January 1

NIGHTY NIGHT TO THE BEKNIGHTEDS

Rudy Giuliani hardly has any reason to welcome the rollover into 2024. After a devastating 2023 where he was thrashed about by the courts for his collusion with former President ‘Stinky,’ losing badly in Georgia to the suits filed by poll workers Moss and Freeman for whom he will have to labor until the end of time to pay the damages awarded…bankruptcy notwithstanding. Now, Robert Harrington in his Palmer Report post reminds us that a 2002 honorary knighthood, bestowed upon ‘America’s Mayor’ by Queen Elizabeth II, for his ‘heroism’ following the events on 9/11 is in jeopardy. The queen would be beside herself as she reexamines the ceremonial sword for sharpness…if she were still with us…for being duped following a few emotional speeches by the attention-seeking mayor of NYC. Being a Knight of the British Empire is a distinguished honorific, but because he isn’t a British citizen, he can’t be addressed as ‘Sir Rudy.’ Can we imagine how the judges in our courts system might be expected to kowtow to his KBE title? Sir Rudy, indeed! We can only be thankful that Trump was never so honored since QEII quietly hated his guts! Harrington says, “So what? When people revert to Rudy Giuliani as ‘America’s Mayor’ they do so with a certain acid sarcasm anyway. A dumpster by any other name would smell as foul.”

Harrington goes on, “So who cares? Well, I do for one. I want to strip him of all honors. I want to hurt and humiliate him further, because he’s evil, and because he’s unseemly in his boastfulness about 9/11. As President Biden once so famously put it, everything about Rudy boils down to three things, ‘A noun, a verb, and 9/11.'” Robert wants the British government to take away his KBE “before he dies in the infamy, penury, and universal contempt he so richly deserves.” Since the British have a committee for everything, in this case, the ‘forfeiture committee,’ a procedure for relieving Mr. G of his shiny trinket exists. If a person is convicted of a crime for which he is sentenced to three or more years in prison…POOF!…no KBE! Should Rudy expire before this can be accomplished…double POOF!…no more Rudy, no more KBE. As a former resident of New York City, now residing in England, Harrington continues, and concludes, his vindictiveness with, “So, for what it’s worth, for next Christmas, among other things, I’d like to see Rudy in prison and stripped of his KBE. It’s a small thing, I know, but after having to endure vicarious abuse for years at the hands of this toxic, hateful, psychotic little bastard, it is a thing much to be desired.” Tell us what you REALLY think, Mr. Harrington!

Soon to be awarded the Melania Trump ‘I really don’t care. Do U?’ jacket is Nikki Haley…to cover her Stars and Bars t-shirt, of course. Her molasses-coated ‘surge’ in the presidential polls headed in the opposite direction after her ill-conceived answer about the origins of the American Civil War during a recent town hall event in Berlin, NH. Turning her back on the questioner to collect her thoughts, while feeling she had been broadsided with an unfair query, she came back with a mouthful of ‘states rights and freedoms’ gobbledygook which at least satisfied some of the MAGAts in attendance. But the final blow came when she was given the coup de grace…“Why did you not mention slavery?” The deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression told it all, when she could only respond with a question, “What do you want me to say about slavery?” The questioner, removing his sword, reposted, “You’ve answered my question.” The barrage of criticisms began immediately, and after an all-nighter of reading some history books, Haley tried to salvage her faux pas by saying essentially, “Everybody knows it was about slavery…that’s a given.” Unless you’re trying to rewrite an ugly history, Nikki! Say ‘hello’ to Ron DeSantis on your way down…he’s in the Campaign Deathwatch Lobby! Next?

And who can forget Governor Ron’s claim that “some enslaved people developed skills that ‘could be applied for their personal benefit'”? Haley’s attempt to court independent and moderate voters in her campaign resulted in outrageous fallout after her ‘slavery’ mishap. The GOP Big Three leaders in the presidential campaign have distorted our history and the racial question in such provocative and polarizing fashion, all of which have stoked outrage with some; but their rhetoric has appeal to conservatives who resent the liberal point of view that we should atone for past sins, especially as we see cultural shifts due to immigration. The rest of the world has moved on, but the GOP find the changes unnerving. A biracial Colin Kaepernick taking a knee to protest police brutality as the national anthem plays? Or NASCAR doing away with the Confederate Stars and Bars flag, flown prominently at their races for years? And what about Governor Nikki Haley removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina State House in 2015, following the racist massacre at a Black church Bible study? What is this world coming to? Which of you are still watching a black and white TV, receiving less than ten channels, with aluminum foil on the rabbit ears antenna?

During her campaigning in Iowa, Haley mentioned the flag removal event, as she described her role in understanding both sides of the issue as she sought consensus. She explained that 50% in her state saw the Stars and Bars as heritage and tradition, with 50% seeing only slavery and hate. Her job was not in judging either side. “Leaders aren’t supposed to decide who’s right or wrong or good or bad…what a leader does is know where people are, and communicate their way forward to get to a better place,” she says. However, she began her campaign with a speech declaring, “America is not a racist country,” emphasizing her caution and her tendency to stay on script for the GOP…and perhaps some MAGAts. “She’s a fear-driven candidate. She’s so afraid of offending somebody in the base that she goes to the word-salad thing,” says Republican strategist Mike Murphy. A search of her past comments drew parallels to the present, where in a 2010 statement she described the Civil War as a fight between “tradition” and “change.” Opponent Chris Christie attacked this comment as a warning to voters to avoid candidates who are “afraid of offending people who support Donald Trump. The Civil War was not a choice between change and tradition. It was a choice between right and wrong and that’s it. And we’ve got to stand on the side of right”

Haley’s state of South Carolina was the first state to secede from the US in 1860, and the first to take up arms against the North. Haley can’t write that out of the history books, nor can she be unaware that preservation of slavery was paramount in that history. The November 3, 1860 issue of the Charleston Mercury printed: “The issue before the country is the extinction of slavery. No man of common sense, who has observed the progress of events, and who is not prepared to surrender the institution, with the safety and independence of the South, can doubt that the time for action has come – now or never. The Southern States are now in crisis fo their fate; and, if we read aright the signs of the times, nothing is needed for our deliverance, but that the ball of revolution be set in motion. The existence of slavery is at stake. The evils of submission are too terrible for us to risk them, from vague fears of failure, or a jealous distrust of our sister Cotton States.”  Then, the dominoes start to fall.

It’s a relief to see the Holidays disappear for another year, and certainly we were all buoyed by Trump’s inspiring Christmas message rants calling out “Crooked Joe Biden” and “Deranged Jack Smith” and others who are “looking to destroy our once great USA. MAY THEY ROT IN HELL, AGAIN, MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Of course, his verbiage was more extensive than the above, but who needs it? Quite a contest to Biden’s “Today, may the light of the first Christmas illuminate your homes, warm your hearts, and kindle your hopes for the years to come. From the Biden family, we wish you and your family a peaceful and healthy holiday.” And, rightfully, #Trumpsmells is proliferating. Jingle bells, Donald smells, Melania laid an egg…or something like that.

Recently, Home Alone 2 director, Chris Columbus, divulged that Trump forced his way into a cameo in his movie, as a bribe to allow use of Trump Tower as one of the film’s locations. Trump responded to Chris by saying he was “very busy, and didn’t want to do” a cameo, but that his appearance led to the movie’s success. Done laughing? Bill Palmer, in his The Palmer Report, writes, “In reality, decent people everywhere are trying to distance themselves from Donald Trump more thoroughly than ever. He’s a domestic terrorist who tried to overthrow the US government and stole classified documents, and he’s awaiting criminal trial for all of it. Of course the director of Home Alone 2 wants nothing to do with him. Macaulay Culkin, star of Home Alone and Home Alone 2, has previously called for Trump’s cameo to be removed.” Alright, Mac! Get those paint cans and Hot Wheels ready! Almost as satisfying as watching Rudy lose a KBE!

Happy New Year!

December 18

BONFIRES IN THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY

Rudy Giuliani got clobbered in court last week to the tune of $148M for defaming the reputations of election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, after he attempted to make them victims of the Big Lie, accusing them of stealing votes from Donald Trump with a Gingermint. Esquire’s Charles Pierce penned the perfect lament for Rudy: “Oh, Rudy. You had so much going for you once. Came September 11, 2021, and everybody forgot what an authoritarian yahoo you always were, how you radicalized the NYPD for your own political advantage, and how your personal life was something out of the Medici papacies. You found redemption in the dust and debris. You could have ridden that out for the rest of your life. But, no. You had to run for president, and Joe Biden murdered your campaign with a single wisecrack. Unchastened, you then hooked your star to a Nazi-curious madman for whom you would do anything, and, as it turned out, you did. I don’t know many people who spurned such an obvious lifetime gravy train in favor of such baroque public self-destruction. America: Land of Opportunity.” “There’s only three things he needs to make a sentence: a noun, a verb and 9/11,” Biden quipped, “probably the most under qualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency.” Biden’s sarcastic remark about “America’s Mayor” belonging to the “Gang Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight” landed heavily, but not dramatically enough to topple Trump’s Looney Tunes MAGATs. Of course, Rudy says he will fight the jury’s decision as he continues to proclaim his innocence before the cameras. Somebody please make him go away!

Comedian, satirical talk show host, and writer, Ziwe, asked George Santos to be a chat guest on Xwitter earlier this month, to which he agreed. The “bombshell interview” was touted with “Tomorrow, one jokester and a national joke sit across from each other…sure to be explosive.” Ziwe publicized in a teaser for the interview where she asks Santos, “What could we do to get you to go away?” And thanks to a bi-partisan effort in the House of Representatives he packed up and watched them change the locks on his office door. In a sarcastic piece in The New Yorker before Santos met his fate, satirist Andy Borowitz writes: “In an announcement that many in Washington felt was overdue, Representative George Santos said he was resigning from Congress to spend more time with his imaginary family. “As much as I’ve loved this job, it’s taken me away from my kids,” he said. “And to them I say: Blake, Kaylee, Agnes, Skip, Molly, Charlie, Leeann, and Rex, Daddy’s coming home.” He thanked his children for taking care of his many imaginary pets, including a marmot named Jerry and a python named Estelle. As for his future plans, he said that he would be leaving Congress to go back to my first love: being a member of The Beatles. Today is an emotional day for me,” he said. “If I don’t look emotional, it’s because of the Botox.”

Regarding the malady of banning books that has stricken the right-wingers, Walter Einenkel writes in a post on Daily Kos, “At least 25 books are no longer for sale at gift shops at sites overseen by the Texas Historical Commission. Those books include: ‘Roots’ by Alex Haley; ‘Invisible Man’ by Ralph Ellison; ‘White Rage’ by Carol Anderson; and ‘Stamped from the Beginning’ by Ibram X. Kendi. See a pattern? According to Texas Monthly, a spokesperson for the commission claims the books were culled as the agency transitions to a new ‘point-of-sale software system,’ but internal emails from board member David Gravelle tell a different story. It seems that ‘amateur historian’ and graphic designer, Michelle Haas, is the source of the movement to remove mentions of historical slavery at Texas’s historic sites. Haas began her crusade in 2022, after a visit to the Varner-Hogg plantation just outside of Houston triggered her. She watched an informational video that she felt spent too much time talking about slavery on the plantations and not enough time on the slaveholders. She then started a culture-war organization, the Texas History Trust.”

