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7 of 9…

by MyBaconPress

I’m saying it’s clearly beyond their capability. Still, I admire the way they keep showing up and trying. Picking a Speaker, I mean. The Republicans STILL can’t get ‘er done. They literally have ONE JOB! It’s too much for them. They tried single candidates in the very bigoted Steve Scalise, who describes himself as David Duke (One time Grand Wizard of the KKK) “without the baggage.” Then they sent up Jim Jordan, the sexual abuse-ignoring MAGA who seems to have been one of the key congressional figures helping DJT with his coup. Both those “winners” lost. Jordan should find himself facing charges, sooner or later, for his support of J6.

Now the cons are going to try a group thing. They’re putting up nine names, most of whom participated to one degree or another in the coup attempt. These aren’t the people who offered direct, traitorous support, though, like Jordan, MTG, or Josh Hawley from the Senate. They weren’t out in front, waving banners or offering fist salutes. The treason from these guys was more subtle. See if you can spot the commonality among this group:

Tom Emmer – DJT doesn’t like him because he didn’t offer enough support, so that’s a plus. He DID vote to certify the 2020 election but he ALSO signed an Amicus Brief to the Robert’s Supremely Kangaroo Court urging the court to throw out electoral votes from key swing states.
Mike Johnson – He was one of the organizers – described as “the most important architect”- of the Amicus Brief to the Robert’s Supremely Kangaroo Court urging the court to throw out electoral votes from key swing states.
Kevin Hern – He voted against certifying the 2020 election and signed the Amicus Brief to the Robert’s Supremely Kangaroo Court urging the court to throw out electoral votes from key swing states.
Byron Donalds – He wasn’t in the House during the election but he DID show a misleading, edited screenshot of a supposed text exchange between Hunter Biden and James Biden, Joe’s brother, in support of impeaching Joe for…reasons. He would be the first black House Speaker in history.
Austin Scott – He’s been pretty vocal about how stupid the cons look, not being able to choose a Speaker, so he’s not always wrong but, while he ultimately voted to certify the 2020 election, he first signed the Amicus Brief to the Robert’s Supremely Kangaroo Court urging the court to throw out electoral votes from key swing states.
Jack Bergman – He voted against certifying the 2020 election and signed the Amicus Brief to the Robert’s Supremely Kangaroo Court urging the court to throw out electoral votes from key swing states.
Pete Sessions – Probably the most “normal” candidate. He was out of Congress in 2020 because his home district had replaced him at the polls (with a Democrat) so he moved to a new district and ran again. (Better than getting an actual job, I guess.) He voted 97.5% of the time with DJT’s positions on things…
Gary Palmer – He voted against certifying the 2020 election and signed the Amicus Brief to the Robert’s Supremely Kangaroo Court urging the court to throw out electoral votes from key swing states.
Dan Meuser – He voted against certifying the 2020 election and signed the Amicus Brief to the Robert’s Supremely Kangaroo Court urging the court to throw out electoral votes from key swing states.

Did you catch it? Sure, there are other facts about each of these men but there’s only one of concern to me: 7 of 9 (where have I heard that before?) signed the Amicus Brief to the Robert’s Supremely Kangaroo Court urging the court to throw out electoral votes from key swing states. The two who didn’t weren’t in Congress at the time so they didn’t get the chance but they still pretty much support MAGA over America. Is that REALLY the best the Republican Party has to offer?

The Speaker of the House is second in line, after the Vice-President, to become President of the United States, should that position become vacant for some reason. I really don’t want anyone in any position of authority who doesn’t believe in democracy or our Republic. (Actions speak louder than words.) Certainly, never again in the Oval Office.

Don Bacon (still) and David Valadao seem like still-sane people who should get the job. But the crazy 8 won’t let anybody but a MAGA have the job. I don’t think this is clever brinkmanship. I think this is toddler-with-a-gun dangerous. The only question is: can the brats be disarmed quickly, before any more damage is done? (Watch for a pending downgrade in the credit rating of the United States – again and, once again, at the hands of the Republicans.)

I’ll tell you this: I’ve been writing, sort of tongue-in-cheek, that some Republicans need to cross the aisle and vote with the Democrats. The Dems have a candidate they like, a guy who can very much do the job, a guy who isn’t crazy with ideology, Hakeem Jeffries. 212 votes to the good. All they need is 5 Republicans to cross the aisle to elect a Speaker. It might prove to be an individual act of political suicide to do so, but risking one’s political life in an effort to save our country would absolutely reflect well on said Congressmen in history until the end of time…

Reality Clearing…

by MyBaconPress

Falling in love.
Being dumped.
A wedding.
A divorce.
The birth of a child.
The death of a parent.
Buying a house.
Watching it burn down in a wildfire.
Being hired for a new job.
Being fired.
Winning a huge lottery prize (I assume).
Watching your beloved country be overthrown in a slow-motion coup orchestrated by a few billionaires and facilitated by the least educated among us.

All of these things have one thing in common: they put people into what might be called a minor fugue state. It’s important to understand, I’m misusing the term. In psychology, a fugue state is a serious dissociative condition in which people will, for example, travel to places with no memory of how they got there. It’s a kind of escapist behavior and, again, in psychology, it’s very serious. But one definition (in the DSM-5) calls a fugue state a kind of “bewildered wandering.” That’s more how I mean it. My use of the term doesn’t refer so much a complete disconnection from reality as a great distraction brought on by serious, life-changing events. If you know a better word for me, please let me know…

Any of the things on the above list leave us functioning, but not at full capacity. We’re still “present,” which is why I say I misuse the term, but we’re largely distracted. We move through the day, doing what needs to be done but sometimes not even remembering that we had done the thing in question. We still function. We’re still out there. We’re just not 100%. We haven’t dissociated, we’re just distracted. (Okay, in the case of a new baby, we’re also just effing tired, but still…) Good things and bad come along and knock us off our game. But we have to keep moving, so we do. Hopefully, we don’t mess anything up too badly in the meantime.

