WOMEN’S RIGHTS SUPREMELY TRAMPLED UPON BY ROBED VIGILANTES

Last week was one for the history books with the rapid-fire sequence of events from Washington, D.C. For starters, we had the two noteworthy sessions of the House Select J6 Committee hearings providing more clarity into the snake pit of the Trump Fascist Group’s efforts to overthrow Biden’s election to the office of the presidency. The coup plotters attempted to influence state officials into cooperating by altering vote counts or appointing Electoral College delegates favoring Trump, even as they tried to convince the Justice Department to declare a fraudulent election, after which Trump maintained that he and “the Republicans would take it from there.” State election officials were harassed and attacked in devious ways, resulting in many departments being depleted by resignations out of fear for their safety and that of their families. This works perfectly toward setting up new election boards for the mid-term and 2024 elections who will favor Trump and his henchmen…no surprises here…they’ve told us WHAT the plan is, and HOW they will accomplish it. And, thanks to complacency, it’s gonna come to fruition! 

Raising its ugly head for the first time in the week, the Supreme Court struck down with a 6-3 ruling, a 1911 New York law which restricted concealed carry of weapons, as a violation of the Second Amendment. The state’s requirement to obtain a license with ‘proper cause’ to do so, was a hill too far for acceptance by the frontier-justice-minded men in black (+ one black-robed handmaiden), while leaving eight other states and the District of Columbia with similar laws in a quandary. Writer of the majority opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas, said the New York law violated the Fourteenth Amendment – “equal protection under the law” – because it “prevents law-abiding citizens with ordinary ‘self-defense needs’ from exercising their right to keep and bear arms” as authorized by the Second Amendment…‘self-defense needs’ necessitated by NRA and gun lobby money floated for years around Washington. 

As a result of the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, the Senate’s bi-partisan cooperation managed to finally come up with a modicum of gun control in a bill which sailed through the House, being quickly signed by President Biden. While disappointing to many who believed it lacked the teeth necessary to be totally effective, it was accepted as a beginning. And, likely a ‘red meat beginning’ for Justice Thomas and the O.K. Corral denizens for their next act. 

But the topper was Friday’s overturning of women’s Constitutional rights over her own body…”Evangelical Christian Nationalism forced on women,” as termed by Texas Paul on YouTube, and making it “OUR fight, shoulder-to-shoulder, against a life sentence brought about by rape!” The high-court’s overturning of the decades-old Roe v. Wade ruling, a protection favored by over 69% of the populace, is a landmark decision that was met with immediate protests at the Supreme Court, and at court houses and government facilities across the country. The word on the street – “Set your clocks back 50 years tonight, or flip the calendar back 300 years in the case of Justice Alito…Justice Thomas is only willing to reverse to 1865!” 

The manly attributes and partisan hackery of the court decision (including charismatic Christian movement’s People of Praise handmaid and Catholic, Amy Coney Barrett), will force women who have been sexually assaulted, perhaps carrying an abnormal fetus; perhaps endangered by a health situation, who might be in school, or too poor to support a child; with an abusive partner or otherwise lacking nurturing support, not being ready, or not wanting a child – to endure a terrifying pregnancy and a loss of freedom. Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson refused to comment further when asked if a thirteen year-old rape victim would be forced to deliver a child in his state, only saying, “If a mother’s life is endangered” would there be an intervention. Just cinch up your burkha and shut up! It’s whatever the powerful, the white, and the male wish it to be.

Glenn Kirschner, of Justice Matters, on YouTube calls the Justices Supreme outright liars, in particular psychopaths Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and Barrett when they implied that Roe v. Wade was settled in their confirmation hearings. Senators Collins and Manchin complained that they were misled in interviewing the court candidates, expecting Roe to remain untouched…c’mon, get real, you saw who you were dealing with – you had to know! Trump and McConnell are the champs in this field – they knew who they were nominating! Kirschner goes on to say that Articles of Impeachment should be drafted by the House against those justices, followed by a vote, which is likely to fail. But then he says, “Who knows where the House Select Committee J6 investigation is going, with the seriousness of DJT and his associates attempting to overthrow democracy?” It is his contention that an impeachment hearing could be as important as the J6 Hearings in getting voters to the polls – a Democratic super-majority being necessary to codify women’s rights into law. Last month, Senate Democrats attempted to codify Roe’s protections into law with a vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act, but Republicans blocked legislation, with the help of Democrat Joe Manchin. 

Amy Coney Barrett said, in her confirmation hearing, “What I will commit to is that I will obey all the rules of ‘stare decisis’,…I’ll follow the law.” Brett Kavanaugh declined to directly answer whether the Roe decision was “correct law, but an important precedent of the Supreme Court that has been reaffirmed many times.” Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s first court appointee, refused to say how he would rule on abortion,” but it was a precedent which has been reaffirmed, worthy of treatment of precedent like any other.” Samuel Alito, in 2006, said he would approach the issue of abortion with an open mind. “Roe v. Wade is an important precedent of the Supreme Court. It was decided in 1973, so it has been on the books for a long time,” he said. “If settled means it can’t be reexamined, then that’s one thing. If settled means that it is a precedent that is entitled to respect as ‘stare decisis’, and all of the factors that I’ve mentioned come into play, including the reaffirmation…then it is a precedent that is protected, entitled to respect under the doctrine of ‘stare decisis’ in that way.” Clarence Thomas appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991, sidestepped declaring his views on abortion, declining to state if Roe had been properly decided, and is only now attempting to define President Clinton’s meaning of the word ‘is.’

Justice Alito, in his majority opinion, wrote, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start, its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences…it is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” And why, Mr. Alito, do women need an elected representative to decide how to govern their bodies? Brett Kavanaugh wrote, “neither pro-life nor pro-choice” but neutral, and that the court’s decision “today properly returns the Court to a position of neutrality” and lets Americans decide the issue through the democratic process. He further notes “the decision “does not outlaw abortion” throughout the country, and that a state cannot bar a resident from “traveling to another State to obtain an abortion,” or “retroactively impose liability or punishment for an abortion that occurred before today’s decision.” Justice Roberts, former ‘Chief’, who has lost his position and status within the court, didn’t join his colleagues in overturning Roe, and felt there was no need to do so; however, he did rule in favor of Mississippi’s abortion law which was at issue in the case. Justice Thomas was the most militant of all regarding Roe, and laid the groundwork for taking up contraceptives, gay sex, same-sex marriage, declaring, “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents.” No mention of miscegenation or mixed-race unions, however. 

Notable is Republican House Majority Whip Steve Scalise’s vow that if the GOP wins back power, DAY ONE will see action on a federal abortion ban. Former VP Pence echoes this call for a nationwide ban, a likely plank in his efforts to become a viable 2024 presidential candidate. Former Trump Gang member and J6 conspirator, Rudy Giuliani was accosted with a slap on the back and called a ‘scumbag’, by a Staten Island grocery store employee, as the former NYC mayor campaigned for his son who is running for the New York governorship. Giuliani claims the attacker referenced Roe v. Wade, and referred to him as a “killer of women.” In his political heyday, the mayor had a checkered-past regarding abortion depending on the political climate; however, he once signed a proclamation celebrating a Roe v. Wade anniversary and has made donations to Planned Parenthood. He now affirms a transformation after a “torturous intellectual and emotional and moral” approach to abortion. He should have used that same approach in his ill-advised association with, and loyalty to, the coup plotters of the Washington riot…oh, wait, maybe he did! 

The joint dissenters in the Roe decision, Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan, wrote, “From the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of. A State can force her to bring a pregnancy to term, even at the steepest personal and familial costs…with sorrow – for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection – we dissent.” 

