remains illegal to, say, travel from Missouri to Minnesota to rob the Northfield bank – just ask Jesse James and Cole Younger – but it’s not illegal to travel across state lines to engage in legal activities – feel free to check with the Moonlight Bunny Ranch in Nevada. But the various “Freedumb Caucus’s” are coming for that freedom, too. (Not the prostitutes. The freedom of movement…)

I’ll tell you this: there was a time I would just laugh off such stupid efforts. “Good luck with THAT in the courts.” But these days? With the kangaroo “Justices” making rulings on personal preference and not the Constitution? There’s no telling what might happen…

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Special note to the progressives: Hey, me, too. I get it. I can’t tell you how much I hate the “My house is burning right now!” “Well…be sure and get out and vote next November!” attitude. I don’t want to vote for the do-nothing Democrats any more than you do and for the same reasons. In this case, though, the “do-nothing” part serves. Sure, they won’t help anybody or anything (except themselves, of course), but they’re not likely to work to harm anyone, either. “Do nothing” is still better than the conservative’s “do harm.”

But we really do find ourselves in a “no choice” (no win?) position these days. We only have two choices and the Republicans CAN NOT be one of them. Right or wrong, the cons WILL come out – en force – and vote as instructed by their party. We MUST counter that action or they’re just going to gleefully run roughshod over everything this once-great nation stood for. Sadly, this once-great nation has been reduced to an “enemy of my enemy is my friend” state.

We have to vote. It’s all we’ve got, short of ‘Second Amendment Solutions.’ Like it or not, we have to vote Democrat and we have to vote Democrat on paper. Don’t use the machines if you have any choice at all. Remember, the machines may not be corrupt, but according the legal proceedings you see in the papers, the people who check the machines very well might be…

I’ll tell you this: I really hate what the cons have done to this country…

A quick summary of today’s Republican party. There’s a guy named Rusty Bowers. He’s a con. He’s the Arizona House Speaker. He supported Trump early on but lost faith when Trump committed treason. Trump supporters in the state tried to pressure Bowers to lie about the election. Giuliani tried to pressure him to lie. He wouldn’t lie. He calls himself a Christian and, apparently, tries to live up to the moniker. (It’s a refreshing change…)

Bowers testified to the House January 6th Committee on June 21. He told the truth. He testified that Giuliani told him, “We’ve got lots of theories but we just don’t have the evidence.” It looks like the traitor Giuliani is going to lose his law license and MAY end up in jail – right along with so many of his co-conspirators. But the effing GOP needed to make sure that Bowers suffers, too. You know, for telling the truth. For being honest. For having integrity. All things antithetical to today’s cons.

The Arizona Republican Party has censured Bowers, declared him an outsider not in good standing with the party and called on Arizona Republicans to vote him out. Apparently, the LAST thing in the world Republicans want is a person of ethics in their midst…

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Just a few thoughts on the January 6th Committee. WOW! Okay, that’s just one. I really think the committee members have done a very good job. The cons think so, too. That’s why they won’t watch if they can avoid it – and they’re VERY good a avoiding reality.

I’m struck by the loyalty I continue to sense from some of these witnesses. They’re all Republicans who loved and supported Trump. They found themselves in a position where they COULDN’T avoid reality and it slapped them in the face. They lost faith – and found reason. But when they testify, they seem to seek the best way to answer the questions honestly without insulting the Dumbass. Some of them feel compelled to add endorsements of Trumps pretended “accomplishments” before or after testifying under oath about Trump’s guilt in his coup conspiracy.

What about that Secret Service, eh? They knew they were supposed to preserve those texts – so they deleted them. Are they trying to protect the integrity of the agency? That ain’t gonna do it! Lawbreaking by a law enforcement agency never has a good look. We, the people, have just been through this with Hillary’s emails in the 2016 election. She deleted something like 30,000 emails and offered up really stupid excuses– um, “explanations.” The obvious calculation was that the fallout from the deletion would be less than the fallout from inclusion – so they were deleted. Why would the Secret Service position be any different?