Haas started her campaign by drawing up lists of books which shouldn’t be available, books mostly by Black authors and/or about slavery, systemic racism, and Black American culture. Gravelle’s emails show his fear of reprisal from the state legislature, recommending immediate steps to “learn the extent of this problem and articulate a remedy, including the source of how this material was approved.” Hardly cowardly at all, eh? Gravelle also cites “the inevitable press” that might result “due to the emotional nature of this national argument” and “it needs to be addressed quickly. And, I mean quickly.” Haas in successive weeks added to her list, objecting to the exhibits at the museum which failed to blame slaves for their victimhood, noting that “the chief torturer was usually one of the slaves”. She and her group also complained about an ‘Afro-vegan cookbook,’ but had no issue with a ‘southern cookbook’ being sold on the premises of a former slave plantation. Historian Michael Phillips told Texas Monthly, “We have an appalling situation. The idea that these books are irrelevant somehow is really striking. To eliminate books about racism at slave plantations sites is like doing an Auschwitz tour and never mentioning antisemitism.”

Texas native, songwriter and recording artist, the late Nancy Griffith, once wrote to the Houston Chronicle and the Austin Chronicle, “I carry with me always the pride and the knowledge that great things have come from my native soil – very few ever return there. Texas is, after all, the only place on earth that actually eats its young.” Griffith compared herself in the letter to the writer, Katherine Anne Porter, who was born in Indian Creek, Texas, but spent most of her life bouncing among bohemian enclaves in places like Greenwich Village and Mexico and Europe. “She too had the wisdom to get the hell out,” wrote Griffith. Kate Cox, the expectant mother who recently sought an abortion for a troubled pregnancy, but was denied by the Texas Supreme Court, probably feels likewise about her state after having to flee to another state to protect her health. Let’s hope she is able to make her way to a better life – somewhere else – after her ordeal.

A few weeks ago, while Texas charmer Ted Cruz was touting his new book, ‘Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America,’ Jimmy Kimmel during his show, decided to poke fun at the senator’s ‘anti-woke bona fides’ by inviting a drag queen to read excerpts from the book to kids. Trixie Mattel, who originally competed on the seventh season of RuPaul’s Drag Race did the honors, wearing a hot pink jumper and blonde hair. Drag Queen Storytimes are a major flashpoint in the right-wing culture war, and as Jimmy explained to the kids, “Ted’s been out trying to sell the book. His own campaign had to buy thousands of copies of his last book to make the best seller list, so we’re trying to help him with this one.” One excerpt in Cruz’s book drew on criticism from the right for casting Black actor Halle Bailey as Princess Ariel, not impressing the young audience. One child praised both original and the new movie as “good.” Another listener chimed in, “I just want to say right now: the book is boring.” Trixie suggested they skip a page or two, after which one kid said, “Why not just skip the book altogether.” Cruz responded to the skit on Xwitter, saying, “Awesome, thanks for buying NINE copies of my new book,” ignoring the fact that each of the nine kids conspicuously dropped their free book into a trash can as they left the set. On her comedy special, Wanda Sykes offers us a wise, succinct commentary on books, “Until a drag queen walks into a school and beats eight kids to death with a copy of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ I think you’re focusing on the wrong shit.” Take that, NRA, Texas and all book-burners!

Hunter writes on Daily Kos, “Most of the time Donald Trump exists in one of three states: lying, whining, or threatening someone. Often, it’s all three. He was at it again with an extremely unsubtle threat aimed at Republican Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz: ‘So interesting that the Democrats are looking hard at the Senate races in Missouri and Texas. Josh and Ted must be very careful, stranger things have happened!!!’ As an alleged real estate tycoon who’s allegedly drifted close to the world’s organized crime syndicates over the years, Trump’s choice of language seems very intentional. It’s quite close to that standard mob threat: ‘This is quite a nice business you’ve got here. It’d be a shame if it caught on fire.’ On Xwitter, Ron Filipkowski clued readers in to the likely cause of this newest Trump snit. Neither Hawley nor Cruz have endorsed Trump in the Republican presidential primary, and in a recent interview, Cruz said that he would be ‘staying out of the primaries’ because he was both ‘good friends with Donald Trump’ and ‘good friends with Ron DeSantis,’ a Trump rival.”  We can all visualize Trump saying, “I’d kill for a Nobel Peace Prize!”

Food for thought as the electorate faces yet another Trump candidacy: OK, let’s get this straight. You got defeated for the top job, then you refused to leave, called all your MAGA base to come and vandalize the Capitol, afterwards blaming it on the opposition who actually won the office. Then, on your way out you took confidential documents, got caught, refused to return them, and now you’re running for the job again? Time for us to listen to the words of English writer, poet and playwright, Eden Phillpotts: “The Universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” Indeed, don’t get out-witted by the craziness raining down on us daily!

CARVING THE NINTH CIRCLE INTO STONE

Well, here they come again…no letup from the Texas Christian Nationalist contingent. Expectant mother, Kate Cox, sought court protection through the courts to allow her to have an abortion for a non-viable pregnancy; and, after that was accomplished, eagle-eyed Texas Attorney General Paxton put the kibosh on the ruling by appealing it to the Texas Supreme Court, which put a hold on the termination as they confer for a final ruling. Ken Paxton narrowly escaped impeachment recently, yet another miscalculation by conservatives, who don’t seem to mind that their office holders are crooks. Not satisfied that his act was severe enough, Paxton then threatened hospitals and doctors with both civil and criminal penalties if they follow Judge Guerra Gamble’s temporary restraining order favoring Cox. Nancy Jones in her Daily Kos commentary had written before Paxton’s intrusion, “We’re fixin’ to find out just how far these ‘Christian nationalists’ and their sadistic allies are willing to go.” After Paxton raised his ugly head, she commented further, “How far are they willing to go? We don’t know yet, but we’ve already ventured well into Dante’s ninth circle of hell. Christian, my ass!”

While Ken Paxton was acquitted by the Texas Senate trial, he still faces a federal investigation into the corruption charges that the Texans determined were groundless, or of no consequence in their eyes. In the meantime, he continues to do everything in his power to continue the suffering of the citizens of The Lone Star State. Heartlessness made another appearance in Congress, as Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri attacked Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, and Senator Mitch McConnell for taking out an amendment in the annual defense bill, which Hawley had co-sponsored. The measure would have extended compensation to people exposed to radiation from US nuclear testing for another nineteen years, its exclusion exposing another fracture in the GOP ranks. This bi-partisan amendment passed the Senate with a supermajority in August, but was not included in the final version of the bill, ultimately being dropped. Hawley called its removal a “betrayal” of the country’s commitment to the victims of radiation in service toward our national security. Though Hawley was quoted as saying, “Morally, this is obscene. To tell me that we have a trillion dollars to spend on defense contractors but we have nothing for the people of this country who their own government has poisoned – it’s ridiculous.” We might have more respect for his statement if he would begin to simply look around and probe a bit more seriously into the DC miasma.

Conservative Christians continue in their efforts to coerce others to believe as they do, because so-called ‘Christian values and principles’ tend to be one of the following: 1) General values and principles based on our innate sense of empathy which are shared by all cultures worldwide, yet claimed by Christians who want credit for them as if they are the sole arbiters of morality, or, 2) Deeply immoral commandments or prohibitions portrayed as God-sent, but in reality are just created as a means to control people and justify discriminating against others. So, the problem is that Christians Claim Number One as ‘uniquely Christian,’ while demanding Claim Number Two must be followed because it is just as valid because they originated it. Are you listening Mr. Paxton? And pass it on to Speaker Johnson while you’re at it!

A few months ago, the Alamo defenders in Austin attempted to pass Senate Bill 1515, requiring the Ten Commandments (that is, the version most favored by US Nationalists), to be displayed prominently in every public school classroom in the Bluebonnet State. This attempt to inject religion into the school system was immediately pounced on by State Representative James Talarico, the video of which may be seen on YouTube. The bill passed the Senate, after which it fell to the House Education Committee for consideration. There, Candy Nobel, a co-sponsor argued that, “This legislation will bring back this historic tradition of recognizing America’s foundational heritage in both our education and our judicial system.” Talarico posted a video of the meeting to his TikTok account, where he stood up for LGBTQ+ rights, calmly explaining why, as a Christian, he feels the “bill is not only unconstitutional, it’s not only un-American, it’s also deeply anti-Christian.” He said, “A religion that has to force people to put up a poster to prove its legitimacy is a dead religion, and it’s not one I want to be a part of. It’s not one I am part of.”

He argues further, “Every time on this committee that we try to teach basic students values like empathy or kindness, we’re told we can’t because that’s the parent’s role. Every time on this committee that we try to teach basic sex education to keep our kids safe, we’re told that’s the parent’s role, but now you’re putting religious commandments — literal commandments — in our classroom, and you’re saying that’s the state’s role. Why is that not the parent’s role?” Candy Nobel, silent at first, stammered a bit before saying, “That’s really an interesting rabbit trail that you’ve gone on with that.” Talarico asked Nobel, “Do you believe schools are for education and not indoctrination?” to which she answers, “Absolutely.” Talarico caps his argument with, “I guess what I’m trying to figure out is why having a rainbow flag in a classroom is indoctrination, but having the Ten Commandments in a classroom is not.” Standing up for the rights of students is a pattern in Talarico’s history, having fought against Governor Abbott’s voucher programs, book bans, and for having Narcan available for school emergencies. His arguments against Senate Bill 1515 may have been a factor in its outcome, but in any event it died on the vine before it could receive a vote as reported by The New York Times.

We have the two loudest mouths in DC to thank for carrying the ‘Christian Nationalism‘ banner: Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, who speak as one on this subject, though one can’t stand the other, so they turn the other cheek — viewed on their backsides. And it’s not difficult to convince other lawmakers and candidates to follow their Pied Piper parade attacking the First Amendment…what fun! The only objections will be raised by heathens and pagans, like Jews, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, and Muslims – and Greene is able and willing to spout from any platform offered her. Boebert, who George Santos considered to be a Constitutional scholar in his expert view, pronounces that, “The church is supposed to direct the government, the government is not supposed to direct the church. I’m tired of this separation of church and state junk. This is not in the Constitution, it was a stinking letter and nothing like what they say it does.” Whoa, so Lauren, what’s that smell? Turns out she doesn’t like the content of a letter written by Thomas Jefferson who may have had a hand in writing the Constitution! So, if the gentleman was also a President, a vice-president, a Secretary of State, a lawyer and an architect, it hardly compares to Lauren’s GED from a Colorado high school, does it? Smells more like teen spirit, Lauren! Emanating from your ninth circle.

It’s reported that comedian Kathy Griffin had Mary Trump wincing after she detailed the one thing about Uncle Donald, that she believes “doesn’t get enough press.” She noticed “a distinct smell” during guest appearances on his ‘Apprentice‘ reality TV show. “It’s like body odor along with scented makeup products,” recalled Griffin. “But you can smell the hair products even outdoors,” she continued. Mary grimaced, but suggested someone should channel her uncle’s fragrance into a scented candle, “That’ll fly off the shelves at Christmas.” Might even outsell Gwyneth Paltrow’s famous candle!