Justice Alito has said that nothing is mentioned in the Constitution about abortion, a document written in 1787 by fifty-five white men, and on this Jill Lepore, in the New Yorker, writes that in the fundamental law document, there is no mention of pregnancy, uteruses, vaginas, fetuses, placentas, menstrual blood, breasts, or mother’s milk…no women, or people of color, were part of the political community or a part of “We the People.” Please note, Mr. Alito, that they also ignored such subjects as diesel engines, space travel, radar, internet, computers, television/radio, shopping malls, Pokémon, atomic energy, or Uzis, just to name a few.

The court’s decision is a culmination, the crowning achievement, of a white, Christian Talibangelist, nationalist movement of peeping-Toms that has come to dominate domestic politics, especially within the Trump world. Though a minority factor in the big picture, it holds a majority within the Supreme Court and legislatures in Red States, which seeks to impose punitive measures against reproductive rights, while deputizing neighbors, friends, and family as bounty hunters to report ‘criminal’ activity. Their tactics, as indicated by Justice Thomas, will eventually endeavor to punish the LGBTQ community, parents of trans-kids, same-sex marriages, or use of contraceptives in defense of what they see as Biblical values of a supposed Christian nation. Justice Alito mischaracterizes what he calls “an unbroken tradition of prohibiting abortion on pain of criminal punishment from the earliest days of common law until 1973,” when Roe unceremoniously upset the apple cart. History shows us that through the eighteenth-century, into the nineteenth-century, American common law permitted abortions before ‘quickening’, the point at which a fetus’s movements could be felt. Alito spends too much time on English common law, citing a legal treatise from the 13th century, when women could be burned at the stake for ‘witchcraft,’ a practice that seemed to find some favor for a time on our shores in Salem, Massachusetts. So, Mr. Alito, to you and your cohorts, the women say, “There are three branches in our federal government – not one of them is your church, mosque, synagogue, or temple. Get over it, and get your theology out of my biology!”

Many states stand ready to assist women in reproductive health crises, with 22 states banning or restricting access to abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion rights research organization. Sixteen states and Washington, D.C. have laws in place to protect women. Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, a state with extremely punitive laws, says they are putting resources in front of women in need, and will walk alongside them in getting healthcare, mental health counseling and other necessary services. Sounds good, but previous safety nets have been quick to develop gaping holes. One is again reminded of the old two-panel Jules Pfeiffer cartoon where in panel one, a woman is being encouraged to carry a fetus to term with soothing words of encouragement, and offerings of assistance, and how wonderful having a child will be, only to be shrieked at as a ‘whore’ and the child rudely pointed to as a ‘bastard’ in the second panel, post-child birth. 

A Saturday rally in Illinois for Trump’s appearance has likely provided more clarity than was intended. Representative Mary Miller, in introducing the former president, credited him for appointing a Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade, calling it a “victory for white life.” Oops…she later claimed that she misread the scripted remarks, “right to life.” Maybe…but the words that came across flowed quite effortlessly from your lips, Mary! And, The Donald smilingly applauded, along with the enthusiastic crowd, so no harm done in that setting…frightening to see where we really are now as the lowered masks reveal the true character of the power elite in our Gilead! 

June 20

 LOONY LIES AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES CONTINUED

Even though the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 coup attempt in our Capitol has released a massive amount of recorded testimony, with personal interviews and videos, and has provided live-televised questioning of individuals connected to the Trump Crime Syndicate‘s thrust to overthrow an election outcome, that undercurrent still roils the waters to take down our democracy. Those implicated by the committee have their excuses, reasoning for their actions, with finger-pointing and lashing criticisms of the House panel, but most are silently ‘lawyering-up’ to prepare for possible court action. Even Peter Navarro’s indignant, hostile attack on the legitimacy of the investigation, has led him to hire a defense attorney, even though initially, he belligerently claimed he could defend himself. Trump attorney, John Eastman (credits for Juris Doctor Degree, Trump University, defunct, class of ’10) who in his videoed testimony took the Fifth Amendment about 100 times to avoid self-incrimination, only invited a deeper examination of his flawed plan to have VP Pence disrupt the Electoral College results. No word on whether or not Rudy Giuliani has accepted Eastman’s plea for aid in future court appearances. 

Last week, Benedict Donald released a twelve-page ‘defense’ of sorts, still claiming election fraud prevented his 2020 election victory, and that he had a ‘right‘ to pursue any means necessary to prove his ‘landslide’ defeat of Biden. Looks like he’s getting a bit fearful, however, and well he should, with some former staff reporting that he initially admitted his defeat, and John Eastman‘s half-hearted admission to him that their tactics were unlawful, but ‘let’s do it anyway.‘ So, with the Trumpmeister‘s continued insistence about election flaws, his co-conspirators, fellow-travelers and other swamp denizens, slowly but surely, move the former Republican party toward the unreality of Strength in Ignorance is Power. 

In recently held primaries, Trump-endorsed candidates have had notable successes, as well as some rejections, pointing to the divisions and confusion within the electorate, as the party elite refuse to confront their leader’s lies, allowing him to evade personal responsibility. Consequently, the insurrectionists are still on the prowl to continue their efforts. The planners are only emboldened; the J6 ‘failure’ was only a practice session; and the hesitation and timidity of the courts, law enforcement, and ordinary citizens to demand accountability only provide cover and a way forward for the undercurrent to overwhelm our democracy. Perhaps the word ‘cover’ is misleading, because we know by their words and actions that the coup is still the goal. The MAGAts in Congress have shrewdly been building their strength, recruiting radicals in their districts, followed by endorsements and campaign support, sometimes campaigning against their own associates. 

A recent Time Magazine article by Molly Ball, has Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene crowing about how much power they have over House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy. They both feel that his kowtowing to them punctuates his desire and need for their support if he is to take Nancy Pelosi’s spot as Speaker in the event of a Republican victory after the mid-term elections. Greene states that his success will be through her and her allies, while Gaetz feels McCarthy has become more responsive to the far-right contingent of the party as it shows its muscle. Humorist Dave Barry calls the duo, “Trump’s inner circle of trusted wack jobs,” an apt description since the two regularly appear on each other’s podcasts; indeed, Greene calls it “torching the news cycle,” as they spew their outrageous theories, praise white nationalists, and in general show their looniness with lies and conspiracy concepts, unnerving many in their party.

The J6 Committee was planning to eventually turn results of their investigations over to the Department of Justice, but DOJ has asked for much to be submitted sooner rather than later, to aid them in their own efforts at examining the Capitol riot…an encouraging sign that their slow, meticulous trek toward justice may soon bear fruit. Constitutional expert and attorney, Lawrence Tribe, had previously expressed his skepticism about Trump being charged and prosecuted, but with the Committee’s revelations and DOJ raising its head, he now thinks AG Garland will pursue prosecution of the former president. Questions remain about the end result of any court action against Trump, an action which would be history-making, and possibly earth-shaking in light of the fanatical intensity of the far-right. The chances of bloodshed loom large, with some raising the specter of a civil war. Comparisons have been made between the Insurrection and Nixon‘s Watergate, but with the tenor of the times, says one pundit, “this makes Watergate look like the Brady Bunch.” Prosecuting a former president and his henchmen would be an extraordinary step, but an important one to restore our faith in the rule of law. 