I hear Fox “News” followed the hearings the next day with – wait, I want to make sure I have this right – oh, yeah, there it is. They attacked Biden and the White House for “taking credit” for FALLING gas prices. They were perfectly happy to smear him with HIGH prices but when the price comes down suddenly he has nothing to do with gas prices? How convenient. (The President doesn’t really normally have that much to do with the prices anyway. Biden’s actual failure, in my mind, is in not invoking anti-trust laws to bring the oil companies to heel in the first place…)

I love when the committee calls out the Republican traitors in Congress by name and I really loved when the committee showed the clips of these spineless “Ever Trumpers” condemning the President’s coup in the days immediately following, traitor McCarthy, in particular. Knowing Josh Hawley encouraged the protestors and then was seen running for his life in fear of those same protestors was almost too good to bear. I managed, though…

I thought I heard the first hints from the committee that a 14th Amendment solution might well be forthcoming when they pointedly asked if this was a man who should be holding ANY public office. The 14th Amendment allows for any person who has taken an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and then engages in insurrection to be barred from ever holding public office again. After treason, that’s the very least we might do. I mean, the very, VERY least…

Obviously, the cons are going to attack last night’s witnesses and claim they’re lying turncoats who are just making things up. That’s their standard attack. The committee has addressed it by introducing a subject in one hearing, letting the cons lie, then bringing in FURTHER corroborating evidence in subsequent hearings. It’s been quite brilliant…

Sure does make one wonder about Merrick Garland and his “investigation.” I know, the name of HIS game has to be secrecy but if the committee has pulled together so much damning evidence, hasn’t the DOJ done the same? I know the wheels of justice turn slowly but I’d like to see him step it up a bit…

Trump didn’t stand down until AFTER he knew the military was on the way and the Congress critters were safe. He KNEW he’d lost. THAT’S when he told the insurgents to go home. He fought telling them to be peaceful throughout the event. He fought calling them off throughout the event.

I laughed out loud when I saw/heard Trump trying to form sentences telling the attackers to leave. The actual message he finally recorded simply regurgitated the same b.s. he’d been selling for months and turned out to be as supportive of the assailants has he could be while still acknowledging his defeat at the Capitol. (He STILL hasn’t acknowledged his defeat at the ballot box – but he’s still a loser…)

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Sometimes, I feel sorry for the consumers of conservative media. It’s not nice of those media outlets to tell their consumers false things, then send those self-same consumers out to make fools of themselves saying things that all thinking people know don’t hold up under scrutiny. Among the more recent entries is this ridiculous suggestion that the January 6th Committee isn’t a “real hearing.” The con rank-and-file is fooled by the claim because the hearings don’t look like a trial on ‘Law and Order.’ Of course, they’re not supposed to. It’s not that kind of a hearing. If you think “Grand Jury Hearing,” all of a sudden it looks exactly like it should…

Projection…
Hey, look! They finally found someone cheating in the 2020 election. Well, technically, they found a THIRD “someone.” According to the AP, she’s a woman named Sandra Brown who worked for the Mesa County Clerk, Tina Peters, also facing charges along with her deputy, Belinda Knisley. The only confusing part to me? They’re Republicans! They cheated for the Dumbass – who was declared the winner of Mesa County with 63% of the vote – by rigging the machines! No wonder the cons are so certain the machines were rigged. THEY were rigging them! Projection, thy name is conservative. (Biden still won Colorado with 55.4% of the vote…)

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Protection?
I was a bit irritated by the unexpected release of the Uvalde videos on Wednesday, the 13th. Not because of the release, itself. That had to happen and was scheduled to happen. Officials just wanted the opportunity to show the video to the families of the victims first, and that was scheduled for Saturday, the 16th. But that just makes the timing of the “leak” all the more suspicious, doesn’t it? Since the video was already scheduled for release, anyway, jumping the gun, ostensibly to “get the scoop,” was really just an act of cruelty to the families who immediately decried the action and said they felt “broadsided” by the drop.