I’ve been through most of those things on that list. (STILL waiting on that huge lottery prize.) Most of the time, we can only understand our reduced capacity looking backwards. We don’t even know we’re doing it while we’re doing it but once we see it, we’re usually a little stunned at how we even got along during those times.

I think most of the United States citizens are in a kind of minor fugue state because of the last one on that list, the whole “Watching your beloved country be overthrown…” Americans just aren’t used to treason and national betrayal as a “normal” state. It has thrown us off our games, a bit, a constant distraction.

I think (hope?) the charges, trials, and convictions are helping. They seem to be helping me. It’s been a bit crazy-making, listening to MAGA tell stories that have little to no bearing on reality, as though those stories might be real. I mean, has this country REALLY become a place where facts are fluid and evidence is ethereal? As these court actions play out, the clear answer is, “No!”

There have been over 1,000 convictions associated with Donald Trump’s January 6th coup attempt. (Meet Donald Trump and go to jail!) Mostly, they’ve been low-level charges and relatively minor sentences. That bothered me, at first, having seen what they did in the Capitol. But as they’ve moved up the ladder of responsibility, the charges and sentences have been more serious. Facts are NOT fluid. Verifiable evidence is still proof.

MAGA cons are likely to never know the reality of the situation. The conservative media bubble is producing articles and broadcasts every day attempting to distort truth and paint a different – and false – picture of events. (Cons think “spin” and “a lie” are the same thing.) They made tremendous headway before the courts could catch up. But events are overtaking the narrative, as the saying goes. Out in public, they’re free to say any damn fool thing they will – and they will. But in the courtroom, where “opinion” is far less valuable than factual evidence, the truth is being reinforced, one player at a time.

We’re getting to the big fish. Oath Keepers and Proud Boys leaders sentenced to decades in prison. Sydney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro flipping for the Feds against Trump. They’ll help convict John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, and, ultimately, Donald Trump, himself. The courts have pierced the heart of the conspiracy and the convictions are following along steadily.

I’ll tell you this: For me, the convictions are comforting, reassuring. The system, slow as it is, seems to be working, for the moment, and my minor fugue state is a bit less distracted every day…

Captive

by MyBaconPress

Uh-oh. The Coup Klutz Clan is turning on itself. It’s not a surprise, to me. One of the characteristics of MAGA conservatism is pure, unadulterated selfishness. One does not find people willing to fall on their swords for loyalty among such a group. They worked together because they expected to benefit together. But when the situation became a more desperate “one for all and all for one” moment, they began bailing on one another. More like, “All for me and…um…who are you, again?”

One of Trump’s “lawyers,” Sydney Powell, has entered a guilty plea and a promise to testify in any future trials in return for a light sentence. $9,000 in fines and 6 years on probation for attempted treason is very light but it’s the way it works in these cases. Prosecutors work their way up the food chain until they get to the ringleader. They threaten to toss you in jail and lose the key if you don’t help or slap your wrist and give you tea and crumpets if you do. Even a MAGA eventually figures out that staying out of prison is better than going in…

Now Kenneth Chesebro has flipped, as well. Chesebro was one of the architects (allegedly working with John Eastman) of the plan to present fake electors and he’s the one who laid out the details in having Pence randomly choose to use other-than-official electors. Pence preferred the Constitution but how could Chesebro have know that in advance? Up until the moment in question, Pence had been a nearly perfect lap-dog for Donny so I’m pretty sure Chesebro thought he could count on Pence.

Chesebro’s punishment was less than Sydney Powell’s. He only has to pay $5,000 and do 5 years of probation. He also has to write a letter of apology to the people of Georgia. Of course, he has to turn over any and all evidence in his possession and agree to testify in future trials.

I had considered the possibility that Powell and Chesebro requesting early trial dates might be a ploy. It could have been a chance to let team trumpery see the case laid out in an early preview of what’s coming for them later. Instead, it was simply Powell and Chesebro distancing themselves from team trump so they could take their plea bargains and go home.

These seem like minor punishments but these two will likely lose their licenses to practice law, as well. So they might get a show in conservative media, but at this point, MAGA knows they took care of themselves and not 45. Powell and Chesebro may not be welcome in conservative circles, anymore, and I’m quite sure they’ve already been proclaimed RINOs. They’ll each write a book, mostly self-promoting and proclaiming their lack of guilt. It will be “remaindered” and stuck in some bargain bin within a week.

I’ll tell you this: We’ll hear a little more about them through the trials and then – gone! Forever, just a footnote in history of horrible people who did horrible things. Good riddance…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fun part of Republican dysfunction is over. Now? Concern is setting in. Personally, my latest concern is that the MAGA cons doing all the damage have no incentive to ever do the right thing. Their GOAL is the destruction of this once-great nation and they’re achieving it simply by doing nothing. Well, nothing except a spectacle. “Sure, we’re going to destroy the nation, but we’ll be fascinating while we do!”

