Nothing is Sacred

I apologize for not posting yesterday; we were in the midst of snowstorm recovery. I figure we got at least 8” at the old Chateau Bluz. Shoveling out was a 2-day operation. The second day, there was a solid 2” layer of compacted ice and snow that we had to pry up in frozen planks.

This was after about an hour of wintery mix, which compacted the snow on our patio table by at least an inch.

Now to the business at hand.

There’s nothing really to talk about except the latest heinous ICE murder of an innocent protester. You’ve all seen the footage by now. A VA nurse goes to the aid of a woman ICE had just pushed down, they tackle him, take him to the ground, begin beating the shit out of him, then they find a gun in his back holster. They remove the gun and then unload their weapons into his back. He was hit with 9-10 shots. (I’ve seen differing reports.)

I had a lot to say about all of this, but in the days since the murder, most of it has appeared as memes in my FB feed.

We hadn’t even wrapped the previous ICE killing before this new one. MAGA and the Administration were still referring to Renee Good as a paid protester/terrorist.

Before Alex Pretti’s body was even cold, the Trump Administration’s talking heads were lying about what happened, calling the victim out as someone who was attacking the ICEholes. Again, they had the lies locked and loaded for immediate use.

The most common theme from the Administration, and then from the obedient MAGA masses, was that the victim deserved his death because he brought a gun to a protest. This line of defense essentially negates 50 years of Republican Second Amendment activism.

With one incident, MAGA has invalidated both the First and Second Amendments.

As is their way, Republicans are ready, willing, and able to pivot from any position they’ve taken and support the exact opposite if it serves their immediate needs. This party literally stands for nothing but their own continued power.

As the number of protesters increased exponentially after the Pretti murder, the Administration added another angle of defense for future use: Don’t hurt the ICEholes’ delicate feelings:

My local paper, newly turned conservative mouthpiece, the Baltimore Sun, covered TFG’s inevitable backpedal from the controversy, to blame his staff for following his own orders.

If you think ICE Barbie or the ghoul Steven Miller used talking points that TFG hadn’t supported, you’re not paying attention. But at the first sign of trouble, he hung them out to dry. After all, priority one is that nothing is ever, EVER, Trump’s fault. That’s what underlings are for: convenient receptacles for blame.

Also note the underlined portion of the article for the incredible soft-pedaling of what could be a major flip by Republicans turning on the Teflon President, by saying the Administration’s “accounting of events may face bipartisan scrutiny.” That’s more evidence of a partisan news outlet shilling for the party they back.

The biggest but least acknowledged portion of all this is where AG Bondi announced that they would pull ICE out of Minnesota if the state turned over its voter rolls.

And there it is. This has nothing to do with immigration and everything to do with rigging elections. There is no legitimate purpose for the Federal Government to parse state voter registrations, especially this lot. This whole thing is a revenge operation to punish a Blue State and attempt to turn it Red.

They underestimated how severe the backlash among Minnesotans would be. I’m proud of them and deeply awed by their dedication to not buckle under pressure from the federal overlords. These are people who are putting their own asses on the line for freedom.

I just hope the rest of us do the same when ICE eventually comes to our towns.

Impeachment Now

I’ve seen some stories about how various unnamed Republicans have stated that invading Greenland would be their bridge too far and cause them to support impeachment. That strikes me as closing the door after the horse left the barn. By the time troops are involved, it’ll be too late. We will have damaged our status with Europe, NATO, and the world to a level that may be beyond repair. I hope there are aides or cabinet members on whom Russia does not have Kompromat, so that there may be someone left in the building who can talk him out of such a disastrous move. Every day, the Current Occupant is demonstrating his inability to do the job through nationally destructive, self-promoting, and self-rewarding activities.

Parking Venezuela's oil money in a Qatar account that he alone controls? Charging a billion dollars per nation to join his little self-glorification panel and demanding enrollment? Letting his personal army loose on blue states (this month, Minnesota) to cause chaos and destruction on immigrants and citizens alike? Leaking Ukrainian spy intel directly to Russia? Blowing foreign boats out of the water because they might be up to something, even though they are not equipped to reach US soil? And, of course, demanding the right to buy Greenland or take it by force? It’s all madness.