Despite the recent showing of testimonies of former AG Bill Barr and daughter Ivanka Trump, many supporters of former president Trump believe he has it right about the ‘Big Steal.’ Bill Barr is accused of accepting bribes from Dominion Voting Systems to uphold the integrity of their voting machines, even though that rumor has been dispelled…he received payment from power and heat provider, Dominion Energy, for services rendered. Ivanka supposedly is taking orders from Daddy, who advised her to testify before the Committee, just to “mess with their heads.” And, besides, it’s all just a Hollywood production, not real, using stand-ins for the actual people…Ivanka looks so different it must be CGI! Syracuse University professor, Jennifer Stromer-Galley calls this phenomenon, “cognitive dissonance” – if you are a Trump-believer and Bill and Ivanka are saying ‘alternate truths’, it leaves a crack in your belief system that must be filled. Bill Barr has a pretty good idea of how we can fill those cracks! Just bring plenty of shovels…we’ll have to double-team Ginni Thomas!

PRESIDENTIAL MEDALS OF FREEDOM GATHERING DUST – 

HEROES UNAVAILABLE

Thursday evening’s (6/9) Prime Time, two-hour broadcast of the House committee’s investigation into the January 6, 2021 insurrection and riot at the U.S. capitol exposed Americans to some ugly, dramatic footage of the event, much of which had not been seen before. But, thanks to the eagerness of those flag- and club-wielding participants with their bear spray, videoing their actions for self-gratification replays, and for the world to see their ‘patriotism’, they also gave law enforcement and the courts a perfect source on which to base criminal charges. Smile for the camera…no need to stand back and stand by anymore! 

Monday morning’s (6/13) public broadcast #2 laid out a more detailed, thorough, incisive view, with day-to-day accounts by former Trump aides, attorneys, and advisors, who failed in their efforts to convince Humpty Drumpty that he lost the election, and to prepare for an orderly transition to a Biden Administration. As individuals bailed out, Rudy Giuliani stepped up, with the assistance of attorney Sidney Powell, who were unable to prove anything, and only ended up being embedded more deeply in the mire, notably by suits filed by Dominion Voting Systems who the two tried to blame for election irregularities.

TrumpCo filed a total of 62 lawsuits trying to overturn the election based on vote counts and fraud allegations, with the bulk being thrown out for lack of evidence, being based on gossip, innuendo, and misinterpretation and misreading of the U.S. Constitution. Attorney General Bill Barr was bedeviled by Trump to help him overturn the election, finally resigning on December 14, 2020. The former president, grasping at straws, was beguiled by every rumor or false report that popped up, getting Barr involved with a ‘whack-a-mole’ game. The AG felt that his boss knew from the start that he was the loser, but eventually became “detached from reality”, believing his own lies and forging ahead with the scheme to stay in office. Indeed, a drunken Rudy Giuliani on election night advised The Donald to just say, “we won!” and to continue in that aggressive vein.

Committee Chair, Bennie Thompson has laid out what the basics of their work entailed, as they conducted and videoed over one thousand interviews of Trump administration/campaign personnel in the probe to collect information that led up to the attack to overturn the legitimate certification of the 2020 Presidential election. Vice Chair, Liz Cheney presented what amounted to a thorough, point-by-point legal case for the prosecution of the former President and his minions. Several who were asked to cooperatively appear before the committee refused to do so, subsequently being subpoenaed. Several complied, a few now face criminal contempt, and arrests have begun…notably, Peter Navarro‘s. Not to be ignored are the fifty-eight defendants charged with conspiracy, 213 defendants charged with violence, and 303 pleading guilty to charges stemming from the siege. Five defendants have had jury trials, each being convicted on all counts. Two bench trials resulted in one mixed verdict and one full acquittal; two federal court cases were dismissed, with seven D.C. Superior Court cases being dismissed. 

NPR found that at least 14% of those charged appear to have ties to the military or law enforcement, as well as military service members and veterans, a distressing discovery. At least 136 defendants have alleged ties to known extremist or fringe organizations, to include QAnon, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and the Three Percenters. A disturbing finding points to the fact that the majority of those charged have no known connections to extremist groups, indicating how far extremist ideologies are being accepted by the mainstream. In public comments and court documents, the DOJ has roughly put cases into three categories: those who conspired to attack the Capitol; those who allegedly, violently attacked police, often with weapons; and the remainder who entered the building in the throng, with no additional criminality…likely Russian expatriates looking for a McDonald’s. 

Trump’s Attorney General, Bill Barr was videoed with his assessment that the election wasn’t stolen, and how he had attempted to convince his boss that it was all B.S., and not worth the effort to continue with his deception of ‘stolen votes,’ faulty voting machines or China’s meddling. Barr’s tenure was then dead in the water, with his opinion receiving a surprising endorsement by daughter and Senior Advisor, Ivanka Trump, who told the committee that she ‘respected and believed’ Barr’s summation of the election results. The next day, Orange Daddy, on his social media platform, weighed in on his daughter’s testimony with, “Ivanka Trump was not involved in looking at, or studying Election results. She had long since checked out and was, in my opinion, only trying to be respectful to Bill Barr and his position as Attorney General (he sucked!).”  Daddy’s on a tear…be on the lookout for speeding Greyhound or Trailways buses when you cross the street, Ivanka!

Former first-daughter’s husband, Jared Kushner, who was also an administration Senior Advisor, was asked what he thought of Cabinet members and other staff who were raising red flags and threatening resignation over his father-in-law’s drive to stay in power, blamed his nose-to-the-grindstone efforts in processing presidential pardons, and attributed the hubbub to “whining.“  So, Jared, did your stuffed-shirt, self-importance get far enough down the list to complete your own pardon? Afraid you’re gonna need it, bud…your ‘prints are on everything! Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may be your only avenue of escape, but watch out…his knives are sharper than those of your disgraced father-in-law’s.

Subsequent installments of the committee hearings may be history by the time these words are read, with devastating reporting on the hate groups, the white supremacists, and the coterie that make up the Trumpian Criminal Enterprise. Liz Cheney began her first-round presentation by saying,“Donald Trump oversaw and coordinated a sophisticated seven-part plan to overturn the presidential election and prevent the transfer of presidential power.” Memorably, she later said,“Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.”

Cheney applauded VP Mike Pence, who refused to go along with the Clodwork Orange’s planned coup, and perhaps prevented DJT Junior’s visage from appearing on the ten-dollar bill by 2026. Jack Holmes, in Esquire magazine writes, “Here is another idea the committee might consider: Take a moment to praise Mike Pence. Congress can name a building in his honor. The House and Senate could propose nonpartisan resolutions recognizing Pence for his service to democracy. And then Joe Biden could give Pence the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Because while Pence may not be the hero you or I might have wanted, he was the hero America needed.” Far better, and more appropriate, why not name the new prison facility that will be needed to house all the Trump administration officials, the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and other insurrectionists, in honor of our white-topped ‘hero?’ What a jolt to see the image of DJT in an orange suit imprinted with ‘Just HANGin’ Out at the Mike Pence Federal Penitentiary.’ Save a size for Pence, however…there was much he could have done between November 2020 and January 6 with the awareness he had of Trump’s intentions. The committee can still use your help Mikey…you still have a chance to choose country over party, instead of aiming your hat for the ring in 2024. Remember, it’s only a cult of personality now, going the way of the Whigs if some responsible adults don’t step up, but you ain’t the personality-in-waiting!

The glaring question in this entire, ugly ‘coup in search of a leader’ chapter inserted into our history, is why didn’t more…nay, anyone, of consequence step up and lay bare what was really going on, instead of just tiptoeing around it, resigning and moving along to let it fester and continue to embroil our politics? Is it because the Proud Boys still have that stash of weapons hidden in Virginia, or because the letters, emails, tweets and UPS packages dispatched by the radical fringe to those who dare open their mouths in an attempt to right the ship of state? Pence and Barr are not the only ones guilty of dereliction of duty!

