Praise the Lord and Don't Pass the Ammunition

 You can accuse the republican right edge of many things these days, but you will never be able to say they support democracy. Indeed, from inciting and supporting domestic coup attempts to their overt love affair with Vlad Putin the right wing's lust for authoritarianism knows no bounds.

It came out of the closet with Donald J. Trump who expressed his admiration for China's xi Jinping after he became president for life. "We ought to try that here sometime," he told a crowd of donors way back when. It continued through Trump's unabashed fanboy adoration for Putin during which he did everything but publicly fellatiate the guy. Now it has spread into congress and the likes of Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene. 

Last Wednesday when Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky addressed congress, Boebert and Gaetz, among others, refused to stand and applaud him. Their disdain for Zelensky was such that as he spoke both Gaetz and Boebert scrolled through phones, making a huge show of ignoring him. Greene, who during a pre election harangue, promised she would make sure Ukraine would not get one more penny in U.S. aid, didn't even bother to show up. She had jetted off to Costa Rica for a few days of sun, sand, and fun.

Meanwhile John Bolton, former Trump advisor and veteran war monger told the media, if Trump had remained in office, by hook, or crook, Comrade Putin's army would be sitting in Kyiv at this moment. No one with any sense at all disputed him. In fact Donald Trump Jr. seemed to confirm it, calling Zelensky, "an ungrateful international welfare queen." 

At the same time this was happening, over on FOX, the notorious trust fund dude, Tucker Carlson had this to say about the Ukrainian President. "If you were a republican office holder, and Zelensky came to Washington, maybe you would for a moment, ask him about his current and ongoing war against Christianity in Ukraine."

There it is.

The Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dimitry Medvedev certainly agrees with our man, Tucker. According to him, "The current Ukrainian authorities have openly become enemies of Christ and the Orthodox faith." 

Hey, between him and Tuck, it's hard to believe otherwise isn't it? They are, after all, reliable sources. Besides it is unseemly to support an unprovoked invasion simply because you like dictators.

Especially when, as everyone has seen there are millions of hysterics in the United States who are convinced all sorts of international cabals, usually run by Jews, are out to destroy their race, faith, and way of life. In such circumstances you don't have to actually admit to those rubes you're a fucking fascist, just convince them someone like Zelensky, who is Jewish, has his true sights set on destroying their religion. Throw in George Soros' name like some have and watch the hoi polloi's tremors turn into convulsions of appallingly savage hate. 

And for good measure, plus for those who have a few brain cells left, hint at corruption, You know, like Boebert has. To obfuscate her real motives, she is demanding a full audit of all money, past and present, sent to Ukraine, to make sure of, "where it's going.' 

Yes, much to the chagrin of those among us who wish Mr. Putin well, his adventure into Ukraine has not gone well. What was supposed to last a week, or 10 days has turned into a miasma of frozen muck and dead Russian soldiers. He doesn't need American help as much as Volodymyr Zelensky does, but he knows he has friends in congress here. He also knows if they have the votes they will gum up the aid to Ukraine. Finally, he and they know to do so they need an excuse beyond good ol' fascism. 

Hence, the new totalitarian catch phrase: Praise the Lord and don't pass the ammunition.

12-26-22

Don's Latest Grift: Own Nothing for Only $99

 I can't believe I'm going to jail for an nft salesman.

Tim Gionet (aka, Baked Alaska,) who will be sentenced to jail in January for participating in the Jan. 6th, 2021 Capitol insurrection. 

Tim, there are probably a number of people in your shoes at this moment. It's one thing to do time for a revolution and its leader, but quite another when the guy you thought of as a hero ends up hawking fantasy themed digital images of himself for $99 a pop.

Well, to borrow a phrase from a song, "It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world..." One day you're the leader of a great and seemingly unstoppable movement and the next you are perpetrating a scam so transparently founded on run amok ego and buyer stupidity not even Charlie Ponzi would stoop to it.