Congress should be looking at impeachment right now. And by Congress, I mean Republicans. They used to at least have a veneer of respectability while they were fleecing the taxpayers to reward the rich. Today, the grift is right out in the open. He needs to go now because we cannot count on fair elections this fall. His actions are NOT those of a man who expects to have his power diminished in the midterm elections or leave office peacefully in 2028.

We all know that legally, he does not technically have the power to stop elections. But he sure as hell has the power to alter the results to his liking. There are several ways he can accomplish this.

Regarding the midterms, he may try to conjure up an emergency that gives him the cover to declare the elections are postponed (until such a time when the heat dies down and he expects to win fairly, OR just indefinitely!) Yes, it’s illegal, but who is going to enforce that? He still has SCOTUS in his pocket (until they prove otherwise), and it’s not like the Justice Department or military will do anything to defy him. They’re all loyalists now. So just because he gives an illegal order that’s beyond the scope of his power doesn’t mean it won’t happen. All the guardrails are gone.

Update: Apparently, there are still some grown-ups in the room from the US military.

Further, he can influence Red State governors to postpone their states’ elections and use that to claim that it wouldn’t be fair to only allow Blue State electees to the new Congress. Again, it doesn’t make sense, but who’s going to hold him to the law? He's got Fox "News" and the rest of the Right Wing Media bubble to make the case for him.

He can also count on the GOP owners of voting machine companies (like the new owners of Dominion) to convert some blue votes to red. And there’s Elon Musk, who he may convince to repeat whatever he did in 2024 to deliver the presidency (but surprisingly few Senate seats) to the Republicans.

Probably the easiest (and most likely) way to sway the Midterms has already begun. With the new rules regarding the Post Office delaying the date-stamping of mailings, plus banning mail-in voting via executive order (again, beyond the scope of presidential powers), it creates more reliance on in-person voting, which he can then suppress by physical means. Then all he has to do is send his ICEholes to the Bluest precincts’ voting stations, especially in Latin-heavy areas, where their mere presence will suppress turnout. I’m sure they can determine with precision which places will provide the most bang for their buck in sandbagging Democratic candidates. And again, to whom can the Democrats appeal? Trump loyalists are at every enforcement point. Checkmate.

Then, with two MORE years to insulate himself, it won’t be much of a reach to create a way to give himself a third term, despite it being 100% unconstitutional. He’ll find a way, and his flunkies will rubber-stamp it.

That’s why Congress needs to start the impeachment ball rolling now. The GOP needs to grow a pair and a spine to go with them, and call out the Emperor with no Clothes. They can start with a public Congressional investigation of the Epstein files. Screw what Justice is withholding; there are tons of evidence that’s already public, or under someone else’s control. Start taking public testimony from the victims about how, in addition to chasing little girls, they were also buggering little boys and killing people who became inconvenient. Maybe that might jar a couple of Republican consciences enough to seek better leadership.

And they need to go after Vance and the rest of the Cabinet, too, who are likely to continue in the direction TFG is waddling. This administration has turned a great nation into a joke. The whole world is laughing at us, a once-great nation and player on the world stage, reduced to a self-destructive, self-absorbed, and self-fellating bunch of crooks.

Fargin' ICEholes

Well, they did it. No one’s talking about the Epstein files anymore. In addition to the invasion of Venezuela and the kidnapping of its president, the administration has engineered a civilian killing at the hands of ICE and threatened Greenland with an armed invasion. He is literally producing more criminal outrages than we can deal with at a given time.

The execution of Renee Good was especially chilling. This wasn’t someone who was throwing Molotov cocktails or waving signs; she was dropping off her child at school. The worst you can say about her is that she stopped to give her two cents to the ICE Brigade and momentarily blocked the road. One bull clawed at her door, then told her to move along. Meanwhile, after she offered pleasantries, the other one yelled to stop, put himself in front of her car, then executed her in “self-defense,” once he took a step to the right to get out of her way, like he was doing the Time Warp. You can clearly see the front wheels turning away from him as she tried to leave the scene.