This country has a political party called the Libertarians. They’re far-right and their “solutions” to problems are often unrealistic and unworkable. They have a couple of traits in common. They did not pay much attention in classes on science, history, or social studies and they ALL lack empathy. They were, rightfully, relegated off to the “crazy” end of the political scale, along with other, extremist parties, like the Greens. So, after some prompting by Charles Koch, they infiltrated the Republican Party in order to gain political credibility. It worked, too.

They kept their more extreme elements to themselves for awhile as they crept in, one by one, inexorably. But they eventually became a strong enough force in the Republican Party to actually take over and direct the narrative. Hell, these days, the “Grand Old Party” should be called the ‘New Libertarian Party.’

Libertarians have always hated formal government. They’re okay with some small group that can make treaties and such, they understand that part, but they don’t want anything big enough to do the job of governance. Their position seems very optimistic, “Oh, people will just do the right thing without government interference,” but it’s really very opportunistic, “Without government to protect the weaker, the strong are free to pillage.”

People are pretty much on to them now, but they’ve gained a foothold in the party and they’re going to be very difficult to remove. In the meantime, they can do a great deal of damage and that seems to be their intent. They say it takes two to destroy a relationship. That’s not true. It takes two to make it work. But only one can decimate the thing pretty easily and in this case, the ‘one’ is the Libertarian MAGA GOP…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trump comes out of the courtroom and starts his whiny shtick about, oh, poor him, he has to be in court. He’d rather be out campaigning but no, they FORCE him to be in the courtroom. Literally four minutes later, during the same rant, someone asks if he’ll be in court the next day. “Probably not,” he says, “I have a very big, professional golf tournament at Doral, so probably not.”

Okay, so…they FORCE him to be in court to keep him from campaigning but they let him take off for a “very big, professional golf tournament?” How does a judge issue THAT order? The truth is, this is a civil trial. Trump is welcome to be there, but not required to be there. He COULD be out campaigning if he chose to (or could afford to), in the same way he can get to the golf course. Suspicion is that Trump only showed up at this most recent sighting because he expected his old friend and “fixer” to be on the stand and he wanted to start menacingly at Michael Cohen.

MAGAs will believe his tale of woe, of course. They MUST. When he tells them the courts won’t let him campaign but the courts WILL let him golf, MAGAs won’t even blink an eye. Ignore the conflict, it must be the evil government. If Trump said it, it must be true so it’s the big ole’ meanie pants government. But it isn’t the government. Trump is still free to go where he wants to, within reason. He could campaign. He doesn’t want to (or can’t afford to). He wants to play golf, so that’s what he does.

I’ll tell you this: Every day, MAGAs seem more and more, to me, like an abused spouse… No, that’s not right. To me, they actually seem like hookers in the trump stable, doing as they’re told, when they’re told – fearful of abuse – and handing over every dollar they can earn…

Mismanagement…

by MyBaconPress

$37 million dollars to more than 60 law firms since January, 2022. That’s how much Trump’s supporters have paid so far, according to the Associated Press. Trump’s ‘Save America’ PAC is really a ‘Save Trump’ PAC. According to FEC filings, $37 million is more than half of the PAC’s expenditures. I say the PAC’s expenditures. I mean his supporter’s expenditures. They send the money to the PAC, the PAC sends the money to the lawyers. Trump goes out and whines, “Poor me!” and the supporters send more and the cycle repeats.

They don’t mind. They KNOW nothing like this has ever happened to an ex-President before so they THINK it must be political in nature. Sure, they COULD decide on the truth: it’s never happened before because we’ve never had such an inept criminal in the Oval Office before but they don’t like that interpretation so they’ve settled on “Meanie-Pants Government.” Sure, it’s stupid but it’s what they’ve got, so…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By now, you’ve heard of the Republican effort to pin the entire mess in the House on the Democrats. “Wait, what? That can’t be right.”
“Well, they’re not right but that’s how they’re trying to evade responsibility for the chaos.”
“So they’re suggesting the Democrats should have kept a Republican House Speaker? Why would Democrats want a Republican House Speaker, given a choice?”
“OBVIOUSLY, they wouldn’t.”
“Well, who gave the Democrats the choice?”
“The Republicans.”
“Well, then, why the obviously silly story?”
“The base buys it. That’s really all they need.”

Jim Jordan is taking yet another shot at the Speakership. Round 3. After today, only twelve more votes and he ties the McCarthy for 2nd longest Speakership drama in history! (The longest was 133 votes in 1855/56.) In fairness, McCarthy set a high standard for low quality and Jordan is going to have to work hard to match it. Truthfully, we’re moving past the fun part to where this is getting serious but I still can’t help laughing at the Republicans.

I doubt anyone is surprised. The MAGAs are constantly on about how government sucks and people shouldn’t govern and government doesn’t work and, particularly, people in government are fools. What did they expect? Sudden interest in governance? Jordan and his ilk are threatening to strangle the House if they don’t get their oh-so-stubborn way. But if they DO get their way, all they want to do is strangle the entire government so it’s best none of them are given the job.

I don’t really expect any Republicans to cross any party lines in this very partisan day and age. But I DO think the only way past the impasse is for a few Republicans to threaten to vote for Hakim Jefferies in one of the upcoming rounds if not given a less ideological choice. If that doesn’t wake up the MAGAs – and it won’t, at least it could get the government back to work…

The cons should go with Don Bacon (no relation), and not just because I’m really zippy at typing ‘Bacon.’ Sure, he’s a moderate centrist but he’s still a Republican. I wonder why the Republicans never listen to me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I guess the base believes it, or works to believe it, or is desperately trying to, please, God, help me, believe it but I’m just sick of hearing Donny constantly blaming witch hunts and conspiracies for his troubles. It can’t possibly make sense to anybody that you’re either a MAGA loyalist or part of a vast conspiracy to bring him down with no middle ground. Even people who were loyalists until the topic became “trash the Constitution.” Suddenly, the once-loyal, one-time followers who love America more than they love Trump are RINO’s (Republican In Name Only).