When Donald Trump made his, "MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT," last week there wasn't a talking head on any news network who predicted what happened. Speculation was rampant: Trump was going to announce his VP choice, Trump was going to begin his own political party. Hell, Trump might even declare the 2024 election fraudulent two years before a single vote is cast. But no, even after nearly six years of dealing with his diabolical weirdness nary a soul saw what was coming.

So the Non-Fungible Token treat you are buying from Brother Trump is a single image of him in a heroic pose, not of your choosing. There are about 45,000 photo shopped pictures of him on the site, but you have to take the one the program randomly picks for you. Unless you take a screen shot then print it, you'll never have anything tangible to possess, you know, like a baseball card, or comic book. My favorite part of this grift though is that you don't own the image you purchased. Donald J. Trump does--in perpetuity. In other words the same people who are screaming about inflation during the Biden administration are spending $99 on what amounts to nothing.

This isn't even a campaign fund raiser either. All that money goes directly into Trump's well lined pockets. His fans, are in every sense of the word,, giving, a self proclaimed gazillionaire one hundred bucks of their cash. DJT would disagree with that assessment, of course. According to him, every image, "bought," enters the purchaser in a raffle of sorts. Prizes include things like a round of golf with him, dinner at Mar A Lago, or a zoom call from The Leader himself. The problem being given the track record of previous Trump enterprises such as his so called university and various charitable organizations the possibility of winning anything remotely of value is no doubt about as rare as a Humming Bird at the south pole.

Various reports say the dales of Trump's NFTs are through the roof. One estimated he earned well over $4 million within 24 hours. Another said sales were such the site had to cut them off because it could no longer process them. A third reported the images were sold out. No matter what, all of it confirms there isn't just one sucker born every minute, but thousands of them. 

In the past few weeks Donald Trump has dined with a virulent anti Semite and a white supremacist. He has endorsed the termination of at least portions of the constitution. Now he has debased the office he once held and claims to aspire to by personally profiting from a scam so shameless it should be confined to the midway of a cheap traveling carnival. 

We don't know how low Donald Trump will sink to. There is a theory, which may have some validity, that there is no bottom for him, that the void inside of him is endless. One thing we know for sure, however, is his ego is beyond understanding. It is like trying to comprehend the distance light can travel in a year. And--the only thing remotely close in size to that monster is his utter disdain for America, its government, and the people who not only hate him, but also love him. 

12-18-22

The Great American Divide

 As always there is good news and bad news. On the plus side back in November the people of Pennsylvania chose a brain damaged stroke victim rather than Donald Trump's boy, Mehmet Oz for the U.S. Senate. Then Tuesday voters in Georgia rejected a brain dead, Herschel Walker, also backed by Trump for a senate seat.

Great news right? Yeah, sort of. Lost in all the progressive euphoria is that democrats did lose control of the house and now monsters like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar are going to foul up the works of various House Committees with their xenophobic bombast and fascist agendas. 

That's not to mention a couple of stats that should disturb anyone to the left of Joe Biden. While Warnock won the majority in Georgia, Walker, who might have been the single most unqualified candidate to ever run for the senate, still received 48.63% of votes cast. In other words, quite nearly one out of every two members of the voting public chose a man who is so brutally stupid there is a likelihood he doesn't even know how many kids he has.

Statewide demographics in both GA and PA show neither Warnock, or Fetterman won a majority of counties in their races. Both Senators used overwhelming wins in metropolitan precincts to secure their seats. It is a growing trend in the nation. Democrats must win super majorities in the cities and suburbs, because they are going to lose anywhere there are open fields, barns, and silos. 

It is true practically everywhere in the nation. Even in Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and Tulsa have become, to borrow from Sagan, pale blue dots in a vast sea of red. Lately this divide is looking to become as well defined as the Mason-Dixon Line was in pre-civil war America.