Almost immediately, ICE Barbie Noem declared the victim was a terrorist/paid protester trying to run her guy down, despite video evidence aired almost immediately that offered proof to the contrary. These were charges that would take time to establish, but they levied them before the body even went cold.

That’s how we know the fix was in. They had that story locked and loaded for when this incident occurred. I suspect there may have been a direct order to create such a shooting, all the better to sow fear and demand public compliance. I wonder if anyone is investigating such communications, either directly to the executioner, Jonathan Ross, or to his superiors for relaying down to the boots on the ground. Someone get ahold of that editor for The Atlantic. Knowing these Bozos, he was probably on the thread too.

Here’s another reason this shooting could have been premeditated:

This guy knew he was going to shoot. He put himself in front of the car he knew was fleeing, to secure the “personal danger” excuse, put the phone in his left hand, to grab his gun with his shootin’ hand, and shot an American citizen in the face, while recording the whole scene. I mean, what’s the point of killing some uppity liberal if you can’t show the action to the boys back at the base?

As commanded, Republican Congress people, assorted political hacks, Fox “News,” and MAGA idiots publicly backed the shooting. They’re always fine with shootings, as long as it’s not one of theirs getting shot. They demanded reverence and half-staff flags for Charlie Kirk. They made dyke jokes about Renee Good.

And as is their MO, the Republicans are asking people to believe what they’re telling them, rather than their own eyes. They claim she was trying to kill the ICE men, that she was a terrorist, and that she was a paid protester. None of that was remotely true. But the main point is that even if all of that were true, none of those charges carry the death penalty, let alone the Getting Shot in the Face in Front of Your Neighbors, For Trying to Go Home penalty.

I hope there are repercussions from this, I really do. I doubt it, but I hope it. Already, they’ve announced they’re sending more ICE holes to Minnesota. They want more confrontations, not less. All the better to drive home the point that they’re in charge and resistance is futile.

The only hope for justice for Ms. Good will have to be from state charges. The fix is already in as far as the Justice Department goes. His innocence is already signed, sealed, and delivered at the federal level. That’s where they truly have us in a vise. To whom can we complain to seek justice? All the apparatuses of justice are rigged in their favor, with loyalists at every key position, all the way up to the rigged Supreme Court.

I was going to mention the Greenland fiasco-in-the-making, but I figure it will be the top story next week after the invasion, so I might as well wait until then.

Oil Be There

Some shitstorm they stirred up last weekend, huh? He actually had to go and invade another country, kidnap their president and his wife, and bring them back here for trial. Regardless of what anyone thinks of Maduro, there are so many things that don’t pass the smell test for a nation with integrity. Nothing makes sense in any benign way; only in the most corrupt readings.

AG Bondi says she’s charging them with breaking arms laws. American arms laws. Jesus H Christ, since when do American laws apply to citizens of other countries, who are located in other countries? So can the Philippine government kidnap US citizens and cane them for spitting gum on the sidewalk or spraying graffiti? National laws start and stop at their own borders. WTF is wrong with these idiots?

TFG justifies the invasion by saying, “They took our oil.”  How in the actual fuck is oil buried deep under Venezuela the property of the United States? How totally presumptuous. And I know there were oil deals made and broken, but they’ve already been long resolved:

This thing is 50% about stealing oil for the big fossil fuel industry donors to Republicans, and 50% about distracting from the Epstein file mess, for which the explanation for excessive redactions was due yesterday. We are literally living through the great movie Wag the Dog; war as distraction from problems at home.

TFG says we’re “going to run Venezuela,” and Little Marco had this to say in defense of the indefensible:

The US creates “court orders,” so the US has grounds to topple a foreign government. It’s basically the Fox “News” practice of bringing up various charges lobbed at Democrats and then later broadcasting: “Many people are talking about these charges about Democratic Democrat politicians…” And again, since when does a US court order have any sway in another country?

