War

Consequences…

by MyBaconPress

When I write these little bits, I use “tags” to help categorize the topics and such on the hosting website. I’ve noticed I use the three tags, ‘Trump,’ ‘MAGA,’ and ‘Crime’ together all the time, over and over. It’s a LOT of crime MAGA has been involved in, led and supported by Trump…

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Speaking of which, now that he’s a Felon, he can’t travel to several countries – even as President. Oh, he ALSO lost a lawsuit regarding the Steele Dossier in the UK and hasn’t paid THAT debt, either. (That really IS his thing…) Now, he could be facing legal enforcement in the UK if he ever shows his very bulky face there. That makes it official: Trump, possibly our next President, is an international criminal! Thanks, MAGA!

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Apparently, Trump insiders are saying that Trump plans to ramp up the heat on Judge Juan Merchan if Merchan sentences Trump to jail time. That’s from an article in the Guardian titled, ‘Trump to escalate blame on trial judge Juan Merchan if sentenced to prison.’ Way to take personal responsibility for your actions, Mr Leader-of-the-Party-of-Responsibility.

I don’t really expect Merchan to put Trump in jail, though I think he should. I think that way because I honestly believe that he would have put any other person in jail, by now, if they behaved the way Trump has behaved. Or, misbehaved, as the case may be.

He committed a crime. He felt good about getting away with it, until he got caught. Then, he blamed the people who caught him. Prosecutors collected evidence. He blamed the people who collected the evidence, dismissing the evidence itself. The evidence was presented in open court to a jury of his peers. (Kind of. Trump is SO mentally malformed, I’m not sure he has “peers…”) He blamed the people who presented the evidence. The judge ran a steady, honest trial. Trump blamed the judge for Trump’s predicament.

David DePape attacked Paul Pelosi and took a hammer to his head. He got sentenced to 30 years and at least some of that time, according to the judge in that case, was because DePape showed zero remorse. Judges commonly factor that in when considering sentences. Now Trump is issuing veiled threats against the judge in the case? Not only does Trump not show any contrition, but he’s out attacking and blaming the judge for doing his job? “It’s not MY fault I did that! It’s YOUR fault I did that!” That should land Trump in prison.

I’ll tell you this: It’s too bad Merchan is showing more respect for the office of the President than the substandard, criminal ex-President…

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Hey, Israel recovered 4 hostages. Yay! They only had to kill nearly 300 innocents to do it. What a deal! I know. Israel and her supporters don’t care about the Palestinians killed and would argue they don’t qualify as “innocents.” At one point, Israel killed a five DAY old baby. I’m surprised American media didn’t report the child as the “Number two man of HAMAS” in an attempt to justify the killing.

THIS time, Israel just HAD to attack a refugee camp. (Keyword: refugee.) You know, because of HAMAS. I’m glad they rescued 4 hostages. I really am. But I’m not sure the cost/benefit analysis is on Israel’s side. The world has recently heard about the discovery of several bodies who were once hostages. Of course, Israel blames HAMAS – who DOES deserve some portion of the blame for taking the hostages in the first place. But I suspect those hostages were killed by Israel, accidentally, as they use a cannon to kill a mosquito. I don’t know that, of course, and I never will. Wars always produce manipulated information.

I look at it this way: if you take hostages only to kill them, why incur the cost and difficulty of keeping some alive? If you see the hostages as a bargaining chip you need to use to protect yourself, why kill them? You need them. This far into the war, rescuing 4 living hostages suggests HAMAS isn’t killing them. So who might be? I’m looking at the side randomly blasting and killing everything in sight supposedly trying to “rescue the hostages…”

D-Day, June 6th, 1944…

by MyBaconPress

I suspect most thinking Americans know that Donald Trump’s relationship with God is, um, non-existent. He avoids questions on the topic by talking around them. At one point, he refused to name even a single favorite Bible verse because, he claimed, it was “too personal.” What horse-hockey. I’m a freaking atheist and I have a favorite Bible verse! But MAGA lapped it up like a kitten at a cream bowl, just like they always do.

Oh, MY favorite verse? It’s Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 5. You know the one. It’s the one where Jesus tells his followers not to be hypocrites. You’re not going to look it up, are you? Okay, it goes, “Thou hypocrite,” – I like the King James Version for fiery rhetoric – “first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

After his Felony criminal conviction, he was asked on a softball ‘Fox and Fiends’ Interview, “What’s your relationship with God like, and how do you pray?”
“OK, so I think it is good,” Trump replied. “I do very well with the evangelicals. I love the evangelicals. And I have more people saying they pray for me ― I can’t even believe it. They are so committed, and they are so believing…”
He thinks he has a good relationship with God because he does well with evangelicals? I’m not sure that’s how it works. He’s the living embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Avarice, Wrath, and Sloth. I suspect those aspects of his reality would go FAR further in God’s thinking – along with the actual acts of stealing, lying, sexually molesting, adultery, and even having a God before God (himself, of course) – than whether evangelicals vote for him…

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You know those movies about high school where there’s some pampered bully who runs roughshod over everything and everyone in sight, often by instigating others to do his evil bidding? He usually stands opposite of the star, who eventually overcomes the abuses of the bully. I have no doubt in my mind that Trump was that bully in high school, just like he’s that bully now. Where, I wonder, is the hero who eventually overcomes the abuses of this bully?