Chair Thompson warns, “Our democracy remains in danger. The conspiracy to thwart the will of the people is not over.” And, we can see it as right-wingers continue their efforts to make it more difficult for ‘unacceptable’ persons to vote, or as they attempt to fill governmental positions with officials who are willing to alter election results, as they criticize the J6 Committee as illegitimate, rehashing ‘old news’ that no longer interests people. GOP Representative Andrew Clyde of Georgia, stands by the words he uttered last year, that the attack on D.C. was nothing more than a protest or a “normal tourist visit.” And, just last week, football team defensive coordinator, Jack Del Rio of the Washington Commanders, dismissed the assault on the Capitol, as a “dust-up.” Then there’s Honest Representative Louie (Gomer) Gohmert, who lambasted the arrest of Peter Navarro, telling Newsmax, “If you’re a Republican, you can’t even lie to Congress or lie to an FBI agent, or they’re coming after you.” Preach, Louie, preach! 

The New York Times, in a perturbing story, “How the Proud Boys Gripped the Miami-Dade Republican Party,” has uncovered how the white-supremacist hate group has wormed its way into the supposed mainstream GOP, being accepted and rationalized by the ‘party’ leaders as they rise to power within the local leadership hierarchy. The chairman admits that there are “fringe elements, different points of view, but that’s how they are, and however wrong they may be, it’s our duty to protect everyone’s First Amendment rights.” Chairman Garcia goes on to say, “outright racism is merely a point of view in need of protection – and the radicals who spew hate speech and practice political violence are to be embraced and accepted into the fold of the mainstream.” This from a party who excludes people with a different political point of view, who perform in public venues, have their books accessible and read, and tell their side of the story in educational institutions. Okay, accepted by the party leaders, but…put there by…the voters? Welcome to the new normal!

Two prominent Republicans, U.S. House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise told the press that they had no plans to watch any of the J6 Committee hearings…Kevin with an outright, “No”, and Steve replying, “I’ll be busy.” In actuality, for the premiere they were probably watching Tucker Carlson on Fox, who ran his show for an hour with no commercial breaks (a repeat of the Benghazi hearings with his running commentary?), so that watchers wouldn’t be tempted to break away to watch the J6 hearing, which was broadcasting concurrently. Even with Carlson’s competition, the House production managed to have a viewership of twenty-million for Episode #1 according to Nielsen Media Research…not comparable to an NFL game’s draw, but not too shabby!

As Ivanka Trump attempted to get her Assaulter-In-Chief father to call off his dogs from the attack of the Capitol, he was heard to say, “Sure, in a jiffy!” which most would take to mean in a very short period of time – the blink of an eye. Surprisingly, a jiffy is an actual measurement of time, depending on who’s doing the talking. Chemist Gilbert Lewis defined a jiffy as the length of time it takes for light to travel one centimeter in a vacuum. Some physicists have defined a jiffy as the time it takes light to travel one femtometer, or one-millionth of a millionth of a millimeter; hence, each second contains about three hundred thousand billion billion jiffys. An electrical engineer could describe a jiffy as the time it takes a single cycle of alternating current (1/50 or 1/60 of a second depending on the electrical system. So, whatever may be true, all would agree that no one has ever accomplished much in a jiffy. Worked for Trump, didn’t it? Maybe not…to be continued!

THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS WHILE CLEANSING THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION

It’s all coming to a head this week with local and state elections in California, but a major Prime Time event begins at 4 p.m. PST on Thursday, June 9, as the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 riot in D.C. kicks off its eagerly anticipated televised public hearings. “The committee will present previously unseen material documenting January 6th, receive witness testimony, preview additional hearings, and provide the American people a summary of its findings about the coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and prevent the transfer of power,” the panel said. Additional information about witnesses will be released in coming days prior to the hearing, which is expected to zero in on former president Trump’s role in the violence in the Capitol for the purpose of disrupting the official counting of votes before a joint session of Congress. The House committee argued it has “a good-faith basis for concluding that [Trump] and members of his Campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States,” as stated in a civil court filing in March. Panel chairman, Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson said the hearings will include testimony from witnesses not heard from previously, and with over a thousand interviews conducted, we can expect to be engrossed well beyond the committee’s televised run. 

A teaser-prevue of sorts has been making the rounds on MSNBC, CNN and other news outlets in the person of Denver Riggleman, a former Republican House member from Virginia, who was hired by the J-6 committee for his investigative expertise, acquired when he worked in the intelligence community with the NSA, and on USAF Special Projects. He remains close-mouthed regarding the methods and procedures, but he was in charge of arranging funding, and hiring investigative teams who then developed analyses of their findings, derived from interviews, texts, and emails which link all three branches of government. The results so far (Riggleman says another year would be needed to wade through all 20-million lines of data gleaned), point to “a damnable coup attempt, a Holy War, verging on a fantasy novel” and reaching into the highest echelons of the Trump administration…“stunning that some individuals are in such high places of power.” His initial “bemusement turned into horror” as he delved into the textual evidence, pushing him to step away from his computer to calm his dumbfounded outrage at the revelations from the largest data investigation in Congressional history. 

Interestingly, he credits Trump’s Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows with providing “a road map for structuring the investigation” from material that he turned over to the House committee. He even goes so far to say, “Meadows is the MVP for the committee, and the committee should consider paying him for his contribution.” Surprising words in light of Meadows’ continuing refusal to cooperate further in the inquiry, and after noncompliance with a subpoena to appear for testimony. A recommendation to the Justice Department to prosecute him for his refusal, was declined, along with that of former White House social media director, Mark Scavino, for his noncooperation, and contempt of Congress after being subpoenaed. Committee chair Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney called the DOJ’s decision “puzzling, and hoping for more clarity” in a released statement. Yet, the DOJ, earlier on the same day, made the decision to arrest Trump’s White House trade advisor, Peter Navarro, for contempt of Congress after denying the committee’s demands. Navarro has been loose-lipped in interviews and as seen in excerpts from his upcoming book, ‘Taking Back Trump’s America: Why We Lost The White House, and Why We’ll Take It Back,’ so good luck in court defending yourself, Peter. As George Orwell wrote in his personal diary, “At age 50, every man has the face he deserves,” and Navarro’s, at 72, is still a work in progress. 

Newsman Anderson Cooper, quizzed Riggleman on Trump’s complicity in the events of January 6, who only said that the committee was looking into whether the Prez was propelled along in the current, led by the nose, but a willing participant; or, a willing participant with situational awareness; or, part of the command-and-control of the rioters. Riggleman goes on to say that texts between Meadows (Chief of Staff to the U.S. President), Ginni Thomas (wife of a Supreme Court Justice), and Connie Hair (Chief of Staff to Congressman Gohmert and friend of Ginni) were particularly alarming. Attorney and political activist, George Conway (husband of Kellyanne) says, “This was a multi-faceted conspiracy to do whatever it took to stop the counting of electoral votes on January 6. And that has to be a crime. If that’s not a crime, nothing is under these statutes.” Reality says it was several crimes: fraud, forgery, assault, attempted extortion, sedition and treason. Luckily for us, VP Pence refused to get into that ‘rescue’ vehicle, sparing us (as rumor has it) the seating of Senator Charles Grassley before the assembled Congress in order to refuse recognition of the Electoral College votes. See George Orwell quote above, Chuckie. 

