First Amendment Bluz

Last week showed that everything is indeed bigger in Texas, including Constitutional atrocities, as the state school board eviscerated the First Amendment by requiring Biblical passages to be taught in public schools.

Later in the article above (in a portion I clipped out for size), a supporter claimed it was OK because our 250 years “started as a nation of unwavering Christian values.”

Yes, so unwavering that the founding fathers specifically prescribed against the government having any hand in religion in the very First Amendment to the Constitution. But in Texas, the only Amendment they recognize is a mile-wide interpretation of the Second.

Optional religious student groups have been in place for a while now, and I don’t really have a problem with that, given the “optional” part. But once it’s required, it changes everything, especially considering they’re not including Quran or Talmud readings, or even the Flying Spaghetti Monster’s manifesto.

I can only hope that in the mandated teaching of this material, the teacher works in the Biblical exhortations to feed the poor, welcome the stranger, and turn the other cheek. Unless, of course, the Texas Board of Education releases their own version of the Bible and snips out of those Commie, Leftist, Liberal platitudes for which that book was originally known. Republicans aren’t really interested in freedom of religion; they’re concerned with freedom to be Christian. (Only without the pesky liberal Jesus stuff.)

Filing lawsuits to stop this indoctrination won’t do any good; there is a zero percent chance that the current SCOTUS will kill this action. In fact, upholding actions like this is exactly why the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation put the six conservative members there.

The infamous Project 2025 document contains many actions aimed at allowing what the Constitution clearly forbids. This is one of them.

So the only way any of this changes is at the local level. At least these new requirements won’t take place until 2030, by which time these evangelical school board members could be replaced by others who understand the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

This is me, not holding my breath, though.

The Republican machine is strong in Texas and tightening its grip on Texas politics every day. As the population of prospective Blue voters increases, so do Republican operations to curtail their voting power through gerrymandering and the usual Election Day roadblocks to voting: reducing voting machine numbers in urban areas, reducing windows for early voting, sabotaging vote-by-mail, etc. And, of course, the Feds can send ICE into all the Latino precincts to scare off the Hispanic vote. With ICE’s propensity to scoop up and detain anyone foreign-looking, US citizen or not, who would risk their life and livelihood just to cast a vote?

The Republicans have complete power in the state now and will now give it up without a fight, dirty or otherwise.

N. Carolina Eggs-ecutions

A couple of things bubbled up in my social media feed last week, and I want to talk a bit about them. First up, North Carolina wants to enshrine magical thinking into law:

The actual bill is more of a “personhood” item, bestowing full human rights to fertilized eggs. The fallout from that is that the NC GOP is pushing to allow “deadly force” to stop women they believe are having abortions. I’m sure you can see the can of worms that this opens.

“They believe.” That’s a pretty low bar to get over before murdering someone. One can believe anything. Will that now be a Get Out of Jail Free card for every guy who wants to knock off his wife or girlfriend?

“I’m sorry, Your Honor, I swear she was on her way to get an abortion. I had no choice but to beat her to death.”

Will this make murder the penalty for using an IUD? Or having a miscarriage? The language in the bill has chilling ramifications, and it’s all based on the massive assumption that “human life begins at fertilization,” which the bill characterizes as “a matter of indisputable scientific fact,” a highly contentious statement. (Ridiculous statement, in my opinion.) They reason that if one can use deadly force to defend one’s own life, it can be used to defend this prospectively defined human being/clump of cells.

So I can just see this being used as a tactic outside Planned Parenthood or other reproductive health clinics. A group of morons ring the clinic and shoot anyone who comes near, because “they believe” someone is about to have an abortion.

There are a whole slew of other ripples this bill would force us to handle. Are these cell clumps/fetuses counted in the census? Do they count as dependents and tax deductions? Can they inherit estates? Can they receive monetary gifts or own bank accounts?

On the bright side, so far, this is just a bill being introduced. It still has to pass both houses and be signed by the governor. Republicans may have the numbers to pass it; they enjoy a 71-47 advantage in the NC House and a 30-20 lead in the Senate. They have this edge because North Carolina is the “Poster State” for gerrymandering, and the state districts have been carved up to deliver the maximum GOP seats. The Governor, whose election is NOT affected by gerrymandering, is a Democrat, and House Republicans are one vote short of a veto-proof super-majority. That means the vote would be razor-thin to uphold a veto, but one bought-off or threatened Democrat could tip the scales.  But it would be politically perilous because popular sentiment is overwhelmingly in favor of broader reproductive rights, not narrower.

Democrats in North Carolina (and nationally) should make this a billboard issue to make the point that Republicans are not finished with their assault against women. Unless cooler heads prevail and they chuck this insidious proposal, hang this bill around their necks and make them wear it like a scarlet letter.

***

The other thing I found noteworthy is this cartoon.

I found it on social media and saved it for later use, and then later saw it pop up on a couple of blogs I follow. So I know I’m not the first to run it, but I feel I have to because it’s perfect. It’s an absolutely accurate depiction of what’s going on right now, as well as during the last 20 years.