The truth is, nobody was looking any too closely at the Trump Organization and likely would not have done had he not run for President. But, no MAGAs, they didn’t look into Trump especially closely because he was such a great and awesome President. When one runs for President, people, mostly the press and political opponents, dig as deeply into your world as they can. The cons are doing the exact same thing to Biden right now. In Donny’s case, there was just SO MUCH to find!

His indescribably huge ego had convinced him he was untouchable and that made him complacent. His crimes weren’t even all that well hidden. It didn’t take much looking to find problems. Once someone started pulling even the tiniest thread, the whole thing unraveled.

Not three generations is a pretty quick turnaround for a fortune once estimated at nearly $8 Billion dollars. (Granted, that’s likely based on inflated values and was actually worth, like, $1.25 but without evidence, I’ll go with public information.) Grandpa Drumpf started the thing. Daddy now-Trump really built many of the buildings. The “stable bizness jenyus,” Donny, managed to grift the thing to dust. In 52 years. (He took control in 1971.) On average, this guy lost $153 million dollars a year, each year he controlled the company. Ivanka got herself a rich guy so she’ll be okay but it’s looking like Eric and Don, Jr. are going to have to get jobs. I wonder what they’re qualified to do?

I’ll tell you this: Losing $8 Billion dollars in 52 years is pretty impressive in it’s own way. I wonder why he never brags about that?

Quite Disappointing…

by MyBaconPress

I like ‘Real Time with Bill Maher.’ I watch the show on a regular basis and usually enjoy it. The arguing gets to me from time to time, especially when it’s happening through obstinance and it’s not fact-based, but, generally speaking, I like the information exchange. I don’t always agree with old Bill but, what the hell, it’s his show, right? I think he’s pretty even-handed in most areas but he has one area that he clings to as tightly as any MAGA con clings to 45. Israel.

He says he an atheist, which I believe, but his loyalty to Israel seems religious in nature, anyway. With the renewed violence in Israel and Palestine, he voiced full support for Israel and complete condemnation of HAMAS on his October 13 show. Like the MAGAS, his “beloved” can do no wrong and evidence to the contrary will not be tolerated. He sees every egregious act committed by HAMAS but explains away egregious acts committed by Israel. In his mind and telling of the tale, HAMAS is ALWAYS acting and Israel is ALWAYS RE-acting. I don’t see it that way.

In this country, whenever anybody questions the actions of Israel, the State, defenders of Israel are quick to label that person anti-Semitic. I believe that’s a shut-down position intended to blunt criticism of Israel through intimidation – fear of being labeled a bigot – and, frankly, it’s pure folderol. I know Israel is, primarily, a Jewish state. Hell, that’s the whole point of Israel. But I do not believe that what the Israeli government does has anything, whatsoever, to do with Judaism. Criticism of the Israeli government in no way equates to “MAN, I hate Jews!” and the person who pretends otherwise, it seems to me, is kind of confessing their inability to discuss the politics of the matter rationally.

I want to be clear, here. I don’t support HAMAS, either. I think it’s a horrible idea to indiscriminately launch rockets into cities, killing… whomever happens to get in the way. I also think it’s incredibly, incredibly stupid. The Palestinians are never going to out-punch Israel and every time they re-ignite the violence, they end up costing themselves, which I see as the whole point – the actual goal – on Israel’s part. In short, Palestine is playing right into Israel’s hands when they turn to violence.

John Lennon said it best: “When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face – to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you.”

The whole thing reminds me of a little brother being quietly antagonized by his older sister until he explodes in anger. She puts on her best, “Who, me?” face and he gets in trouble for his reaction. But the antagonism is rarely part of the conversation. If it does get mentioned to the parent, the response he gets is, “Well, you should have come to me.”
“But I DID come to you! You just said we should try to get along and didn’t do anything!”

If you pay attention, and don’t blind yourself with automatic rights and wrongs, you can see the Israeli quiet antagonism slip through in the newspapers from time to time. (There’s always a “reason” but the reason is often a RE-action and not an initiating event and the end result is always the same: Israel has a little bit more land, Palestine has a little bit less land. HAMAS is pretty vocal about wanting Israel off the land and wanting to push Israel into the sea. Israel never says the same about Palestine. But Israel is constantly working to push Palestine into the sea, all the while talking about how the two sides should just get along. Israel is FAR better at PR than Palestine.

If you live in Gaza, you are 100% dependent upon Israel for electricity, water, medical supplies, and food. The entire area is walled off and poverty-stricken – think Warsaw Ghetto – and, from time to time, the gates get closed – always for “reasons” – and you can’t get to work. Also from time to time, Israel cuts off the flow of electricity and water… AND the medical supplies and even the food. ALWAYS, the Israelis are building settlements in disputed areas and moving people in as fast as they can. Once there are enough people there, Israel says, “Too many to move. That’s Israel, now.” It’s like sharing an arm-rest in a theater. One person just keeps moving their arm more and more onto the thing until the other person is off entirely.

To me, it looks like Israel intends to “scoot” the Palestinians off the map. “Hey, could you scoot over just a bit? Yeah, we need to get by. Hey, if you could just scoot a bit more, there, we can get this thing done. Hey, how about you scoot that way just a bit? Oh, man, one more person needs to fit, could you scoot just a little more? C’mon, man, I’m going to need you to scoot a little more.” It seems to me it never ends. Imagine how it feels to the Palestinians.