So, lay in a good supply of popcorn, peanuts, and Cracker Jacks for the upcoming extravaganza. And, maybe a box of Jujubes, some M&Ms, Junior Mints, Milk Duds, Raisinets, and Twizzlers. Save the champagne for later…the best is yet to come…fingers crossed!

Despite the ongoing accusations and recriminations following the Uvalde, Texas school massacre, a bipartisan Senate committee led by Connecticut’s Chris Murphy has met several times in an effort to work out a deal on gun reform. Disappointingly, Murphy says any new legislation will not include an assault weapons ban or ‘comprehensive’ background checks, but hopes to show the country that progress is being made to reverse the status quo. Republican Pat Toomey says the group must “be realistic” in the face of so much opposition within his party, but hopes at least half his Republican colleagues will support a potential deal. Across the aisle, House Minority Whip, Steve Scalise says he will not support legislation on red flag laws, calling them “unconstitutional” and a non-solution to the broad debate on curbing gun violence. Ted Cruz seems to have provided a catch-phrase for his party in the post-Uvalde atmosphere – “Guns? It’s the DOORS, stupid!” Several of his followers, including the former president, have picked up on his claim that our schools have too many doors! And, too many unguarded doors, needing protection by armed AR-15 marksmen, at that! Jimmy Kimmel is suggesting that we put our unneeded, unused, or unnecessary doors in a pile on Cruz’s lawn. If the collection grows big enough, maybe the senator will so confused he’ll never find his way out of his yard…one problem solved!

Cruz appears to have a god-complex, or a god-in-waiting-complex, but it’s more fitting to crown him as Goozma, the Slime God from Total Calamity Mod Wiki games. The Roman god, Janus, guardian of doors, gates and transitions, would be more to his liking, and fittingly, as a two-faced god, that almost works; but, alas Cruz has lost, or never had, the forward-looking face and is left with his backward gaze, glorifying a past which never was, while destroying a future for the youngest among us. Ibid. – George Orwell, Teddy!

“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite.”, wrote English artist/poet William Blake in ‘The Marriage of Heaven and Hell,’ wherein he argues that both good and evil are equally valuable in the world. Hmm…not sure that justifies our having a president who burns or flushes legal documents, uses burner phones, hires disreputable employees, harasses adversaries, bullies women, and runs a crime syndicate to overthrow the government. Time to go to the videotape and watch Pixar’s “Monsters, Inc.” – great monsters in fantastic door escapades! A good cleanse before facing reality in Thursday’s House committee video revelations! 

May 30

THE RIGHT TO DUCK AND COVER SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED

‘A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.’

Who could have predicted back in 1791 that twenty-seven simple words would create such disunity two-hundred years later? Largely ignored throughout most of history, as state militias or National Guard organizations were merged into the national defense apparatus, our Second Amendment to the Constitution was thrust into prominence by lawsuits attacking laws that attempted to regulate gun ownership – the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Modern day Supreme Court decisions altered and redefined our attitudes regarding ‘the Second’, aided by the National Rifle Association and its campaign contributions to sympathetic politicians. 

Consequently, we now have ‘An upwelling, unregulated, surreptitious militia, being necessary to the security of a free State of mind, the right of the people, regardless of age, mental stability, political leanings, religion, racist inclinations, and drug history, to keep and bear Arms, whether small caliber handguns, a plethora of long guns and semi-automatic rifles, rocket launchers, drones, BearCat armored vehicles, or hand grenades, shall not be infringed.’ Thank you, CEO Wayne LaPierre, of the N.R.A. for spewing, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun.”, or how about, “…a bad guy with an AR-15,…good guy with an AR-15.” How many good guys in white western-style hats were standing around, or fighting off concerned parents, at the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas last week as a gunman (with TWO AR-15s) inside a classroom was blowing away their children? They should be reissued black hats at the very least, and in particular the officers who DID run into the building only to rescue their own children…but perhaps the Justice Department has a better solution. 

The argument that a broadly armed citizenry, could serve as a deterrent to violence, has only resulted in gun-homicide rates being eleven percent higher in permissive-carry states, than in states having stricter laws, with the probability of mass shootings raised by fifty-three percent in states with high gun ownership. Former president Trump, speaking to the assembled N.R.A. faithful on Friday, said we have to arm more citizens for their safety – when numbers of guns in the U.S. already outnumber the population count? So, once again we are observing the new American springtime ritual of student funerals instead of student graduations. ‘American exceptionalism,’-  as British Sky News reporter, Mark Stone, presented it to Senator Ted Cruz, in asking why mass shootings happen “only in America.” Cruz fumbled around as he accused the reporter of having a political agenda, refusing to comment on Stone’s attempt to understand why the senator denies that guns are the problem. “Stop being a propagandist!,” Cruz said, as he retreated from the scene. 

Later, the senator said, “I get tired of all the politicking. It happens every time there is a mass shooting.” Every time, Ted? EVERY TIME? Does that mean you, and every American, has to now accept that these tragic events can be expected, and that we have to deal with the aftermath simply because our entrenched, out-of-control Supreme Court has ruled that innocents must die? With the N.R.A. lobbyists and money pressing upon the GOP heavyweights to ward off the narrowest restrictions on guns, its clout has been diminished monetarily by a legal battle with New York state as the attorney general attempts to put them out of business due to corruption at the highest levels, a la LaPierre’s lavish spending. Last year the N.R.A. attempted to file bankruptcy and move out of the state, but was rebuffed by a judge who said the filing was “not in good faith,” and was mainly to escape regulatory oversight by the state of New York. 

Yet the organization maintains its hold on the GOP through fear, and its promise of rewards. Senator Mitt Romney of Utah tops the senatorial N.R.A. contribution list at $13M+, followed primarily by southern-state senators, with Ted Cruz at number 22 showing ONLY $176,274 in contributions, a figure he can expect to zoom up on the charts after his weekend appearance at the annual N.R.A. conference in Houston. A total of 42 senators appear on Newsweek’s list, the lowest contribution being $13,255 for Kevin Cramer of North Dakota…none of the contacted individuals cared to comment. 

The foreign press was in disbelief that once again a school massacre in America was dominating the headlines, with France’s Le Monde saying, “If there is any American exceptionalism, it is to tolerate the fact that schools in the U.S. are regularly transformed into bloody shooting ranges. America is killing itself, and the Republican Party is looking the other way, ideologically complicit in one tragedy after another.” Italian newspaper, la Repubblica, says the U.S. is facing “a nihilistic drift.” Spain’s El Pais printed, “The U.S. exudes political impotence in the face of a new school massacre.” UK’s Guardian opined the obvious with, “Tighter gun laws in America are much needed but near impossible to achieve…Texas deaths were not unthinkable. Inaction, in the face of them, must be. The Republican grip on the country’s institutions, skewing the executive, the legislature and the judiciary rightward is one reason for the continued violence.” And, the Gulf News, an English-language newspaper published in the UAR asks simply, “How many children must die before America takes action on guns?” 