I’ve been saying for years that all the Republicans have to run on is fear; fear of brown foreigners, gays, Liberals, non-Christians, Atheists, etc. They use that for misdirection away from their true intentions (like creating a rich, white, ruling class, siphoning tax money from the lower and middle classes upward to the 1%, and invalidating the rights of non-white and non-male. Because they don’t have a platform that offers tangible benefits to the average American, they have to guide our attention elsewhere, and fear is a potent weapon. So they get everyone worked up about these scary assertions, many of which disappear immediately upon the end of Election Season, and ride the big wave of fear and distrust right into office. At that point, all their attention turns to the enrichment of themselves, friends, and cronies. And with this Administration, self-aggrandizement, persecution of enemies, and setting up a permanent thumb on the scales of elections to come.

We need to keep our eyes on what’s truly important, like fixing the economy, eliminating those damaging tariffs, making health care affordable (and getting it back in line with the science), repairing our international standing, and installing a rational immigration policy that doesn’t include concentration camps. (And a host of other cleanup items to undo the damage caused by this clown-shoes game show host.)

And I’m hopeful there will be resources available for the gargantuan task of removing “his” name from everywhere he smeared it.

Odd Bits - The Germ-Ridden Edition

Last week’s post about fake assassination attempts ran longer than I initially intended, so I omitted some other news events I wanted to cover. I’ll address them today.

One Flu Over the Sniper’s Nest

SecDef Whiskey Pete removed the requirement that all troops receive flu shots, making them optional. I’m wondering if this is a new war strategy. Given his lack of safety precautions for the various bases in the Middle East, which have been left exposed and have taken heavy damage, he may be counting on some of his guys getting captured. His hope could be that rather than intel, they’ll give the enemy the flu. Or at least get gross bodily fluids all over enemy camps.

He says it’s about the principle that one can’t force a man to do things to his body against his will. And the “a man” part is a telling factor because these MAGA goons certainly don’t recognize the bodily autonomy of a woman. This is just more evidence that the new Conservatives consider women to be second-class citizens/property. Only men’s rights are worth fighting for. More on this in a bit.

Yes, Virginia, There is a Double Standard

The state of Virginia voted to approve a new Democratic-skewed congressional map, which was immediately nullified by a Republican judge. Shortly after, the Supreme Court voted to allow racial and any other kind of gerrymandering, as long as the developers of the map don’t explicitly state that they want to screw the minorities. As with most Republican legal positions, they want it to be legal when they do it but illegal when anyone else does.

Now, I’m in favor of eliminating gerrymandering of all kinds. I think there should be a bipartisan commission in each state that draws fair and representative districts. BUT, as long as the Republicans are cooking the books in Texas, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, and the other Red States, I think the Democrats need to do the same. Standing on principle is pointless if you’re the only ones doing it. I refuse to take the noble stand while the opposition flouts the rules of decency and amasses enough power to retain it for generations. We can already see that their goal is to create a rich, white, male utopia at the expense of everyone else. They’re not even hiding it any longer. We need to avail ourselves of every tactic there is to seek a more even playing field. Otherwise, our vaunted Democratic Republic will disappear in a swirl of grift, racism, and religious fervor.

Texas Tea-ching

The state of Texas has been cleared to require the posting of the Ten Commandments in every classroom, breaking many decades' worth of precedent separating church and state. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” That sounds pretty clear to me, and requiring the posting of religious tenets of one religion is obviously in violation.

If I were a teacher in Texas, I’d find a way to add the tenets of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Pastafarianism to my classroom wall décor.

To me, the best take on the Ten Commandments came from legendary comedian George Carlin, who, using logic and common sense, whittled the Ten Commandments down to two:

·         Thou shalt be honest and faithful…

·         Thou shalt try real hard not to kill anybody.

I was going to embed the video, but it no longer seems to be on YouTube in its entirety.

SNAP Crappola and Pop

The GOP is trying to work up more requirements on what one’s meager SNAP benefits can be used to purchase. The latest attempts would eliminate, among other things, soda and rotisserie chicken. Republicans won’t be happy until all that poor people can get from the government is a thin gruel, preferably after waiting in a blocks-long line. To them, if you’re poor, it’s your fault, and this is all you deserve.

I’m looking for the next proposal, where someone creates a poor-folks’ MRE, like the military’s “Meals Ready to Eat.” Then the government could pass out boxes of these pre-approved rations and be sure they couldn’t possibly be enjoyed. Obviously, they will be produced by whichever giant agri-business greases the right politicians. Mark my words, it’s coming.

United States Male Service

A federal court has upheld Louisiana’s ban on receiving the abortion pill by mail, which will somehow affect the rest of the country. It is a major piece in the GOP agenda to keep women pregnant and under male control. See, much like mail-in voting, by eliminating the mailing of the abortion pill, women have to go to places that provide such services. That’s where the Republican suppression techniques kick in. They can harass people coming and going, legislate against such places via zoning restrictions or other capricious legal maneuvers, or continue the effort to ban specific drugs and procedures. It’s another way for a small portion of Americans to impose their religious inclinations on the rest of the country, regardless of anyone else’s moral or ethical code. It’s the Republican mantra: agree with me, or you’re not a “real” American.

Passport Trolling

When I read that the president is pasting his scowling puss onto American passports this summer, I was overjoyed that I already applied. In fact, my new passport came last Friday, sans the mug of the Orange Troll. That’s the last thing I’d want to flash around in various international ports. Talk about making yourself a more obvious target. There should be an option where on the first page it says, “Please don’t blame me, I didn’t vote for him.”