I wonder why they took the wife, though. As leverage to make him do what they want? Or maybe she has too many Venezuelan parking tickets, or owns an exotic animal that’s illegal in Alabama. Or maybe they just don’t want Maduro to get lonely.

Deep down, there is no rational rationale; there are only piles of shit to throw at the wall to see what sticks. Ultimately, they don’t care if they can’t defend these actions because the system is set up to allow them to do as they please. Thank you, Supreme Court, for creating an 800-pound monster with a Sultan’s desires and a toddler’s impulse control.

The BS about defending the nation against drugs rings hollow when he just pardoned another South American president/drug lord who had been convicted here. It’s key to remember that Republicans don’t have many core beliefs; they believe strongly in whatever they need at that moment, and are ready to do a full 180 should that need disappear. State’s rights, bodily autonomy, it’s all negotiable depending on what they want to do today.

Republicans are lining up to support whatever he does, because I’m sure they realize that if he can disappear a foreign president, he can do the same to a US Congressman. Or worse, he might call them mean names.

When I heard the news on Saturday morning, the first thing I thought was that if this is the new normal, maybe we could work out a little quid pro quo with another country like Canada or Denmark. But by midday, that notion was all over the place. Thus is the drawback of doing a weekly blog.

There’s been more talk that this was prearranged with Russia years ago, where we would allow them to take Ukraine, and they would allow us to take Venezuela. I believe it, because TFG doesn’t do anything on the international stage that doesn’t benefit Putin. I’m sure they’re in lockstep on this.

So, here we are, in another foreign war brought on by oil. Republicans kill any movement on increasing development or renewable energy sources, so the money continues to flow to oil companies/donors. And now, they’re replenishing the fossil fuel troughs with more oil, to keep those big donations coming. Palatial ballrooms don’t build themselves, you know.

There's nothing like starting a new year with a giant kick in the face.

Always Question the Source

As we sit on the precipice of 2026, we need to keep in mind that many of the sources from which we get our news are hand-forming the information to fit the mold they want (or are told) to present. We can see the obvious ones, like the mess that has become CBS, killing a damning report on ICE deportations to torture prisons. But many others are much more subtle and are only revealed through questioning.

Take this article from yesterday’s Baltimore Sun:

Right off the bat, they use a Fox “News” ask/answer setup in the headline. Also note that the byline is from someone at the Sinclair National Desk. The primary owner of the conservative Sinclair media network bought The Sun last year and has given it an obvious Republican bent.

Rather than addressing the legality of these strikes, they’re playing up the recruitment potential. Doesn’t that say a lot about those recruits for whom this is enticing? Yay, they get to make things go “boom,” just like in their video games.

From the article: “Some experts say the missions showcase a clear purpose, limited scope, and decisive action-qualities that they believe resonate with young Americans considering military service.” “Some experts?” Who, I wonder. They answer in the next line:

“According to Dan Green, research fellow at the Heritage Institute…” Say no more. They get a hack from the right-wing Heritage Foundation, backer/creator of Republican policies and talking points, to shill for the Administration.

Later, they refer to unclear stats to bolster the claim. “(all branches) have reported meeting or exceeding their recruiting goals.” What were the goals? Where was the bend in recruiting numbers? And more importantly, might the goals have been lowered? That’s the easiest way to make your numbers in a tough environment… lower the bar. They want you to assume a level playing field, but when has this Administration ever used a deck they hadn‘t stacked? Without the numbers, their claim of bolstered recruitment due to these war games is meaningless.

And if it was effective, look who they’re getting… dudes who want to sit in a basement and blow shit up from afar. I think they’d better lower their physical and mental standards if they want any of these schmucks to make it out of basic training.

The Heritage “expert” goes on to rattle off a list of Republican talking points as reasons prior recruitment was low: mandatory COVID vaccines, DEI initiatives, and the botched (Trump-designed) withdrawal from Afghanistan. All of these “issues” are highly debatable as to being a drag on recruitment, but they’re listed as unchallenged proof in the article.