I don’t mean to go all tin-foil hat on you, here, but there was one other effect the early release had. The exploits of the Barney Fife Brigade, Uvalde Division HAD to become the top story of the day. I mean, an entire police force frozen in fear as one shooter murdered 21 people? How could the media NOT run with it? So, it pushed any other major news stories back. For example, there was far less discussion of the findings of the January 6th committee’s hearing on Tuesday than there otherwise might have been and far more focus on what cowards look like in Texas. (As a sidebar, I keep hearing that the entire force should be fired. What kind of integrity do those guys have that they might wait to be fired? If they had any honor, they’d hand in their resignations and go do work for which they’re better suited. Something that will NEVER require bravery…)

Anyway, in case you missed it, Donald J. Trump was up to his eyeballs in planning the criminal insurrection. He knew darn good and well he had lost the election. (His difficulty in accepting the fact might, perhaps, be tied to the idea that he also knew he had loyalists in strategic positions to rig the machines…see the previous bit about Mesa County in Colorado.) He knew darn good and well that he had lost every legal challenge. He knew darn good and well there were no legal options left to him, so he went illegal. He didn’t hesitate and he choose illegal while surrounded by lawyers telling him, literally yelling at him at times, what he was doing was illegal. He worked with the “Proud Boys” and the “Oath Keepers” and other moronic dregs of humanity. He knew, in advance, he was going to tell his acolytes to march on the Capitol. That was NOT a spontaneous event. He and his criminal partners planned and executed the insurrection.

I expect to be pissed off when Trump avoids jail time because, in America, we don’t jail ex-presidents, no matter what. (My actual anger will be at the final surrender and collapse of a once-great nation.) But I saw an idea in a letter to the editor I liked. Let’s strip him of his citizenship and exile him from the country. (That would be the second country the Drumpf family has been exiled from in only three generations. I wonder what family name they’ll choose next? May I suggest “Rump?” It keeps the core of the original, Drumpf, and it’s replacement “Trump,” and better describes the character of the family members…) My own addition to the exile plan? First, seize his assets under the doctrine that we don’t know which of his dollars came from regular business and which came from illegal activities. (That’s sort of stupid phrasing. I’m not aware that he’s ever made a single, honest dollar in his entire life…)

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Deflection…
I keep seeing con politicians out there suggesting they intend to restrict a woman’s right to travel to blue sanctuary states in order to receive the medical care they can no longer get in their red punishment states. It’s an appalling suggestion, restricting freedom of movement. But, guess what? Freedom of movement is not specifically written in the Constitution, the standard the kangaroos are currently pretending makes the most sense. Freedom of association is and any rational human being could easily understand the obvious reality that one’s freedom of association is impaired if one is not free to move to where the association is taking place. But these are conservatives with an ideological agenda, not “rational human beings.”

In a related note, one of the effects of the Kangaroo’s overturning of Roe was that pro-choice activists started looking for stories to highlight the danger and stupidity of overturning Roe. As if on cue, they found a 10 year old girl who was forced to travel to a different state to get an abortion after being raped and highlighted her ordeal in the news. As soon as the story became public, the conservative bubble immediately reconsidered it’s position, seeing the reality of how these things can play out and turned it’s attention to restoring Roe. Ha, ha, I’m kidding of course. Cons never let reality interfere with their favorite fever dreams of the moment and they’re not about to start now.

In fact, the conservative media simply declared the story fake news. The Washington Post pretended that abortions for children so young were vanishingly rare. Apparently, in the same story (the very next line, in fact), they admitted that in Ohio in 2020, 52 people under the age of 15 received reported abortions. That’s one a week, on average. That seems FAR too often, to me, and not “rare” at all.

The Wall Street Journal declared the story “too good to confirm.” I don’t know. Sure, I know the timing didn’t help the conservative ideology at all, but how is a 10 year old girl being raped, impregnated, and THEN unable to find help in her home state in any way “too good?” Or even “good?” But of course, we protect patient’s privacy and children’s names in news stories so the story couldn’t be immediately confirmed – which meant it COULD be immediately dismissed by the lying right.