El Pais goes on to say, “It shouldn’t take emotional speeches, constitutional debates or analyses of mental health problems or drug addiction to know why this atrocity has returned to the country…the bottom line is free access to firearms in the U.S.” How can one be a ‘pro-life anti-abortionist’, while supporting laws that let children be shot in the classroom, elders in grocery stores, the religious in their houses of worship, or concert attendees, or anywhere crowds may gather? It is a glorification of violence and the tools of war that sanction it. The N.R.A. maintains it is a mental health screening problem that must be dealt with, a phrase readily parroted by the group’s advocates; yet, Texas Governor Abbott, in his first news conference after the massacre, said the shooter had no background record of mental health issues – so how, Guv’ner, does your solution then stop another guy like this one? A report on gun violence by the American Psychology Association says that firearm-related homicides by those with mental health issues equate to one-tenth of one per cent of those on record. So, the Texas governor would prefer that you forget his reduction by $210 million this year in the funding for the Department of Health and Human Services, and that his state ranks dead last – numero cincuenta – in access to mental health care. In 2019, a white-nationalist mass shooting in El Paso resulted in twenty deaths, which must have spurred Abbott in June of 2021 to expand gun rights with seven measures, one of which allows Texans to carry a handgun without a background check, training, or a license/permit. Seems a bit off-kilter, huh?

When President Clinton banned assault rifles in 1994, mass shootings dropped by 43%; after Republicans let the ban expire in 2004, shootings increased by 243%. The state of California had an assault weapons ban for over thirty years, but in June a conservative judge struck it down; it was later reinstated by the Ninth Circuit Court. The state currently allows private citizens to sue untraceable ‘ghost gun’ manufacturers, or those who sell assault weapons banned by California, for up to $10,000 in private litigation. The law is bound to be challenged, so let’s see if it stands under the current court atmosphere. Gun violence can be curtailed by restricting access – it’s been proven here, if for only a brief period, but other countries can vouch for its effectiveness. An investigation was launched this week in Sacramento, where a second grader had stashed a pistol with a loaded magazine in a classroom desk, tragedy likely averted when fellow-students alerted staff – access? Nah, nothing to see here, folks!

The Trump and Cruz comedy team performing at the N.R.A. bloodfest called for ‘hardening our schools’ – locked doors, or just one door, bullet proof glass, presence of armed police or trained military veterans, putting weapons into the hands of teachers and administrators – all to defend children who are endangered by the very advocacy and campaign bribes of the N.R.A. itself. Perhaps schools should take on the attributes of San Quentin Prison, with guard towers at the perimeter, razor wire topped walls, and roaming Dobermann Pinschers. That canary yellow Brink’s truck entering the steel gates? That would be the new norm for school buses… with armored car escorts outfitted with mine sweepers to boot. 

Retired Supreme Court Justice, John Paul Stevens, in 2018, a year before his death at age 99, remarked after the school massacre in Parkland, FL, that the protesters should, “Demand a repeal of the Second Amendment…a relic of the 18th century.” Of course, no chance of that happening with a required two-thirds majority vote in the houses of Congress, followed by ratification by three-fourths of the states to repeal. Walter Shapiro, a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, and political science lecturer at Yale, writes, “…the hard truth is that the core problem is the Second Amendment itself…America is going to reel from one mass murder to another unless the Second Amendment is repealed or Supreme Court drastically reduces its scope.” Justice Stevens, in his 2014 book, ‘Six Amendments:…’ suggested adding five words to the amendment: ‘A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of the free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms when serving in the Militia shall not be infringed.’ 

Sounds halfway rational and acceptable. But until the Republicans, the N.R.A. and the Supreme Court complete their mental screening, just have the kids learn to duck and cover, okay? 

May 21

RELEASING THE KRAKEN AND OTHER NONSENSICAL HYSTERICS

It’s already been almost two weeks since one of the deadliest racist massacres in recent U.S. history, in Buffalo, New York. But already, with the funerals getting some coverage in the news, it has slowly disappeared from the radar screens of most Americans, as we examine the shootings that have occurred since the ten were gunned down as they shopped in a local grocery. Or, as we await in fear the appearance of another shooter at a school, a nightclub, or during a drug deal gone wrong on the street. 

The eighteen-year-old racist suspect in Buffalo, was brain-washed with an engine of right-wing terror termed ‘white replacement theory,’ a racist conspiracy narrative which falsely asserts there is an active, ongoing and covert effort to replace white citizens in current white-majority populations. This fear mongering has proliferated in recent years, as demonstrated by the white-supremacist, swastika flags- and torches-bearing marchers in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. You remember the event, after which Trump declared that there were some “very bad people in the group, but you also had fine people – on both sides.” The chanters’ white-nationalist phrase, “You will not replace us!” soon morphed into “Jews will not replace us?”, followed by “Blood and Soil!”, an English-language version of the Nazi “Blut und Boden!”, used by anti-Semitic, racist German nationalists. That day ended with the death of a counter-protester, annihilated by a ‘very bad’ white supremacist as he drove his car at high speed into a crowd. 

The 19th Century ‘Replacement Theory’ has gained traction within the domestic terror and alt-right contingent, a chief proponent being Tucker Carlson of Fox News, who has purportedly fanned the flames over 400 times during his popular propagandafest. Proclaiming his innocence, while feigning ignorance of the term – even in the face of video proof, this darling of the Murdochs, continues to spew his hateful, poisonous tropes to deconstruct our democracy. Democrats need to stop showing restraint in criticizing this issue…there’s no prize in the Cracker Jacks box for doing so…the clock is running down for us as a country!

In other Second Amendment news, the evening preceding the Buffalo massacre, in Milwaukee, three different street shootouts between groups of gun-toting individuals resulted in injuries to over twenty people; and, on the following Sunday in Orange County, California, a politically-motivated shooting by a Chinese immigrant at a Taiwanese Presbyterian church resulted in the death of the pastor who was defending his congregation from the shooter who had chained and super-glued the doors shut, bent on wiping out the entire assembled group. 

According to gunviolencearchive.org, May 1 through 21, the nation has seen 41 shooting incidents, with 39 deaths and 195 injured, an awfully grisly record which can only descend into further chaos, as our institutions lose the control, loyalty and confidence of the population. Then again, we could simply listen to Marjorie Taylor Greene, who feels that those who call for sensical gun control laws need to be more ‘masculine,’ so start packing! No doubts that she feels it would be more ‘feminine’ if women would tuck just a small pistol into their handbag or backpack?

Virginia ‘Ginni’ Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, may want to start packing concealed weaponry (as if she hasn’t done so already), if the revelations of her pressure on the body politic to overthrow the government don’t subside. Previous email correspondence (29 exchanges known) with Trump’s Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, has deteriorated into disclosures that she was heavy into pressuring Arizona state lawmakers to appoint ‘a clean slate of electors’ and set aside Biden’s popular vote victory because of fraud at the ballot box. She urged the lawmakers to “stand strong in the face of political and media pressure, because the responsibility to select electors is yours and yours alone,” which would guarantee individuals loyal to Trump, and not the Constitution, would be seated.

Ginni Thomas encouraged Meadows to hire Sidney Powell for Trump’s legal team in her “Release the Kraken!” shout, believing Powell’s claims of having evidence of election fraud. After a short period on the ‘team’, she was released, with Meadows explaining to Thomas that Powell either ‘had nothing,’ or refused to share the information, to which she could only text (in the manner of husband, Clarence), “Wow!” It has become clear that Justice Thomas’ ten-year record of unquestioning silence on the High Court was because he already knew the answers – decisions were fed to him by his wife beforehand – case closed, no need to ask a question! By December 2020, attorney John Eastman, a former law clerk of Justice Thomas, was publicly pushing state legislators to appoint electors favoring Trump – wonder who recruited him? Turns out that Ginni has control of a Listserv platform connected to her husband’s office which is primarily made up of former Thomas law clerks who are scattered across the country. Talk about contamination!

