Archives for April 2021

Wednesday April 8, 2021

I have read about abusive relationships where a dominant woman forces a submissive male into giving her all his money and he is left starving (and vice versa). I guess it happens. I never expected to witness it from a political party in our country, but here we are.

After the New York Times revealed that the Trump campaign had to return over $122 million dollars in campaign donations and that they were hit with hundreds of thousands of complaints of theft, fraud, and stealing what did the National Republican Party do? Be contrite? Say they were sorry? That if wouldn’t happen again? NO WAY.

Double Down. That’s the ticket!

Apparently what happened was they sent out emailers asking for donations. If you gave money they pre-checked boxes saying make it monthly, or in some cases make it weekly, and then they also pre-checked another box that said give that same donation around the time of Donald’s birthday June 15^th. Nice. (“You should sign something if you haven’t read the whole thing!” blah blah blah – Like what the Republicans say of the kids caught in the student debt scam.)

In the most recent round of mailers the Republicans are saying per-checking the boxes – again, but this time they are saying they will report you to Donald Trump for being disloyal and accuse you of helping The Radical Left if you do uncheck the box. Nice. Double nice, in fact.

The Matt Gaetz thing gets worse – I forget how, but he pulled it off.

The trial about the man who killed George Floyd grinds on. Apparently, this 19 or was it 21 year veteran was not trained to put his knee on the neck of someone until they were dead. So how did it happen? Crappy training? No training? Racism? 

The defense is saying that Floyd saying he can’t breath was a form of resisting arrest. Oh boy.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is pushing ahead with an infrastructure bill. In a surprising twist (NOT!) no Republicans are going to vote for it, regardless of what is in the bill. Joe has said he’s open to good ideas. The Republicans have none. They’d like the bill to be smaller. You know. Smaller. Why? Well, you know. Will they vote for the smaller bill? No? Why make it smaller? Well you know, smaller is better. That is until they get in and then they will spend more and do nothing.

There’s a guy running ads here in Virginia that is a Republican who claims he’ll restore the economy and cut taxes. How exactly, he’s going to do the former is never mentioned. Hum.

The Biden infrastructure plan is wildly popular on all points with all types of voters. The Republicans vow to vote against it. Do they have a plan? Yes, smaller. 

Okay. Let’s summarize. The President has a plan that rebuilds America and helps people. The Republicans don’t like it. They have no plan. There plan is to fleece their base some more. 

Which would you choose? 

PS The 2020 Refund Donations Chart 

Wednesday April 7, 2021

Everyone calls her B. Come on. Yeah, I know she’s won more Grammys than anyone else and good for her. But. But. I don’t get it. Her voice is okay. But she’s no Whitney or Adele. Her staging is fabulous. I get that. When she opens her mouth, what comes out is okay. 

We were watching the latest episode of The Voice when John Legend compared one of the singers to being in the mold of Béonce (did I put the little mark in the right place?) and he said that the person wasn’t Beoncé (maybe it goes over the o?). I found myself wondering, “what am I missing?” But then again I find myself wondering that a lot. Like on most of the SNL musical guests. However, at least the last one, St. Vincent, sang. In a kind of weird Ricky Lee Jones way, but then I always thought RLJ was kind of jazzy weird. I guess I didn’t get the vibe. 

So now let’s turn to Matty G! I mentioned that I didn’t know how it could get much worse, but I didn’t have to wait long. Here we are with the news that Gaetz tried to get a blanket pardon for crimes he was not charged with. This in the closing days of the last administration. The question for some, (or should I say surprise?), is that Satan didn’t do it.

Matt had stated that he thought Satan should give it to a whole bunch of Republican colleagues, which seemed weird at the time. The reason given was he said he feared a witch hunt by the incoming Dems. But now I undersand much better. That is, at least, if Gaetz knew he was under investigation for the sex trafficking crime. Either he knew, or suspected that it was a crime or that he was under investigation, or … or he had some other crime in mind. If he had another crime what was that? Waiting for the other shoe to drop? Perhaps?

Some folks are acting like sex with a 17 year old is so slimy. Come on. We are talking Republicans here. No big deal. Not compared to what they have done in the past. This is right in their playbook. I mean it was a seventeen year old girl. That’s unusual. Typically, it would be a boy. At least, if you were a god fearing Christian.

Oh well. Moving on.

In a hysterical comment, Mitch McConnell said businesses should stay out of politics.

This from the man who gets more money from corporations than any other elected representative. The man whose name is on the Supreme Court law suit that allows corporations to give as much money as they want to political campaigns and not have to disclose it. Yeah. Right. Okay. 

Tell you what. I think Chuck Schumer should put on the floor “The Mitch McConnell Corporation Stay Out of Politics” bill, which would ban all contributions and activities by corporations or board members in politics. I’m sure Mitch would go for it! Talk about reaching across the aisle! 

