Day 754 – The Woke Mob is Coming for You

Friday, February 10, 2023

After Biden’s State of the Union speech what’s her name gave the Republican response. I couldn’t take her whiney voice and decided to go brush my teeth and only half listened. Apparently, I didn’t miss much. The analysis the next morning was “What was she talking about?” and or “Who is The Woke Mob?” The consensus was that, “The Woke Mob” and other terms she used were code phrases that people on the far right understand in their echo chamber. I’m reminded of Stephen Miller and his “Camp of Saints” comment. WTF? Well, in Miller’s case it is referring to a French novelist who wrote this book suggesting black people from South Africa invaded France, took it over, and overthrew the white government. In Sarah Ukabee Sanders case I don’t know who these folks are but I’d sure like her to actually identify them.

It’s like all the yelling about the Chinese balloon. Many wanted it shot down earlier. But ask them to put a finger on the map of exactly where they want a 2,000 pound object to land and – well – you know. Not here. There? No, not there. Then where? Hello? Hello?

Another thing I can’t get past yet is the “Big Confrontation” between Mitt and George (Romney and Santos). Brave bold Mitt telling George he doesn’t belong here. Okay, how about you Mitt? Do you belong in Congress. Here’s a guy who made his living destroying companies and throwing people out of work. Pretty much what Richard Gere did in Pretty Woman. (By the way, the new movie “Maybe, I Do” with him, Diana Keaton, Susan Sarandon, William Macy, and Emma Roberts is very cute.).

Another thing I keep running through my head is Mike Lee’s stunned look when Joe Biden said – some of you want to sunset Social Security. Mike was like “what is he talking about? Not me!” He didn’t say sunset it, he said, “Pull it out by its roots,” and also Medicare and Medicaid. 

A lot of these Republicans elected to Congress want to pull things out by their roots. Mitch McConnell said it above it ObamaCare. Rick Scott ran the Republican Senatorial Re-Election Campaign with that promise. Here Scott created one of the largest hospital chains in the country and that company charged the Federal government lots of money for tests they didn’t perform. To be fair they did perform tests, just not the ones they billed for. Seems the tests they claimed to have done were more expensive. Scott resigned from the company and the company wanted to settle with the Feds and did so in two cases. Each case was a fine of over $800 Million for a total of $1.7B. Scott was deposed at his offices in Stamford, Connecticut. (Huh? Not Florida?) He took the fifth 75 times. Why would a guy who overcharged Medicare want to get rid of it? 

But back to dumbfounded Mike Lee with that amazed look on his face during the State of the Union. The next day there were clips of his saying he wanted to pull Social Security out by its roots. I haven’t heard the spin on that one.

Then there’s the fashion show at the speech. We only had two contestants, but to be fair both sides were represented. Well, maybe all three, because I’m not sure if Kyrsten Sinema is Independent or a Democrat. Frankly, I’m not sure if she’s a man or a woman. She looked like a woman that night. But Honey? What’s with the bright yellow dress and the huge shoulder sleeves? Did you think you were going to a cocktail party where you’d be the star?

Across the way, in the back row was MJT in a white coat. Folks weren’t sure if she was going for the Cruella DeVille look or, the one I like better, is the Tonya Harding hit ‘em with a skate look.

Then when Biden said things that were factually true the Repubs went crazy, yelling liar and booing. Biden got them to stand to say they weren’t going to destroy Social Security. It will be interesting in the coming days to see how they reverse direction or deny that which they are on record as saying.

The day after the speech the House’s committee on Weaponizing the FBI got going. The lead off for the Republicans were Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson. Old Chuck looks – well – old. And I’m always surprised by the nonsense that comes out of his mouth. Ron? Looks good, but man he is over the edge. Both were spouting conspiracy stuff and Chuck was trying to wrap himself in “the American people” flag. Then Jamie Raskin spoke. He did something the Republicans are loath to do – he mentioned things that are factually true. This as opposed to the nod-nod wink-wink “we all know this” nonsense Grassley and Johnson said.

The Republican playbook is straight out of the middle school playground. “I didn’t do that. You did that!” 

But the other thing that got lots of Senators upset was the Chinese Spy balloon. Apparently, some of the Repubs were photographed standing outside with rifles in hand looking up at the sky and suggesting they’d shoot it down. I like that. Maybe, Neil deGrasse Tyson or an NRA spokesperson can explain basic physics to them about bullets, trajectory, and distance? Nah? Why bother. Rules don’t apply to them.

One thing Lawrence O’Donnell pointed out on his show was that the one thing none of these people will do is put a finger on the map and say, “shoot it down here.” Why? Well, back to trajectories and whatnot. The apparatus on the bottom of the balloon was estimated to weigh 2,000 pounds. Now lemme see, a two thousand pound object at high altitude would reach terminal velocity of 125 miles per hour before slamming into your house, car, cow, ground – whatever. You willing to let that happen to your house? What about your kids? The dog? Oh, unlikely? Okay. Let me repeat are you willing …? Oh, hadn’t thought about that?

Well, let’s move on and talk about the three balloons like this that floated over our country when Trump was in office. Hello, hello? Oh wait. Didn’t happen. Couldn’t have happened because The Donald didn’t know about it. Lemme explain. It was in his briefings, but he would have to have read those briefing and he didn’t. So therefore, he didn’t know. (and therefore in his mind it didn’t happen.) Cue the Mike Lee stunned expression.

BTW In a DC Courthouse the local court reporters are being kept busy going from one of three trials going on in that courthouse connected to Jan 6th. There was a father and son team who made a day of it on the 6th. One of them was walking around the Capital with a Confederate flag. He got three years.

But so far, none of the higher ups have been charged. Some say the closer we get to the election the harder it will be to charge them. I disagree. I think that if Trump is the nominee we deputize the five former cops that beat that 29 year old man to death and have them …

Okay, that’s going too far. Really? I don’t know. 

One last thing – that balloon. Some said it was the size of five school buses. I don’t know how much volume a school bus displaces, but I do know that it takes 1.000 cubic feet of helium to lift 65 pounds at sea level. therefore to lift 2,000 pounds at sea level would take about 31,000 cubic feet. According to google a school bus is 960 cubic feet. (See, I learned that between the top of the paragraph and now.) Therefore is would take the volume of 32 school buses to lift that rig. But wait, a hot air balloon displaces a little over 77,000 cubic feet. So 30,000 cubic feet isn’t that bad. …

The debate rages on.

What are we talking about anyway?

I gotta go,

ps Correction: I had stated in an earlier version of this post that Emma Roberts was Julia Roberts child. That was incorrect she is the daughter of Julia’s brother, Eric.