The Big Government Bluz

I saw this meme posted by a conservative friend on the old Facebook a while back, which I thought was a pretty good example of the kind of dishonest fear-mongering for which Republicans are known.

More people work for the government…ooooh, scary. It paints dark pictures of overreaching politicians and endless, faceless bureaucracy.

The first thing I question is whether this is true or not. I mean, in a capitalist society, everything is for sale. It takes a lot of people to ship things, sell things, and account for things. (I’m omitting “building things” because as often as not, that doesn’t happen here.) So I have doubts. I think the only way the statement becomes true is if includes ALL government work. Federal, State, local, etc. And think what that includes:

·         Firefighting and police.

·         Military and National Guard.

·         Schools and libraries.

·         Sanitation, road construction, and maintenance.

·         Road salting and plowing.

·         Postal Service.

·         FEMA, NOAA, and weather forecasting.

·         Courts, district attorneys, and legal aides.

·         The IRS (Yeah, boo, hiss, but someone has to handle collecting taxes if we want any of the services above.)

Are any of these jobs particularly evocative of the evil intentions of government? Of course not, they’re just jobs that are necessary in our society. These are absolutely “government jobs.” And the fact that they are ensures cost control.

I’ll tell you what it really comes down to: Republicans don’t like all this government work because unless there is a private entity involved, the rich can’t skim the till and take a slice of taxpayer money for themselves.

They want all of these jobs privatized for the simple reason that it’s an opportunity to make more money. They want these services to become more things we have to pay for out of pocket, but at a higher price because they need to make a profit. But first, they have to get us to go along with it, hence the scary “Runaway Big Government” memes.

It’s just like with Social Security. Republicans have been trying to privatize that for years, not because it’s inefficient, but with money going from the government directly to the people, fat-cat Wall Street firms don’t get to take a cut. It is money left on the table and they can’t stand that they can’t get their mitts on any of it.

That’s why they lie about Social Security being a factor in the federal deficit. They want us to think benefits need to be reduced when in fact, a few small changes would guarantee viability for decades to come. It’s just that Republicans don’t like those changes because the filthy rich would have to pay more than they do now. All they need to do is raise or remove the cap at which Social Security taxes end ($165K.) That’s a non-starter with them, and it shows to whom they are beholden. (It’s not us.)

Or, they could always pay back the money Congress “borrowed” from the Social Security fund decades ago, but never seem to find a way to return.

***

In other news (from a couple weeks ago) I saw this in the local paper.

As usual, the GOP is demanding the blood-thirsty option of sentencing the 9/11 mastermind to death. I think they’re being short-sighted. While I agree that his maniac is deserving of death, I think life in prison would be far more punishing. Is this guy really even afraid of death? Isn’t he one of those men who expects 72 virgins at his beck and call once he snuffs it? Far better for him to rot in jail for one long, miserable year, after another. Or, give him his 72 virgins right now, and by “virgins,” I mean anti-social, basement-dwelling, woman-hating incels. Party on, Sheikh.

***

Hey, how about that convention, huh? It actually left me feeling a bit more optimistic. I loved the speeches, especially those from Doug Emhoff, Secretary Pete, Michelle Obama, Tim Walz, and the nominee herself.

You can tell it scared the Republicans because they’re killing themselves trying to find an angle of attack to discredit the proceeding. Their only hope is that it works on their fan base who never saw any of it for themselves. We know joy and happiness when we see it and we recognize messaging that resonates.

It’s funny that one of the recurring themes from the Fox "News" crowd is how “no one voted for her in the primaries.”

To that, I use Governor Walz’s new punchline in that they should “Mind their own damn business.” This is our dance, not theirs. They get no more say in our primaries than we had in theirs. If we’re happy with our nominee, that’s all that matters. It just goes to show that they’ll latch onto anything to keep from admitting their guy is a joke.