Despite all the warnings that this would take a good bit of time, I received my passport roughly three weeks after I applied. Now I’m just waiting for them to return my old junior high school passport.

Funny thing though… Sunday morning, I received a status update email from the government, saying they just mailed my passport and I’d receive it on Tuesday, the passport I’d already received two days earlier. Just goes to show, this Administration can’t even succeed without looking like a screw-up.

Truth is Another Casualty of War

This may be the first war in my lifetime where we can’t find out what’s happening on the evening TV news. This administration has a throttle on war news and will never release information that doesn’t glorify their mission.

Recall in previous wars, bombings, or raids, there was plenty of film being shown on TV: missiles hitting their marks, airfields blown up, mobile anti-missile guns wiped out, etc. We all remember that famous footage from the Iraq War of one of our missiles going through the window of some fortified bunker. It was an impressive display of American war skills. We’re getting a little of that, but not much. And we’re certainly not seeing what Iran is doing in their own defense.

Remember a few months back when the Defense Department made all journalists who covered the “war” beat swear an oath that they’d only report what the Pentagon gave them? Remember how the honest journalists quit and were replaced with friendly flaks who were only too eager to push propaganda? Well, that’s why we’re not going to get an honest take on Iran War activity.

Also note that recent events have created a whole new web of Administration-friendly national news outlets. Besides Fox “News” (and the minor cloned conservative outlets), CBS has succumbed to MAGA fever, and now CNN is heading there as well (after CBS/Paramount’s successful bid to take over the Warner Brothers universe). Add the Sinclair chain of stations, and you have a massive broadcasting voice that is willing to repeat whatever the Administration wants. And they’re certainly not going to air anything that runs counter to the claims of excellence and victory.

I’ve been seeing some alternate viewpoints on Facebook, but I don’t really trust them. There was a time when I could rely almost 100% that the liberal assertions were true, but that’s becoming increasingly unreliable.

This is the most truthful thing I’ve ever seen from a Republican.

I’ve read several outrageous claims I initially believed (because they were completely in character with other known MAGA outrages) that turned out later to be false. Either Liberals are now participating on Conservatives’ reality-distorting playing field, or the Russians/Iranians/Chinese are trying to make it look that way. Then, people don’t know what to believe, which is right where they want us.

One claim was that there was an order that went out from military commanders to all their soldiers that they were to think of the Iran attack as a holy war to bring about Armageddon. That tracks with the new Whisky Pete’s new Christian Nationalist military, but Snopes later debunked it as unproven.

But the main issue here is with the other claim I saw, that Iran has completely blown up at least 30 of our air bases in the Middle East; blown up as in completely wiped out. Billions of dollars blown to dust and operational surveillance up in smoke. Many details added depth and realism to the claim.

My take is that there have been some bombs or drones that have landed (see: our seven known casualties to date), even some key radar installations included, but we’re still operational.

But I totally believe that if such a thing DID happen, we’d have to find out from foreign news sources who are not beholden to the US government. Word would eventually leak out as the bodies came home (or disappeared en masse), but it would take a while. In the meantime, just like these guys want, I’m sitting here not knowing what to believe.

The problem is that in some of these FB newsgroups, anyone can post, which means the quality and veracity of the message varies. Usually, a commenter will call the hinky stuff into question, but, of course, you have to look. I hope these groups will begin to police themselves. I think anyone who posts misinformation should have their posting rights removed or just dropped from the group. The one advantage we’ve enjoyed for so many years is that the points put across by Dems and Liberals have generally been factually correct (compared to those of Republicans and Conservatives, the expert purveyors of logical fallacies, especially in TFG’s era). If we lose that edge, we fall even further behind in the fight for hearts and minds in the coming elections, which will be tough enough to win. And it will be even tougher to have that win count for anything, with a giant orange thumb on the scale. 

Bomb-Bomb-Bomb, Bomb-Bomb Iran

So, like everyone who was paying attention last week predicted (myself included), we’re at war with Iran. I’m sure the president expects the country to rally around him the way everyone did with Bush II during the Afghanistan War. There’s nothing he’d like better than to see himself portrayed as a battle-hardened wartime president.

And I don’t think there is much support for Iran’s theocratic regime either. There’s no question that the Middle East would be better off without them in command. Word is that the Supreme Leader was blown up over the weekend, along with the people the Administration thought would be next in line. In fact, they even had plans to work with them to set up a new government. It probably would have worked better if they hadn‘t blown them to bits.

Who knew we had the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch in our arsenal?

I’m actually surprised there wasn’t a plan to capture some of the clerics in charge, so they could be debriefed. I bet TFG would love to hear more about how these few people used religion to keep the masses in line and themselves in power indefinitely. That’s a good source of knowledge gone to waste.

So while it seems like good news on the surface, I still have nagging doubts. Right off the bat, you have to have a hard time believing any information that comes from this White House. This is an administration that has turned lying to your face into an art form. There’s no assertion too ridiculous to pursue if it’s something the president sputtered out. So excuse me if I don’t believe anything until I’ve seen confirmation from outside the Administration. And with the consolidation of national news media under Republican control, we can’t trust many of them to report independently. I expect most will simply parrot whatever the White House tells them.