For every one of those micro-aggressions I’ve just described, there’s an answer. “Yeah, but remember that guy that time?” “Yeah, but the Palestinians said…” “Way back in 237 B.C.E, Palestinians…” That’s a key, for me. NO ONE can chicken-and-egg this thing, as in ‘Which came first?’ This dispute goes back nearly 4,000 years and the list of grievances on both sides is as long as any list you’ve ever seen. Even if you could find the original, initiating event, are they REALLY going to keep fighting, killing, and dying over something that happened 4,000 years ago? Talk about holding a grudge!

Based on past history, Israel’s response will not be “measured.” They’ve already cut off the electricity and water and medical supplies and food for ALL of the 2.2 million people who live in Gaza, whether the people living there support HAMAS or not. Now, they’ve told 1.1 million of those people to scoot a little to the south because they’re about to RAIN bombs on Gaza. The UN has pointed out that the demand is “impossible.” I expect the bombs to fall, anyway, and when Israeli (U.S) bombs kill Palestinian women and children, those deaths will be dismissed. “Hey, we told them to leave. They didn’t.” But I don’t support Israeli bombs killing Palestinian civilians any more than I support Palestinian bombs killing Israeli civilians.

I’ll tell you this: This isn’t the start of Armageddon (sorry, hopeful Christians) nor is it the beginning of World War III. Palestine will run out of resources, soon, and be forced to stand down for awhile and Israel will impose new and more aggressive punishments and sanctions on the entire area. When the smoke clears, Israel will be a little bit larger and Palestine will be a little bit smaller and the whole cycle will begin again.

Humanity can be quite disappointing…

Decisions, Decisions…

by MyBaconPress

You know who has it together when it comes to Speaker of the House? The Democrats. They know who they want, Hakeem Jefferies. 212 of them. Apparently, one must reach a minimum of 217 to gain the Speakers gavel. If 5 moderate Republicans crossed the aisle, or, more likely, threatened to, maybe the crazies would stand down. (Yeah, I know, but hope springs eternal.)

Meanwhile, the MAGA cons act around Jim Jordan was interesting. 45 told his obsequious boot-licking MAGAs to select Jim Jordan, they’re going to select Jim Jordan. It makes sense. Sexual predators, apparently, stick together. Aware of what a clown show the first round in picking a Speaker was, the Republicans had barricaded themselves behind closed doors to pick their guy. They came out and announced him: Steve Scalise. Steve Scalise describes himself as ‘David Duke without the baggage.’ David Duke’s “baggage?” Grand Wizard of the KKK. That’s the highest rank you can achieve in that particular hate group so, nice work? I think it means he is the least stupid among the very dumbest among us. Pretty low bar.

Anyway, after they left the closed-door session, they voted and, no, the MAGA’s just couldn’t stand behind him, after all. This move, of course, dragged their chaos right back out into the public eye. Then they all huddled again and, lo and behold, Jim Jordan has emerged as an option. Jordan is going to be a tough sell. Whatever is left of rational Republicanism needs only 4 votes against to stop that choice, as well.

I’ve said it before, the Freedumb Caucus reminds me of nothing so much as a toddler with a loaded gun. They have no idea, not a clue, how to use the power they hold effectively but they’re still very dangerous. Five rational Republicans could eliminate that danger by crossing the aisle – or threatening to. There are a few from districts won by Biden in 2020. Maybe those Republicans would be safer from backlash should they take action. (Which they won’t. The Party – and keeping one’s phony-baloney job – is more important to Republicans than America…)

So, the clown car runs free and we’re all watching and waiting and pointing and laughing. I’ll tell you this: I’m pleased that on the one hand, they can’t do any damage during their dramatic show of incompetence. On the other hand, they DO have actual work they’re supposed to be doing and they can’t do THAT during their dramatic show of incompetence, either. I hope the popcorn holds out…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the crime file, Trump’s CFO, the one who knows nothing of GAAP? He has apparently taken to lying on the witness stand in an effort to help himself. It’s really just going to make things worse for him. It will add perjury charges and probably harm any deals he may have made with authorities. Weisselberg, for that is the name of the criminal in question, said he hadn’t had anything to do with the fraudulent claim that Trump’s 10,000 sq/ft apt was 30,000 sq/ft.

Turns out, there’s plenty of evidence that the prosecutors don’t have (yet) that contradicts that claim. Forbes magazine, of all places, broke the story. They have emails proving Weisselberg was, in fact, very involved. His testimony was brought to a screeching halt as prosecutors look into the claim. The trumpery crumbles just a bit more.

I wonder how long it’s going to be before he jumps on his private jet and flies off to Russia. Of course, having to turn over the names of all of his silent investors might preclude that as an option. I imagine old Vlad is pretty much done with Trump. The dumbass won’t be President again and with his business dissolved, he can’t help Vlad launder any more money. Trump is less than useless to Vlad, anymore. In fact, he’s now something of a liability. Putin kills liabilities. Maybe Trump’s safer move is to take his chances with the American government…

5.94 Quads!

by MyBaconPress

You know what I learned last night that I didn’t know before? Last year, 2022 (but…you knew that), the United States of America was a net energy EXPORTER. That means we produced more than we bought. This, after having to listen to the cons whine about trump greatness/Biden failures for the last two years.