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Today, June 6th, is the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of Europe that was the beginning of the end for the Nazis in Europe. As the United States hurtles toward our own Authoritarian Fascist destruction at the hands of those “so believing” MAGA, I’m reminded of the 80 year rule. History repeats in roughly 80 year cycles. (No, it’s not perfect. It’s an average, but it’s a solid average, one you can trust.)

My own thinking for why the 80 year cycle is, that’s how long it takes us, collectively, to forget. Those of us who are interested have seen the film of the destruction of Germany and Japan. We’ve read the books and learned a lot about that war. But we had to make an effort. It didn’t just come to us. And since so many people do not pursue that kind of history, they never really understand it, hence, they forget – and then humanity has to do it all over again.

The Nazis were not good for Germany. MAGA is not good for America. In the 1930’s, thinking Germans found themselves overrun by foolhardy followers. In the same way, in the 2020’s, America finds itself overrun by the same crowd. People in Germany couldn’t stop Hitler from coming to power. If we’re not very careful, Americans are not going to be able to stop Trump from coming back, either. Germany was decimated. ALL of it, whether one supported the Nazis or not. If America continues to follow the same path, America will be decimated, too. ALL of it, weather one supported MAGA or not.

The people who COULD have stopped Hitler in Germany, the wealthy and powerful, decided, instead, to try to use him to their advantage. Other people, the day-to-day workers, weren’t concerned enough about Hitler, thinking yes, he’s a demonstrable buffoon, but he can’t do much damage due to the structure of the government.

I used to try to imagine and understand their shock as the realized they couldn’t control him and he didn’t give two figs about the structure of government. He just dismantled said government and did what he wanted to do. Sadly, I no longer have to try to imagine how the thinking people in Germany felt. I’m feeling the very same way, most days, as far too many Americans embrace the once-unimaginable in ‘Hitler 2, Donald Trump.’

I’ll tell you this: It’s really ironic as hell. This is the anniversary of the day Americans fought and died to put a stop to Fascist Authoritarians, occurring at a time that the US is falling into the clutches of Fascist Authoritarians…

Actions and Negotiations…

by MyBaconPress

Well, finally, Joe has done something I can get behind in Gaza. Mostly, because it’s exactly what I’ve been saying I thought he should do all along. He has told Israel he’s not sending any more American weapons if they move forward with their planned assault on Rafah. Israel has responded by moving forward with their planned assault on Rafah.

Biden doesn’t have much more leverage than that. Nobody does. Bibi is free to mow Rafah, using the “kill them all and let God sort them out” standard if he wants to – and it looks very much like he wants to. But he’ll have to do it without weapons stamped “USA” on the side.

At least, no new weapons. I’m sure they have a stockpile, although military conflicts have a tendency to burn through armaments at a very high rate, which is great for investors. Israel has declared Biden’s decision “disappointing.” Oh, boo-hoo. If stopping the weapons stops the genocide, I’m all for it.

Maybe now our college campuses can settle down. The main complaint of the anti-genocide students has been that their schools are invested in the companies that make the bombs that kill the people. They want their schools to divest from those companies. But if the bombs aren’t going there to kill more vicious, 5 day old “HAMAS,” perhaps they can just get back to class.

I’ll tell you this: Nobody is going to stop Netanyahu in what he wants to do. It would be easier with American weapons, but he’ll do it with bear skins and stone knives if he has to. He just wants the Palestinians dead, dead, dead. But at least Americans won’t be complicit anymore…

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Aileen “Loose” Cannon has finally relinquished May 20th trial date. She had been holding it so none of Donny’s many other criminal trials would be able to slip into the slot. She held it as long as she could but kept putting off the processes needed to get the trial going so everyone KNEW she would drop the trial date eventually. The only question was when.

You’ve got to admit, she’s done everything she could to help her beloved. She’s a terrible judge with zero ethics or credibility, but she’s a very effective member of Trump’s legal defense team. I mean, SHE stalled the case as long as she could, then used her own stalling as the excuse to move the trial date! That’s some effective team effort, there, Aileen. The only thing she did better for Donny? She didn’t bother even trying to set a new trial date.

Rational Americans are pretending there is a bright spot to her underhanded decision in that it opens a slot for Jack Smith to move forward with one of his other trials but that’s just empty hope. Donny’s OTHER legal team of Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and Barrett (RATKG&B) have carefully coordinated THEIR part of the process and will NOT issue a ruling on whether or not Presidents have perfect immunity until it’s too late for Smith to do THAT, too.