Two of Ginni’s emails were sent to Arizona House Speaker Russell Bowers, and Arizona state representative Shawnna Bolick, whose husband is Clint Bolick, an associate justice of the Arizona Supreme Court and a former associate of Clarence, who he considers ‘a mentor.’ Word from Bowers’ office is “he did not see, much less read, the vast majority of those messages” sent by Thomas. Bolick on the other hand sent Ginni guidance on how to submit complaints about any of her experiences with voter fraud in Arizona. Kind of makes the Thomas’ claim that their individual work doesn’t cross paths a bit dubious. 

Columnist George Will recently wrote about Ms. Thomas, “The shelves of her mental pantry groan beneath the weight of Trumpian hysterics about the 2020 presidential election having been stolen and the republic’s certain ruination under Joe Biden.” While dismissing her opinions, he goes on to call her “politically, mad as a hatter.” The history of Ginni’s political escapades contain another chapter or two which need to be exposed, so stand back and stand by!

Charles P. Pierce, writing in Esquire, says it best: “This is still the best country ever devised in which to be completely out of your mind, and we are free to believe in nonsense. We are free to act on nonsense. We are free to stand aside and let our fellow citizens who believe in nonsense take up the task of self-government that we are too busy, or too lazy, or too distanced to take up for ourselves.  What we cannot do is walk away from the consequences of believing nonsense.” Hear, hear!

May 16

MYSTERY FUND DRYING UP AND SMOKIN’ IN THE BOYS ROOM WITH ELON

Can it be true? The former president isn’t planning to re-COUP the office in 2024? By selling off what was believed to be his only profitable property, Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., he forfeits cash revenue that stood him so well when he occupied the White House just down the street. The sale hints at The Donald‘s economic situation, where he needs short-term cash now, because his online grifting for donations into the Unofficial Mystery Fund, and his declining popularity at weekly rallies around the country just aren’t paying the bills. A successful ‘candidacy’ in 2024 would allow him to continue his abuse of herding guests into his property while in D.C., but this action indicates that he either has no interest in running, or he knows the futility of doing so. Or, he is actually having to pay reputable attorneys up-front for services rendered, in the hopes they can prevent his being fitted for an orange jumpsuit in the coming months. The media, of course, will ignore the implications of this sale, as they continue to hype a Trump run in order to sell advertising. 

Many Republican candidates are vying for The Bratman‘s blessing of his endorsement in support of their election battles, but because of mixed voting results, we are seeing indications of defections, and perhaps a general weakening of respect as 2024 draws closer. The Kingmaker‘s touch fell short in Nebraska, but a victory of sorts in Ohio with J.D. Vance garnering 30% of the Republican vote is a questionable success. Candidates in Pennsylvania and Georgia are still battling it out, with Trump’s chosen, Dr. Mehmet Oz, currently leading as the state party leaders put their support behind radical talk-show host Kathy Barnette in the race for Pennsylvania’s senate seat; Trump’s endorsement of Georgia’s David Perdue is already flatlining against incumbent Governor Brian Kemp for leadership in that state office. Perdue filed a lawsuit against the 2020 election results in hopes that it would fire up the MAGAts, but the judge threw it out, calling it “speculation, conjecture and paranoia,” likening Perdue to a Don Quixote trying to drum up some P.R. Democrats are placing their hopes on Stacey Abrams‘ uphill battle to carry them to victory, though Georgia hasn’t had a Democrat in the governorship since 2003. Even former V.P. Pence is signaling a break with his former boss, Captain Chaos, in endorsing Kemp, saying, “Brian Kemp is my friend, a man dedicated to faith, family and people of Georgia!”

Wonder what the heavily-opinionated and religious Pence thinks about Reverend Trump’s interview on the evangelical network, CBN News, when the orange-haloed one claimed to have done more for Christianity, religions of all types than anyone. In 2018, he also boasted, “Nobody’s done more for Christians or evangelicals or frankly religion than I have.” So far, nothing in reference books about Frankly Religion…more later, maybe!

Regardless of what Deadbeat Donny decides to do re 2024, he still wants to carry out his campaign of revenge, by endorsing candidates for state offices such as secretary of state, or those who might be able to influence vote tabulation in future elections. With Elon Musk threatening to take over Twitter and restoring Trump’s account there is the possibility that the Orange Menace could amplify his return, resulting in more confusion and violence in the political landscape. Calling Twitter’s decision to ban Trump “flat-out stupid” brings attention to Musk’s own effort to take command of the social media giant. With Twitter, and Musk’s own Tesla EV enterprise, slumping on Wall Street this past week, the billionaire called a ‘time out’ to allow the market become more stable, though he claims the delay is to verify legitimate users – he says the Twitter deal is still on, but does he really want to dump $44B into a company whose stock has now taken a dive? Twitter’s legal department accuses Musk of violating a non-disclosure agreement by sharing closely held information, but the months-long process is likely to continue; however, if the deal goes south Musk will be liable for a $1B break-up fee for his ill-considered adventure. Better pay attention, so no smokin’ in the boy’s room again, Elon!

Revenge was on the mind of Missouri’s Senator Josh Hawley as he introduced a bill to revoke Disney Corporation‘s copyrights protections – retroactively, with a 56-year term, resulting in immediate expiration of many of those shields. And all because of Disney’s stand against Governor Ron DeSantis‘ ‘don’t say gay’ bill in Florida! Though this move is illegal/unconstitutional for taking of property without compensation – only serving as pandering, political grandstanding –  unless of course, the Supreme Court (The Handmaid, Chief Squish, and the Four Misogynists) raises its head from the slime of the swamp – then, who knows where it goes? The 6-of-9 majority might favor retroactive legislation for punishment, humiliation, and harm against American’s political opinions, by supporting Republican Hawley’s vengeful, petty, Putinesque proposal. 

And, speaking of Putin and his ill-fated and tragic onslaught in Ukraine, the news for him and the Russian people just gets worse. While the Ukrainians are still subjected to daily bombings, missile strikes and other atrocities, they carried out an attack on the invading army as they attempted to cross a river on pontoon bridges, destroying several dozen vehicles, including tanks, and inflicting heavy casualties – well over 400 personnel wounded or killed. One element in the success of Ukraine’s defenses is the insistence of Russian troops on using their cell phones – GPS locations are readily outed as Putin’s soldiers try to call home or surf the internet by connecting to local networks. Stolen iPhones can be located by using the app Find My Phone, so if a phone ends up in the backpack of an invader, they can expect to have an unwelcome visitor come calling. This is a result of the poor planning by Russia’s incompetent generals who failed to see the value of bringing their own network for communications; and besides, the Ukrainian people would be welcoming them with open arms, right? – strewing the ground with sunflowers as they rolled in to ‘liberate’ them. All of which points to the fallacy of Trump’s praise for Putin’s maneuvers, prior to the brutal invasion, as “genius.”

After a visit to Ukraine by a delegation of U.S. senators, led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the leader urged President Biden to name Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, which would lift protections shielding the country from being sued for civil damages. Mitch conveyed to President Zelensky that U.S. support is bipartisan, though several Republicans, notably Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have criticized a $40B aid package for resistance to the Russian invasion. According to Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, Major General Budanov, a coup is underfoot to oust Vladimir Putin, while suggesting that the Russian president may be suffering from blood cancer, Parkinson’s disease and other ailments. Speculation about the despot’s health have been circulating for months, within the international community, some sources being ‘unnamed Russian oligarchs with close ties to Putin.’ 

And, sad news recently with the end of an era – the final Learjet has been delivered, all 3,055 being produced since 1963 in the manufacturing plant in Wichita. If you didn’t get yours, there are still around 2,000 still in service, though a scarce commodity now. The iconic Learjet became a generic term for light business jets, with Frank Sinatra being among the first to purchase one, and earning a mention in songstress Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’, a partial dig at actor Warren Beatty. Learjet’s parent company, Bombardier Defense Group, will concentrate on a midsize aircraft for military operations, with the U.S. Air Force ordering six as part of its Battlefield Airborne Communications Node program – so, at the least, you might consider yourself as a part-owner of the new generation planes. Don’t you, don’t you? 