Meanwhile, the talk of the voting rights bill continues to be talked about. Either Joe Manchin is willing to vote to get rid of the cloture rule or not. If not, then this is a dead issue because I don’t see how that could be tied to budget reconciliation.

Meanwhile, I hope the campaign to educate the red states that the $1400 checks they are receiving would not have happened if their elected Republican representatives had had their way.

PS Kim Shocker! (Kim this week, but I say Matt next week! Are you with me? Hello?)

Tuesday April 6, 2021

There used to be this detective show – 77 Sunset Strip

The guy who parked the cars was named Kookie Burns. He had this super cool car and this great DA haircut, which he would carefully comb. He was the guy that John Travolta modeled his character in Grease after and the Fonz in Happy Days. Don’t remember any of those references? When were you born? OMG. Nevermind.

Oh, one more thing. Kookie was so cool that there was a song about him and his comb, which is what this screed is named. ( The title of the song. … 77 Sunset Strip … Day 77? Get it? OMG. Do I have to explain everything? )

I woke up thinking about all the people who have been directly effected by the death of George Floyd. I only know a few. 

– The young clerk who got the bad twenty and told his boss. “If I had just said nothing and put it in the drawer…”

– The manager who called the cops. What if he had just run out and said to Floyd, “Hey man this is no good. You got another?”

– The people who watched the killing and tried to get the police to stop.

– What if Floyd had driven away instead of sitting in his car?

What if?

I read a brief article about the governor of South Dakota. What a disaster for the state and our country. How many people has her lack of action or her stupid action caused people to die? She is ignoring reality and pushing lies all because – what? She thinks it will lead to bigger things for her politically?

Who is in charge here? The argument being used by this woman and many others that are following Satan’s behavior is that this is where there voters are at so they are following them. Aren’t you supposed to be leading? Not following? If your people are trying to kill themselves wouldn’t it be your duty to point this out to them and stop it? Not become complicit in their deaths?

Just ask the people who watched George Floyd die. They wished they had done more. They have great guilt and anguish, which will haunt them for many years to come. You? You don’t because you’ve convinced yourself of a string of lies. The virus doesn’t care. It kills regardless and you are aiding and abetting it.

Apparently the Democratic National Committee is erecting big signs on billboards in various states thanking Joe Biden for the Covid Relief Bill. And pointing out which senators voted for it and which did not. 

No Republican in either chamber voted for it.

Just remember what the Republicans did for you when they were in charge. 

(Answer: Nothing. Remember all those House bills that went to the Senate? They didn’t bring up any of them for discussion, much less a vote.)

Oh Matt Gaetz? Word is that we haven’t seen or heard the worst of it. Really? How much worse can it get? I mean sex with a minor, drugs, sex trafficking isn’t bad enough? It can get worse? OMG. Kookie lend me your spoon!

Apparently, Republicans are attacking big business for having the audacity to say out loud that the right to vote should be allowed for all citizens. Can you imagine? OMG II.

Let’s see what else? The NRA, remember them? For some reason there is a trial in Texas over its bankruptcy. Yet, New York is where they are based and being investigated. The New York AG has asked the judge presiding in the Texas case to throw out the bankruptcy claim and appoint a trustee to run the organization. The AG said the only reason they filed for bankruptcy was because that would make it harder for the AG to see what was going on internally in that organization. Also, by appointing a trustee Wayne LaPierre would no longer be in charge – too bad.

You know there are so many slimy things the Republicans are doing it’s hard to keep track. Turns out the Satan organization ramped up donations in the last year of the campaign by putting fine print in their fund raising to make a one time donation a multiple donation. Both campaigns were running at about 2% return rate until the last year then it ramped up for Donnie. It went to 10% and after the election 12% return rate. Hundreds of thousands of returns were processed, credit cards cancelled, claims of fraud filed – this is what Trump did to his most loyal supporters. Imagine what he would do to others?

Aside from the fraud claims, the effect was that the Trump organization got the use of their supporters’ money in the critical lead up to the election. They also siphoned off money via processing fees to a Satan backed processing group. This is what #45 has done for you loyal supporters!

Right on.

Monday April 5, 2020

The question as to whether we are over and moving past Donald Satan is important to know because it asks then what we should do both politically and culturally.

Will he ever hold office again? Doubtful. But his spawn? Therein lies the problem.

What he has unleashed and shown what can be done is the real problem. You can lie, deny reality, and still get elected to office. You can cheat. You can steal. And still be re-elected. 

How? By cheating, by lying, and rigging the system.

This is not new. The modern Republican party has shown that. Yes, we can point to history and show that both party cheat or at least tilt things in their favor but that is a snowshoes to snowmobile argument. The level of lying, denying of reality, and outright fraud by the modern Republican party is on a whole different level from anything I have seen in my lifetime. Donald showed us that. I’m not prepared to say in the history of our country we haven’t had similar episodes, but now?