Oh, hey, in what is likely a completely unrelated event, did you hear that Aileen “loose” Cannon has been found to be accepting lavish “gifts” without reporting them – at least until she was caught? These “gifts” come from conservatives with interests in the outcome of trials before her court. They seem to help guide her rulings…

Quick question: Are there ANY decent conservatives left in this once great nation?

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Speaking of despicable conservatives, how angry do you suppose Melania is these days? Of COURSE Donny told her the stories of the affairs were lies. Naturally, she knew better. She didn’t believe him? She negotiated. She’s evil, not stupid. But because the story is that she stands by her man, she looks like a gullible fool and being willing to look the fool is very expensive.

With this trial, the details are coming out – drip by drip. Stormy makes clear Donny called her ‘Honey Bunch.’ Has Donny called Melania ‘Honey Bunch?’ Then she knows that’s a nickname he uses. She KNOWS. She doesn’t really care, of course. To her, this is an opportunity to make some money. So, she renegotiates. And then negotiates again.

“You want dutiful wife? How much you pay?”
“You ARE my wife. Why should I have to pay you anything?”
“Because you don’t pay, I no longer wife. And I remember…certain tings during interviews.”
“How much do you want?”
“Oh, I don’t know, really. How about $1.2 million, set up in a trust fun for Barron with me as controller?”
“Your English always gets so much better at the money part. For $1.2 million, you’d have to appear with me during the campaign and smile.”
“I make…four public appearances. No smile. No touch. I try not to vomit.”
“Okay, okay, four appearances…”
“Quick appearances. Show up, go home.”
“Okay, four quick appearances. After the campaign, I’ll get you the money.”
“Oh, Donald, you forget? I come to this country on genius visa. I make appearance AFTER you pay money.”
“Where am I supposed to get $1.2 million dollars?”
“From the same useful idiots who have been paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for someone to brush my hair. They pay.”
“I need that money to pay my legal expenses…”
“I go hide in New York.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll set it up.”

Every word Stormy utters increases the amount Donny has to pay to present the portrait of a happy marriage until the election…

Joe Biden Urges Restraint…

by MyBaconPress

Boy, the whole Israel/Gaza thing is getting bigger, isn’t it? Hamas attacks Israel with a stupid, deeply ill-advised attack. Israel responds, then KEEPS “responding,” quickly turning international sympathy away from their cause. Joe Biden urges restraint. Israel starts dropping the occasional bomb on places outside of Gaza, first the West Bank, then Damascus, Syria. When they bombed Syria, they killed a bunch of Iranians. The United States continues to supply weapons so Israel can “defend itself.”

So, of course, Iran took it in their turn to respond as well. This they did, but they did it carefully. Their response was designed to send a message, not do any real damage. Joe Biden again urges restraint. Israel, not to be outdone, felt they had to “respond” to Iran’s response to Israel’s assault on the Iranian consulate in Syria. The United States continues to supply weapons so Israel can “defend itself.”

Meanwhile, Israel has not let up one iota in their actions in Gaza. The international community starts clamoring, pleading with Israel to reconsider it’s aggression. Joe Biden again urges restraint. From the world’s point of view, FAR too many civilians are dying. Israel responds to international pressure by “accidentally” destroying a convoy that had delivered humanitarian aid into Gaza after coordinating their movements with Israel to ensure no such accident occurred, slowing international aid, killing more civilians. The United States continues to supply weapons so Israel can “defend itself.”

Joe Biden’s poll ratings suffer from what appears to be ineffective handling of the Israel/Gaza conflict (and because the United States continues to supply weapons so Israel can “defend itself.”) People start taking sides around the world, including the US. Joe Biden continues to urge restraint. Troubles start brewing on American college campuses. People seem to forget these are actions of governments, not people, and racism starts rearing it’s ugly head. The United States continues to supply weapons so Israel can “defend itself.”

Now the International Criminal Court (ICC) is said to be preparing arrest warrants for Israeli leaders as Israel prepares to attack Rafah, the city the Palestinians were told to go to in order to be safe from Israel’s military actions. Oh, did I write “prepares to attack?” I meant “attacks.” Joe Biden again urges restraint. The attack has started – although not yet in earnest – killing 22 people so far. Israel got six women and five children. One of the children was an oh-so-dangerous 5 DAY old baby. Certainly, THAT will stop radicalism, yes? The United States continues to supply weapons so Israel can “defend itself.”

There are a couple of threads, here, that run all the way through. Joe Biden urging restraint hasn’t worked. Israel ignores him so long as the weapons keep coming. And the weapons DO keep coming so, why would they?

In what could be a completely unrelated comment, Ukraine had to cede ground to Russia while the US Roepublicans dithered about whether democracy was worth defending or not. No weapons meant no military action was possible. I’d bet money that same philosophy would apply in Israel. Having no weapons would really hamper Israel’s ability to attack.