The Republican War on Sex

I don’t know how I missed this last February but this should have been a major story, if not for the dereliction of journalistic duty on behalf of mainstream media. Behold this social media post from the Heritage Foundation:

There is so much to unpack here. But first off, let’s remember that the Heritage Foundation is a Republican think tank and funding source that has its tentacles into every level of GOP government, forever pushing for ways to go back to the “Good Olde Days” when women were in the kitchen, Blacks were in the fields, and Gays were in the back of the closet. Back when men did what their bosses told them to do and accepted whatever pay was deemed appropriate. They’d like all of that back again, except without the 90% corporate tax rate. They want that to be zero. They are funded by men who are filthy rich and intend to keep it that way, for themselves and their silver-spoon-fed offspring.

But back to the tenet at hand… keeping women under men’s thumbs. They think the best way to do that is to keep them pregnant. They are for “returning consequentiality to sex.” As if the clap wasn’t enough…

“Senseless use of birth control.” Seriously? There is literally no such thing because if a woman or a couple don’t want to become pregnant, that’s all the sense it requires. Everyone else can piss off!

Ultimately, they frame their points as a religious and moral argument.

Like “restoring sex to its true purpose.” When the hell was that? People have been screwing like minks since the dawn of time. Sometimes it may have been under the radar, so to speak, but it was happening. And there have always been these religious pricks trying to make everyone behave.

“You people stop boning and get back in the fields!”

These people don’t give a flying fig about religion, not for real. Not about the messages of the Bible, anyway. No, they need a way to control people yet still appear to claim the moral high ground. So they wrap themselves in some of the most out-of-touch pieces of the Bible and use it to insulate themselves from examination.

And for other religions? Well, none of those count, obviously. Theirs is the only “real” religion, as if there’s such a thing.

Back in the eighties, Republicans figured out that they could count on the vote of Evangelical Christians if they became the Morality Party and campaigned against abortion, sex, and secularity. It worked for them because it gave them a voting base beyond the rich people they were obligated to placate. And if the Evangelicals didn’t get what they wanted? Who cares? All the more to rile them up for the next election. Most importantly, it didn’t cost the 1% any money. They can always find an abortion if some rich guy’s mistress needs one. This was a great way to get people to vote against their own economic interests.

The Heritage Foundation is knee-deep in all of this. And here they are, actually posting their plans to keep people from having sex.

Well, good luck with that. Have you ever noticed that the states (or cultures) that are the most legally constricted have the highest porn usage? There’s no keeping a cork in that bottle; it’s going to pop one way or another.

So, this is real. The Republicans are coming for sex. They want to restrict or ban contraception, outlaw abortion, and track women’s periods so they can police the whole thing to keep them from exercising their own free will. And they have six justices on the Supreme Court who came with Heritage Foundation endorsements, so whatever religious restrictions Republicans can dream up will be rubber-stamped into the laws of the land.

For “freedom” of course. Complete, flag-wrapped freedom, which really means the freedom to live, think, and act like they tell you.

Amen.

From The “I Called It” Dept.

In a post two weeks ago, I wrote the following:

Last week, VP Harris unveiled her plan to cap price gouging and offer assistance for first-time home buyers. And what did the GOP do? They promptly opposed all such measures.

"...completely preposterous for government to play a role in setting food prices," he said. Unlike the GOP campaign messaging which castigates the Biden Administration for not doing just that.

So the next time one of your friends is complaining about the “Biden Economy,” ask him what, exactly he thinks should be done about it. Because solving the actual problem seems to be a non-starter.

Just like with the border, Republicans don’t really want to solve the problem, they just want to blame their opponents for it. They have zero intention of lowering prices because that wouldn’t be in the best interest of their big donors.

Outrageous, Egregious, Preposterous!

How bad do you feel for Jordan Chiles right now, huh? Man, what a kick in the teeth. It’s bad enough that she has to compete against the most dominant gymnast in history, now she’s getting railroaded out of her bronze medal.

Apparently, the judges made an error in determining her degree of difficulty, which lowered her score. But her team protested, and the judges made the proper adjustment and the resulting score landed her the bronze medal.