They don’t really hide it. Donald showed them you don’t have to. Why bother? Just deny. Gaslight. Put names on legislation that is doing the exact opposite of what the law is saying. It’s an old trick. Like “Right to Work” means a company can fire you for any reason.

The problem this country is facing is that a network of dark money and influence has developed which is dead set against letting people decide and intent on controlling the government at the state and national level. By controlling the state level they can crush the local level and resist the national level.  By controlling the national level the can plunder the national coffers and pass legislation exempting them from any crimes or having to pay to help. They have no interest in helping their fellow man. There seems to be only too many willing to assist. There is the new threat, or perhaps I should say growing old one, the true believer. These are idiots who swallow the lies totally. At least the old guard realized they were being two faced lying weasels. Now? Not so much.

The other part of the problem we face as a nation is structural. The Constitution has our government set up with two legislative bodies: one based on population, the other based on being a state. The problem is that most of the population lives in few of the states. This means the less populated states have undue influence over what happens. A country person has little understanding or caring for the problems of a person living in an urban setting.

Will this inequity ever be addressed? I doubt it. 

The only hope I see is that the less populated states get enough of a population of new comers to overturn the current political outlook in those areas.

Much of the rural areas have limited media outlets and those outlets have been bought up by powerful right wing interests that suppress information they don’t like and put out information they do. That means vast areas of this country can be lied to and they don’t know it. 

Is there hope? 

I don’t know. Between ever election I hope. 

Right now we are watching if Biden can pass anything more or not. Just because it is overwhelmingly popular means nothing. If he can’t get 60 votes in the Senate, which I don’t think he can, then nothing will get done. Unless, he gets rid of the cloture rule. Many call that the filibuster, but that is not true. The filibuster would still be there. However, to get rid of couture he needs to get 50 votes in the Senate. He has two hold outs in the Senate. Maybe, only one. 

So, I have hope and that leads me to Maybe.

Or as Janis sang some fifty years ago – “Maybe, maybe, maybe…”

PS Egypt moved the mummies of their royal kings and queens from the old Cairo Museum to their new home with a grand parade.

Sunday April 4, 2021

If you ask, “What basket?” You didn’t see it. But don’t worry they will replay that shot a thousand times, at every March Madness, every clip of great moments in sport. Don’t worry.

I realized what a wonderful special moment I was in. I haven’t enjoyed a moment in sport like this since Tiger was on his tear and I’d turn on the TV on Sunday afternoon to see him play a final round like no other.

The game in question was the last game of The Final Four: UCLA versus Gonzaga. Gonzaga was undefeated. It had been ranked #1 or #2 all season long. Clearly, Gonzaga was going to win going away. Just like Bayor had dispatched Houston in the earlier Final Four game 78 to 69. UCLA had been streaky according to the experts. They were thought to not have played that many games. Although they had, playing two less then the average for this year. It was their up and down inconsistent play that made folks question if they should even be in the Final Four. Some may have turned off the game knowing it would be a twenty point blow out or more. 

Before the game Charles Barkley said that UCLA had to slow the game down because they couldn’t run with Gonzaga. Kenny Smith said they had to challenge the three point shot. Both were right; both were wrong. Sir Charles said that if the game went above 65 to 70 points UCLA would get enough possessions to win. They scored 90.

It was the toughest, full contact, game I have ever witnessed. The punishment that each team and every individual player took was remarkable. It looked at times like a playground pickup game with chain-link nets, except on a level unseen on any play ground.

Baylor was behind with seconds left. They tied with a two point under the basket play against Gonzaga’s big man: 3.3 seconds left. 

The ball is heaved to Gonzaga’s top player and #1 in the nation, Suggs, who gets the ball at their 3 point area. He takes three dribbles and crosses mid court and is halfway to the 3 point line. One second left he stops, jumps, shoots. It wasn’t a desperation heave. It was a shot. A thing of beauty. High in the air. Gorgeous arc. Time expired. The backboard lit up orange. The ball hit the backboard just about the iron support and went in without touching the rim. It was a thing of beauty.

You’ll see it. Don’t worry. You’ll see it.

I especially liked Charles Barkley’s commentary. He’s calmed down a bit. His analysis and his knowledge: not only of how the game is played and should be played, but his history of games past is epic. To listen to him breakdown a game: what has happened, what needs to happen, what are the keys to victory or defeat is remarkable and refreshing. 

It will be hard for the #1 and #2 teams in the nation to match on Monday what I saw yesterday.

In other news: Matt Gaetz’s epic idiocy continues – shocking. Republicans are continuing to not like anything that Democrats are trying to do to help the country and they have no ideas of their own, only platitudes and dire warnings – again shocking. The country continues to get vaccinated and we can almost see the end – provided people aren’t idiots. Wear the damn mask.