Until the cops caught the rapist.

Then the con media just clammed up and moved on. They never told their obsequious acolytes the truth about the story I’ll tell you this: they likely never will…

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Disconnection…
I saw a piece in the Guardian called, ‘Broken and distrusting/Why are Americans pulling away from the daily news.’ My first thought? News? What news? I haven’t seen much journalism in American media sources for a long, long time. There are opinions. There are estimations. There are analyses. There are even thoughts and guesses. But there is a depressing dearth of journalism. To paraphrase one of the more destructive assholes this country has ever suffered, I didn’t leave the news. The news left me.

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Okay, so I write these little pieces for my blog over at ‘MyBaconPress.com‘ Then I post a copy on Facebook. But that means you only get to see them on Facebook IF Facebook’s algorithm sends you the story. Why take the chance you might miss out? Head on over to ‘MyBaconPress.com‘ and click on the little button in the bottom right corner that says ‘Follow.’ A little pop-up window comes up and asks for a name and email address. It doesn’t cost anything and you’re not “joining” anything. It just puts these lovely little missives directly into your email inbox for your convenience. AND, you never miss a post again!

It’s commonly true that one has but to wait for the infamous “other shoe to drop” to know the rest of any given story. I see quite a few shoes dropping regarding Ubercab. No, they’re not called “Ubercab,” not anymore, anyway. They were once. That was their original name. Ubercab is a great service run by horrible people. They dropped the “cab” part when they decided to screw their drivers over so badly by denying responsibility for those employees. They argue the drivers are not employees but those are just words the company can string together. The short version is, Ubercab controls every aspect of the driver’s work for Ubercab when the employee is on the clock. Ubercab doesn’t make a dime without it’s employees. The drivers don’t get any Ubercab fares without Ubercab telling the driver about the fare – just like Yellow Taxi.

Several steps appeared to have been taken to try and address Ubercab’s faulty position but, darn it all, not only did Ubercab win in court, all independent contractors in the state took a major income hit and many employees lost jobs to cheaper options for the companies. A series of unfortunate events? Poorly argued case? (They got it right in the UK on the very first try…) How could so many politicians come to such an obviously anti-functional, downright stupid conclusion? In September, 2020 I wrote a piece that addressed the issue. The very simply solution was staring everyone right in the face the entire time. Still, the politicians seemed to get it wrong.

Ah, but those shoes. The Guardian is doing a series on Ubercab and the underhanded and criminal techniques they used to force their way into various markets. There were a LOT of them. Among them? Bribery. Of course. How else do politicians get such a simple thing so wrong? (Yeah, I know, one can never underestimate stupidity.) Perhaps I never received a reply to my FAR better idea because the politicians I sent it to had already cashed Ubercab’s check…

Did you see where Moscow Mitch thinks Joe Six-pack is still living high on the hog with those fat stimulus checks? Listen, I’ll celebrate the day the man dies but I’ve never seen anything from him that suggests he’s THAT stupid or even THAT out of touch. He’s just your basic, average, run-of-the-mill liar. He needs something to say about our failing economy, some excuse, so he pretends he thinks Americans are still living on the stimulus checks. I doubt he actually believes it, though…

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In a related bit, California is apparently sending out inflation rebate checks. The idea is to reduce the damage to struggling families from the price gouging of the large companies. I don’t like it. (Well, of course I’ll take the check. I just don’t like it.) I know the people could use an assist but this ain’t it. To me, it seems like they’re setting up a little pipeline of money from government into private companies via the masses. The problem is price gouging. If the government can’t/won’t step up to stop it, the rebate will help, like, on a one-time basis and then the struggle just persists. Meanwhile, the corporations will smell all that sweet, sweet money and raise their prices MORE, knowing there are a couple of pennies out there that still might be shaken free.