Cons keep saying gas prices are so high in California because Biden cancelled a bunch of leases that weren’t being used, cancelled drilling IN ANWR (but not near ANWR), that had not produced a single drop of oil, and cancelled ONE arm of the Keystone pipeline project, the Keystone XL – that had yet to move one drop of oil, leaving the rest of the pipeline complex in place and operating like normal. The FACT that those three items had not contributed ONE DROP to our oil supply does not calculate into their “thinking” and it WILL not, either. That reality really hurts their talking point so… out it goes…

But this kind of post always gets a conservative response along the lines of “Yeah, you have your “facts” but I have my gut feeling and you have to respect that!” Um… no, I don’t. You, as a person, sure, but not your drivel. Still, I DO approach these things carefully because it’s a very complex subject and that involves looking into things. No, not “doing my own research.” Pumping a slanted question into a search engine and then browsing until I find the answer that fits my preconceived notions isn’t “research,” anyway. The best I can do is find relevant, factual information about a specific segment of the topic and highlight that information.

So Gavin Newsom goes on Hannity’s show on Fox Not-News and tells Hannity’s audience to “google 5.94 quads!” So I did. You might want to, as well. It turns out, the US is a net exporter of energy by a measure of 5.94 quads. Now, I’m going to keep it real, here, and confess I haven’t a clue what a “quad” is. Near as I can tell, a quad is some collection of British Thermal Units, or BTU’s, measuring energy output.

Okay, I can do a LITTLE better than that. (One sentence. Don’t glaze over.) A quad is one quadrillion BTU’s, equal to 183 million barrels of petroleum. And what THAT means is that the United States EXPORTED over a BILLION more barrels of petroleum than it imported. Keyword: “petroleum,” not crude oil. We still import more crude than we export but that has always been true – even under the criminal, rapist, fraudster, traitor.

You know why? While I was looking into (but not “researching”) this one segment of this one issue, I stumbled upon another fact I had not known. According to PolitiFact, most of the refineries in the United States can’t refine the oil we produce in the United States. So even though we already produce enough oil to satisfy our own domestic needs, we can’t refine the oil we produce so it goes into the world market. That means producing more American oil won’t do diddly squat for Americans.

Oh, but we are, anyway. This year, 2023 (but…you knew that), we’re on pace to produce more domestic oil than any other year ever. Even under Trump! So, why, in California, are we paying nearly $6.00/gal? Yeah, yeah, special blend and taxes, blah, blah, blah. Except, the national average is $3.70/gal. Newsom says that after taking everything “California” into account, the oil barons can justify an additional .85 cents per gallon. That should put our pump price at around $4.55/gallon. That extra $1.45 per gallon? Greed. Straight up, pure and simple. Greed. Well, okay. It could be a corporate play to harm the Biden administration by hobbling the economy but, either way, it isn’t justified by market forces. It turns out? Corporations aren’t our friends…

Now, I know, all this is just factual evidence proving that Biden hasn’t done the damage to the energy outlook of America the cons pretend he has – and what good is that when up against a MAGA con’s preferred beliefs? Nothing. Their delusions are impenetrable. But the rest of you can now know that when they complain about Biden harming the oil economy in this country? They’re just wrong. Turns out, despite the Chicken Little, sky-is-falling conservative bunk, Biden is Presidentin’ better than Trump ever did – (but…you knew that…)

How Can I Help You?

by MyBaconPress

I haven’t seen much about this, yet, but I suspect it’s coming. I’ve heard that in the NY Fraud trial, Judge Engoron has ordered the trumpery organization to disclose ALL secret investors. The suspicion that he’s worth FAR less than he pretends in public has dogged this guy for a long time. Oh, but he has all those lovely buildings, right? Uh, maybe. Maybe not. Maybe, the buildings are owned by “silent” investors and managed by the Trumpery group. For a fee, of course.

I suspect we’re all about to find out why the trumpster is so submissive to Putin. If you’re not MAGA, you’ve seen 45 fawning over Putin like a child with a new puppy. The thing is, nobody can figure out why. Trump treats EVERYBODY like something that just fell out of his butt. There are two exceptions: if you can do something for him (but only WHILE you can do something for him) and if he owes you something he can’t slither out of. Like, say you’re a brutal murderer, and the leader of a country, and a large, perhaps majority shareholder in someone’s buildings. 45 isn’t likely to pull any of his shenanigans on someone like that. He just does as he’s told. And I’ve NEVER seen him do as he’s told like he does when Putin does the tellin’…

It could be Saudis. He let them get away with murder, too. Literally. But my money is on Putin…

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On the other end of the lap-dog scale, there’s still Aileen “Loose” Cannon and she’s still trying to help the defendant in the trial she’s overseeing. She recently agreed to hold up the process for her trial because Trump asked her to. Um…while she makes some ruling or something. No word on when that will be. I’d guess, quite a while from now. One of the very few people who want to see Trump beat these charges as much as Trump is Judge Cannon.

It’s rather unusual for a judge to be on the defendant’s side in the United States. The judge isn’t supposed to take sides. Then again, there’s very little about trump that is usual… or reasonable… or even rational. Okay, so he has some breathing room in the Case of the Classified Documents. Fine. This was scheduled to be his last case anyway, thanks to his obsequious acolyte, Loose Cannon.