Of course republicans have other problems besides urban voters. The further into that ultra right wing netherworld they push the tougher it is to appeal to anyone who isn't white and crazy. Indeed, despite her claiming Herschel Walker would have won if he had used her in his campaign, Marjorie Taylor Greene's appeal is limited to blood red congressional districts. It's doubtful she could win a statewide contest in Georgia, or most other places. 

None of that means republican candidates can't and won't win though. Back in Oklahoma last November Markwayne Mullin, another Trump loyalist, lost Oklahoma County (Oklahoma City,) He won the election with over 61% of the vote. In Georgia it took the Reverend Raphael Warnock two elections to put away Herschel Walker. 

Yes, it would seem the battle lines are drawn and clearly it is not so much north vs south anymore, but rather urban/suburban vs. rural. No matter what political party you belong to, if you are going to run for office you are going to have to keep that in mind and campaign accordingly. And if you are a democrat you're going to have to hope republicans keep running unabashed idiots like Herschel Walker.

sic vita est

12-8-22

Heil, Donald

Do you throw the Presidential election results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION/ A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles even those found in the Constitution. Our great Founders did not want and would not condone False and Fraudulent Elections!

Donald John Trump, former President of the United States of America and current candidate for the 2024 presidential nomination.

As always there was more: UNPRECEDENTED FRAUD REQUIRES UNPRECEDENTED CURE1 (the all caps thing was his)

So there we have it. Democracy as we know it must me, "terminated," to satisfy the narcissism of one man and his utterly bat shit crazy fans. It's enough to make one speculate that the nation's entire water supply was spiked with LSD back in early 2016 and has been refreshed with the chemical compound ever since.

As should be expected the democrats are condemning the social media post which appeared over the weekend. The GOP leadership, however, has been stunningly silent. Oh, Liz Cheney posted a tweet the last sentence of which read, "No honest person can now deny that Trump is an enemy of the constitution." Adam Kinzinger called it, "insane.," but neither of them are going to be around in congress in 2023. Cheney was crushed in a primary by a pro Trump fanatic and Kinzinger chose to retire rather than suffer the same fate.

People like Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, and Lindsey Graham have all been mum about the possible termination of the document they have sworn to uphold and defend. Even some minor republican lawmakers who have had the guts to say they disagree with the statement won't say it is a deal breaker for them if Trump wins the nomination. 

In other words, they are, each and every one, willing to back an openly fascist dictator wannabe, rather than preserve democracy.

Now that's team politics.

Well it isn't like we didn't know what lurks in their collective hearts of darkness. We've had clues galore. When Trump told a group of donors we should try a president for life years ago the crowd cheered him. Then there was the failed coup of January 6th 2021. It was an act of violence GOP lawmakers condemned, then tried to complete by arguing against certifying Joe Biden's election victory.

That Donald J. Trump remains a viable party nominee and candidate for the highest office in the land is a testament to how many outright Nazis are in this country. Not to mention the number of people who are so terrified of becoming a political and social minority they are willing to destroy America in order to preserve the myth they are ruling it from their trailer parks.

In early 2016 I asked a life long republican about Donald Trump running for the party's nomination. He gave me a kindly smile and said, "Donald Trump is not going to be the nominee." The guy ended up voting for El Donlad in two national elections. Lately the same person has been saying Trump should just shut up about 2020. He has never said he wouldn't vote for him a third time though. And, honestly, I really don't want to ask him, because I think I already know the answer.

Yes, now days, no matter how evil, or stupid the candidate is the GOP battle cry is, Republicans Uber Alles. 

And of course, Heil, Donald.

12-5-22   

Nick the Incel Comes to Dinner

 Having sex with women is gay. The only really straight heterosexual position is to be an asexual incel.

Nicholas Joseph Fuentes 

Incel? What the fuck is an incel?