If this is what mainstream media now offers for basic news coverage, we will need to be especially vigilant in how we interpret what we read.

I’m fortunate that in college, I learned a great deal about the business of media and how to spot the biases within. Future generations may not have that opportunity, and conservatives are working to make it that way, with their ongoing war on education:

The list doesn’t even mention the constant denigration of colleges, students, and professors, and the use of withholding funds as a lever to bend the apparatus of higher learning to their will. All of these factors are undeniably true; they’re part of public Republican statements and actions. And they only make sense when grouped under the banner of lowering the number of people with the tools to call “bullshit” on the verbal tricks and fallacies rife in conservative rhetoric. A less educated populace makes a more pliant pool of workers, and that’s all they really want. They consider us a resource for harvesting, both our labor and our money, rather than the people a government is obligated to serve.

Corporations aren’t bankrolling political campaigns for the public’s benefit, only their own. We need to stay vigilant for this grift and demand government serve its original master: its citizens.

 

Here’s to having a Happy New Year, with hopes for a better 2026. Who knows, maybe You Know Who will choke on a steak and be toes-up in the Capitol atrium by 2027. Although I wouldn’t put it past Vance, Miller, and the rest of the posse of imbeciles to pull a Weekend at Trump’s, using AI to keep up the public illusion that their orange idol still has a pulse. But even that would be an improvement.

You Want Fries With That Cover-Up

I don’t mean to gloat, but I totally called it. I’ve been saying for months, and most recently two weeks ago, that this Administration will never willingly release anything that incriminates DJT. And with Friday's first installment (of what was supposed to be 100% of everything on hand), there is nary a whisper of TFG and lots of intentionally placed mentions of other prominent people/Democrats, namely Bill Clinton. So far, there’s been little that we didn’t already know.

Among the documents they released, several items were over 100 pages long, and every scrap of them was blacked out. Obviously, these docs must be doozies. They’re only supposed to conceal the identity of victims, and at most that should mean blacking out some names. (And if they wanted to be helpful, for context, they could replace the names with something, like “16-year-old girl.” But they don’t really want to be helpful, do they? They want the waters as muddy as possible.

And also, why even include huge documents that are completely redacted? Why not just omit them? But no, they want to make a mockery of these proceedings. They want to say, “I bet you wish you knew what this is, don’t you?” They want to rub our noses in the fact that we can’t make them play nice. Because when they flout the law, who are we going to complain to? Congress? Can’t do it without the Republicans, and they don’t have the spine to stand up to their feckless leader. The courts? We may get a lower court ruling here and there, but as long as they can appeal to the stacked SCOTUS, we’re SOL on the justice front.

And not only are they redacting themselves out of the pokey, but they’re also fudging what they do release. Did you see that picture with Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and Bill Clinton? They are shown with three blacked-out faces. The clear inference is that they were at “the Island” with Epstein, and these are three of the victims. But in comparing the pic to another publicly released shot, it’s clear that the blacked-out faces belong to Jackson’s and Ross’s own children.

The shot was from a fundraiser that had nothing to do with Epstein and his enterprises. It was included there among the evidence to cast aspersions on Clinton. Don’t you think that if they really had something on him, it would have been in the first batch of evidence released? It would have been framed on the cover of the folder and sent to every news outlet.

So just like everything else this administration does, it’s shrouded in lies and chock-full of hidden agendas. Just wait until they roll out this alibi: “The law said we had to protect the victims. President Trump is a victim here.” And therein lies the cover-up. That’s all politics seems to be anymore: a race to claim victimhood and then demand rewards and reparations.

In fact, there was another example in the paper last week:

The MAGA Civil Rights Department is looking for white guys to represent as having been discriminated against. As I’ve long said, the only discrimination recognized by the Right is “reverse discrimination.” They believe the advantages White people enjoy are just the way things should be. The plight of mediocre White men is real, folks! They should never have to suffer the indignity of coming in second place to a more qualified female or brown person. I’m sure they’ll come up with a very nice package to alleviate the suffering of all those poor, damaged White egos. That’ll be just the thing to help eliminate the last 60 years’ worth of civil rights progress.