The other thing is, these are people who go off half-cocked regularly. The president says what he wants, and they fly into action. Where’s the plan? How do we even know that there is one? These guys have cocked up a bunch of initiatives only to have to walk them back amid unforeseen consequences.

For all we know, he may be angling for a new Trump Tower in Tehran. He might be acting on someone else’s behalf, maybe someone who has compromising information on him, like we all suspect Israel and Russia do. Maybe his defense contractor donors need another influx of cash, so they request that we use up some of our weapons stockpile so that they may sell us replacements. Or maybe he and Whisky Pete just want to see some things go boom, and feel that swelling in their man parts, like so many other fake tough-guys. And for whatever reason, this “Operation Epic Epstein Fury” (thanks Hackwacker) certainly provides the distraction that they so desperately need. Before too long, we’ll be hearing that they’re far too busy with this war to worry about pursuing Epstein-related charges.

As for American casualties, that’s just an abstraction for this Administration. They don’t give a rusty fuck about losing our servicemen. “Suckers and losers,” remember? They’re just assets on a balance. You can tell by the way they’ve essentially neutralized the VA, making an already overwhelmed institution even more ineffective, by starving it of money and resources.

And if they don’t care about our losses, they sure don’t give a shit about Iranian civilians caught in the bomb zones. Right out of the chute, the first thing we heard was that we blew up a school for girls. Granted, when this first came out, I had doubts about the veracity. I mean, it’s right there in the Middle East playbook: Declare losses of benign entities and claim victimhood. You see it every time, when they claim we blew up a school, or a hospital, or a falafel factory. They omit the part where the factory was making falafel AND IEDs.

But by now, I’ve seen a lot of confirmation and nothing to the contrary, so I believe the part about the girls’ school now. And I also believe that no one in the Administration cares. Do you think they’ll seriously admit to a mistake? About anything? Not these guys. If asked, they’ll come up with some kind of ridiculous rationalization.

But it makes you wonder, that with all our famed intel and spy capabilities, how did we come to bomb a girls’ school? That’s not a great way to change the hearts and minds needed to foment a new West-friendly government. It’s just more evidence to them that we’re a well-armed Goliath who can’t be trusted.

Late Development

New reports call into question the White House's rationale for the bombing, that Iran's attack on us was imminent. Not so, says the Pentagon, in a Congressional briefing:

Oops. But again, it just goes to show how easily this Administration lies to us.

Iran (Still) Sucks

I apologize for not having something up earlier this week. Coming back from vacation, I had to swing into overdrive coming back to work, so by the end of the last two days, I was in no condition to make any sense. But today is closer to normal, so here we are.

Everyone’s been covering the “new and improved” Middle East war, but I want to add my two cents anyway.

Right off the bat, I don’t mind if anyone bombs the Iranian Theocracy back to the Stone Age from whence they came. They’ve been a thorn in our side for decades, whether pulling terrorist acts themselves, like they did back in my high school senior year of 1979, or sponsoring the terrorism against us by other actors.

The original Iran Hostage Crisis lasted from high school to college, and it was a big deal to my friends and me. We followed all the updates closely. Two of my buddies and I each had t-shirts made up that said, “Iran Sucks.” We used to walk around the mall together, wearing them, feeling all rebellious.

Yes, I still have it. No, it no longer fits. Note the size comparison to one of my current shirts. Those were the days!

So there was no love lost there, and I wasn’t terribly bothered when the news came out that Israel hit Iran. I was enthused that they targeted all military and nuclear-processing sites, leaving the civilian population out of it. I was less enthused when we sent our own planes over there. I thought Israel was doing a bang-up job all on their own. Maybe they needed our bunker-busting bombs.

OR, maybe TFG, after sitting through his lame little parade, wanted to see some real shit and put these things into action. (Well, the B-2s, at least. I don’t think they were paraded down the street.)

It’s one thing for these fragile male egos to merely see all their firepower and hear of its dominance. It’s another thing to watch shit go BOOM. I’m sure it tickled the boy parts of all the new toady military brass, as well as the Commander in Chief’s little mushroom cap. I’m sure he wants to be seen as a tough, wartime president.

Of course, it seems that his own insecurity (and I mean that literally) signaled Iran that something was coming down, giving them time to scurry away with their enriched uranium before the big ones fell, so in the scheme of things, they were mildly inconvenienced, rather than decimated.

Gee, when had this guy EVER done something that wasn’t underwhelming? He even gets “shot” in a ho-hum fashion.  (This guy was NOT shot. Guaranteed. If a bullet of that caliber even touched his ear, it would be gone, not nicked.)

But I digress.

Another angle not to be dismissed is that this gives the Republicans a chance to throw some more money at their defense contractor donors. We gotta restock the bombs we used, don’t we? Can’t let the inventory run low.

I also think this will be used as a pretext for civil rights violations going forward. Sending the military to squash protests, tampering with or canceling elections… It’s Iran, the all-purpose boogieman.

I bet TFG would LOVE to secretly sit down with the Mullahs and take some notes on how a tiny minority has been able to squash dissent and run roughshod over millions for so long. I don’t think he cares about the Theocracy part, but his enablers do. It’s one more tool in the box to appear righteous while simultaneously behaving like a disciple of evil.

The Hacky Habits of News Aggregators and I Can’t Even

I’ve used Yahoo News pages as my home screen and main news site since I got my first computer in 1999. It’s not so much loyalty as it is inertia, because I haven’t made much of an effort to find a better one.