Well Wikipedia says, "Incel is an online community, or movement characterized by public displays of sexual and/or romantic frustration. Discussions in incel forums are characterized by hatred, misogyny, misanthropy, self pity, self loathing, racism,, a self entitlement to sex, and the endorsement of violence against women."

Just think, all that crazy shit comes before we even consider Nick Fuentes views on Jews (the U.S. is a Jewish occupied government), the holocaust (it was like a cookie baking operation), or the United States itself (Liberate Ukraine from The Great Satan and from the evil empire in the world which is the United States.) 

Young Mr. Fuentes is 24 years old. He has been broadcasting on radio, TV, and the internet since he was in high school, although when he first began his more, let's say, outré beliefs were hidden away in the closet of his char broiled brain. They didn't really emerge until his freshman year at Boston University--the same school Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attended. During the spring semester that year he traveled to the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, VA. He was a participant in the largest Nazi Tiki Torch parade held since pre WWII Germany and presumably was one of those, "good people on both sides," Donald Trump mentioned after the riots.

Fuentes dropped out of BU at the end of that year because he said he had begun to receive threats due to his presence in Charlotteville. He claimed he was going to enroll at Auburn. He never did and hasn't offered a reason for why.

We do know, however he sat down for dinner with the former President of the United States who is currently the only announced republican candidate for that office in 2024. He was there along with the sometimes off balance, Ye (nee) Kanye West. West later said, Mr. Trump was, "impressed," with Nick Fuentes. Trump claims he had no idea who the 24 year old college drop out was.

Hey, you have to say something don't you. Especially after everyone up to and including, Mitch McConnell condemns you for even being in the same room with the awful little shit.

Of course there are many, including the republican governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, who think Trump's vapid excuse was nonsense. For those with a brain this wasn't some boneheaded error by Trump, but part of a plan to legitimize Fuentes and those like him. After all, you can't publicly condemn someone then expect their vote, or more importantly, their presence in the streets when you attempt a second coup. 

Not that Fuentes' followers, who he has named, the Groypers are street muscle like the Proud Boys, or Oath Keepers, but they are adept at harassing opponents. Fuentes himself was thrown out of the 2021 CPAC convention for harassing a journalist. He was also booted from a Turning Point USA conference after he confronted conservative commentator Ben Shapiro. At the same conference his Groypers heckled speakers which included Don Trump Jr. The reason given was that Turning Point USA doesn't accurately reflect the politics of Donald j. Trump Sr..

Yes, such a man and his people might prove valuable during the nomination process and perhaps at the GOP convention in 2024. And getting the nomination is critical for more than the obvious reason. Trump knows the mainstream conservative leadership is a bunch of fools and cowards who value party over nation and democracy. They might complain about his dinner companions now, but if he gets the nod they will all fall in line behind him during his run at Joe Biden.

You can bet on it.

Just like you can bet Donald Trump knew exactly who Nick Fuentes was when he sat down to break bread with him.

11-30-22

A Flaw in the System

On this date in 1963 a guy with a rifle killed John F. Kennedy, the President of the United States. He bought his weapon of choice through a mail order firm. Back then there were no background checks, or red flag laws like there are now.

Not that either of those things matter. Just ask the people who hang out at Club Q in Colorado Springs.  

Even before this past weekend the Sheriff's Department in El Paso, County, Colorado knew Anderson Lee Aldrich was a wild and crazy guy. Last year, after a brief stand off, in Colorado Springs young Mr. Aldrich was arrested and charged with two counts of felony menacing and three counts of felony kidnapping. His mother, one of the persons he menaced, had called for help. According to her, her son had threatened to kill her and other family members with a home made bomb and, or a number of guns.

Later, because he was, after all, family the charges against the then 21 year old Aldrich were dropped, leaving him foot loose and fancy free on the streets of Colorado Springs. Thanks to Colorado privacy laws--no trial, no foul--it also allowed him free to walk into a gun store, buy an assault style long gun and as much ammunition as he wanted without tripping any sort of alarm bells.