We are going to have to codify some serious shit, should rational people ever come back into meaningful power.

 

As this is the last post before Christmas, let me take this opportunity to wish you and yours a happy Christmas (or whatever you celebrate) and a peaceful New Year. The House of Bluz will be packed to the rafters on Christmas morning, entertaining our combined family and friends with a festive brunch. It’s always exhausting, but great fun. We always need the following year to rest up for the next one.

Cheers!

They Need a Better Hoax

I swear, they must think we’re idiots. Have you heard the latest misdirection coming from the White House, that “affordability” is a Democratic hoax? Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ, they act like the word is some kind of mystical rune. Just because it’s only come into vogue lately doesn’t mean it’s not solid.

In fact, Republicans like TFG should be one hundred percent up on it because, get this: They ran their last campaign on it, only it was called The Price of Eggs! Or the High Cost of Groceries. They thought it was pretty clear then… Now, it’s just packed into a single word. Maybe it’s because the dodder-in-chief is uncomfortable reading any words longer than three syllables because his lips get tired.

But now, we have the usual Conservative shills out there on Fox “News” pretending that a flatly observable fact is somehow an illusion manufactured by their enemies. Bartiromo, who used to be a respected financial news journalist but sold her soul years ago to the Murdochs and bank CEOs, was pushing this crap last weekend.

Once again, they’re trotting out the old cheater’s maxim, “Who are you gonna believe, me or your lyin’ eyes?” Or in this case, “your lyin’ wallet.” It’s sad when one side of a political disagreement has nothing to fall back on but trying to deceive their own supporters into thinking up is down, and east is west. Fortunately for them, their efforts to dumb down the education system have left them with easily manipulated automatons, who sally forth with the daily talking points, as if they were carved in stone and handed to Moses. And you can’t even present a case to these people when they’re in denial of basic facts. It’s like trying to argue about what color is with someone wearing red-tinted glasses.

Another ridiculous idea recently floated is the prospect of analyzing five years of social media of anyone applying for a visitor’s visa. And it’s being suggested at the onset of preparations for the US hosting the next World Cup.

Talk about shooting oneself in the foot… The host cities NEED foreign visitors to turn a profit on the event. They need full hotels and restaurants. Do they think Americans are going to fill the place for Trinidad vs Ghana? No, they need to roll out the red carpet for international fans. But what does this administration serve up? Another wall. Another tariff. Another barrier between white people and the rest of the non-white world.

There was some discussion on The View about whether such a program is possible. The consensus was that it would necessitate the use of AI; otherwise, it would take a person far too long to evaluate that long a social media timeline.

And that makes me wonder what the guidelines would be. If AI is used, there would have to be a written guide to what constitutes a demerit or “point off.” Would it count less if the offending post was older? Do forwards or likes count as much as original posts? Right before they leave, could someone write, “I just saw the light! Trump really IS the greatest. MAGA!” Would that counteract previous offenses?

Obviously, the whole thing is an offense to what America is supposed to be. The racists are in charge now, and they’re not even hiding it. It’s right there on the billboards now, for the world to see. Hell, they just banished the only “colored” coin, the penny. All the light-colored coins still remain.

Maybe the FIFA guy can come up with some more awards for the rest of the MAGA team, so that his biggest tournament in the world might become a success rather than a monument to empty stadiums.

What We Know

These are some things we know, as we pull into the end of 2025:

This administration will never release anything in the Epstein files that implicates TFG or anyone else who currently has his favor.

He’s had a team of FBI agents scrubbing the files like they’re a team of Cinderellas, to remove incriminating evidence, or destroying that which can’t be redacted.

Anything incriminating those in power now will have to come from the Epstein estate or a leak from the FBI, DOJ, or Congress. TFG and his handlers will never provide ammunition for criticism, let alone legal pursuit. They won’t even release unflattering economic reports.

