Principles? Naw, principles are problems. Just look at the cons. They abandoned principles, in general, years ago, preferring positions of the moment. But there have been a few issues I thought they really, honestly held. I even disagreed with them but they seemed steadfast. Cons are such a fickle crowd, it was a bit refreshing they had at least one thing they actually believed in. But no. That, too, was all smoke and mirrors. I’m referring to guns, here. Well, I guess I’m referring to Hunter Biden, here, because the gun is just an excuse to get him. But they DO have to turn their back on what they claim as a core belief: guns are awesome in all circumstances and everybody, everybody, everybody should have guns!

Hunter is under investigation. He is a drug addict. In his life, he’s done drug addict things. Drug addicts might be the only group in the country that makes dumber decisions than a MAGA con and Hunter is no exception. So, he skipped filing his income taxes for a couple of years and, one time, he bought a gun.

The taxes eventually got paid, along with penalties and interest, of course. They CAN still prosecute over the fact that he skipped out in the first place, but generally, the IRS doesn’t pursue those kinds of things if they have the cash. He owned the gun for eleven days, then his girlfriend got rid of it. But, when he filled out his “I wanna buy a gun” form? He checked a box that said he wasn’t a drug user. He lied on a Federal form. According to the MAGA cons, there can be no larger crime than lying on a federal form so they want Hunter jailed until Christ returns. No, longer.

Prosecutors tried to work out a deal. After all, a plea bargain is, generally, the way these things are addressed. MAGA cons screamed in outrage, because they hate “political” prosecutions! “You’re going to just treat Hunter Biden the way you do everybody else? NOOOOOO! THAT’S HUNTER BIDEN! HANG HIM HIGH!” So, now Hunter has been indicted. Now he goes to court. Now he confesses – again – about the taxes but shows the receipts and apologizes for checking a box he shouldn’t have and gets sentenced to, what, a diversionary program? That was the plea deal so the MAGA cons have cost the country a bunch of money they wouldn’t otherwise have spent. (That’s because they’re the party of fiscal responsibility…wait, what?)

Now I’m going to need to see someone go through ALL of those registration forms for anybody who checked that box and see if any of them show up in videos anywhere using guns and drugs at the same time. For the record, alcohol, for all of our blather to the contrary, is a drug. Time to prosecute…

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I’m a little irritated with the Dems, right now. Yes, the Dems. They COULD have passed a debt ceiling increase large enough to cover the coming two years of MAGA disruption when it became clear the House was going to the cons. They knew it was coming. Unless they’re completely mindless (and at their average age, that’s entirely possible) they KNEW the MAGAs were going to harm the country with a bunch of debt ceiling posturing. The Dems could have stopped it. They could have removed that particular weapon from the hands of the destroyers. But they didn’t. They passed the lowest number they could at the time, setting up these lovely little confrontations.

In a surprise to absolutely NO ONE, MAGA cons KEEP disrupting the process. They KEEP threatening to destroy the full faith and credit of the United States as a form of fiscal responsibility. (“Hey, we charged some things on our credit card but in order to prove we’re fiscally prudent, we’re not going to pay the bill!” Yeah, that works…) THEY seem to “think” they’re making some larger point about spending. It’s all for show but it’s not JUST a show. It does harm. Their past threats have already caused a downgrade in America’s credit rating. Thanks, Republicans.

You know the worst part? This country would not even be in this debt situation if the Republicans hadn’t started passing tax cuts for the wealthy. They don’t say it out loud (mostly) but the whole goal of the constant tax cuts for the rich was to financially choke the Federal Government to death. (I believe the actual quote was “drown it in a bathtub.”) They’re succeeding, too. You can see it everywhere.

These days, the United States of America is like a once-grand hotel. Opulent and a bit imposing when it was built, it now stands as a testament to days gone by. It still LOOKS like the once-grand Hotel USofA, but only if you drive past quickly enough and don’t look too closely. If you DO tarry, sit and look around, you can see the decay setting in everywhere. The curtains are tattered a bit, here and there. The carpet is a little ratty at the edges. The marble could use a good cleaning. The garbage cans aren’t emptied often enough. The paint is cracking and peeling, here and there. The uniforms of the staff are dated and worn. Once the resort of choice for travelers the world over, vacationers are looking for other places, these days, and Hotel USofA’s greatness is little more than a fading memory.

There simply is not enough money available to maintain Hotel USofA at the standard the world had come to expect. Oh, there’s plenty of money. It’s just that a choice has been made. A small group of greedy people will keep the money. Hotel USofA will slowly deteriorate, her decline proceeding slowly, but inexorably. All the while, people will shake their heads in sadness and occasionally comment on what a shame it is that the Hotel USofA is being handled so badly.

More than any other single factor, Republicans have done this to us and they’re going to KEEP doing it to us, if we let them, until the entire place simply collapses under the weight of the lack of upkeep. I’ll tell you this: I say it’s time we abandon stupid and destructive Republican policies and positions and get back to running a great place by taxing the people who are hoarding the money and putting it back into Hotel USofA, like we used to when she was built in the first place…