But wait, now it comes out that her team was four seconds late in protesting… they have one minute from the end of the routine… so they’re recalling the metal.

What a sack of shit. I know there are rules about such things, you’d figure there has to be some kind of deadline. But one minute, amidst the swirl of Olympic competition. This is bullshit. At minimum, there should be an appeal process which when used successfully, keeps a medal from being turned in because of actions taken by those other than the athlete. In other words, they want her to return her medal because the judges screwed up.

If I’m her, assuming the decision is final, I’d be like, “I know the official record books will be updated, but you’re not getting this medal back. You want it, come get it.” Then I’d go see my new best friend Snoop and see if he still has some friends from the Hood who will protect my ass. What are they going to do, send a team of Olympic goons? Like a judo team? Or the shot putters? OK, maybe some of those archers and sharpshooters would get my attention. 

They should do a Pulp Fiction remake with these two:

I would probably do things just to piss them off, like post photos on Facebook or Insta of the medal in various famous places. Like, “Can’t catch me…”

Or “Missed me by that much!”

I don’t know what kind of leverage they have over someone in her position. Maybe they can prevent her from competing again, but she can always retire and start doing commercials. Like, for home security systems. Or maybe Spellcheck apps.

“Don’t let stupid mistakes jam YOU up. Use this and get them fixed immediately!”

She should hire the actor who played the Seinfeld show attorney Jackie Chiles to work with her on it, and just let him do his thing.

Anyway, I just think it’s silly to let systematic screw-ups put the screws to athletes who have busted their buns to become world-class talents. There needs to be some kind of review board to ensure that athletes’ dreams don’t become victims of the quest for bureaucratic purity.

***

This was in today’s Baltimore Sun:

My intention in highlighting this story is not about Chuck Schumer’s decision to kill this proposal in its sleep, but to question why Republicans proposed such a thing in the first place. I mean, I know the answer, and it’s twofold:

·         To appease the idiots from their base who think there’s a vast conspiracy regarding COVID, the pandemic, and other viruses in conjunction with the CDC, and other anti-vaxxers.

·         The GOP wants to cut or defund any department or entity that creates barriers to profit by large corporations. Whether it’s air purity, water clarity, or food safety, it’s much more cost-efficient to contaminate all three areas and settle with or (legally stall) complainants, than it is to produce a clean, safe product.

I’ve been beating this drum for years and this is just one more example. And without the Democratic majority we have now, slim as it may be, this was something that could have come to fruition. This is the importance of keeping the Senate. It’s something on which our lives may actually depend.

***

I also saw this on my news page today. Get ready for another Tan Suit Controversy.

 We know this play by now. The GOP goes crazy because a Democratic president takes a few hours (or days) off, even though their own guy set the presidential record for the most time spent playing golf. (And using his own facilities so the government has to pay him for his own protection.) And famously only worked a couple of hours per day, setting aside vast portions of “executive time” for watching Fox “News” and sending incoherent tweets.

And now they want to throw shade on Biden for it? (Sorry, it looks like he already has some.)

I think every president needs some recharge time, some R&R. And that goes for presidents of both parties. I’m sick of this cheap blame game over something so universal.

And it’s not like no one can find him if something comes up. I guarantee he’s got a team nearby keeping tabs on whatever’s hot and can pull him in if need be. Every human, president or not, needs time to disengage and chill.

Republicans are probably just mad because they think he’s wasting the opportunity to direct government business into his own pocket. Maybe if he were charging the Secret Service to be on his own private beach, they would understand. Game recognizes game.

Show Me the Money

I’m enjoying the Democrats' new line of attack, calling Republicans “weird” at every turn. Certainly it’s juvenile, but it gets under their skin. At least it bugs them enough for them to start calling the Democrats weird, using the timeless “I Know You Are But What Am I?” defense. Unfortunately for them, the Democrats already invoked the “No Take-Backs” clause.

I say, let the experts weigh in:

I saw a lot of Republican commercials over the weekend smearing Harris, most of which used the sure-fire conservative hot-button terms… “Most progressive Senator ever,” “San Francisco politics,” “Nancy Pelosi,” “Illegal immigrants and gang members” killing people while she was somewhere in the state, etc.