The ‘Christian‘ part of ‘Christian Nationalism‘ hardly covers a lot of ground, being limited primarily to ‘fundamentalism,’ a carryover from the Nixon-Reagan-BushX2 years, with the ‘Orange Jesus’ corrupting it further. The ‘Nationalism‘ part of the term is also troublesome in that some equate it with patriotism. Where a true patriot might say, “I love my country and want it to be honorable, fair and just.” A Nationalist says, “My country, right or wrong.” It seems reasonable that the authors and signatories of the Constitution recognized that a theocracy is incompatible with democracy or republicanism, though with creeping religion holding sway over daily governmental affairs, we might be correct soon to call the US a theocracy.

A post on Quora says, “When a nation is dedicated and subservient to a divinity that has been absent for millennia, that divinity must then have its divine values interpreted by mere mortals. It follows that one or a few those mortals are then said to rule by divine right. That solves all problems. No need for voting, debate, or compromise. No need to form legislatures, congresses, or courts of law. The divinely appointed and anointed one is inspired from on high and therefore infallible. What made the US different from almost every other country that ever existed, and made it worthy of the patriotism it engenders, is that the founders said, ‘We are not buying this crap about the divine right of kings,’ as they gave the people the chance to determine their own destiny. No more failed theocracies, which is simply a power grab, being neither original nor likely to succeed!” No more ‘Orange Jesuses‘ — please!

Emo Philips had an interesting take on religionists: A guy was about to jump from the bridge when a Good Samaritan yelled, “Don’t do it!” Would-be jumper says, “Nobody loves me.” Good Sam says, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?” Answer is, “Yes.” Sam asks, “Are you a Christian or Jew?” Jumper answers, “A Christian.” Sam says, “Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?” Reply is, “Protestant.” “Me, too! What denomination?” asks Sam. Jumper says, “Baptist.” Good Sam replies, “Me, too! Northern or Southern Baptist?” Jumper answers, “Northern Baptist.” Sam enthusiastically answers, “Me, too. Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?” Reply is, “Northern Conservative Baptist.” Excitable Sam says, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?” Jumper answering back with, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.” Hardly able to contain himself, Sam asks, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?” Exhausted jumper answers, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.” Good Sam says, “Die, heretic!” as he pushes the jumper over the railing.

Kevin Phillips, in his 2006 book, ‘American Theocracy’, quotes retired TV journalist and ordained Baptist minister, Bill Moyers, who broke with polite convention, by telling an audience at the Harvard Medical School that “one of the biggest changes in politics in my lifetime is that the delusional is no longer marginal. It has come in from the fringe, to sit in the seat of power in the Oval Office and in Congress. For the first time in our history, ideology and theology hold a monopoly of power in Washington.” Phillips says, “I would put it differently. These developments have warped the Republican Party and its electoral coalition, muted Democratic voices, and become a gathering threat to America’s future. No leading world power in modern memory has become a captive, even a partial captive, of the sort of biblical inerrancy – backwater, not mainstream – that dismisses modern technology and science.”

Phillips said further, “The intensity of religion in the US has deepened. Its huge carryover from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries turns out to have seeded a similar evangelical wave in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Such was religion’s enduring importance in the US when it was trod upon in the 1960s and thereafter by secular advocates determined to push Christianity out of the public square, a mistake that unleashed an evangelical, fundamentalist, and Pentecostal counter-reformation that in some ways is still building. Strong theocratic pressures are already visible in the Republican national coalition and its leadership, while the substantial portion of Christian America committed to theories of Armageddon and the inerrancy of the Bible has already made the GOP into America’s first religious party.” Remember, Phillips made these observations in 2006!

The United Methodist Church Conference in north Georgia has allowed more than a third of its congregations to formally cut ties after years of disagreement over the governing body’s ban on gay clergy and same-sex marriage. The churches defecting will no longer be allowed to practice their faith without arbitrary prejudice based on random interpretations of a text written a couple of thousand years ago. Novel, eh? Hardly heretical.

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” – William Faulkner

EMPTY SEAT, EMPTY PROMISES, AND EMPTY HEADS

Despite New York’s Representative George Santos‘ protestations that he had done nothing wrong and was going nowhere unless his Third District voters decided otherwise, he was expelled from the House of Representatives. Still, Santos suspected his end was near, and as Redd Foxx was fond of saying, “When you see the handwriting on the wall, you know you’re in the toilet.” Even after the House Ethics Committee’s investigation and revelation of fraud and scandal within the freshman lawmaker’s campaign, he had survived one attempt to cast him aside. But, “the bullies,” as he termed them, won out on the second attempt, after several Democrats and Republicans flipped their previous votes, and in particular after Republican House member Max Miller revealed that Santos had fraudulently used his and his mother’s credit cards to add to his supposed campaign coffers. The 311 to 114 vote was not completed before Santos grabbed his coat and bolted out the door into a gaggle of media reporters. When asked if he would use his privileges as a former congressman to visit the House floor in the future, he barked, “To hell with this place.” As he walked toward his limo to transport him away, he was seen looking toward the heavens, seeking guidance from the Almighty, saying, “God, are you there? It’s me…Cher!”

Santos has upcoming court appearances next year from being charged in May with 13 counts (for which he posted $500K bail) that include wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and lying to the House of Representatives…to which he has pleaded “not guilty,” calling it a “witch hunt.” In October the Justice Department charged him with 23 counts tied to campaign fraud, putting forth allegations of “stealing people’s identities and making charges on his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign. Santos falsely inflated the campaign’s reported receipts with nonexistent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen.” Among his many falsehoods are lying about his religion, his “grandparents escaping the Holocaust,” before saying he was Catholic. He lied about attending New York University, and about being a star volleyball player at Baruch College. He falsely claimed employment at Goldman Sachs, and that his mother had died in the 9/11 attacks though she was not in the US at the time. It was reported that he had filed his campaign disclosure 20 months late, with an “inexplicable “rise in his net worth to $11M. Santos started, and stole from, a GoFundMe benefit for the dying dog of a military service member, and was accused of writing bad checks to dog breeders for which charges were dropped. One place of employment was with Harbor City Capital which was charged with running a Ponzi scheme by the SEC. Appearing youthful, coupled with physical fitness was important to him, and a recently completed a three-mile run was terminated when he was heard to say, “Okay, okay, lady…you can have your purse back!”

So who will fill the spot left by Santos? Both parties are scrambling to prepare for a special election, which could help determine control of Congress in ’24. New York’s Third Congressional District, a swing district which went for Joe Biden in 2020, but put Santos into the House in 2022, an assist to Republican control in the House. Governor Kathy Hochul has ten days to announce a special election date which must be held 70 to 80 days from her announcement. Neither Democrats or Republicans will hold a primary election; instead, the two parties of both Nassau and Queens Counties will make a decision on candidates. The disgraced ex-rep provided such a lengthy clown-show that the GOP will have to work a bit harder to overcome the embarrassment Santos caused them. And his revenge may exact a toll on those party members that he threatens to expose in the coming days, so the imbroglio may continue with more humiliations. Judging from indiscretions exposed in recent years, resulting in some resignations or apologies, Santos probably has a GOP dumpster-fire of accusations to inflict more chaos on his former colleagues.

Already many are licking their chops to see who is next to be expelled, and predictions are rampant. The buzz is that House Republicans are eyeing Matt Gaetz, who has been staying beneath the radar somehow, after months of whisperings about his escapades with underage females. But, Eric Swalwell is putting his money on seeing Kevin McCarthy exiting. “With Santos gone, you’re hearing it here first: the next GOP member to leave Congress will be Kevin McCarthy. No way he stays. A guy who kidney punches his colleagues from behind is too afraid to serve out a full term with them. I bet he’s gone by end of year. What say you?” he is asking. Around the time Mac was ousted as Speaker, a major news outlet ran an article saying that McCarthy was considering resigning. Many thought it could be true, and that he was signaling lobbying firms to make a lucrative offer that might encourage him to make the switch. Bill Palmer comments on his The Palmer Report that when there’s this much buzz about someone resigning it often ends up being based in reality, so we shouldn’t be shocked if it comes to pass before the end of the current term.

Aldous J. Pennyfarthing says, “Presidential hopeful Nikki Haley decided to alienate basically everyone in the country by suggesting all social media accounts be forced to display their users’ real, legal names. It went about as well as expected for the former South Carolina governor, legally named Nimarata Nikki Randhawa Haley; observers of all political stripes found the bipartisan bonhomie to savage the proposal, which she walked back in a matter of hours, claiming that she was really just talking about ‘anonymous Russians and Chinese and Iranians having free speech’.” Senator Ted Cruz in mid-November proposed a new bill that would “prohibit the use of funds to implement, administer, or enforce measures requiring certain employees to refer to an individual by the preferred pronouns of such individual or a name other than the legal name of such individuals.” Titled the “Safeguarding Honest Speech Act,” many were quick to point out that Canadian-born Cruz’s “legal” name is not “Ted, nor Theodore, nor ‘Teddy.’ It’s Rafael Edward Cruz according to his birth certificate, so according to his own law, we would call him Rafael Cruz, although the law would permit the use of Edward Cruz. Tennessee Representative, Andy Ogles, a co-sponsor of the bill with Cruz, tried to cast their attack on preferred names and pronouns as a “freedom-ish thing.”

“Forcing anyone to use pronouns that don’t accord with a person’s biological sex is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. As the Supreme Court held, ‘if there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion.’ The government has no business compelling anyone to use pronouns that contradict biological reality.” The San Antonio Express-News jumped on the hypocritical ‘Ted’ Cruz, for which he attacked them on X (nee Twitter), calling them “lying hacks who are purposely misrepresenting his new bill.” “Show some respect for religious liberty and free speech and fix your dishonest headline,” he whined. William Einenkel on Daily Kos writes, “While I am still not positive about the legal loopholes in this proposed bill, maybe we can still call ‘Ted’ Rafi (or Raffy) Cruz? Maybe Ed Cruz? Eddie Cruz? Maybe this is just a real roundabout way for R. Eddie Cruz to stop his fellow senators from calling him the Zodiac Killer?”

Aldous J. points out that Governor DeSantis and Haley are “currently fighting over who gets to be the Republican presidential nominee if Donald Trump starts choking to death on a luau pig and no industrial hydraulic presses are available to give him the Heimlich. And so they’ve found themselves in a squabble over Haley’s ‘legal name proposal,’ because attacking fellow hopefuls Asa Hutchinson or Doug Burgum would be a bit like standing on the side of the interstate screaming talking points at roadkill.” Aldous J. goes on, “DeSantis, who is presumably running for president to prevent anyone from discovering the existence of gay people, used this opportunity to put some distance between him and Haley, who’s gradually been gaining in the polls, to point out that several Founding Fathers used pseudonyms to publish some of their most important works. He also claimed that Haley’s proposal to ban anonymous speech online, similar to what China recently did, is dangerous and unconstitutional. Yes, it is a dangerous idea. And very likely unconstitutional, even in a country that picks its Supreme Court justices with all the care of a Boone’s Farm-besotted teenager pulling stuffed puffins from an arcade claw machine. But as some are pointing out, DeSantis is hardly the ideal spokesperson on this issue.”