May 9

ANOTHER ROUND OF CRUELTY AS THE OUT OF BOUND SUPREMES TACKLE ROE V. WADE 

The US Supreme Court found its long tradition of privacy and independence bashed this week with Judge Thomas Alito’s leaked draft of what appears to be the court’s decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. From the outset it appears that the conservative majority will plow ahead with their preconceived notions about removing the constitutional right for a woman’s access to abortion services – in other words, “not my problem, don’t care.” Stripping away this right leaves other rights that the justices find personally distasteful in jeopardy. In her portrayal of Justice Amy Coney Barrett on NBC’s Saturday Night Live Update, Kate McKinnon advises women to “do your nine months and leave the baby in a basket on the sidewalk, or give it to a stork who will give it to a lesbian – it will make lesbians very happy…until we take that freedom away, too!”

Protesters, as well as court supporters, converged on the Supreme Court building, which resulted in installation of a chain link fence to hold back the crowds, and maybe to keep the noise level down as they debate their next deplorable decision. It hearkens back to a previous court decision when a law affording a thirty foot perimeter around abortion clinics was reversed, in the “interests of free speech” for the anti-abortionists. Luckily, no free-speecher leftovers from January 6 breached this fence. 

As criticisms and protests reached a crescendo, Chief Justice John Roberts, vowed to have the leaker of the draft brought to justice, the question being whether it is in reality a crime to have released the 100 pages. Roberts has always said, “We don’t have Clinton judges, Bush judges, Obama judges or Trump judges, but an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.” That claim falls flat considering that those who unquestionably voted to overturn Roe, are Clarence Thomas (George H.W. Bush); Samuel Alito (George W. Bush); Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett (Donald Trump) – the last four appointed by presidents who were elected by the Electoral College, not the electorate’s popular vote count. These minority government appointees ignore the will of the people, polling indicating a two-to-one margin in favor of keeping Roe. No respect for 21st Century public opinion evidenced, and no indication given as to the Chief’s vote; but it appears he has totally lost control of his leadership role in guiding the court, and keeping politics at bay – ‘stare decisis‘ be damned! Stare decisis, a Latin phrase meaning “to stand by things (previously) decided,” refers to the legal doctrine of judicial precedent – that previous legal rulings should subsequently govern future rulings on the same or similar legal issues, at least by lower courts. Brett Kavanaugh will long be remembered in using ‘stare decisis‘ in his answers to questions pertaining to Roe v. Wade before the committee determining his qualification for the high court. 

In 1987, during his hearings after being nominated for the Supreme Court, Robert Bork divulged his true feelings about Roe, and subsequently was deemed to be too extreme to be elevated to the body. A lesson was learned, and in true conservative fashion, all those who followed him with nominations, skirted the issue with lies and deceit, resulting in the current court majority leaning toward forced motherhood, which is akin to slavery. There was no debate, no soul-searching, no compassion or consideration of the aftermath – the die was cast well before those committee hearings. In today’s society, the average age of new mothers is around thirty years old, pointing to the value of being able to plan and establish a career, perhaps, or to solidify an individual’s, or a family’s, stability. Imagine the outcome, the future, of a twelve year old rape victim being forced to carry a child to term – ugly! Eve Ensler commented, “To all those who dare rob us of our bodily choice, I ask you: what is it about our bodies that makes you so afraid, so insecure, so cruel and punishing?”

Justice Alito, in his leaked draft, makes a weak attempt to bolster the ‘justice’ in his opinion by referring to 17th century England, where he references Sir Edward Cook, who declares abortion a crime. What Alito missed, or failed to mention, was Cook’s belief in witches – women doing the ‘Devil’s Magic‘ – and putting them on trial, murdering them under state rule for conferencing with Satan! In the late 1600s, in Puritan New England, over 200 witches were put on trial, with 20 being twice convicted, then executed – assuredly the other 190 or so led a wonderful life after serving one year in prison, and having only one conviction on their record. Eventually, the colonials admitted their mistakes, compensating the families of the slain ‘witches,’ but, Lucifer seems to be applying his wiles again in the halls of D.C., and from past history we can see where Alito and his cohorts are slowly taking us. The plantations and reservations are gaining new adherents within this bunch, now that they have invaded our privacy in making our own decisions, while demanding their own freedom from interference! Headline: Unelected bureaucrats with job security strike again.

So, what is it we Americans now trust in government? The Presidency? Not by a long shot, nor do we trust in the way our leader is chosen! The Congress? What have they done for you lately? Backstabbing and name calling seem to be the only activity evident to us. The once highly-respected courts? Ditto, ditto, ditto! The functioning of democracy seems to have lost its way, perhaps burdened by the myths that have been forced upon the populace by tradition, big business and organized religion – all of which hold abysmal views of how democracy should work. Justice Clarence Thomas lightly attempted to address this dilemma speaking at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference in Atlanta this past week by saying, “Society is becoming addicted to wanting specific outcomes, and not living with outcomes we don’t like.” He didn’t mention ‘the leak’, only subtly referencing it. Did he also intend to reference, in ‘not living with outcomes we don’t like’, the conservatives living with the 1973 decision embracing Roe v. Wade“? Stare decisis to you too, Judge! Worrying that young people don’t respect the law as they did in past generations couldn’t have been a dig at his wife, Ginni, who tried to overthrow the government during the J-6 insurrection, could it? Ginni’s many emails to Trump Chief of Staff Meadows encouraging him to ‘stand firm’ and ‘don’t concede’ and ‘it takes time for the army to gather’, admonitions which were struck down by the high court for release along with other communications sought by the House J-6 Commission. The Pew Research Center found that the adults holding favorable views of the court declined from 69% to 54% in the period of August 2019 to January 2022, about which a representative of the Supreme Court had no comment. Ethics concerns? How about a Code of Conduct? Nah, too late for such nonsense… the Ginni is out of the bottle. 

It’s been suggested that a liberal clerk of one of the justices released Alito’s draft decision, a clerk of Justice Sotomayor‘s, perhaps? But, why not Chief Justice Roberts, who has grown tired and disillusioned by this out of control body of escapees from the 17th century time-machine? What has he got to lose in the face of complete embarrassment and loss of reputation after these robed pimples in the temple have been popped? Even Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins feel they have been misled by the seated justices, but after a couple of beers they’ll probably believe anyone – not mentioning Brett Kavanaugh per se! It’s a long way from Bush v. Gore, but the devil was whispering in ears way back then! And, he continued to whisper into Prez Cheeto Benito‘s ear, telling him the court was a weapon and to use it to his advantage, with the Orange Menace saying the quiet parts out loud! He told us what he was doing all along, through two impeachments, and he followed through! Our BAD!

A quote falsely attributed to novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky has been making the rounds for some time now –  “Tolerance will reach such a level that intelligent people will be banned from thinking so as not to offend the imbeciles.” Heavy stuff! Finally, it has been traced to the source in Philadelphia. The quote was overheard from Ted ‘Dusty’ Yevskii, of Four Seasons Total Landscaping, in talking to curious employees of the neighboring sex shop and the crematorium, following Rudy Giuliani‘s press conference in November 2020 at that facility. Asked to comment on his words, ‘Dusty’ replied, “Maybe later…I gotta go water this new shipment of zinnias.”