I think it would be FAR more effective for the government to start breaking up monopolies. For all of California’s talk about going green and reducing carbon, we still have a huge number of oil wells. California should take a page from Alaska and force the companies to pay a fee to the citizens of the state for drilling, like they do in oh-so-conservative Alaska. Hey, we could force companies to pay a living wage! See? Three ideas, all better than simply sending money to the extortionists via the citizens – and I haven’t even set my mind to it, yet…

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A woman in Plano, Tx was pulled over for driving in the HOV lane with no passenger. She pointed out to the officer who stopped her that she is 34 weeks pregnant and, according to Texas law, her unborn child is a person and therefore, she wasn’t breaking the rules. The cop cited her, anyway, because according to OTHER Texas laws, the baby doesn’t count as a person. But he told her she might well win in court if she used that argument to fight the ticket. See ladies? It’s not going to be all that bad, after all. If nothing else, you and your rapist’s baby get to use the HOV lane…

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This is just a quick question. These activist judges are pretending that their rulings make sense of some kind by professing a fraudulent hypothesis called originalism or strict contructionism. IF THEY TRULY BELIEVED THEIR OWN BULLSH–, I mean ‘rhetoric,’ wouldn’t Thomas – a black man – and Coney Barrett – a woman – have to resign their positions immediately? According to their own professed belief system, they’re property, not people. They have no right to sit on any court. Actually, they have no rights at all! You know…that is, if they believe the words coming out of their own mouths…

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Cons are up in arms that Brett Kavanaugh, one of the kangaroos on the “way-too-high court,” is being harassed by people when he dines out. Apparently, that interferes with his privacy. He ate at a steakhouse called ‘Morton’s’ and had to sneak out the back door because of protestors. Now, Morton’s itself is under assault by people making fake reservations. If it was up to me, I’d like to see people put them out of business along with any OTHER place that caters to the kangaroos. Cons hate all of this and I suppose if I was a supporter of Christofascism, I’d hate it, too. But I’m not and I don’t. I like the idea. I hope all of the kangaroos – and their families – live the rest of their days sneaking from place to place for fear of facing the consequences of their enforced preferences.

The Supremely Kangaroo Court made a poor decision based on personal preference and religious beliefs – certainly not based on the Constitution. Millions of people (not just the women but the newly forced families as well) will suffer every day for the rest of their lives because of these activist assholes and I see no reason why the people who made that happen – and their families – shouldn’t suffer every day in exactly the same way.

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Those idiots on the Court also ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency has no authority to, you know, protect the environment. They pretended that if Congress doesn’t vote on a specific thing, it’s not really a thing. If you’re a person who prefers to understand things, here’s why that’s wrong: Congress sets up and empowers agencies to carry out certain tasks, specifically so that Congress doesn’t HAVE to vote or become expert on every single detail of every single issue.

Think about getting Congress to agree on an environmental issue. Mush-heads like Jim Inhofe (R, of course) think climate change is fake because he can still find snow. Just think of the number of (conservative) congress critters who aren’t even qualified to tie their own shoes, let alone make decisions about complex environmental issues they couldn’t possibly understand. (Hell, they’re not allowed to…) Of course, that’s the point the cons are aiming at: kneecap government by pretending Congressional Agencies don’t have any authority.

I’ll tell you this: As a group, human beings are an incredibly stupid, self-destructive species. I don’t mean to be dark, here, but it was a VERY long shot that we would ever pull together enough to do the right things to address the danger we face from climate change, in the first place, but this particular choice by the kangaroos is pretty much a death sentence for all of humanity.

But hey, with the expected acceleration of climate change, at least Kavanaugh and his kangaroo cohorts won’t have to worry about sneaking out of restaurants for too much longer…

I just wanted to take the opportunity on this July 4th, 2022 to say that the United States of America is not now, nor has it ever been, a “two-party system.” (Quick note to pedants; yes, there must have been a time when only two parties existed but that was only because, when counting from zero, one cannot properly count “three” until one has counted “two.”) When the country was founded, the young and idealistic founders decided we could do without parties at all. That was their original vision and they set up the original Constitution accordingly.