If she doesn’t just dismiss the case, outright (something I suspect she’s just itching to do) he can show up later… from prison… in an orange jumpsuit. It turns out, our legal system can accommodate multiple trials in multiple jurisdictions…

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Hey, just a quick hit, here, but the FIRST thing Matt Gaetz did after ousting Speaker McCarthy was start fund-raising for ousting Speaker McCarthy. Ousting the Speaker of the House was just a fund-raising stunt? It’s illegal to campaign from official premises (like the floor of the House). Using official proceedings for campaign purposes seems exactly like campaigning from the floor of the House. Where is Jack Smith when you need him?

Oh, yeah, I thought this was funny. Gaetz said (threatened?) that if McCarthy managed to save his job as Speaker, he would be “working with the Democrats” – the ostensible excuse for tossing him out in the first place. But in tossing the Speaker? It was Gaetz who worked with the Democrats! Only 8 Republicans voted for the removal, all Freedumb (emphasis on “dumb”) Caucus members. The rest were Democrats who have no interest in a Republican Speaker. Matt Gaetz did the Democrats’ bidding!

Gaetz and the Democrats sitting in a tree…

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There are a LOT of people upset with old Sleepy Joe for starting up the wall of trumpery again. He said he wouldn’t, now he is. Here’s the thing. My biggest complaint about the wall was, is, and will remain that the wall won’t have any helpful effect. It quickly proved to be little more than a minor impediment to those seeking entry. Joe knows that. Perhaps getting back to the wall was part of a back-room deal to get Texas to take down their razor-wire barricades that have been killing people. Killing people for showing up seems a bit…extreme.

Also, this is campaign season. The cons are pounding him on boarder security, because that’s what they’ve got. He gives them their wall. Now what? They get what they want, so he blunts that argument. But, since we all know the wall won’t stop ’em, the immigrants will keep on immigrating. For his part, Biden says he’s only spending money that was already allocated by Trump.

Meanwhile, people keep fleeing Venezuela, especially, in droves. Venezuela has essentially collapsed. Communism, you know. At this point, communism is a proven failure. Don’t be a communist. Be a Democratic Socialist so we can have a country that works again. But I digress. Biden is re-starting a program to send people back to Venezuela. That just seems mean-spirited, to me. Kind of like watching a snail make it across the sidewalk, then picking him up and putting him back where he started.

On the other hand, NO nation (especially our rapidly collapsing country – thanks, cons!) can just absorb millions of people in such a short period of time. Like it or not, there IS a gap between doing the right thing and doing what’s possible. Let’s say you see someone drowning. You swim out to help them but, in their panic, they put up so much fight they start to pull YOU under. The moral thing was to help but now, the victim won’t let you. Is it immoral to let the person go, KNOWING how it will end? I don’t think so. TWO deaths won’t help anything.

On the other hand, many of these south of our boarder nations are struggling thanks in large part to American “nation-building.” If we contributed to the problem (and surely we did), do we not have an increased duty to help? That is, maybe you try a little harder to save the drowning victim if you’re the one who pushed him into the water in the first place.

There are no good answers but I’m a fan of trying to solve the problem at the source. If we CAN’T take them all but they CAN’T stay where they are, we have to find a way to make their homes livable, so they don’t have to leave in the first place. But we can’t do that, either. (What, more nation-building?) Sadly, that’s as close to an “answer” as I can get. I don’t know HOW to help them where they are so they don’t have to leave. So I’m curious. Imagine you’re the President. It’s your responsibility now. What would YOU do?

Let The Meltdown Begin…

by MyBaconPress

It’s been a busy few days for Republican insanity. They’ve gone into overdrive. Trump showed up at one of his trials long enough to scowl at the judge and be disruptive in court, then step outside and confess to the very crimes of which he stands accused – over and over again! Then, after nearly three full days of trial, he got bored and flitted back home. He said he already knows what the judge is going to do. Yeah, he knows what the judge is going to do – because the judge has already done it. The judge in the case determined the fraud was SO evident, he didn’t need a trial. It’s called Summary Judgement. (What, after all, is a reasonable defense against claiming your 10,000 sq ft apartment is really a 33,000 sq ft apartment?)

I’ll tell you this: I don’t blame the dumbass Don for absconding back to Mar-a-loco. He’s heading to jail, soon, and I wouldn’t want to spend my last days of freedom in court, either…

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Lots of people on the left are making hay about the fact that Alina Habba didn’t check the “Jury trial” box, laughing at her “mistake.” If you listen carefully, you’ll eventually hear that, in New York, these kinds of trials are usually handled without a jury. She might have asked but, likely, would not have gotten a jury anyway, so why ask? Not checking that box just shows she understood how the process works. Had she checked it anyway? The left, I suspect, would be trying to belittle her for checking the box when “everyone knows” that’s not how those trials are generally conducted.

I don’t like these little made up talking points. They’re so, so… Republican! They do it because it’s all they’ve got. If they don’t make stuff up, they don’t have anything to bitch about. But on the left, we don’t have that problem. The right is generating true scandal and stunning stupidity at a fast and furious rate and there’s no sign they plan to stop until they implode completely. The sooner the better, if you ask me…

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Case in point? The ouster of the Speaker of the House – because he (Oh, Heaven forfend!) worked with Democrats for the benefit of the nation. Really? That’s an unforgivable sin? Compromise? Look, the art of politics is compromise. Nobody likes it because nobody gets all they want. You get a little, you give a little. You win some, you lose some. But not the MAGA cons. Not the Freedumb Caucus. “NO! No compromise! You do it OUR way or you don’t do it at all!”
“Um… your way is stupid.”
“OUR way or not at all! We count, you don’t!”
“Well, we’ll wait while you’all figure it out. Um…do you think you can do that?”
“Oh, we’ll show YOU! We’re forming our firing squad right now and the circle is almost complete! You’re gonna look SO stupid!”
“Um… a circular firing squad? Is that a good id–?”
“OUR WAY OR NO WAY! FIRE!”