Victor Mather of The New York Times reports on an Australian theft that can’t be sugarcoated. Seems that a delivery driver stopped at a 7-Eleven near Sydney and while he was inside a thief drove away in his van…containing 10,000 Krispy Kreme donuts. The van was unmarked so the thief likely was later surprised at the contents of Christmas-themed and classic donuts. Neither van nor thief were found at press time, as police were looking for a suspect with a glazed expression. Suspiciously, we find that Donald Trump has found a new environmental obsession: on at least eight occasions since May, he has publicly claimed the Biden administration’s climate policies threaten…you guessed it…donuts! The recurring theme in his riffing on donuts is that they are only possible through fossil fuels. “If you make donuts, anything you make has to do with fossil fuels to deliver your product. Energy is so big, so important,” he said in October. To Larry Kudlow on Fox Business Network in August, he pronounced, “Fossil fuels are so big, it’s like all-encompassing. Everything…you make donuts in the oven and the trucks that deliver them.” An Iowa speech in September had him saying, “If you make donuts, if you make cake, if you’re a lawyer, if you’re an accountant, if you’re in heating or trucking, no matter what you do, energy is so big.”

“The thing about Trump is, the more you pay attention to what he says, the less any of it makes sense,” said Josh Schwerin, a Democratic consultant who works on climate messaging. “This is nonsensical from a climate perspective. Clean energy is creating jobs, not shutting down donut shops. The only real takeaway from these comments is that Trump has donuts on the brain,” he adds. One Trump adviser told The Daily Beast that they had no idea where Trump had picked up the donut line, and the Trump campaign, on a coffee break, did not return a request for comment on the former president’s newfound preoccupation with donuts. To borrow a line from Victor Mather: And that’s the hole truth.

‘Morning Joe’ host Joe Scarborough recently interviewed Brian Klass, professor of global politics at the University College London, to discuss the former prez, his rhetoric, and what it means for the future of democracy in this country. Anti-Trumper Scarborough asked if we should be ambivalent about Trump’s Nazi leanings. Klass’ reply was, “I think you can try to claim there was a coincidence the first time this happened, but after seven years of Trump, it’s quite clear that he’s lifting not just rhetoric but actual plans from the authoritarian playbook. I study the breakdown of democracy, and I don’t know how to say this more clearly. We are sleepwalking towards authoritarianism, and people are not waking up to this. Our political class is not rising to the challenge. They’re not distancing themselves and the Republican Party from this rhetoric. They’re just sort of pretending like it doesn’t exist. This is the biggest story in American politics and nothing else comes close.”

“If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.” – Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower. So where do we go from here, folks?

November 27

TAXING A MANDATE FOR LEADERSHIP

Turns out the new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, was a seer of sorts who in 2015 as a state legislator in Texas predicted that Donald Trump was “lacking in character with no moral center which is desperately needed again in the White House.” He completed his summation of Trump in saying, “He will likely break more things than he fixes, being a hot head by nature, which is a dangerous trait to have in a Commander-in-Chief.” Mikey called it, but then he underwent an oracular conversion in the intervening years, becoming an architect of the insurrection to overturn the 2020 election, who at Trump’s urging wrote an amicus brief which was signed by more than 100 House Republicans in a case brought by the Texas attorney general. As journalist and author, Mark Sumner, wrote in Daily Kos, “No member of Congress did more to overturn the 2020 election.” Johnson himself has cemented his support for The Don’s candidacy, saying he is “all in” for 2024 and telling CNBC, “I was one of the closest allies that President Trump had in Congress. He had a phenomenal first term. I have endorsed him wholeheartedly.” Now that the Speaker has made a trip to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring, it marks him as the highest-ranking official to endorse the former prez, in essence placing the stamp of approval of the House of Representatives onto the candidacy. No doubt Johnson double-kissed the ring to show his appreciation for Trump’s endorsement to place him at the end of the speakership strings as his new puppet. We can bet Trump’s assistance was sought as Speaker Johnson attempts to ease the hard feelings resulting in the House from his role in keeping the government funded with Democrat’s help. This new duo bears a lot of scrutinization as they seek to implement the Project 2025 plan to turn the government to the right as rapidly as possible with a Trump, or GOP, victory…quite a turnabout for a movement once defined by denouncing the evils of big government. Trump’s’ authoritarian arrow has pierced the conservative bloc deeply.

The $35 volume published by Heritage Press, ‘2025 Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise’, spells out the Project 2025 Presidential Transition Project, which was established in 2022 to recruit thousands of conservatives to Washington, DC to replace existing federal civil service workers, characterized as the “deep state,” to further the objectives of the next Republican president. The 1981 edition made the Washington Post’s best seller list, and the New York Times in 2002 called it “the manifesto of the Reagan revolution,” appearing during Reagan’s presidency. This authoritarian danger is a threat to our democracy, separate from Trump and his MAGAts, a part of the right-wing infrastructure that is blatantly working to undermine the checks and balances of our constitutional order, handing power to the presidency. Trump has made no secret of his desire to be a strongman ruler with complete control of our government, with his handlers openly discussing plans to consolidate power, the Washington Post running a story entitled ‘Trump touts authoritarian vision for second term.’ As we know from his previous term in office, Trump demanded a loyalty pledge from his subordinates and should that not be forthcoming in a second term, those underlings would be quickly fired and replaced by those who would do his bidding. Conservatives are salivating at the idea of being able to have the White House in control of the Justice Department and the IRS to “get their retribution” against political foes, as they disrupt and cancel all court proceedings against Trump and his hordes. In particular, former Trump Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark has continued his collusion to overturn the 2020 election by working with the Center for Renewing America, a DC-based think tank run and staffed by former Trump administration loyalists.

One chapter in ‘2025 Mandate for Leadership,’ as detailed in Mother Jones, calls on the next president to “maintain a biblically based, social science-reinforced definition of marriage and family,” presaging a war on marriage equality…hello, Michael Johnson! The Heritage Foundation claims it is raising $22M to satisfy the yearnings of a power-mad indicted former president in Project 2025 which could give him free rein, or free reign, to break the law, assist those who do, and losing the Kraken to do what it will. Observers have said Trump failed to do more damage because of the incompetency of his minions, and his own lack of knowledge of the workings of government, but the Heritage Foundation will gladly put him on the right track to institutionalize authoritarianism, by declaring martial law in order to use the military for policing Americans. Better get our red MAGA caps ready!

As Republican’s attitudes shift from democracy into even more conservative territory, they are now disparaging the concept of a public education, proposing defunding government education and giving vouchers to parents. Fox’s Greg Gutfield declared private school vouchers are needed because public schools are “a destructive system” and describing teachers as “KKK with summers off,” while Senator Marco Rubio calls public schools “a cesspool of Marxist indoctrination,” with Trump declaring that “public schools have been taken over by the radical left maniacs.” Marjorie Taylor Greene, who could be the poster child for the necessity of funding public education, has called schools “taxpayer-funded indoctrination centers.” Historically, the GOP has scorned public schools, but are now advocating an end to them, putting them in the same category as libraries, as being a socialist concept to educate people. The party is now attempting to restrict funding as they divert resources to charter schools, private institutions, and homeschooling, all of which lack an adherence to those standards placed on public schools, which dangerously promote critical thinking resulting in an educated public! School desegregation heightened the conservative fight against public education, every GOP presidential candidate expressing hostility, and now President Reagan’s promise to dissolve the Department of Education forty years ago has become a rallying point for today’s party stalwarts. Trump did his best to damage the concept of public schooling by appointing heiress Betsy DeVoss to head that department, despite her lack of background in education. DeVoss advocated against federal funding for education, attacked teachers, rolled back protections for minorities, and rewrote regulations to make it more difficult for sexual assault victims. Needless to say, she was admired by conservatives for taking public school funds to be funneled to right-wing religious schools.

“School choice reforms” is the new thrust in red states which burdens public schools with expensive requirements while moneys go to unregulated charter schools. Right wingers donate unbelievable sums toward indoctrinating students in these schools, leaving the public schools to languish, struggling with not only educational programs but lacking funds for mental health, violence/suicide prevention, and drug abuse. The GOP justifies the plan by saying, “Money is going to the kids,” but the state education budget is threatened with underfunding and perhaps failure. States such as Florida, Arizona, and Texas are aggressive in their pursuance of “school choice reforms.” Failed right-wing Christian nationalist candidate, Doug Mastriano, attempted to eliminate property taxes in Pennsylvania, a major source of that state’s school funding, proposing to give families $9,000 vouchers, a pittance basically, but destructive for public schools. Vouchers usually fall short of covering tuition costs at most schools, leaving the families with hefty make-up expenses, or as with Florida, the poorer students end up in low-quality charter schools that go out of business while leaving behind poorly educated student bodies.

Sadly, everything in this country is viewed through a political lens, pointing to why we don’t have benefits or social policies enjoyed by other developed countries, such as universal health care, reliable public transportation, paid parental leave, and strong social safety nets. Up to now, education had been the one shining example, where both political parties could put aside their differences to give their children a leg up in the world with a solid education… even teachers had a special place in the hierarchy. Regardless of socioeconomic status, religion, or background, 90% of our children were served by public schools; now, the MAGAts want to overturn the cart, with the billionaire’s destroying the system, demonizing teachers, and being openly hostile to educating children, all falling victim to Trump’s legacy.

Public funding is taking another hit in Ohio, a state that recently voted to embed into their constitution, abortion access, in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade decision. Issue 1 was fiercely opposed by the GOP, but they aren’t giving up, as they attempt to thwart the will of the people by proposing even more anti-choice legislation. The state has supported so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” for ten years, which Aldous J. Pennyfarthing calls “Potemkin clinics notorious for misleading women who seek abortions. In case you’re unfamiliar, imagine Mitt Romney opened a weed dispensary in your town and wouldn’t let you leave until you snorted at least a half ounce of oregano. Now imagine it’s not weed but basic health care you’re looking for. That’s essentially the gist.” Now, Buckeye GOPers are determined to divert even more taxpayer funds to those “deception dens.”

The Guardian reports Ohio state senator Sandra O’Brien has proposed that individuals who give to “qualifying pregnancy resource centers,” be eligible for tax credits, at a capped cost of up to $10M to the state. These centers offer free ‘services’ to pregnant women and are usually faith-based with the aim to see pregnancies continue to term. They are accused of attempts to mislead, often located near abortion clinics with signage declaring “Birth Choice” or “Woman’s Choice” as they dispense inaccurate information. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has exposed these clinics as providers of falsehoods and inaccurate medical information with no legal obligation to disseminate the truth, having no requirements for client confidentiality. Some are affiliated with national organizations that provide funding, support, and training to advance their overreaching antiabortion agenda. The ACOG estimates that 71% of the clinics use deceptive means, spreading debunked information, with 38% not clearly revealing on their home page that abortion care is not provided, thereby impeding access to comprehensive, reliable, ethical care…a ‘charity’ worth Ohioan’s tax money?

Pennyfarthing says that the Republican refusal to give up on their “50-year fetus fetish” is good news for the Democrats in the upcoming election, but horrible news for anyone who seeks comprehensive reproductive health care. As conservatives look to put in place a national referendum on abortion, 2024 looks awfully bleak for them. The Heritage Foundation’s ‘2025 Mandate for Leadership’ is working to revive a 19th-century law preventing women from using contraceptives to accompany the GOP drive toward outlawing abortions. The 1873 Comstock Act prohibits the mailing of contraceptives, “lewd” writings, and any “instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing” that could be used in an abortion, and though it’s dormant it’s still on the books. Easy-peasy! All the next Republican president has to do is enforce the federal law…the caravans of rampaging, wild-eyed forced-birthers are here!