But some of the things I see there get right on my last nerve, so I thought I’d complain about them a bit and see if you agree.

The I’s Have It

One of the things that drives me the buggiest is the use of “I,” “me,” and “my” in the headlines, thus putting the author in the middle of the story. Like two of these here:

Plus another:

Listen, I don’t care how a story affects some rando content provider. Who are you, and why are you in the story? This happens a lot with Buzzfeed stories, but it’s common elsewhere. While scrolling through today’s news items, I saw this construction more than a half-dozen times. It’s a lazy way to make your article seem relevant to the reader. And to add insult to injury, the article is never as jaw-gaping as they make it seem.

It’s even worse when they use the “and I’m Here for it” trope. Like, “So and So Wore a Nice Dress and I’m Here for it.” Look, no one cares where you are or for what purpose. Leave yourself out of the narrative and just cover the red carpet, OK?

It’s Drafty in Here

Another article I skip 100% of the time is anything about an NFL “Mock Draft.” (An example is in between the I-stories in the first graphic.) The headlines always make it look like big news, a scoop of epic proportions. Now, I’m as interested in the draft as any chronic football fan but I also know that these mock drafts are just the opinion of a couple of sportswriters, sitting in an office somewhere, with varying degrees of expertise. And the chances that they actually know what the draft participants (GMs and owners) are thinking are nil. Team decision-makers keep that shit close to the vest until it’s time to announce their picks. These self-important draft prognosticators don’t know any more than a reasonably informed fan who has a good idea of what his favorite team might need that year, which is to say, he doesn’t know jack-shit. It’s a guess, marketed as inside information. I pass, every time.

Picture This

They do this a lot, too… adding a celebrity headshot to a story that has nothing to do with the pictured celeb. It doesn’t even have to be a celebrity pictured; often, it’s just some attractive model type who is unrelated to the content. More clickbait and switch.

Taylor-Made Stories

In this day and age, anything Taylor Swift does becomes news just because it’s her. And now, with her taking a break from the public eye, now that her record-breaking tour is over, they’re desperate for Taylor content. Hence the above story, which, for all the sizzle, comes down to, “Sports reporter’s husband says thanks to Taylor for hooking them up with VIP tent access to one of her shows.” That’s the story. There’s absolutely nothing of substance there. It’s like any time someone says anything about Ms. Swift, it becomes an article. Hypothetical example:

Headline: Taylor Swift in Health Crisis?

Substance: Taylor told a friend that she had a headache.

Film at eleven.

Here’s another similar one:

The gist of this story: “Taylor has a famous friend and they’re keeping in contact via text.”

Really? Tell me more! Are there emojis involved? What kind of font are they using?

This article demonstrates another device I hate. This is prevalent whenever the subject is a musician, but especially with Taylor Swift. They always use this construction: “The 'Bad Blood' singer says…” They did this three different times in this one article. By including mentions of specific songs, they hope to draw internet search hits (for the song mentioned), thus boosting the article’s profile. And the rub is that anyone landing on this article due to a song search will be disappointed because there is nothing in the article that has to do with their topic of interest. So, essentially, they use cheap tricks to game the system rather than produce quality content that gets circulated organically.

No News is Good News

Then we have the stories that are completely un-newsworthy, like this:

Translation: Somebody somewhere said something stupid. It’s not news, it’s something that happens thousands of times per day. Professor X says something radical. Local shop owner prefers cats to people. Local blogger hates broccoli. This is completely news-free filler that only becomes news because someone wants to use it to make a point. For example, right-leaning news sources will always jump on any story that makes students or educators look bad, to bolster their ongoing opposition to an educated population.

In the story above, the content creator is trying to wealth-shame some woman who obviously has it too good. It’s another attempt at creating clicks out of those seeking the comeuppance of others who are more well off than they are. And it’s not really news.

Clickbait Headline Constructions

I despise the use of the phrase, “Breaks his silence…” Joe Blow Breaks His Silence on Hot Topic. Was there really a “silence” before, or had they just not addressed an issue yet? I mean, there are millions of topics on which I can “break my silence,” because I didn’t care about them, or maybe no one ever asked. It’s not something I’ve been hiding; it just hasn’t come up yet.  It’s a device to make something look like a bigger deal than it is, so you’ll click the link and inevitably become disappointed that you’ve been served another nothing-burger.

It’s the same thing with “Reveals…” “New Orleans Native Joe Bleaux Reveals His Favorite Gumbo Spot.” Is it really a revelation, or did he just mention something? To me, nothing should be “revealed,” unless the subject is quoted as saying, “Tadaaa!”

They also like to use this for random female body parts. Like, “Shake it Off Singer Taylor Swift Reveals her Right Knee.” And you read the story and it’s like, “As she crossed her legs, Ms Swift’s dress shifted a skosh and her knee slipped into view.” It’s just one more way to make something seem more important than it really is.

Unless they can get an exclusive interview with the other knee, to see how it feels about being covered up.

Headline: Taylor Swift’s Knee Involved in Cover-Up and I’m in Shock!

And Finally

RIP to the late Pope Francis, who I will always consider the Least Destructive Pope of my lifetime. The man fought to bring a little empathy and scientific awareness to the Church and was fought every step of the way by the Vatican bureaucracy. 