Obviously, there is a flaw in the system.

And Anderson Lee Aldrich took full advantage of it. Close to midnight last Saturday he walked into a popular Colorado Springs LGBTQ bar and opened fire with his new, legally purchased, toy. Before he was beaten half to death by a couple of gutsy patrons--one an army combat vet and the other a drag queen--he had killed five and wounded 17. Authorities are still unsure of the motive, but say, "It has all the trappings of a hate crime."

You think?

The national media has jumped all over the nightmare, many claiming it is the result of so Christian Nationalist and extremist hate speech. Well, sure, but, in the end, we all know the decisive factor is, as always, the easy availability of paramilitary style weapons to each and every deadly loon out there.

Defining a mass shooting as one with four, or more victims, excluding the shooter, NPR reports so far in 2022 there have been 601 them in the United States. For those like myself who are mathematically challenged, that averages out to a little more than three per week.  

On average 0.058 people per one million die during mass shootings in the United States every year. The average number of deaths per million in Europe--each and every country--from mass shootings is zero. You know as in 0.000.

As Bill Murray once said in a movie, "There is something wrong with us. There is something very, very wrong with us." Yes, there is and it all begins at the local gun store and in congress, and with all those screaming yahoos who think if someone takes their guns they won't be able to have sex that night.

Indeed, at times it is easy to think many of us have come to believe Ameria is one giant, "John Wick," movie. That we can kill others because of some perceived wrong, or hateful impulse without consequence. 

Well, why not? All those guns are as easy to buy as blueberries no matter how bat shit crazy you are. And, hey, they wouldn't sell them if they didn't want you to use them, right?

Right.

11-22-22  

Alina Fitzpatrick and Carina Saunders Eleven Years After the Horror

 Alina Fitzpatrick, aged 17, went missing on November 4th, 2011. Her body was found five days later in a remote area of Oklahoma City that is more rural than urban in makeup. She was nude and had suffered blunt force trauma. In addition, she had a number of abrasions and bruises, and she had been gagged, presumably to muffle her screams. If she was sexually assaulted the Oklahoma City police kept it to themselves. 

Ms Fitzpatrick was last seen by people other than her killer, or killers a block north of NW 23rd Street and Western Ave, about a mile and a half west of the state capitol building. If one was to travel another six miles west on 23rd you would find yourself within a couple of hundred yards of where most of what was Carinna Saunders' body had been found less than a month earlier. 

You would also find yourself in the suburb of Bethany, protected and served at the time by a police force which numbered a little over 30 officers. They were in charge of the Saunders' investigation and within days after taking on the job had decided to conduct the entire affair in the media.

Saunders had been missing for over two weeks when her dismembered body was found in a field behind a grocery store. Fueled by the Bethany cops, ghastly details of her body's condition and her lurid lifestyle were in the paper and on TV seemingly every day. So were the names of suspects, rumors of a snuff video as well as the identities of possible witnesses and informants. 

Meanwhile, after a moment of speculation about a connection between the two murders--dismissed immediately by both OKC police and Bethany investigators--the search for what happened to Alina Fitzpatrick was handled without the glare of the media. Because it was and the garish sensationalism surrounding Saunders' death, the public seemed ambivalent about a crime, which, under normal circumstances, would have shocked the entire metro area.

The state medical examiner, Chai S. Choi released Alina Fitzpatrick's autopsy which found 0.96 micrograms of meth per milliliter of blood in her heart. According to the report it's an amount that might have been fatal. As for everything else, you know, being found naked in a field, gagged with head trauma and other signs of physical abuse, she said, "There are apparently suspicious circumstances surrounding the death." And that's how she ruled it, a suspicious death, not a homicide.

Choi didn't have the same problem with Saunders, although she wasn't all that specific. Carina Saunders autopsy said the cause of death was, "violent," and the manner of death, a homicide. Well, when you find someone with their head chopped off homicide does seem pretty obvious, as opposed to suspicious.