Of course, Florida governor Ron DeSantis is caught up in this GOP “fetus fetish,” but at least one donor is no longer impressed, saying, “I’m a bit agitated these guys have spent all this money for no return. You don’t just keep throwing money at Radio Shack.” Tuning him out in spades! As the DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC senses game over for his campaign, tensions have become standard operating procedure among the board members, with fisticuffs being turned aside by more rational members. Seeing Nikki Haley pushing ahead to the number two spot has prompted a second super PAC to launch, ‘Fight Right Inc.’ which is only in competition with NBD for money and power, using differing strategies. Some $100M has failed to transform de facto-alternative DeSantis to front-runner, now appearing to be in also-ran status.

A man walks into a pub in Dublin, and asks, “Am I too early for a drink?” The barman says, “Yes, it’s ten minutes until opening time, but you can wait over there on the bench.” The customer thanks him, sits down and the barman asks, “Would you like a drink while you’re waiting?” Yes, for sure, as this tension rises while we all wait for some sanity to appear in our national scenario! The wait may be a long one.

LIGHTING THE FIRES OF INTEGRITY AND LOYALTY

Former Trump White House Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, now governor of Arkansas can’t seem to keep her hands out of the kitty belonging to the taxpayers of the state of Arkansas. Several week ago it was revealed that she had spent $20K of state money on a wooden podium that has yet to show up, but the coverup was…and is…on. As the scandal grew the Arkansas GOP came to her rescue with money to cover the expense, whereupon she immediately got a law passed that blocks the public from commenting on the money she spends. However, this only spurred a Republican to demand a Legislative audit of Podiumgate and every other purchase made during her time in office. Sari-o is now being accused of using the $20K to fly a friend to Paris for a purloined vacation, along with governor H-S of course. The friend, coincidentally, is one of the organizers of the Trump-inspired J6 insurrection in DC. If one can’t get the needed funds with a Deutsche Bank loan, the Arkansas cash box serves just as well.

Not feeling the heat from this June escapade, Governor Sarah on September 1 held a bash at the governor’s mansion for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team on the eve of their season’s first game. The tally for this, funded by the Governor’s Mansion Commission, a publicly funded state department, came to at least $13,081.36 if we’re counting pennies. About $4,500 went for food, including the soft pretzels, but no alcohol was purchased if we believe the receipts provided…though it may have been served to head coach, Sam Pittman, three full-costumed mascots, team cheerleaders, or the dance team…heaven forfend that any football team members imbibed. The additional help hired for the occasion may have sneaked a nip or two, to offset what is probably minimum wage pay of $760 in toto. Sounds as if the DJ did okay with a $600 fee, as did Brooksie Balloons who charged $500. As we might suspect, Amazon.com got over $1400 for gingham-checked tablecloths, and likely over $800 for bamboo plates and various sizes of pompoms. The florist charged almost $800 for flowers, candles and tablescapes, with a photo booth rental earning over $700…oh, and $435 for a lighted sign spelling out ‘GO HOGS.’ What would it be for a football party not having giant footballs along with junior-size footballs sailing through the mansion…$335 worth, thanks to the taxpayers who couldn’t attend the invitation-only soirée. Ordained Southern Baptist Pastor Mike Huckabee sure knows how to raise a daughter, huh?

Sarah’s old White House boss continues to cast unpleasantries as he roams around the country spewing his vitriol. The sad thing is that we are becoming inured, desensitized, to his dehumanizing marginalization of segments of the population as he continues his campaign to unravel our democracy on his path to regaining power. His now infamous Veterans Day speech, claiming the 2020 election was stolen, saying, “We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country, that lie and steal and cheat on elections…They’ll do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America and to destroy the American dream.” Nazis used the term ‘vermin’ to describe Jews, and we can only presume that Trump intends inclusion of brown-skin immigrants, and political opponents, especially those of a darker cast. MSNBC’s Jen Psaki said, “If elected to a second term, Trump would prosecute anyone he deems an enemy, unleash troops on protestors, and essentially unravel the rule of law as we know it. And this time, he plans to line his administration with people who actually will help him do it.” Trump was caught unawares by actually winning his first presidential election, stumbling through it in complete stupidity; but now that he has done the dress rehearsal, has won over the unsavory MAGAts who will do his bidding, get ready for Vice President Tucker Carlson and Attorney General Mike Johnson.

Stephen Miller, who served as senior advisor for policy in Trump’s White House, is still in the mix as he works on plans to install loyalist attorneys across the federal bureaucracy in a Trump II Administration. Miller worked as communications director for Jeff Sessions, before Sessions was dumped by Trump, with emphasis on anti-immigration policies. In Trump’s fold he helped to implement the family separation policy for migrants, and is now working for John McEntee, former Director of the White House Personnel Office, who is now running a right-wing dating site…picture that! It’s comforting to know that neither Miller nor McEntee are attorneys…the blind leading the blind, so we can only imagine what lies ahead with these two advising Trump. Joyce Vance points out a sentence in Vanity Fair story which she calls “chilling” that warns, “imagine a future in which Bill Barr seems moderate.” The goal is to replace lawyers across the executive branch with Trump loyalists…the supreme qualification. Competence, good judgement, or a commitment to the Constitution be damned. The power to prosecute will be a political tool to be used at Trump’s discretion! Trump, in his book, The Art of the Deal, draws a distinction between integrity and loyalty, saying he prefers the latter. He compared attorney Roy Cohn to “all the hundreds of ‘respectable’ guys who make careers out of boasting about their uncompromising integrity but have absolutely no loyalty.” Cohn was Trump’s ‘other guy.’

A recently released audio of a Trump interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl, recorded a couple of months after the J6 Insurrection, finds the former prez saying he would have accompanied the MAGA rioters to the Capitol building if not for the Secret Service fearing for his safety. “I was thinking about going back during the problem to stop the problem, doing it myself. Secret Service didn’t like that idea too much. And I could have done that. And you know what? I would have been very well received. Don’t forget, the people that went to Washington that day, in my opinion, they went because they thought the election was rigged. That’s why they went,” he said. The claim that he could have been the peacemaker contradicts the testimonies given by over a thousand witnesses during the J6 Committee hearings, prominently, that of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. Hutchinson testified that Trump angrily tried to overpower the driver of the presidential limo to force his entourage to join the protesters who were headed to the Capitol building, and that he acknowledged that some carried weapons, saying, “They’re not here to hurt me.” They were only there to “hang Mike Pence.” The committee’s 814-page report concludes that Trump “lit that fire” in fueling the raid on the Capitol.

A Colorado judge ruled last week that Donald Trump, as president, “engaged in an insurrection” on January 6, 2021, but ruled against an attempt to remove him from that state’s 2024 primary ballot, saying that the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban” doesn’t apply to presidents. Judge Sarah Wallace found Trump’s conduct “actively primed the anger of his extremist supporters” and “acted with the specific intent to incite political violence and direct it at the Capitol.” So, even with these conclusions she hesitated because the Constitution fails to detail enforcement of the ban on running for office and was persuaded that the mention of “officers of the United States” did not include the office of President. This case and those similar cases in Minnesota and Michigan are likely to end up with the US Supreme Court making the final ruling on enforcement of the 14th Amendment since we are in such unfamiliar territory with Trump.

The late writer and author, David Foster Wallace, was often asked existential questions and explored what it means to relate to others. Of note is a well-distributed commencement address he gave to graduates of Kenyon College in 2005, entitled ‘This is Water,’ wherein he tells of a parable of a young fish who doesn’t know what water is, just as many of us go about our lives on autopilot, not fully aware of our environment or our actions. “If your total freedom of choice regarding what to think about seems too obvious to waste time discussing, I’d ask you to think about fish and water, and to bracket for just a few minutes your skepticism about the value of the totally obvious,” he concludes. Perfect words for considering our ballot choices heading into an election year!

And speaking of one who is eternally unaware, Marjorie Taylor Greene says, “You know nothing is built in America these days! I just bought a TV with a label that says ‘Built in Antenna.’ I don’t even know where that is!”

November 13

BANKING ON A FAST CAR TO BE SOMEONE – MAYBE WE MAKE A DEAL

Surprise, surprise…Judge Aileen Cannon has decided that for the present, our former president’s trial for charges of mishandling classified documents, scheduled for March 2024, will not be changed for now. Trump’s whining to get the dates rescheduled for all his trials until after the 2024 election has been dead-ended in all cases. He and his attorneys have been saying they are simply too busy with the complexities of preparation, while being tied to the demands of a grifting campaign which they term “the presidential nomination campaign.” Gotta keep that ‘basket of deplorables’ fat and happy to insure that the money keeps rolling in to keep the attorneys fat and happy! Judge Cannon indicates she will revisit other deadlines as the time draws closer, but by March many of the issues in the case may have been decided and Trump may be attending that trial in his custom-fitted orange jumpsuit by Brioni.

Special Counsel Jack Smith responded sans gloves with the Trump team when they attempted to get the federal election subversion case trial dismissed as being “meritless.” Smith’s team wrote in their rebuttal, “The defendant stands alone in American history for his alleged crimes. No other president has engaged in conspiracy and obstruction to overturn valid election results and illegitimately retain power.” The Trump claim that there was no crime since the election wasn’t successfully stolen, which was countered by Smith’s team saying that robbers are still charged with a crime even if they are “captured en route to a bank robbery.” “A conspiracy can be committed even if the object of the conspiracy is unattainable,” they added. The Trump team now has ten days to respond before US District Judge Chutkan makes a ruling on their motion to dismiss. Keep an eye open for the getaway car!

In the New York court last week, Ivanka Trump, the Don’s “wonderful and beautiful daughter,” took the stand as a witness in daddy Trump’s $250M fraud trial for questioning about past deals as prosecutors attempt to prove the family organization knowingly lied to lenders. Following the leads of her brothers who testified the week before, she was “unable to recall” any details, saying, “I’m not an accountant,” in her calm and disciplined manner. Of course, she was undoubtedly fretting over her poor kids that she had to leave outside, begging for bread on the streets. She admitted that “there were many emails, many conversations” and she was treated to examination of copies of emails and other documents relating to a Deutsche Bank private wealth management division loan which had her fingerprints all over, so to speak. That loan, for purchase of the Doral Golf Club in Miami, was contingent upon the Trump organization maintaining a value in excess of $3B, which raised some concern with a Trump lawyer. Ivanka then renegotiated the contingency to get the net worth covenant reduced to $2.5B…not bad for a beautiful daughter who can’t afford a babysitter! Her comment via an email in 2011 was, “It doesn’t get any better than this. Let’s discuss ASAP.” The same year Daddy Donny would claim that he was worth $4.2B, though the prosecution alleges that he was not worth $2B at that time. Ivanka the Beautiful was originally listed as a co-defendant for the family case, but an appeals court tossed that designation, ruling that her involvement with the Trump Organization as a top executive had passed the statutes of limitations after she stepped down to serve in the Trump Administration following the election; therefore, she is only a witness.