Madison even wrote in Federalist 10 that parties developed from political factions – groups of people who wanted to advance some political agenda and called political parties “mischiefs of faction.” Madison worried that a large majority might seize control of the government. (It apparently never crossed his mind that a cheating minority like today’s Republicans might do the same…)

The Founders having taken their bold stance against political parties, Alexander Hamilton then formed the very first political party, the Federalists, in 1789, followed quickly by Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican party (in no way related to today’s GOP). So much for that plan. After that, parties came and went – and there have been a LOT of them.

Right now in this once great nation, there are many parties. Sure, there are Democrats and the Republicans but there are also the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, the Peace and Freedom Party, The American Independent Party, and even a Communist Party. In truth, that’s only a small fraction of the total number of political parties trying to gain a foothold in this once-great nation today. And why are those other parties struggling to gain a foothold? Because two of our political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, have rigged the system to gain such a stranglehold on the American electorate, many Americans don’t even know other parties exist!

It’s actually a fairly new phenomenon, though, “new” depends on how you see the 20th century. My favorite story illustrating the control of the two dominant parties is this: Theodore Roosevelt was the President from 1901 – 1909. (He ascended to the Presidency when McKinley was assassinated.) He was with Lincoln’s Republican party, the liberals of their day. He chose not to run in 1908, preferring to back William Howard Taft. But Taft wasn’t as progressive as Roosevelt had thought he would be and so Roosevelt decided to run again as the Republican Party nominee in 1912. Unfortunately for him, the Taft machine pushed Roosevelt aside. (Hey, this sounds familiar…) This irritated Roosevelt who went out and formed the Progressive Party, better known as the “Bull Moose Party.” Roosevelt and his Progressive Party appeared on the ballot in every state. Hell, he nearly won. (He and Taft split the progressive vote and the conservative, Democrat Woodrow Wilson, took over.)

The point I’m after, though, is that Roosevelt formed the Progressive Party in 1912 and appeared on the ballot in EVERY state in 1912. Contrast that with, say, the Green Party. The Green Party was formed in 1984. In 2016, the Green Party affirmed their candidate, Jill Stein, had qualified for the ballot in only 45 states. Roosevelt formed his party, ran on the ticket, and appeared on the ballot in every state in the same year. The Greens have been working for ballot access for 32 years and STILL can’t get on in every state. Do you know why? Because Democrats and Republicans in the state legislatures across the land have imposed “ballot access” rules that, amazingly, bar competing parties from ever getting the chance to even show up.

SO…every time some American repeats the fraudulent phrase, “Two-party system,” what they’re REALLY saying is that two of our many parties have a vice-like grip on the American electorate and American citizens are “free” to “choose” between whichever corporate candidate the parties foist on us. “Hmm, let’s see. Tweedledum or Tweedledee? Tweedledee or Tweedledum?” (I do not pretend that the two candidates are “the same” but the results certainly are the same…)

Democrats and Republicans worked together to shut out opposition but now the Republicans are taking the next step and, in state after state, they’re working to eliminate as much Democratic participation as they can. (Suddenly, Democrats find such manipulations quite unfair…) Very soon I expect we’ll hear the youngest Americans repeating the mantra – as though that’s the way it’s always been – that “Everyone knows America is a One-party system and if you don’t vote for the one, true party, you’re throwing your vote away.”

I’ll tell you this: “Olds” will just shake their heads, never even realizing they sound just as stupid when they say the very same words about the pretended “two-party system…”

MyBaconPress wishes you all a very happy, fun, and safe July 4th…

It’s kind of my standing question to the cons supporting the recent Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade. It goes like this. One of the lying kangaroo “justices” on the court, Clarence Thomas, is a black man. He’s married to a white woman (who happens to be a traitor to America). He CLAIMS to be an “originalist,” meaning he pretends the original intent of the founders should be the primary consideration in rulings. So…setting aside the obvious conflict in the idea that, ORIGINALLY, he could never even have BEEN on the court in the first place, do you think he’s going to vote against inter-racial marriage? Do you think Thomas thinks Thomas should only get 3/5 of a vote, an explicit “original intent” of the founders?