I’ve long suspected Biden is obligated by treaty of some kind to provide the weapons and has little choice, but I’m pretty sure he could find ways to gum up the works and delay the delivery of said weapons until Israel gets serious about a cease-fire. It appears Netanyahu is NOT going to stop on his own. I doubt threats of an arrest warrant from the ICC is going to alter his stance. Biden needs to look stronger on Israel and force is going to be needed to rein in Israel.

Everyone knows Biden could stop this assault by simply denying the weapons Israel uses to prosecute the thing and I think that’s exactly what he should do. Because I’ll tell you this: In my opinion, Israel and the Palestinians may well yet wipe each other off of the face of the earth in their stubbornness but American weapons should not be used in the process…

It’s STILL Israel…

by MyBaconPress

Have you heard of FISA? That’s the ‘Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.’ It’s a clandestine program in which our government monitors potential foreign bad actors. Donny HATES it. He hates it because it was through FISA surveillance of Russians that the trump campaign was found to be communicating with those same Russians before the 2016 election. (HE claimed the US Government was spying on him. They weren’t. They were spying on the Russians and caught him. That’s different.) Donny sent out the order: “Kill FISA!”

The Freedumb Caucus tried. They wouldn’t let MAGA Mike bring the bill to the floor, at first, likely STILL bitching they don’t have border legislation because they killed it themselves. But then? Unexpected compromise in the ranks. The original authorization was for 5 years. They agreed to lower the number to 2 years. That made it okay in the MAGA mind because it means Donny gets to mess with the law if he gets back into the White House. Yet another reason to vote against Trump – and ALL Republicans, for that matter…

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Well, this is getting bigger, this “conflict” in the Middle East, but the news in America keeps presenting it as Israel defending itself. I keep seeing Israel as the antagonist. Iran dropped some missiles into Israel yesterday. The press talks about the “attack on Israel,” but it was a response. I even think Iran showed great restraint in their response. They limited their attack to a military target in a less populated area. Even Israel acknowledged, Iran didn’t do a great deal of damage. To me, that means they sent a message.

Yes, it’s ‘diplomacy-by-bomb’ but that happens all over this brutal world these days and it’s seen as acceptable. There’s some magical formula. Send a few bombs targeted to do only a little damage, and to a legitimate military target, it’s a “message.” It’s what HAMAS should have done in October, 2023.

Iran wasn’t just sitting around, bored, looking for some evil to perpetuate in the world. Israel attacked the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing several Iranians. Iran responded with a “measured attack.” Iran is not the aggressor, here, as nearly as I can tell. They dropped their missiles onto the base, then said they were done. Message sent. They won’t do any more unless they’re provoked again. (At this point, I would bet Netanyahu won’t stand down, though.)

Israel attacked. Iran responded. The papers are full of “What will Israel’s ‘response’ be?” Israel won’t be “responding.” Israel will be “escalating. This is all happening because of the extent of Israel’s “response” to the October 7, 2023 HAMAS response to Israeli antagonism in the region. But Israel’s “response” has not been “measured” by any means. Netanyahu has seized this opportunity to eliminate Palestinians in Gaza once and for all. No, they say otherwise. Words. I stand by the idea that actions speak louder than words and herding 2 million people into a single city and then attacking that city? When there is no place left to run to? I have a difficult time coming up with an accurate description other than ‘genocide.’

“Hey,” Israeli apologists will say, “Israel didn’t attack the city, they only threatened to.” They DID attack. No, they ARE attacking. Granted, not with bullets and bombs. THIS attack is being made, currently, with famine and disease, two VERY effective weapons. Israel even went so far as to murder a group of humanitarian aid workers trying to provide aid to the population, warning off, with their actions, other do-gooders who might want to help. I guess well-coordinated, carefully planned “accidents” happen in war. Words.

I feel like we’ve seen this before in history, where human beings are concentrated together and then allowed to starve to death or die of the conditions but I just can’t quite…

I try to see this from other points of view but no matter how I look at it, I see Israel as the aggressor, both in Gaza AND with Iran. American corporate media will continue to pound the message that Israel is the victim because they see the effectiveness of a heavily repeated lie in MAGA media. Maybe they can do that to ALL of us. But I don’t think they’ll succeed.

I’ll tell you this: The only people who will see Israel as the victim, here, are people who WANT to see Israel as the victim. The rest of us are going to follow the evidence and allow it to take us where it will. Meanwhile, our tax dollars continue to rain death and destruction on human beings the world over. I can’t TELL you how much I wish it was otherwise…

Donny’s Decline…

by MyBaconPress

Donny has incorporated his “explanations” into his stump speech. The whole Nikki/Nancy thing caught a lot of people’s attention. I’m referring, of course, to the speech when 45 repeatedly said that Nikki Haley did a terrible job protecting the Capitol from his assault. Donny never admits error, one of the surest signs of a weak mind. So, when someone pointed out the error, he claimed it was intentional. He said – and continues to say – that he just interchanges the names back and forth because he doesn’t like either of them.