So McCarthy’s out. The stupid sector has the power to destroy, but not the power, or, let’s be real, even the desire to build. The Dems, I suspect, will stay with their preferred choice for Speaker, Hakeem Jefferies. And why not? That’s who the Dems want. That’s who they’ll vote for so it’s up to the cons and they don’t have the votes. The far-wrong will insist on some MAGA moron. Still sane Republicans will prefer someone, well, sane. Impasse.

On the up side, the House can conduct no business until they have a new Speaker – except naming a new Speaker. (Oh, well, they CAN throw Pelosi out of her adjunct office. Petty tantrums are ALWAYS on tap for cons…) This means they’ve limited their own capacity to inflict the very damage they love so much. Good. The down side is, they’re still babies with a loaded weapon: the debt ceiling battle the Democrats refused to forestall.

So this will be pass-the-popcorn fun for awhile but it’s going to start getting serious in a few weeks and downright dangerous if it goes on for a whole month and with these guys? That’s always very possible.

As of right now, the nominees for the Speaker job are Jim Jordan, Steve Scalise, and Donald Trump. There’s nothing in the Constitution that says one must be a member of the House in order to be Speaker. Truthfully? I’m surprised these idiots overlooked the obvious: Jesus. There’s nothing in the Constitution that requires the person even be real, either, so Jesus could take the vote in a walk – if he wasn’t sitting in a courtroom with Trump, ignoring everybody else…

Jordan stands accused of ignoring sexual abuse when he was a wrestling coach at Ohio State University. He denies any knowledge. His wrestlers don’t believe him. Steve Scalise got shot by a gun-toting nutball and STILL thinks every nutball should tote a gun. He seems kind of incapable of learning, explaining his attraction to the Freedumb Caucus. Donnie the Dumbass says he’s too busy campaigning to spend time in court. But he COULD take time to be Speaker, suggesting he HAS the time, he just doesn’t want to be in court. (Hard to blame him.)

The cons made a big point of a new rule when they took over: nobody could be Speaker if they were under indictment for a crime that could put them away for two or more years. Trump is looking at like, 25 to life. But Republicans are NOTHING if not “flexible” about positions on any given subject, at any given time.

They’re supposed to having a closed door meeting this coming Wednesday to iron the whole thing out. They need to do it in private because someone has explained to them that the last Speaker-choosing debacle exposed them for fools, going 15 rounds. They’re going to STAY behind closed doors until they have the 218 votes one of them needs to get the job – or until one of the Freedumb Caucus members decides to make the whole process public for their own whiny reasons…

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I was talking with a like-minded friend the other day. We were joking about how deceived the far-wrong faction of this once-great nation is and he asked me, “How do we know we’re right and they’re not?” Fair question. Here’s what I told him.
“In order for our side to work, we rely upon science, logic, and evidence. In order for their stories to work, they have to reject science, logic, and evidence…”

Assessments…

by MyBaconPress

Trump during the 2016 campaign: Yes, I’ll release my taxes just as soon as they’re ready. (Never did.)

Trump during his maladministration: Yes, I’ll release my taxes right after the audit. (Never did.)

Trump during his indictment for fraud: This is a private company. I was never going to release that information! (Emphasis added…)

Hey, at least he finally uttered a truth – and proved, yet again, that the MAGA cons are fools to trust him…

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Here’s the letter I’d like to see:

‘Dear Mr Trump:

We here at the Palm Beach County Assessor’s Office take our work very seriously. We strive for accuracy as our primary goal. As such, based on intrinsic property considerations, we valued your Mar-a-Lago property between $18 million and $26 million dollars. We have noted that you have objected, quite vociferously, to this valuation, claiming the property is worth “at least 100 times that amount!”

If pressed, we here at the Palm Beach County Assessor’s Office will have to admit, we did not take “intangibles” into account when arriving at our assessed value. But your (admittedly informal) request to re-assess using intangibles such as “Brand” has been honored and caused us to re-evaluate our earlier conclusions. We are STILL able to support your claimed valuation based on the property alone but in this one case, because you’re you, we’ve decided to accept your valuation and have reassessed the property known as Mar-a-Lago at your seemingly random number of $1.8 BILLION dollars. ($18 million x 100). Going forward, you will see this as your new valuation and property taxes will be billed accordingly, setting your new tax rate at $18,360,000 per year.

Unfortunately, the re-assessment means that you’ve been underpaying your property taxes for the 38 years you’ve owned the property, as well. As a result, you now have an outstanding tax assessment in the amount of $690,703,200 dollars, which is due a payable immediately. We expect this past-due amount in our office no later than end-of-business on Friday, October 27, 2023. Otherwise, we will be forced to initiate foreclosure proceedings to recover the outstanding tax amount now due.

If you would like to appeal this decision, please contact this office during normal business hours and an appeal will be initiated. But in truth, as we’re only using your stated valuation and you’re such a proven business genius (who are we to argue?) we don’t expect anything other than payment in full in our office on or before the due date.

Sincerely,

The Palm Beach County Assessor’s Office’

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When grand-daddy Drumpf had to change his name because he had brought so much shame on the family name through cowardice in Germany, he chose ‘Trump.’ The word ‘Trumpery’ was in common usage at the time. It means “fraud.”

How apropos that Drumpf trumpery is costing the family the last of the fortune started (reportedly) through human trafficking in the Klondike during that gold rush…