Deutsche Bank, for its part, started severing ties with Trump after the embarrassment of the 2020 election due to the negative publicity. The threat to seize Trump’s assets as he spirals downward is real, as he would be unable to pay off the loans should they be called for payment in full. It is assumed Trump has only been paying interest on the loans, so the bank would declare him in default as they started the foreclosure on the properties he put up as collateral. Selling the loans on the secondary market is a non-starter, because no buyer would care to join the line of creditors who have been stiffed, especially if considering the added $1B debt that Trump is rumored to have. But then, misery loves company, and who would be more deserving than Deutsche, an enterprise noted for its money laundering schemes over the years, so criminality among criminals should get its just rewards…it’s every rat for himself.

A post on Quora reads, “My son is taking part in a social experiment. He has to wear a ‘Trump 2024’ t-shirt for two weeks to see how people react. So far, he’s been spit on, punched and had a bottle thrown at him! I’m curious to see what happens when he goes outside.”

Even though his kids were of no help to him after their court appearances, Spraytan Donny is hanging in there to salvage his ‘reputation’ as a legit businessman, placing a great burden on his legal team who now weave in and out of his fantasy world to earn their keep. As Aldous J. Pennyfarthing writes on Daily Kos, “If you ever find yourself in legal peril, you might want to consider hiring Alina Habba as your attorney. But only if you’re on trial for dropping a house on a witch, because if you hire her for committing crimes in the real world, you’ll likely be in for a rude awakening. Trump is facing loads of legal peril, and Habba’s job is to go on teevee to convince millions of people who are already sure he’s innocent that the Brobdingnagian heap of criminal and civil accusations against him were all meticulously curated by a sitting president who’s nothing but a listless amalgam of advanced dementia symptoms. If, during sentencing, she somehow manages to score him a hard-bristled toothbrush for his weekly prison urinal cleanings, that’ll be just gravy.” On a recent appearance with Newsmax’s Carl Higbie, Habba claimed Trump isn’t worried about going to jail because he “did nothing wrong” and the Secret Service will keep that from happening anyway. Pennyfarthing asks, “What does that mean? Who knows, really? The Rosetta Stone for translating MAGA-speak into the King’s English is likely more fermented psychedelic toad venom than any of our snowflake liberal bodies could possibly handle.” Aldous J. suggests it may translate into an OK Corral-style shootout between the Secret Service and the court bailiff working the fraud trial should Judge Engoron attempt to throw Trump into the cooler for violating the gag order. Or that possibly Trump has a stay-out-of-jail-free card because he has an armed Praetorian Guard paid for by the federal government, a snag they can surely work out if he is indeed sentenced.

Trump’s hand-picked Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, was still trying to prove his worth in bringing the two parties together as the deadline approached for the budget vote. Along with that countdown Mikey is drawing attention in many quarters as well…the most prominent eyebrow raiser being a year-old clip where he says he and his son use Covenant Eyes, which bills itself as a tool that “helps you live porn-free with confidence,” an app which weans people from porn by monitoring online activity of phones or computers. “Covenant Eyes is the software we’ve been using a long time in our household,” Johnson says in the clip, which was filmed at a ‘War on Technology’ event, hosted by Cypress Baptist Church in Louisiana in October 1922. Covenant Eyes’ site says, “Porn is a human problem, we provide a human solution. Covenant Eyes helps you and the ones you love live porn-free through transformative accountability relationships.” News doesn’t suggest that Johnson has a pornography addiction, only that the site sends a report to the ‘accountability partner’ who in this case is his son, Jack. Father and son receive a report on one another’s internet use once weekly, and if “anything objectionable comes up,” Mike or Jack will receive an immediate notification. Johnson said his son has “got a clean slate so far,”….no word from Jack on his father’s slate, nor from Johnson’s office after inquiries.

Speaker Johnson, noted for his socially conservative views, has made his Christian faith a cornerstone of his career, both politically and professionally. He once worked for Alliance Defending Freedom, a rightwing Christian legal organization which aims to overturn same-sex unions, enact a total ban on abortion, and strip away the standing minimal rights of the transsexual community. As far as raising questions about what Johnson does, or doesn’t do, on Covenant Eyes through his internet connections, it should raise security concerns since Google once determined the site violated its policies after a Wired investigation, though it has since been reinstated. Johnson’s office has been contacted for comment on donations to his 2018 campaign from Russian nationals through a Texas-based company, American Ethane, which donated thousands of dollars to Louisiana Republican candidates. American Ethane was run by American John Houghtaling, but 88 percent of the firm was owned by three Russian nationals. One of the men, Konstantin Nikolaev, an oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin, has financially backed Maria Butina, a Russian citizen who live in Washington, DC, and who served 18 months in prison after being convicted of being an unregistered foreign agent, after infiltrating conservative political groups and influencing foreign policy to benefit Russia before and after the 2016 election. Jason Hebert, former campaign manager for Johnson, claims the $37,000 was returned once they were “made aware of the situation,” being a violation of federal law to ‘knowingly accept donations from a foreign-owned corporation, a foreign national, or any company owned or controlled by foreign nationals,’ The Federal Elections Commission fined American Ethane $9500 for their transgression, resulting in a scathing condemnation by two FEC commissioners who said, “Though American Ethane did pay a civil penalty, it was a slap on the wrist that failed to account for a violation of one of the most fundamental provisions entrusted to this commission to enforce. One can only hope that in future cases, the commission will once again muster the political will to wall off our elections from the malign influence of foreign money.”

Steve Schmidt on his The Warning blog says, ” The new Speaker has no bank accounts of any kind, believes people and dinosaurs lived together 6,000 years ago, and is second in line to the American presidency; he is a fanatic, a true believer, the extremist in our midst, and is indeed the ‘Handmaid’s speaker.’ Mike Johnson of Louisiana shouldn’t be where he is. Now that he is, be warned.” Those who have looked into his personal financial disclosures found that he lists zero assets, and while he may be observing the rules on what he lists, it’s clear he doesn’t have much money…a red flag?

His wife, Kelly, has sponsored a seminar entitled ‘Answers for Our Times: Government, Culture, and Christianity,’ announcing herself as a Christian counselor and anti-abortion activist, claiming to be a “leader in the pro-family movement.” The two have followed the evangelical circuit giving their seminars, with Mike talking about how he thinks mandatory religious exams should be given to American political candidates. “I want to know what you think about the Christian heritage of this country. I want to know what you think about God’s design for this society. Have you even thought about that?” he queries. “We have too many people in government who haven’t even thought about this stuff.” Maybe he doesn’t know about Article VI Clause 3 of the US Constitution which says, “No religious Test shall be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” Or, maybe like most Republicans, he just doesn’t care? Robert Harrington on The Palmer Report calls Johnson “a deadly dangerous christofascist looney, and people like him are infiltrating the Republican Party…they are becoming the Republican Party.” Harrington writes as one who has experienced first-hand the evangelical movement, the followers of which believe that more evangelicals should be in public office who can run government according to their intolerant biblical strictures. He says, “They are scary. There is always something deeply wrong with them. Always. None of them are ever normal. It’s a symptom of how the moral void of the MAGA Republicanism is being filled up by evangelical lunatics. And they’re coming for your country today.”

Posted on the Quora website: After seeing a protestor’s sign which read, “GOD WILL JUDGE AMERICA OVER ABORTION AND GAY MARRIAGE.” I need to get this straight…God didn’t judge America over the millions of natives that were raped and murdered and had their land stolen. God didn’t judge America over the millions of Africans that were raped, murdered and enslaved for centuries. And God didn’t judge America over not taking care of the homeless, hungry, sick and dying poor. But now God will judge America over abortion and gay marriage? Rrrrright!”

“Hey, you idiots! You think if Donald Trump was my Chosen One, don’t you think I could have gotten him reelected?”  – God

“Do you think that God gets stoned once in a while? Look at the platypus. I think so.”  – Robin Williams

CUBAN PEANUT FARMS A-CROSS AMERICA

Steve Schmidt in his recent post on his Warnings blog after seeing the latest discouraging polls in the Trump/Biden face-off, begins, “This will be a short post because the words need no interpretation, explanation or augmentation. They are what they are. ‘What they are is a plan to destroy America and plunge into the abyss. Eight years after Donald Trump came down the escalator there are no secrets left. Everything is open. Fascism has come to America, and it is wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross’.” Those last sentences are from the Washington Post.

Schmidt goes on to enumerate the plans Trump and his associates are mapping for using the government to punish critics and opponents in his second term in office, giving Trump the ability to appoint those he wants to investigate or prosecute, with his allies drafting plans to invoke the Insurrection Act for deploying the military to defeat any civil demonstrations that arise…a certainty. Justice Department and FBI personnel will be targeted, as will Joe Biden and his family, as Trump loudly proclaims, though accusations of corruption aren’t backed by evidence.

The Donald’s lackeys will see to it that these plans are well-formulated, even if they have to carry the Toupee Orangerie bodily across the finish line and hide him in a broom closet a la Woodrow Wilson’s babysitters. Trump’s worsening senility, noted with alarm during his time out of office, seems to be of no concern to his hordes who have kept him under wraps as much as possible, though with the numerous court proceedings it has been increasingly difficult to do so. In his appearances he has warned us that President Biden is going to get us into World War Two, and he seems to have forgotten Hillary Clinton was his opponent in 2016, remembering Barack Obama as his nemesis. His word salads, ever-present in his ‘speeches,’ sound ever more confused, dumb-founded, disoriented, a childish imitation of his previous bellowings. Even the media is forced to take notice instead of covering for the former president in order to sell air time or printed advertising with their softball interviews, questioning if he is truly a viable candidate for 2024. If he can’t be propped up adequately, the public recognition of condition may finish him off more quickly than the traipsing of the courts as they attempt to bring him to justice.

Trump’s declining mental state seems to have rubbed off onto the attorneys as they represent him in Judge Engoron’s courtroom, by Attorney Kise mentioning Breitbart conspiracy theories, or Attorney Habba complaining to the press about the unfairness of the proceedings, both playing the complete wet-behind-the-ears fools as if they are experiencing their first trial in a courtroom. They are not helping their client with their antics, indeed, he is beyond help because the trial by summary judgement has been decided…he has lost already, with only the punishment phase to be decided. Therefore, all the legal team has to do is keep Trump happy, looking like serious defenders who get a paycheck at the end. Embarrassingly, Trump doesn’t get it. He has no idea what is going on around him, so we are witnessing a guy on his trip downward, represented by attorneys who get it as they look forward to defending the next doofus in the queue.

Trump believes his ‘children’ are being dragged unfairly into his mess, though they are waist high in the big muddy as officers in the Trump Crime Family…hardly children now, being in their forties, no longer in danger of losing the innocence of a nine year old, as attorney Habba whined for the cameras. Just another element in this fantasy world. Ah yes, reminds one of that other magic place besides Walt Disney World in Florida…Mar-a-Lago, where people enter as lawyers and emerge as witnesses and defendants! Someone needs to remind the team that their client isn’t being indicted in the middle of his presidential campaign, he chose to campaign in the middle of his indictments. Colin Jost of ‘Saturday Night Live’ and its ‘Weekend Update’ segment called out Trump for complaining that he “basically doesn’t have the right to speak” after being slapped with a gag order by a federal judge. Comparing Trump to a child being grounded, in a child-like voice, he dug at Trump by saying, “She’s like literally killing me,” adding, “you’re not even my real mom!” as he slammed his bedroom door. Jost later mocked the former prez for sharing a courtroom sketch on Truth Social showing Jesus seated next to him. “Because if there’s one guy whose trial famously ended well, it’s Jesus’,” Jost said.