By that standard, I could interchange Donald J Trump and Adolf Hitler. I don’t like either of those guys so, what’s the difference, right? Well, when a sentence starts, “When Hitler so badly bungled his pandemic in the US in 2019…” it doesn’t make any sense. Hitler didn’t bungle the pandemic, Trump did. It doesn’t get any better in reverse, “When Trump launched WWII, leading to the murders of 14 million people, 6 million of them Jews…” Nope. No better. Because that wasn’t Trump. It turns out, the names don’t become interchangeable just because someone doesn’t like both of them.

He’s such a snowflake. The left started pointing out – and making jokes about – Trump’s inability to speak the language, complete a thought, or keep people straight on the who did what scale and Donny just HAD to respond. Not only did he put out a video speaking to his malapropisms, pretending they’re intentional, it has become a talking point in all of his speeches.

What a waste of time. He’ll never convince Americans his gaffes are anything other than evidence of his mental decline (perhaps outright stupidity) and MAGA will never believe he was anything less than “funny” when it comes to his gibberish.

Sure, Biden is old and does “old guy” things. But Trump is old, too, and does “old guy” things AND seems delusional and unable to track from moment to moment. Remember, it’s not BIDEN regularly taking cognitive tests because someone around him thinks it’s a good idea and a solid brag point. That’s Hitler, er, Trump, who, in fairness, CAN still recognize an elephant, though, he’s more likely to call it a “Heffalump…”

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Here’s irony: The US has started dropping humanitarian aid to Israel’s victims in Gaza. This has become necessary because the US supplies many of the bombs and other weapons Israel is using in Netanyahu’s current effort to “cleanse” Gaza of Palestinians.

It seems to me there should be a better way. Maybe…tell Israel we’re not sending any more weapons if they’re just going to use them for war crimes. War crimes is currently the American bailiwick – “enhanced interrogations” anyone? – and we do not like competition.

I can only guess, because Biden doesn’t take my calls, but I suspect there’s some treaty obligation binding Biden’s hands so he has to resort to trying to offset the damage he’s participating in by trying to help the people on the suffering end, while supplying the weapons of that suffering. It’s times like this “Presidentin'” doesn’t look fun at all…

Ousters…

by MyBaconPress

Well, it looks like the Hamas genocide effort- from the river to the sea – isn’t going all that well for them. Meanwhile, Israel’s genocide effort – every Palestinian is probably Hamas – is moving forward at a steady pace.

Anybody not wearing blinders has seen Israel’s answer to the October 7 attack progress from ‘proper response’ to ‘over-reaction’ to ‘brutal response’ to straight up ‘brutality’ before becoming ‘war crimes’ and very obviously working toward genocide.

Biden is in a tough spot. The US is obligated to support Israel no matter what. We get a lot of intel on the Middle East from Israel. But Israel is wrong in this fight. They’ve surrendered the moral high ground by continuing, and amplifying, their brutal campaign and they’re using American-made weaponry to do it.

Biden wants Netanyahu to stop. Netanyahu isn’t going to stop until every Palestinian is dead – unless someone makes him stop. And who the hell can make him stop?

I’ll tell you this: I don’t WANT to be a part of a genocide. I don’t want my tax dollars used to kill innocent people just so Netanyahu can achieve his personal dreams. I don’t want the US to provide any more weapons until Israel stands down. They can make their own, genocidal weaponry. Oh, crap, you don’t suppose they’ll be building ovens soon, do you?

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Ah, ha, ha, ha! The cons in the House have voted to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas – over the border, no less. All they had to do was disregard their own decision to scuttle the bipartisan border bill because Donny needed something to run on. That’s kind of stupid, in and of itself.

For one thing, cons don’t give two figs about evidence. They could have passed the border bill and STILL pretended that nothing was being done – in the same way they continue to pretend the economy is, secretly, still struggling. For another thing, though, Donny is only going to whine about how everybody is picking on him and what a poor baby snowflake he is anyway. Why the hell does he need an issue?

It turns out, MAGA HAD to move forward with their, um, trumped up impeachment if they wanted to get someone impeached. And they WANTED to get someone impeached. They needed it. They needed it bad… They apparently feel like they need to impeach somebody in order to try to make the case that Dems are as bad as their criminal, rapist, con-man, ex-president. They’re SO desperate to impeach somebody, anybody, they’ll even make things up. So, when their plans for Joe fell apart, they turned to Mayorkas. The thing is, there was a timing issue they were facing.

They were tracking the special election being held in New York. You know the one. One of theirs, George Santos, got so deeply into his criminal activity, they booted him from Congress. Think about that. The cons will put up with TONS of stuff. Almost anything, really. Criminal activity isn’t just part of the conservative mantra, it’s a requirement. How badly did George have to mess up to get cons to kick them out over his criminal behavior? I guess it’s just too bad, for him, that he isn’t Donny. Anyway, dumping Santos meant that a special election had to be held to fill his seat and the Democrat in the race won!