Performance Art

It looks like the Republicans were campaigning for Oscars of their own lately, given all the performances they put on for the people.

In February, TFG signed a useless executive order outlawing something already outlawed.

Naturally, Fox “News” promoted it because they’ll promote anything that stokes grievances about brown immigrants. Obviously, illegal immigrants are already ineligible for federal benefits of any kind. They can’t get unemployment, Social Security, WIC, or anything else. This bill signing wasn’t anything more than the usual “tough-guy” posturing TFG enjoys so much. And I guarantee he’ll be reciting this later as “proof” of the effectiveness of his Administration, while his lapdogs lap it up.

In another issue that is as hilarious as it is sad, the Unqualified Stand-In for the Secretary of Defense, in his sweeping efforts to pretend there are no gay people in the armed services, authorized the removal of a photograph of the legendary aircraft, the Enola Gay. (Not because of the “Enola” part.)

I feel that one might be quietly walked back just because the idea is so preposterous. Hegseth was so determined to play the role of Military Macho Man, he let his minions, who don’t know history from hysterectomy, trash a famous image of a national treasure just because it has the word “gay” in it.

Just to be sure the “banned” subject matter isn’t forgotten, let me display for you, from deep in the Bluz Archives, this shot of my Great Uncle Ants (giant guy on the right) with the Enola Gay, from when he served with the SeaBees in the South Pacific.

Uncle Ants was the star of this old story I once told, about how he came in from a night out at the bars, stumbled over what he thought was his even more drunk brother, wrestled him up the stairs to bed, scolding him the whole time, only to find out he’d lugged a rolled up carpet up to the second floor.

It was also while Uncle Ants was in the South Pacific that my grandfather figured out a way to get some booze to him and his bunkmates while they were in a dry war zone.

I think Sec. Hegseth should have to go through some of the people that were on the ground in WWII, before screwing around with their history and artifacts.

There was another grand performance at the State of the Union address last week, and I’m not referring to that ranty, rambley, run-on ridiculata spewing from TGF, nor the cane-raising protest from Rep. Al Green. I mean the burly security guards hustling a lone, elderly US Representative off the floor and out the door. I bet their Moms were proud of them. I know the MAGAs were, because there’s nothing better to them than a Black guy getting kicked out of a venue.

The next week, Rep. Green was actually censured by the House. It’s funny how talking back to a president has never been something for which anyone has ever been removed or censured before. I wonder what the difference is now…

Not pictured: The other dipshit who called President Obama a liar during his SOTU address.

Yep, that’s right. Everything’s OK if a Republican does it. (And that’s just taking the polite angle and blaming politics. There’s a good chance the real reason involves something… darker.)

Last Friday, I saw that the Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese has decided to start offering the rite of Confirmation to 9-year-olds.

Seriously.

Like any 9-year-old is savvy enough to make a decision about his spiritual well-being. Hell, I don’t think 14-year-olds (like me at my own confirmation) are qualified either, but that’s still better than this! The kids are only doing whatever their parents have told them to do. But sure, let the Church put on a big song and dance about how these kids have “chosen” to entertain Catholic beliefs. They can pretend all they want.

Luckily, it’s not like these Confirmations are binding. The kids can still come to their senses a little further down the road, like I did. As George Carlin said, “I was a Catholic right up until I reached the age of reason.” Eventually, many will open their eyes and ears, take a good hard listen to what they’re being fed, see that much of it is fantasyland, and the rest is nonsense, with few of the positive platitudes actually playing out in real life. Feeding the poor, healing the sick, welcoming the strangers? That’s just for church. In real life, the people wrapped the tightest in their religion are the first ones to disregard all that pansy empathy stuff, stick out their hand and ask, “Where’s mine?”

Granted, this push may be more because they can count the confirmed as individuals in their congregations. In other words, it’s stat padding.

When people eventually fade away from the Church, they don’t usually go through any kind of notification process wherein they formally tell the Church that they are leaving. They just stop showing up, which allows the Church to keep the person on the books.

It would be nice to think that if there really was a “crisis of confidence” and the Church wanted to make an honest effort to gain and retain followers, they would adjust their policies, procedures, and messaging to connect with more people. But apparently, that’s too hard, so they’re cooking the books instead.

Amen.

90-Days to the Dark Ages

I still can’t get over how Muslims were moving over to voting Republican. This is even though TFG’s first move last time was to ban all immigration from Muslim countries. Well, except from Saudi Arabia. Even though they provided 19 of 20 9/11 attackers, he thought he could get a tower with his name on it built there. Money always wins out over prejudice with these guys.

Anyway, I was watching some more of those 90-Day shows last night when it all suddenly made sense.

Back in September, I wrote about getting hooked into the 90-Day Fiancé world. I even mentioned one storyline where a 41-year-old American woman was going to Jordan to marry her 22-year-old beau, who immediately began putting restrictions on her dress and behavior. (And somehow, despite the existence of the internet, she never saw coming.)

I’d only seen the first installment of their story when I wrote the post, but it’s continuing as one could foresee. The guy’s demands generate all kinds of conflict, while this woman who is old enough to be his mama is expected to do as he tells her and stop questioning him about it.