They really love to throw “San Francisco” around. To them it just reeks of hippies, drugs, and free love. They’re all like, “She’s so San Francisco, Rice-a-Roni is suing her for copyright infringement. She’s so San Francisco, it should say Kamala’s Wharf on the sign. Instead of cable cars, she’s pulling tourists up the hills herself.”

And I “can’t even” with the DEI stuff. I mean, wasn’t she elected by her constituents several times for various offices? To the MAGAs, they figure we need to wait for another 42 White guys to become president before they can cope with another person of color. I know I’m not the first person to point this out but the fact that DEI can easily stand for Don Jr, Eric, and Ivanka, all of whom had jobs because of who they were on paper rather than actual skills.

***

I’m more than ready for someone to finally come back at Republicans who are claiming that the current state of high prices can be laid at Biden’s (and by proxy, Harris’s) feet. Rational people know that the prices of anything are influenced by many factors, not least of which is the amount of profit their manufacturers choose to take.

So, what do you think would happen if Biden or Harris said, “You want us to provide price relief? How about this? How about I order a cap on corporate profits? If you get caught gouging in excess of allowable profit, we fine the shit out of you. And let’s prevent corporations from buying up all the housing to turn the units into rentals, so we can keep a lid on housing prices.”

Watch how fast Republicans scream bloody murder about Socialism, Communism, and every other “ism” that they think will scare you. They don’t want prices to go down. Their donors love these high prices because they’re making one record-breaking quarter of profit after another. And then they get to laugh as they blame it all on the Democrats.

Try asking TFG what his plan is to reduce the cost of living. I’ll tell you his answer: “I have a beautiful plan in the works, the best plan ever, many people said so. It will be released in two weeks.” And we know what that means. There is no plan. Someone who takes pride in skipping out on what he owes people will never care how much things cost.

Just like with the border, Republicans don’t want to take action to fix problems, they want to run on them and blame the Democrats.

Anyway, it’s not like any such economic pronouncement from Biden would pass muster with the new Overtly Corrupt Supreme Court. They’re prepared to thwart any economic plan that isn’t directed at the 1%. That’s why they’re there.

***

I’m glad that Biden is at least proposing SCOTUS reforms. Drastic action is necessary at this point. The fact that several justices have been bought cannot be hidden. No one provides the kind of financial favors that Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh received, without expecting something in return.

Sadly, nothing will ever come of it without the Presidency, the House, and 60 Senators onboard. The only way to get Republicans on board will be when the Supreme Court has a Democrat-appointed majority. (And even then, the rich will just buy off more Democrats.) You can already see the Republican panic in this Wall Street Journal headline:

Republicans didn’t do all that work to pack the court with their own flunkies just to give it up due to the public’s (correct) perception. The Journal goes on to say that the number of possible accusations and complaints will provide the appearance that the court is corrupt. How that differs from what we have right now is beyond me. We already KNOW the court is corrupt.

But the biggest no-go is the idea of an amendment eliminating presidential immunity. And it’s not because of the issue itself, it’s just that any new amendment requires ratification by 38 state governments.

My friend, we can’t get 38 state governments to agree that the grass is green. They could be trying to pass a declaration in which if an asteroid were to be discovered streaking towards a planet-killing collision with Earth, the states would unite in trying to divert it. We would still have red and blue states fighting about something. Maybe the Dems want to hire the most qualified contractors and the Republicans want to hire established Defense Department contractors so they can skim the funds. Whatever the case, we can’t even get 38 states to agree to something as basic as men and women being treated as equals. (And I’d bet some of the states that DID sign on would like to change their minds now.) No, unless there’s a complete overhaul in this country’s collective mindset, we’re never going to see another amendment to the Constitution pass again.

BUT, I don’t see the harm in talking about the issue and getting Republicans on the defensive. It’s good to make them show their true colors. Which, in fact, are always “green.”