So, late Tuesday night, they had the vote. It passed, 214-213. One vote. On Wednesday, the vote would have failed because the new Democratic Congress critter takes his seat immediately when filling a vacated seat. That’s some pretty weasel stuff, right there. They don’t even have a case (the same vote lost just last week), they don’t have any evidence of a crime because they don’t have a crime. Oh, but they got their impeachment.

Do you suppose MAGA is dumb enough to believe this, even after watching the whole thing play out, in public, on national television, seeing the machinations of the GOP to create out of whole cloth some cockamamie story and then act on it? Yeah, of course they are. Being that stupid should be painful…

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Putin told a Russian state journalist he prefers Biden to Trump because Biden is a better politician. Putin likes Biden better than Trump! I wonder, NOW will the Putin-loving cons help Ukraine? Of course, the cons will say it’s because Putin can push Biden around easier but the whole world watched as Putin got his way with Trump over and over and over again, though it’s true he didn’t “push him around.” He didn’t need to. Trump was totally complicit…

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Well, the Kansas City Chiefs got their big parade to celebrate their big win in the NFL’s Big Game – and shooting ensued. 1 dead, 10 injured. What the hell is wrong with people? Two shooters have been arrested. (Please, gods, don’t let them be Niner fans who couldn’t take the loss. Don’t let them be Niner fans who couldn’t take the loss. Please don’t let them be Niner fans who couldn’t take the loss…)

In other after-the-game action, the Niners have parted ways with Steve Wilkes. I’ve had heartburn with the guy most of the season. I challenged myself to come up with a one-sentence summary of the Stupid Bowel and came up with this: If DeMeco Ryans is still the Defensive Coordinator, the Niners win that game. Yes, simplistic. I had one sentence to work with. But, I suspect, quite correct.

It’s not that Wilkes’ defense was bad, exactly. It’s just that it wasn’t good anymore. The team tried to work with the guy. They brought him down to the sidelines so people around him could help him. They got him an assistant. I’m sure they worked with him in the background as much as possible. The defense remained real average.

When writers wrote about it, they said things like, “Wilkes defense has struggled as he tried to put his own spin on it.” He did, too, try to put his own spin on it. And the defense struggled. I think his job was in serious jeopardy after the playoff games with the nearly non-existent defense in the first half of both games. I suspect he got help at the half in both games. The point at which I suspect he reached serious jeopardy? Wilkes said the problem was “lack of effort” on the player’s part.

But we all know: it’s a poor craftsman who blames his tools. It’s also a great way to lose a locker room overnight. The main thing that changed between 2022 and 2023 is the DC. The rest of the team was pretty much the same. I suspect the organization thought Steve was out when that became so clear. But, obviously, one doesn’t fire their Defensive Coordinator going into the Putrid Brawl. The thing is, do you know who else I suspect noticed that old Steve was likely getting coached at the half? Why, that would be Andy Reid, the very savvy Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. And Andy made a plan.

I suspect Andy decided to play a simple and straight-forward offense in the first half. Steve looked good. Steve can handle simple. THEN Andy brought the “good stuff” in the second half, when it was too late for someone to help poor, lost Steve, who clearly didn’t have a clue. But even if there was some question as to whether Wilkes could be salvaged or not, I feel CERTAIN he lost his job when his head coach had to burn a timeout because the Defensive Coordinator had called SUCH a wrong defense, even the announcers commented on what a poor call that was.

I know. That was a lot on Steve Wilkes. But I think it was cathartic for me so thank you for your patience…

Fights, Good and Bad…

by MyBaconPress

Wow, what a game. TWICE, now, the Niners have come out and started slow, to say the least. I doubt they’re intentionally spotting their opponents points but it sure looks like they’re spotting their opponents points. Can we please put the “Purdy is a pretender” talk to bed, now? The naysayers can still have “Purdy is less accurate in the rain.” That one, at least, seems to be true. But all the rest? You’re just being stubborn. He’s a very good player. That whole team is loaded but there’s no negative narrative going on about any of the other players. Just Purdy. So just stop, okay?

Detroit played very well. After all these years, it was nice to see Detroit enjoying a bit of success. Not so nice I wanted them to enjoy success over my Niners but still… That’s a team that has suffered for a long, long time. At this rate, I have little doubt they’ll make the leap, here, soon. They played some very good football. In truth, they, THEN played some not so good football but they deserve props. They’ve come a long way in a short time…

I’m not sure what happened to the Ravens. Well, yes, I know the Chiefs happened to the Ravens but the Ravens played badly, all on their own. They started flat, like the Niners did, but never managed to turn things around. Lamar Jackson is something else. This was a very good team, all season long. To fall apart like that in the Championship? There’s going to be some disappointment in the clubhouse for a while.