The administration’s stance on the Epstein files has changed positions like a yo-yo.

Positions they have taken:

·         Campaign promise of releasing all Epstein files.

·         Releasing the Epstein files (already public information to hand-picked Congress people).

·         The list of clients is on Bondi’s desk.

·         There is no list.

·         The files contain no actionable evidence.

·         The files are a hoax perpetrated by the Democrats.

·         Directing the DOJ to pursue evidence in the files that incriminate Democrats.

·         And now, “releasing all the files.” After redaction, of course.

All the evidence in the world won’t matter to the MAGA nutters and the rich who prop up the whole regime.

The meme is satire, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.

Face it, there is always an alibi from the right to convince you to believe their lies over what you can clearly see with your own eyes. There is no level of proof that will convince the true believer.

I mean, there is sworn testimony from over 100 Epstein victims, naming people, places, and dates. And yet, everyone is still clamoring for more evidence.

Politics is getting uglier by the day, but it’s solvable.

The media still tries to “both-sides” this, but it’s not even close. Find me something as outrageous and obscene as this excrement (above) put forth by the US Press Secretary. Note: If it’s true, it doesn’t count.

Only one side uses death threats as Business as Usual. Just ask MTG. All she had to do was disavow TFG, and his minions obediently flooded her office with threats against her and her family. Not that I feel sorry for her. She was fine with all the modern GOP social warfare until it was turned on her. FAFO, lady.

Republicans are trying to kill us. I don’t know why, or what their game plan is, but this is the latest offense:

Stack this up with devaluing and deemphasizing vaccinations, destruction of the CDC, dissolving FEMA, removing higher mileage standards (and generally pretending that climate change doesn’t exist), and one can only conclude that the Powers That Be don’t care if American citizens live or die, as long as they still get their tax cuts. Maybe they figure that the fewer of us there are out here clamoring for government services, the less the resistance when they cut them all.

If another disease is unleashed on the country, like COVID was, I don’t know how they don’t see that infections come for rich and poor alike. Maybe there’s a special Republican newsletter that goes out to the big donors that says, “Hey, forget about what we’re saying about vaccinations. Keep getting vaccinated. And we have a special stash of the latest medicines for our friends.” They probably keep the stash in the underground lair they’re building under Branson, MO, for use when the coastal areas start washing away.

There is no principle that Republicans support that they won’t turn on a dime and take the other side when it’s convenient. For example:

Republicans sued to defend Texas’s right to gerrymander in any way they see fit, and won, thanks to SCOTUS' blatant disregard of the Constitution and previous rulings. Yet they are actively pursuing a suit against California for doing the same thing in response to Texas.

Note that California’s efforts to redistrict were the only ones that were supported by popular vote. Indiana, for example, is pursuing mid-term redistricting in spite of a popular vote against it. Some of these things are most definitely not like the other.

Lastly, Dogs don’t care about any of this nonsense; they only care about where they’re getting their next bite of food and when.

The family dogs at Thanksgiving, not caring about politics.

 

FIFA and Find Out

Coming Back Around

I'm not feeling well enough today to come up with any original thoughts, so how about looking at some old ones with a few updates? This post is based on an email that showed a bunch of old print ads from way back when, and they really showed how far we've come, in addition to providing a clear look at the era to which the current Republicans want us to return. Warning: Rampant Misogyny Alert!

(Note: you can click any of these images to see a larger version.)

Wow, right out of the gate... woman as "doormat."  Or is it "conquest?"  You can't even tell what this is an ad for... (Checking small print...)  Leggs?  How does this sell pantyhose?

Jon Benet Ramsey - The Prequel. Coming to a molester near you. Looks like Epstein was grooming earlier than we realized.

"When Dr. Emphysema tells you to 'turn your head and cough', he beats you to it." Personally, I wouldn't trust anyone who looks like Spiro Agnew.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!  Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!  And you're supposed to BUY something that has this picture in the ad???  Someone's going to have to rock me to sleep tonight. This ad was all I could think about before I had cataract surgery, and they didn't even give me Thorazine.