At the time of the signing of the Constitution, TWO of the pretended “originalist” members of the court, Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett, were generally considered property, not people. MY guess is that they’ve BOTH managed to find some wiggle room in THAT “original” assumption…

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And there it is…
On Friday, July 2, President Biden made a comment about the recent abortion of justice handed down by the kangaroo court and said, basically, somebody ought to do something. Gee, ya think? Sadly, he added, we don’t have the votes to overturn the filibuster. “Filibuster” has become a Democratic weasel-word. A weasel word is a word (or phrase) used to evade responsibility. I’ve long held that the job of Democrats in America, these days, is to lose to the Republicans. The declared filibuster is one of their very best tools for doing so. The Democrats pretend there are only two sides to this debate – either have the declared filibuster in full force, or eliminate the filibuster completely. That’s not true.

See, the real aberration, here, is the “declared” part of the declared filibuster. Somewhere along the way, our Keystone Congress perverted the intent of the filibuster. There was a time when a filibuster was a perfectly legitimate tool used to protest pending legislation – but the politician in question had to physically hold the floor with a speech for however long he could. (For reference, watch the movie, ‘Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.’) Then, the rule changed and any congress critter could block legislation by simply declaring his intent to filibuster. It was treated as though a “think” was as good as a “do.”

But talking filibusters used to fail from time to time. Declared filibusters never do and are a solid backstop for the Democrat’s feckless failings. But you can already see, can’t you? There’s no need to eliminate the filibuster completely. Simply return to the talking filibuster and the tool remains in place but requires the extra effort to employ. Things get done. To MY mind, that’s WHY the Dems don’t correct it. That’s WHY the pretense is “all or nothing.”
“Ah, shoot,” say the Dems, “We REALLY wanted to do something about (fill in the popular position on…well, anything, really) but that gosh-darn filibuster won’t let us.” Perfect. Losers.

Wavered
I have to confess, with each new horrifying ruling being handed down by this kangaroo court, I HAVE wavered a bit about the 2016 election. Perhaps progressives SHOULD have held their collective noses and voted for Hillary in 2016 to “hold the line.” I’m SURE she would not have appointed three moronic, ideologue, activist (and, apparently, self-loathing) judges to the court. But then I remember, neither would Bernie have done and my mind won’t let go of the question as to why it came down to the court in 2016 in the first place. I loved RBG, but she HAD racked up a few years AND she was battling cancer. She should have stepped down when requested. When Scalia unexpectedly died, Moscow Mitch illegally blocked Obama’s choice. I have no information the Obama administration appealed that theft to the courts – or took any other action for that matter – trying to force McConnell to do his job in a timely fashion. In typical Democratic fashion, they just laid down. FIFTY years, Democrats have had to address the situation. FIFTY years, they did nothing. The cons came out the day Roe was handed down and declared their intent to overturn the ruling. (After all, what an awesome opportunity to harm poor people…) The cons never stopped trying to overturn Roe. The Democrats never STARTED trying to protect it. Then, suddenly, it’s all progressives fault? It just doesn’t track with the facts in evidence…

In 2016, there were two wildly popular candidates. They were wildly popular because they were promising to try to change things. Bernie wanted to change things for the better. Trump wanted to change things to the wreckage we see all around us today. The DNC, having already sold the nomination to Hillary, sidelined the far more popular Bernie then went with “You’ve got NO CHOICE but to support our nothingness.” This, at a time when the masses were furious and fed-up with “nothingness.” Apparently, the progressives DID have a choice – and STILL the Democrats have nothing to offer but words. Thoughts and prayers…

I’ll tell you this: I’m pretty sure loyalist Democrats won’t…can’t understand my point any more than a loyalist con can allow themselves to see the crimes of the Trump crime family. Wrongheaded denial is hardly confined to the right…