For the Chiefs it just seemed like business as usual, just another game to be played. Mahomes is still Mahomes, which means a very good football player. Andy Reid is still among the best coaches coaching, these days, and still a better bet than Belichick for GOAT. Of course, one can never overstate the contributions of the vaunted Taylor Swift, either. Normally, when a player on the field does something wonderful/amazing/glorious (or even bad/embarrassing/disastrous), the camera focuses on the player, who gets an extra moment of screen time. When poor Travis Kelce does something great, the camera pans straight to Taylor Swift, for her reaction shot. (Spoiler alert: she’s happy for her boyfriend.)

Hopefully, we’ll all get to see how Taylor looks when she’s sad because her boyfriend is about to lose the Stupor Bowl on February 11. The camera will absolutely grab that screenshot, just like they do when she’s celebrating. She has asked them to tone it down, a bit – they just don’t comply. Why would they? They get free celebrity endorsement from Swift every game and they don’t even have to pay her.

I expect a heck of a game. I HOPE the Niners win but I wouldn’t BET the Niners will win. These are two very good teams. Sadly, I think one of the most glaring problems for either team is the Niners Defensive Coordinator, Steve Wilkes. That guy just doesn’t understand the Niner defense. Last year the Niners defense was top-of-the-charts under DeMeco Ryans, as it was the year before that under Robert Saleh. They’re pretty porous with Wilkes at the helm. That could prove to be the difference in the big, dumb game this year…

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Can somebody help me out, here, please? I’ve been looking for information about how HAMAS is fighting back against Israel. I can’t find anything. Whenever I go looking, all is get is references to the oh-so-stupid HAMAS attack on Oct 7. I DID see a story about how some HAMAS fighters used a rocket to kill three Israeli soldiers preparing to blow up a building but there’s precious little else.

Netanyahu says he isn’t stopping until all of HAMAS is wiped out. It’s hard to blame him for feeling that way, but he ALSO seems to think that every Palestinian is HAMAS. He also seems to be trying to expand the fight from just Gaza to the West Bank. To me? He seems to think this is his chance, once and for all, to get rid of the Palestinians. ALL of the Palestinians. The whole world has asked him to stand down. He just thumbs his nose.

I’ll tell you this: Netanyahu may not be saying ‘from the river to the sea’ but he sure seems to be doing ‘from the river to the sea.’

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There’s a guy running against Putin in the upcoming Russian “elections.” That’s some guts. He will either end up in some Russian prison (“Say ‘hello’ to Nalvany for me…”) or dead, having committed suicide by drinking poison, chopping off his own head, and then throwing his own body out one window and the head out another. And THIS is the system MAGA wants to see in America?

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There’s a weird “analysis” of dissolving Donny’s businesses in AP, this morning. It takes the position that shutting down Donny’s fraudulent business will only empower the state to shut down other fraudulent businesses, and, after all, how fraudulent WAS Donny’s fraud? Oh, and he stopped some of his fraud – right after he got sued for providing fraudulent statements, so, what’s the problem? The “analysis” suggests that most of the time, when a business DID get shut down, the case was able to demonstrate who got hurt.

But THEN, it acknowledges that NY law doesn’t require showing damages, only an ongoing pattern of fraud. It acknowledges that not every business shut down showed damages. Despite the fact that the “analysis” seems to arguing against shutting down trump businesses, the article points out these things have been going on for at least eleven years and says, “Trump exaggerated the size of his Manhattan penthouse apartment by three times. He listed unfinished buildings as if they were complete, and apartments under rent-control as if they were free of such rules. He showed restricted funds as if they were liquid cash. And he portrayed Mar-a-Lago as if it could be converted to a residence even though that is prohibited in its deed.”

I’ll tell you this: When the “analysis” says, “Yeah he did all those things but we should just give the guy a break?” I suspect it was written by MAGA…

Not Right…

by MyBaconPress

The conservatives in congress won’t fund aid to Ukraine or Israel unless and until something is done at our southern border to stop the flow in immigrants. So, old Sleepy Joe went ahead and arranged for a weapons sale to Israel without congressional oversight. That’s supposed to be a no-no but the Biden administration is pushing the idea that it’s an emergency and that Israel has national security implications and a right to “maintain a strong and ready national defense capability.”

Obviously, the cons are whining about Biden’s congressional end-run on GOP obstruction. But then, they whine about everything, all the time. By now, it’s LOUD, but it’s boring. As it happens, there are Democrats out there complaining about the sale, too. There WILL BE some kerfuffle about it but I’m pretty sure more American bombs will be falling on Palestinian babies soon. Thanks, Joe.

Meanwhile, South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s top court, to declare that Israel’s war in Gaza is a violation of the Genocide Convention of 1948. The filing accused Israel of engaging “in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza”. I stand with South Africa on this one. Israel rejects the charge “with disgust” and as “blood libel” from South Africa. ”Blood libel.” Sounds like time for the disclaimer.