I told Sweetpea last night that they need to let me write her a speech to deliver. Something like, “Listen Anand, I was a 19-year-old woman on the day you were delivered screaming in your diapers and knew more about the world outside your insular little bubble than you’ll ever know. You did NOT gain superior wisdom by the mere happenstance of being born with a dick. Now treat me like a grown-ass modern woman or you can take that dick and find someone else for it to disappoint.”

Yes, I know she’s never say that, because she’s got “feelings” and shit about the guy, but I can dream.

There’s another storyline where a woman went to see her Arab boyfriend in South Africa for the first time but was so nervous about flying she brought her ex-boyfriend with her, which was an unbelievably stupid idea, guaranteed to cause a major fight. And it did, leading to the boyfriend storming off, shouting profanities, and wanting nothing further to do with her.

As it usually goes, they coaxed him back to talk with her, and they ironed out that little wrinkle with a heart-to-heart talk. But last night, she got to meet his friends, who immediately called her out for having bare arms and midriff and tattoos. They told her she’d be expected to become Muslim to continue to date the guy, which was not something that had previously been discussed. 

They always wait until they feel the woman is hooked before telling her about their primitive expectations.

So, now looping back to the election...

Last night it all made sense. This is why the Muslim vote is migrating to the Republicans. They’re not just a “socially conservative” society, but one that would gravitate to the kind of medieval society Republican bible-thumpers are pushing. They want women on their backs and failing that, in the kitchen. They want them docile, obedient, pliant, and unquestioning, like a pet retriever. One who lives to serve the man. They certainly weren’t going to vote for one for president.

I’m sure they also like the persecution of gays, heretics, and liberals as well; anything that cements the notion of male superiority. However, they probably underestimate the degree to which they will never fit in with the MAGAs. Even if they agree with all the policy points, they’ll never be anything more to MAGA than another raghead to deport.

“Thanks for the vote, though!”

Final Arguments

Early voting is going strong, and we’re only eight days from Election Day (as of this writing), so we’re down to the nitty-gritty. Several weeks ago, I voted via drop-off box and have been notified that my vote has been counted. That’s how it works in a state where they want everyone to vote.

If you’re reading this now, you’re probably not in need of persuasion to vote a straight blue ticket, but it will make me feel better if I can provide some hardcore truths about this race. Maybe it will help if you convince someone you know who is undecided and uninformed.

·         TFG is a hypocrite who criticizes his opponents for things he does himself all the time.

·    The Republican candidate lies like it’s his job. They reported that he unleashed over 30,000 lies during his administration and probably 30,000 more in the following years. Some of them cost people their lives, during the COVID crisis and January 6th. Others are just his way of doing business.

·       TFG and his people have unleashed the most terrifying plan for the country since it began, one that will lead to the disenfranchisement of millions, separation of families, consolidation of power and capital under a small cluster of rich white men, and the effective end of the republic, and the plan is called Project 2025.

·       The orange phony is the least intelligent, least qualified, least curious person to ever seek or hold this office. It’s rich that he and his people call his opponent stupid. Listen to each of them speak for a minute or so and it’s clear who is smart and who is an ass-clown with the 4^th-grade vocabulary. Forty out of forty-four of his own former cabinet members plus his Vice President think he’s unqualified for the job and a danger to the country and have said so in public. That is unheard of in modern politics.

·       He intends to empower those who would devalue and enslave women, treating them as breeding property rather than sentient, self-determining beings, under the myth that they are preserving “life.” They preach “small government,” but their idea of government reaches into your bedroom and even your uterus. His people (and judges) are also coming for birth control, same-sex marriage, and possibly women’s suffrage.

·       Dolt 45 has no plan to bring down inflation. His two plans of action, levying wide tariffs and deporting immigrants would cause prices to soar. VP Harris supports a plan to fight price gouging and he and the rest of the Republicans went crazy fighting it, as they do any plan that helps average Americans. Big-moneyed Republican donors want high prices and low wages. That’s the best-case scenario for “them,” and not “us.”

·       TFG and his enablers are already planning on how to steal the election. He will claim victory on Election Night and set loose an army of lawyers and hooligans to intimidate election workers and state government officials. They’re not even trying to hide it anymore. Maryland’s lone GOP US Representative thinks they should award TFG some North Carolina Electoral College votes before the election because a hurricane might have made it hard for his supporters to vote.

·       He is in bed with the worst kind of people, white supremacists, Christian nationalists, racists, sexists, and many other “ists.” These are people interested in keeping governmental (and monetary control with wealthy, white, (pseudo)Christian, males. The racism isn’t even hidden anymore. Did you see his show at MSG? The racism was the marquee event.

·       TFG desperately wants the Religious Right’s votes but doesn’t give a fig about what they stand for. And now, neither do they. Republicans have managed to turn people who worship a man who preached about accepting foreigners, not throwing stones, giving money to the poor, and not judging, into supporting a party that practices the antithesis of every one of those points.

·       I would vote for a brick before this guy because a brick would do less damage to the nation. Luckily we can vote for a highly qualified, smart, tough, empathetic woman instead. She makes lucid points, speaks in complete sentences, has tangible plans for the country which are easy to locate, and that’s a very low bar that the other guy can’t even think of getting under. In any rational culture, she’d be polling at 90%. If you’re rich, racist, sexist, homophobic, evangelical, or nationalist, vote Republican. If not, there’s only one sane alternative.