The two Trump boys, ages 39 and 45…wait…isn’t that their IQs?… testified last week, making remarks afterward to the assembled press on the courthouse steps, identifiable by their egg-smeared faces. Papa was scheduled to appear last Monday…so how did he score? And, daughter Ivanka was to appear Wednesday after the judge had previously allowed her to delay her testimony by a few days to better prepare. However, at this juncture, Ivanka is asking for yet another delay because of the hardship she faces “with the school week” and the judge is a bit miffed. He thinks she can afford a babysitter to deal with her kids’ school attendance! But, the judge COULD have brought up her attendance two weeks ago at Kim Kardashian’s 43rd birthday party in Los Angeles during the school week, in a new outfit, new do and nice spray tan. No matter, this judge has had it with the Trump family’s delaying tactics so her fantasy got canned…no public outcry on this one, sweetie! Remember when Barack Obama said, “I’m inspired by my own children, how full they make my heart. They make me want to work to make the world a little bit better. And they make me want to be a better man.” Contrast that to Donald Trump’s “She does have a very nice figure. I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.” Trump asked a woman at one of his rallies, “Do you have any children?” She answered, “Yes, I have one that’s just under two.” Defensively, Trump says, “I know how many one is!” One thing Trump will never defend is that awkward moment when a zombie looking for brains walks right on past him.

Trump’s choice for House Speaker, Mike Johnson, has decided to press on with the bribery investigation into the Biden family affairs. Former Speaker McCarthy had let the issue slide down on his priority list, but Johnson says, “There’s a lot of smoke here, and we’re going to find out very soon how big the fire is.” In the past, Johnson has accused the President of his alleged indiscretion, but says that the call for a rushed investigation toward impeachment should be approached with caution. House Republicans have failed in their attempts to link Biden to a Ukrainian oligarch, and the FBI has been unable to verify the tip they received. However, a Politico investigative report casts some doubt on Biden’s denial of involvement, contradicting White House claims on several points, particularly that he never discussed business dealings with family, and suggesting that incriminating emails were of Russian origin…fake news. Prominent in the denials is that Hunter Biden profited from China deals, or that his relatives benefitted from the Biden named. Politico feels strongly that the House investigation will bear fruit, with an AP-NORC poll showing that 70% of the public believes Biden acted either illegally or unethically. Will we see Mike Johnson move within one seat from the Presidency?

Speaker Johnson is a fervent supporter for trillions of dollars in cuts to our entitlements of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and at the same time raising eligibility ages, surely in the spotlight as we advance into the election run-up to 2024. The GOP acknowledges the political risks involved in cutting back benefits, yet are opposed to tax increases to shore up the programs, with even Democrats recognizing the nonsustainability in their current form. The entitlements have an annual cost of $2.7 trillion, and to examine the dilemma Johnson says he will appoint a 16-member bipartisan commission as a priority, with an announcement to come soon. In order to protect office seekers from angry or disillusioned voters no final decisions will be made until after the 2024 election. Johnson doesn’t believe he should dictate objectives or set benchmarks, but the Dems know his record speaks for itself, calling his proposed commission political cover in cutting our earned benefits. “It is unfortunate and disappointing that one of the Speaker’s first priorities is creating a mechanism intended to slash programs that American workers pay for in every paycheck, fully expecting the benefits to be there when they need them,” says Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. Alex Lawson of Social Security Works believes this is a GOP trap to lay blame on Democrats for the Republican’s policy of cutting and destroying Social Security.

Representative Matt Gaetz has given Johnson the moniker “MAGA Mike” as he crows about the power of the movement in putting Kevin McCarthy out to pasture. To be sure, he is one of the most extreme Republicans to be found. As the new Speaker said on Fox with Sean Hannity, “I am a Bible-believing Christian, and if you want to understand my politics, pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That’s my world view.” As MSNBCs Mehdi Hassan asked, “Could you imagine if a Muslim member of Congress said the same about the Koran?” ‘Fox & Friends’ picked up where Hannity left off, as Kayleigh McEnany and Ainsley Earhardt bubbled over Kayleigh’s interview with Johnson about his Christofascism, saying, “I really believe he thinks God is leading the way, this will all get figured out.” In his first remarks to the House as the new Speaker, Johnson suggested that God had placed him in power, saying he doesn’t believe in coincidences, citing a Bible verse about God putting people in positions of authority. Religious-right activist Rick Green declared Johnson as “one of our guys.” And right-winger Benny Johnson tweeted about Mike: he’s America First & MAGA, ally of the House Freedom Caucus, mentor of Jim Jordan, legal defense for Trump impeachment trials, objected to 2020 election fraud, and called for Pelosi to be arrested. Theocracy here we come! Somewhere in Louisiana, Jimmy Swaggart is waiting for is phone to ring.

One of the quotes that popped up with the advent of our new God-appointed Speaker was one from our old nemesis, Barry Goldwater. Barry said, “Mark my words, if and when these preachers get control of the (Republican) party, and they’re sure trying to do so, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe that they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise. I know, I’ve tried to deal with them.” Wikimedia had a treasure trove of Barryisms! When the Moral Majority’s Jerry Falwell opposed the 1981 nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor to the high court, Barry declared that every good Christian ought to kick Falwell right in the ass…John Dean later changing the anatomical reference to “nuts” as the accurate quote. Barry doesn’t stop there as he says, “I’m frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’…just who do they think they are? And where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of ‘Conservatism’. The religious factions will go on imposing their will on others unless decent people connected to them recognize that religion has no place in public policy.” Ah, the conscience of a conservative…remember when?

And on the lighter side, Goldwater also said, “If you don’t mind smelling like a peanut for two or three days, peanut butter is a damn good shaving cream.”

And, who can forget Bob Dylan’s, “I’m a liberal to a degree, I think everybody should be free, but if you think I’ll let Barry Goldwater move in next door and marry my daughter, you must think I’m crazy. I wouldn’t do it for all the farms in Cuba.”

INTEREST-FREE MANNA FROM HEAVEN WITH A MARTINI

The Great GOP Presidential Candidate Shakedown has begun! Former Trump VP Mike Pence announced he has suspended his campaign, with Steve Schmidt on his The Warning blog declaring Pence “a hollow man with an appetite for the prerequisites of power and the perks that come along with it.” Mikey declared from the start in 2015 that he was “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order,” even as he followed his President through all the division and malice that were the earmarks of the administration. He was enamored of the perceived power, the mansion, helicopter, Air Force 2, the fanfare and motorcades, the perks that solidified his place in the American pantheon, as he stuck by Trump’s side throughout the embarrassments, and defiling of the Constitution. He was declared anathema by the MAGATs when he refused to do Trump’s bidding, showing his disloyalty by declining to delay the electoral college vote count on that momentous January 6; and, while he did his duty during that insane insurrection, Schmidt says, “The single issue that defined Mike Pence’s service was disloyalty – disloyalty towards decency, humanity, and patriotism. He served a cruel cause with a cold heart. He well and truly tried to ride the tiger in pursuit of power – only to wind up inside…I hope the photo albums were worth it. My generation will be cleaning up this disaster for the rest of our lives.”

So, who’s next? Tim Scott is making a big play for one dollar donations in order to qualify for a place in the next GOP candidate debate, but his name may be de-listed soon, along with those of Larry Elder, Will Hurd, Perry Johnson and Francis Suarez. Some lesser lights are hanging in there, but why and for how long? Nikki Haley, while far beneath front-runner Donald Trump in the polls, has a heated competition with Ron DeSantis as her poll numbers now exceed his. Vivek Ramaswamy seems to be spending most of his time with both feet in his mouth, so who knows where he ends up? They all seem to be waving their hands in the air at the Trump Train in hopes of validating their relevancy as worthy second bananas. There’s always somebody that doesn’t get the message…the reason you don’t believe you have been lied to and brainwashed, is because you have been lied to and brainwashed…simple as that!

A couple of weeks ago most of us in California got the Earthquake Early Warning signal on our cell phones, but some instead got the worthy message, ‘SUPREME COURT BACK IN SESSION!’ No doubt this was spurred by the ongoing grifting revelations regarding Justice Clarence Thomas and his consort, Ginni ‘Imelda‘ Thomas. Their never-ending ‘handful of gimme, and a mouthful of much-obliged’ addiction continues to obligate them to their sugar daddies instead of to the American public and the Constitution. What’s it this time? The Senate Democrats have discovered Thomas never paid back in full a quarter-million-dollar-plus loan from ‘a friend’ to buy a high-end recreational vehicle in 1999. The five year term saw the Thomas twins paying only the interest of about $20K annually before the term was extended to ten years. The Senate committee concluded that the loan was never paid in full and none of the principal was satisfied, though other documentation is being sought to conclude their findings.

Health care executive, Anthony Welters, who was the cash-cow for the loan has written a note, dated November 2008, indicated he was seeking no further payments because he believed Thomas’ annual payments exceeded the total purchase price of the Prevost Marathon Le Mirage XL RV. Talk about mirages! The nine years of interest payments would still leave about an $87K shortfall for the total loan amount which at this juncture should be considered taxable income for the Justice, a figure which seems to be suspiciously missing from his 2008 financial disclosure report. The ethics lapses in Thomas’ ‘gimme’ lifestyle continue to mount, further damaging the public’s opinions of government officials, and in this case, the Supreme Court’s which has been mum on the many disclosures. Our citizenry would be much obliged if the Thomases would just come clean instead of letting the situation fester…show us the documentation of your compliance, your innocence…where are the receipts? If Senator Robert Menendez and his wife are being taken to task over their indiscretions, why not Clarence and Ginni?

It is said that Vladimir Putin bought American…he purchased one Trump and got the whole Republican party for free! And now he has the added bonus of a House Speaker in Louisiana’s Mike Johnson, hand-picked enthusiastically by none other than Mr. Trump himself. The House had a close call when it came reasonably close to electing Gym Jordan to the position, but the GOP thought better and elected a guy who will wear a suit jacket instead. Johnson is known as an ‘election denier.’ But it goes much deeper, since he supported a Texas group’s bid to overturn the election while working in conjunction with others to overturn electoral college votes in four swing states. Prior to his four term stint in Congress, Johnson was a senior lawyer and national spokesperson for the Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative group which opposes abortion, same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ rights. In what has now become a familiar hardcore Christian nationalist formulation, Johnson touted during his 2016 Congressional race, “I am a Christian, a husband, a father, a lifelong conservative, constitutional law attorney and a small business owner in that order, and I think that order is important. I have been called to legal ministry and I’ve been out on the front lines of the ‘culture war’ defending religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and biblical values, including the defense of traditional marriage, and other ideals like these when they’ve been under assault.”

Meidas Touch calls out the new Speaker, an opponent of gun control legislation, for blaming the recent mass shootings in Maine on both teaching evolution and abortion. Speaking at the Christian Center in Shreveport in 2016, he said that a “series of cultural shifts” in this country, led by ‘elites’ and ‘academics’ back in the 1930s who endorsed Charles Darwin’s theories erased the influence of Christian thinking and creationism from society. His religious fundamentalism marks his life and career, and he advocates for return of prayer in public schools, as he derides the “so-called separation of church and state” on the House floor, arguing that our nation’s founders did not establish the separation to prevent religion from influencing government, but rather to impede the government from restricting the influence and free exercise of religion.