For me, and millions of people around the world, my concerns about the developments in Israel and Palestine are about governments and what governments do. I don’t give two figs about which religion these people practice or which of the nearly 3,600 gods worshiped on Earth right now, today, they think is the most super-de-duper. Trying to shut down criticism of Israeli actions with charges of “antisemitism” or “blood libel” is a dodge that comes from people who don’t seem able to otherwise defend their actions.

Look, I do not, CAN not, will not defend the incredibly stupid and violent response of Hamas in their October 7th attack that killed 1,200 Israelis. Since that day, though, the Israelis have killed nearly 22,000 Palestinians and they have no intention of stopping. Palestine is in ruins. Israel warned Palestinians to run south, then bombed the place they told the Palestinians to run to. They’ve completely destroyed any and all medical help in Gaza. If you’re Palestinian, disease is becoming more likely to kill you than Israeli (American) bombs.

I see it this way: let’s say you’re in a bar and a guy sucker-punches you from behind, then blends into the crowd so you don’t know who hit you. You do NOT have the right to kill everyone you see until you get the right guy. But that has been Israel’s strategy from the start. The world (except the US) started asking Israel to stand down. Netanyahu said he will not. Eventually, even Biden asked Netanyahu to, if he wouldn’t mind, please, take it a little easy on Gaza. Netanyahu increased bomb runs. The outcry is getting louder but the attacks just keep coming, Palestinians just keep dying. Israel keeps attacking and they’re using American bombs to do it. Yeah, because they need a strong “defense capability.”

If you ask an Israeli apologist about the war, they’ll look at you and drone, “From the river to the sea” because Hamas says they want to drive Israelis into the sea. From MY point of view, Israel says it wants everyone to get along - all the while working aggressively to push Palestinians into the sea. Hamas says they wish they could do it. Israel just does it – and they’re using American bombs. Oh, how I hate this war…

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Okay, I need something lighter. I didn’t see the game so I can’t say for sure. Yesterday, the Dallas Cowboys played the Detroit Lions. At the end, the Lions were down by one and tried a two-point conversion to win the game. This is all “in the weeds” stuff so I’ll simplify as much as possible. There’s a way for a guy normally NOT allowed to catch the ball to be allowed to for one play. He has to report to the refs that, for this play, he’s an eligible receiver and the refs tell the defense so they’re aware.

According to the LIONS, a guy named Decker reported to the official, Brad Allen, as eligible. At the same time, another player was running onto the field, number 70, a guy named, Skipper. (That’s his real last name.) So, Decker reports but Allen tells Dallas that SKIPPER has reported. The Lions run their play and it goes to Decker, just like it was supposed to. The refs called a penalty and the winning two-point play was negated. Detroit went on to lose.

The ref, Allen, may have gotten confused, listening to Decker, but watching Skipper run onto the field. Allen reported the wrong name to Dallas, then punished Detroit for Allen’s error. Allen maintains it was Skipper who reported. Uh-oh. As always, there’s video. The video shows DECKER reporting and the official nodding, then speaking to Dallas. Despite the video, Allen is sticking to his story, for now.

This game had serious ramifications on the playoff picture. The officiating “error” changed things. There’s nothing that can be done about it now. Detroit is just screwed. It’s getting easier and easier to make a case that the NFL is using it’s well-established reputation for crappy officiating to manipulate the outcome of games…

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See? Lighter. Okay, so this is the last issue of MyBaconPress for the year 2023. If you like what I’m doing, you can go to my site, https://mybaconpress.com/. Click the “Follow” button and enter your email address and they’ll come straight to your email inbox. Never miss an issue again!

2024 looks like it’s shaping up to be a BIG year in human history. WILL the US fall into the conservative fascist dream? Will Stinky Donald end up in prison or the White House? (Are we amazed that’s even a question?) Will rational, thinking Americans FINALLY push MAGA back into the shadows, where they belong? Will America solve its housing problem by passing the ‘End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act of 2023?’ Hell, will we solve ANY of our problems, or just keep nursing them as campaign “issues?” We all just have to wait and see. But I’ll be writing…

I’ll tell you this: I hope you have a safe and happy New Year celebration and I REALLY hope 2024 works out well – for all of us…

It’s The Abuse, Stupid…

by MyBaconPress

This is from the BBC.  It’s the first and last paragraph from the article, ‘Gates blocks abuse photos release’, dated 15 November, 2009.

“The US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has blocked the publication of further images of US soldiers abusing foreign detainees…

…He said then that the release of such images would be “of no benefit” and might inflame opinion against the US.”

Gee, ya think? It’s too bad the Empire is unable to produce photos of the “detainees” being treated well and in accordance with US and international law…

Gates is mired in this classic “rightie” thinking, though.  See, it’s not the abuse that causes the problems.  It’s the photos of the abuse.  Personally?  I would have preferred to live in a country that believed in it’s own principals enough simply to live them and trust the example to be inviting to others…