Director’s DVD commentary: These are only the first points off the top of my head. There are dozens of other reasons why he shouldn’t be president, like sexual harassment and rape charges/convictions, hush money, business fraud, being a Russian operative/stooge, leaking security secrets, blackmailing other countries for personal gain, violating the Emoluments Clause, raking in taxpayer dollars by staying at his own properties and charging the government for his staff and security detail to stay there, and… well, it never ends. But this post has to.

The Long Game

 Earlier in September I wrote about the crap-TV shows I can’t stop watching, the 90-Day Fiancé franchise. I mentioned how I chafe at the storylines involving American women marrying Arab/Muslim/African men who expect obedience, subservience, and second-class citizenship. Describing the storyline that’s just developing this season, I wrote:

“There is a couple this season, where the 40ish American woman is going to Jordan to marry her 22–year–old beau on the very day she arrives because his religion won’t permit them to be alone together in a room. This story is just getting underway and she has no idea what he will expect of her. This is basically a “boy” who told the cameras he wants her to always obey his wishes and not question him as the man of the house. And he needs her to cover up with loose clothing

I think she ought to spank his 22-year-old ass and send him to his room without dinner. These stories always seem to end up the same way, with the American women taking a powder either before or shortly after the wedding.”

Well, they did, indeed, get married the day she arrived and as expected, she’s chafing at the new rules about which she’s just now finding out.

To me, it’s beyond comprehension that someone intending to marry into this (or any) foreign culture didn’t take five minutes or so to Google what it’s like for a woman to live in Jordan (or wherever.) The guy always seems to hold back on the details of his expectations until after it’s too late. In last night’s show, the woman reacted harshly after finding out the rules her boy-husband gave her did not apply to him.

She was upset because

·         She was told she couldn’t hug or shake her long-time (male) friend’s hand, yet he shook her hairdresser’s hand immediately after.

·         He criticized her outfit as being too revealing (there was the faintest hint of cleavage) while his shirt was unbuttoned to his midsection.

·         He wouldn’t listen to her concerns.

·         He occupied their room getting himself dressed, (meaning she couldn’t because he had his friends there), and was then furious because he had to wait for her to change.

·         He insisted she be covered to his approved level wherever she went, whether in Jordan or back in the US. But he can wear whatever he wants.

He was upset because:

·         Her clothes were too revealing, and when they did conceal what he wanted, they were too tight.

·         She insisted on sitting up front in the car with him, while his brother had to sit in the back.

·         She questioned him about his “rules,” rather than happily accepting them.

·         She was not swayed by his and his brother’s default explanations, “But I’m the man.”

Meanwhile, I’m left yelling at the television, saying, “Honey, what the hell do you expect? How did you not check this out beforehand? How it is possible that no one you know told you this might happen?”

I mean, for Pete’s sake, take some initiative and responsibility.

At least, I take some comfort in knowing this is one set of people and there were probably side issues regarding the creation of TV episodes, with which I’m not familiar. You can’t take everything at face value with these shows. They want you to get all worked up about it.

But it got me thinking about how this dynamic is exactly what our modern conservatives are trying to recreate in this country. Every new law or movement that restricts the rights of women, no matter how small or isolated in scope, is a chip away from the fading standard of gender equality. It’s a bedrock principle of the Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society types. They want women out of the workplace and back in the kitchen with babies on each hip, leaving men to remain free to make all the important decisions, so they don’t have to worry their pretty little heads.

I recall our Democratic presidential nominee once asking a prospective Supreme Court Justice/Bro, “Can you name any laws that place restrictions on what a man can do with his own body?”

The Republican gambit is that if you control the health care, you control the women. Hence Sen. Vance (SS/OH) is resurfacing this old tactic:

This is why you can’t believe them when they say, “But we’re not after birth control.” Yes, they are. Just watch their actions. Plus, one of the SCOTUS Bros has already made it clear they want to go after Griswald.

Constrict health care.

Limit birth control.

Ban abortions.

Limit post-natal aid, child care, SNAP.

Attack women’s very right to vote.

Attack breast-feeding in public.

How long before they try to repeal the laws that gave women the right to hold property, get loans, or credit cards? How long before they start selling petticoats and bloomers at Forever 21?

These things add up to putting women under duress, in a state where all they can do is fight to survive, unless, of course, they can find a man to take care of them.

And there it is… The Incel’s wet dream… to rescue a woman who must then submit to his control.

This is where the GOP is taking us… to a place not so far from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, or Iran, as far as how they treat their female citizens. Well, maybe not citizens… more like pleasant-smelling property.

The Republicans are playing the long game. They started immediately after the Roe decision and never let up until it was reversed. It took over 50 years but they kept at it, collecting enough state legislatures, governorships, and occasional presidencies until they had a willing Supreme Court. They created “news” outlets to radiate their toxic point of view, be it with misdirection, propaganda, or outright lies.

And because they’re playing a long game, they’re counting on young people growing up with abortion restrictions being seen as commonplace, while those who remember winning reproductive freedoms are dying off. Eventually, the whole struggle will be limited to history books, and we know what they do with those when they include history the Right doesn’t care to remember.

And here we are. They’re not done and neither should we be done resisting, for as long as it takes. The very fate of our mothers, sisters, and daughters is riding on it.