Trump’s newly christened (CHRIST-ened?) lackey’s resemblance to Clark Kent may serve to conceal his full nut-job MAGAness, but we shouldn’t be fooled…he is a full-on, rabid election denier, a Bible-thumper who will bash your head in with his holy book if you don’t follow his brand of worship and his interpretation of the First Amendment. He fits in with the GOP brand very well with his denial of climate-change while getting big bucks from the oil and gas companies, is against raising the federal minimum wage, and is in the forefront of the drive to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. So, did the House Circus get what they wanted out of their inept procedure of selecting a new leader? Mike who? Obviously, not by a long shot! Remember…93% of the House GOP voted against dumping Kevin McCarthy, who was an effective party fund raiser. Now they have a powerless, unproven nobody who has already started an irritating glut of an email campaign to introduce himself…and oh, can you send money?

What it all boils down to is that the Republican House will continue to be run by committees, each in their own tiny enclaves, doing what they wish with nobody to stop them. Speaker Johnson can take whatever position he wants on a whole range of issues, but he will be bulldozed by the committee chairs who know what they are doing, and who have the power and influence to do so, leaving Johnson’s crown perilously askew. Next up? Think the GOP might come up with someone who believes in democracy, rather than one who believes he is being ordained by his god? That would be manna from heaven! Kind of reminds one of the statement by Charles de Gaulle, “How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?”

The New Yorker’s Andy Borowitz couldn’t let the ascendance of Mike Johnson pass by without some of his humor: In a stirring acceptance speech after being elected Speaker of the House, Representative Mike Johnson vowed to be “the greatest Speaker of the seventeenth century. For years, time travel was the stuff of science fiction,” he said. “Now as I take this majestic nation back four hundred years, I will make that dream a reality.” Noting that LGBTQ and women’s rights would be subject to his review, he said that he would also be taking a “hard look at some other so-called innovations, such as electricity and soap. My message to the American people is simple: I work for thee,” he said. When a reporter pointed out that there was no such thing as a Speaker of the House in the seventeenth century, Johnson replied, “I see you’ve been reading history books. Enjoy them while you can.”

And what we’ve all been waiting for, the promise of Artificial Intelligence: A guy goes into a bar that has a robot bartender and orders a martini. The robot brings him the best martini ever, and asks the man, “What’s your IQ?” A bit taken aback, nevertheless he answers, “168.” The robot then proceeds to discuss physics, space exploration, and medical technology. The guy leaves, but remaining curious, he goes back to the bar and orders another martini. With a great martini in hand, the robot asks him again, “What’s your IQ?” This time the guy answers, “100,” which prompts the robot to talk about NASCAR, Budweiser, and John Deere tractors. Exiting the bar, the guy’s curiosity is further aroused, so he goes back inside, orders a martini, and is met with the same question, “What’s your IQ?” This time he answers, “Oh, about 50,” and with that the robot moves in closer and says, “Isn’t it terrible the way Biden stole the election?”

A KRAKEN, PLEA DEALS AND TEARS ON MYPILLOWS

In what they are hailing as a consensus choice, House Republicans have nominated a college intern named Zach to be the new Speaker of the House. The freshly minted GOP nominee acknowledged that he was “kind of surprised” to be chosen as Speaker but said that he was “totally stoked about wielding that hammer.” “I’m, like, whoa – all of a sudden, I’m Thor,” he said. “This is gonna be dope.” Zach, who is taking a year off from his studies at the Northern University of Southern Florida, is well-liked within the GOP conference, insiders said. “Zach never screws up our coffee orders,” one Republican congressman said. “You couldn’t say the same for Kevin McCarthy.” Nah, that didn’t happen – only in The New Yorker magazine, courtesy of humorist Borowitz.

But it COULD happen with the way the KidzRoom is playing now. Yet another couple of weeks without a House Speaker (unless one was elected after this writing from the nine who have dared a candidacy) with Scalise and Jordan being shot down! Scalise saw the handwriting on the wall after one ballot and bowed out, but former wrestling coach Gym Jordan was persistent, thankfully less so than Kevin Mac, and got his comeuppance quickly, being pinned three times, with the Big Lie Freak even admitting he had lost an election! His underbite must have mangled his tongue something awful in the process. Representative Matt Gaetz who was the mastermind of this whole fiasco by getting McCarthy tossed out, was irate as he whined on Xwitter, complaining that his fellow traveler and MAGA enthusiast was thrown off the mat by his GOP colleagues. What could be more satisfying than having two election denying insurrectionists, supposed sex abusers given the heave-ho by their party?

Jordan had launched a fierce arm-twisting campaign to convince his Republican colleagues to cast a vote for him, calling for a Tuesday roll call vote as a bullying tactic. The threats received online and by phone to House members and their families only drew anger, and by Wednesday he was losing ground. His method of attacks was reminiscent of his wrestling days as described by those who associated with him as a student and later as a coach. Wrestling is known as the art of forcing opponents to relinquish their posture and surrender, and Jordan says, “It’s as basic as it gets.” Writer John Irving who was a wrestler in prep school observes, “Wrestling offers folks in different weight classes the opportunity to bump into people your own size, and you can bump them very hard…” Former Speaker John Boehner compares Freedom Caucus member Jordan’s political style as “legislative terrorism,” as the two battled each other to the point where Boehner couldn’t take it anymore, resigning in 2015. As Boehner says, “He is wound tighter than a baseball. You just see him walk with an intensity that you don’t see in other members.” If they met in the halls of Congress, the former Speaker would try to defuse Jordan’s intensity by asking him, “What are you planning to f___ up today?” Jordan’s partisan influence that allows him to survive in his party is the very blockade to his success, which even the Former Guy was not able to overcome.

Republicans need a Speaker who can be more commonsensical, and many are pointing toward giving that power to temporary Speaker Patrick McHenry, but he has shown little interest in taking the gavel. Some are saying that his reluctance is what makes him a good candidate, but his name does not appear among the nine who are competing for the seat. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota seems to be ahead in the running, but Trump acolytes started hitting him with attacks and calling him “Nancy Pelosi in a Suit,” though the former prez has yet to publicly attack Emmer – at this writing. An olive branch was tossed in the form of a statement to Politico which said, “Whip Emmer worked hand-in-hand with President Trump to help House Republicans fire Nancy Pelosi and retake the majority. If he becomes Speaker, Whip Emmer looks forward to continuing that productive relationship.” Not very commonsensical! Steve Bannon has called Emmer a swamp creature who hates Trump, “the biggest never-Trumper in the House,” though he voted with Trump 90% of the time during that presidency. Islamaphobe right-winger, Laura Loomer, called Emmer “a closet liberal, essentially a Democrat, and one of the worst members of Congress.” So, how did he do after Monday evening’s candidate’s forum, and in Tuesday’s vote after all that fanfare?

Regardless of the outcome, CNN reported a few weeks ago that Kevin McCarthy and his allies (more than one? really?) are going on the attack against Matt Gaetz for leading the revolt against McCarthy’s speakership by ‘expelling’ him from Congress. The ‘allies’ plan to use an upcoming report from the House Ethics Committee that will show unprecedented corruption and ethics violations by Gaetz, including the much ballyhooed child sex-trafficking activity, charges for which have stayed sidelined for far too long. Gaetz has said if his House disruptions lead to an end of his political career, getting rid of Kevin McCarthy makes it all worth it. Perhaps he can get an adjoining cell to be near his fading bronze-skinned, crew cut shorn, balding hero, DJT.

Trump’s political fundraising scam is still rummaging through the pockets of those who believe this self-proclaimed billionaire needs their money to be elected, as he uses their donations to pay legal fees in his many criminal cases. Despite a federal ban on using donor contributions for personal use, the money is actually going to political PACs which are able to spend as they please. So, Trump’s multiple daily pleas for cash to send him back to the White House are a bit deceptive since the attorneys are raking it in for themselves. Federal Elections Commission records show that The Don’s Save America PAC has spent nearly $37M to over 60 law firms and individual attorneys since January 2022, and in the first half of the current year over $20M has gone out for not only Trump, but his businesses, his children, and former White House aides and employees of the Former Guy. Can paying attorney fees for co-defendants and possible witnesses be considered witness tampering or buying a person’s loyalty?

Which brings up the plea deals of Attorney Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro in the Georgia election interference case, agreed to by DA Fani Willis for their cooperation with prosecutors. Would this have come about if Trump had agreed to send some defense monies their way? Or, was the evidence simply to damning for an easy way out? To most this wasn’t a surprise and it puts pressure on other co-defendants as they face legal jeopardy, a signal that if they want to deal the time to act is now, otherwise they go down with the ship. Scott Hall, a former bail bondsman pled guilty several weeks ago, and he along with Powell were accused of breaching an election office branch in Coffee County, Georgia. Powell played a broader role on Trump’s legal team in trying to overturn the 2020 election, though Trump, true to form, is asking, “Sidney who? She never was a part of my legal team!” The man needs to read his past emails for a refresher, as well as the plethora of emails between the attorneys on the ‘team,’ collected by the DA.

Both Powell and Chesebro faced seven felonies, but Powell pled guilty to six misdemeanors, while Chesebro pleaded guilty to one felony count. In so doing, they will avoid conviction under Georgia’s RICO Act, which accuses all defendants of entering an unlawful conspiracy to keep Trump in power, the basis of the indictment. Both individuals seem to be referenced as unindicted co-conspirators in Trump’s federal elections case in DC, and Powell still faces legal jeopardy from defamation lawsuits from Smartmatic and Dominion, the voting machine providers. Trial dates for Trump and the remaining fifteen co-defendants are not set, with Trump and Rudy Giuliani not expected to appear until late in 2024, so don’t expect them to plead guilty in the near future. Now, we wait for the shoes to start dropping since it appears Trump is not dropping any dollars in that direction with the three guilty pleas, and especially with the Kraken having devoured Sidney Powell.

And, we mustn’t forget poor Mike Lindell, crying tears on his MyPillows after losing his lawyers who unceremoniously dumped him for being in arrears on his legal fees…unable to pay them for the past two months. They claim he owes them millions and Mikey tells Politico, “I don’t know where I go from here.” The attorneys informed federal judges in Minnesota and Washington they wish to withdraw representation as Lindell faces billion-dollar lawsuits from Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic, saying he had made payments in a timely fashion through 2022, but 2023 has been another story with only small payments forthcoming. Both courts then approved the law firm’s request to withdraw as they were being placed in financial jeopardy. Even as Lindell’s legal and financial difficulties increase, he continues to stand behind Trump’s groundless election fraud claims. He claims he is facing five audits by the IRS, that American Express has slashed his credit line from a million dollars to $100K and that he lost more than $100M in retail sales by being dropped by Costco, Bed Bath & Beyond, QVC, JC Penney and Wayfair, though purchases may still be made online. In July he auctioned off equipment from his factory in Minnesota, yet he bragged to Steve Bannon on his ‘War Room’ podcast that he still spends a million dollars a month…donating to Save America PAC?
Go figure!

A narcissist, a pedophile sex-offender and a Russian spy walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, “What can I get you tonight, Mr. Trump?”