"Yes, I can squeeze a bowling ball out from my lady-parts, but I can't open this lil' old ketchup bottle!  Please help me, Del Monte!"

 Hooking them young! But I bet there's some Seagram's in there, too.

Whoa! Over-reaction alert! Quoting the ad: "...if he discovers you're still taking chances on getting flat, stale coffee... woe be unto you!" Woe be unto you??? Who's running that ad agency, Leviticus? Did they really spank over coffee back in the day? I never saw that on Ozzie and Harriet. Although I suspect Ricky might have turned Lucy over his knee a time or two.  

I can’t imagine anyone cleaning the house in heels, a knee-length dress, a lacy apron, and full makeup. The need for "pep pills" to get all dolled up is self-explanatory, though. 

This one really isn't that bad of an idea.  It's just very sneaky. Women can get even for all that doormat stuff by running psy ops on their husbands. 

I'm only including this one because I used to collect beer cans, back before I was old enough to empty them myself. And the flat-top can was always a big find. Now admit it... did you really know that you used to have to use a can opener (called a "churchkey") to open a beer? I don't know why it was called a churchkey... maybe because it led you to the holy water.

I wish you could see the type on this one, but it's an ad for... get this... Lysol-Brand Douche! Ahhhh-hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa. I can just see it: "Oh my, I don't feel so fresh... ~pshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhht~  Yay!  I feel so much better now!  I can tear down these giant cobwebs my husband somehow spun. Now, where's my apron? Where are my heels?"

Oh yeah, she'll follow your heinous smoke-breath anywhere. Like to a dentist's office to clean those yellow teeth, you smelly cretin.

I can’t, for the life of me, figure out the connection between killing a woman and a postage meter. Any help? I think she ought to jam the guy’s tie into the slot and start cranking.

We now take time out from killing women to kill some children. Actually, this could be an NRA ad, right now. 

Baby: “Yeah, Mom, please chill out and have a smoke, before smoking my bottom for smearing my diaper all over the wall.” Random thought: If a baby is nursing while the mother is smoking, should the baby be able to blow smoke rings?

I bet those Chesterfield boxes autographed by The Gipper are worth something now. At least I hope so, just to make up for the emphysema.

This is amazing. “A case of Blatz in your home means much to the young mother, and obviously baby participates in its benefits.” So we’re getting the babies drunk, are we? I’m picturing the baby taking a long pull off of Mommy, leaning back and going, “BRAAAAAAAAAP!”

Subaru has made quite the turnaround in ad philosophy, didn't they? They went from crushing women’s spirits to being the car of choice for lesbians. Total U-Turn.

At least this one is better than the Thorazine “Eye Surgery/Torture” ad from above. I actually like this one. I’m sending a case of Thorazine to my parents immediately. You know, just in case Walgreens is all out. I’m sure the guy in the picture is agitated because even with arthritis, they still made him tie his own tie.

Is it wrong that the first thing that hit me was “Why is that dude wearing a shirt and tie to bed?” Can’t be a “50 Shades of Grey” thing... I’m sure the lady is only on her knees out of gratitude for being let out of the basement pit long enough to make breakfast. I expect this to be an early version of a JD Vance campaign poster.

This one is partially true. Men may not be the number one reason for women taking Midol, but I bet they’re a close 2nd.

I’m sure the gays would provide much better entertainment on a cruise than THAT. The dude with the puppets doesn't say “gay,” he says “child molester.” The people circled around him have obviously never made it past Romper Room. Next time, book the cruise that Lenny Bruce is playing.

If Santa gives you a gun, you can skip the background check.  After all, he’s the top authority on whether you’re naughty or nice.

If I ever gave my wife a Hoover vacuum cleaner for Christmas, she’d never be able to use it. It would be too hard for the vacuum bag to expand after she stuffed it up my ass.

Hey look!  They had Fox News on TV way back in the 50s!