The Bethany cops screwed the pooch so badly Oklahoma County D.A. David Prater demanded the OSBI step in to take over the investigation of Carina Saunders' death. It is still ongoing and in the minds of many. In September this year the local CBS affiliate ran an hour and a half special which revealed precious little new information to the public but proved the media just can't let go of a good horror story chock full of gore.  

There has been no such interest shown by the public, media, or authorities concerning the killing of Alina Fitzpatrick. She is remembered only by her family, friends, and killer, or killers. A Channel 9 special investigation into her death seems beyond unlikely. 

Yes, the true tragedy here, beyond the killings themselves, is the cops investigating Carina Saunders' death were incompetent boobs who desperately wanted to become famous, while the ones who handled Alina Fitzpatrick's case acted professional, but just didn't give a shit.'

sic vita est

The Red Tsunami That Wasn't

 At this hour the dust hasn't completely settled. The only thing that is truly clear at this point is that massive red tsunami predicted by many didn't happen. That doesn't mean democrats should be dancing in the streets like many are. The democrats didn't win, but right now they are hanging on. 

At the moment three senate races dangle in the balance. Democrats lead by a hair in AZ, republicans hold a more substantial lead in NV, and there will be yet another runoff in GA, held on December 10th. Democrats need to win two of those races to maintain a 50-50 split And, it's critical for them to do so, because they lost their majority in the house, although not by as much as pundits everywhere forecasted.   

For those counting such things there were approximately 340, 2020 election deniers on the ballot from top to bottom. MSNBC is reporting 150 of them won. According to CNN exit polls a majority of republican voters still believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.

It is a form of mass hysteria that simply will not go away.

Beyond delusions the GOP has other problems. The giant sweep they hoped for didn't occur., except in places like Florida and Oklahoma. Even worse, they are now facing a possible schism within the ranks. Ron DeSantis is increasingly looking like the new Donald Trump and the old version doesn't like it one bit. 

Even before election day Trump could feel the shift coming and fell back on his old tactic of hanging a derogatory nickname on the FL governor, Ron Desanctimonious. One can only imagine what the former president is calling him now after a grim evening for candidates he personally backed and DeSantis' huge win in the Florida governor's race. 

Yes, the night really did go badly for The Big Orange Guy. His hand picked boy, Doug Mastriano, running for the Pennsylvania governor's seat want down in flames. In the senate race, Mehmet Oz has been declared the loser. Arizona, republican candidate for governor, Kari Lake is trailing by a thin margin in a race still too close to call. His senate choice in that state is also losing in a race too close to call.  New Hampshire senate candidate Donald Bolduc had his ass handed to him by democrat, Maggie Haassan.

On Monday Donald Trump told an interviewer if republicans won he should get the credit, however if they lost he wouldn't shoulder any of the blame. Today the former president blamed Bolduc's loss on the candidate's reluctance to fully embrace the claims of 2020 election fraud. He later said his support for Oz was only because of his wife, Melania. According to him she had talked him into it. This morning he took to his social media platform and--you guessed it--howled like a gut shot werewolf about massive voter fraud going on in Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.  

How very Trumpian.

Well you have to say something and we all know Mr. Trump is a one note Donnie. His dilemma now, besides all the legal ones, is the GOP appears to be getting tired of the same old song. And after last night it is obvious huge chunks of American voters are too.

So, in the end, election night appears to have ended in a tangled draw. To paraphrase the song, neither side got what they wanted. but the democrats at least, got what they needed. 

11-9122

The Election Eve Blues

 Traditionally in American politics the party not in the White House makes significant gains in the Senate and House in the midterm elections. Some say this is because the political party out of power always has a bigger turnout of voters who are determined to reign in the current President's agenda. Others blame it on a general apathy among all voters who are simply unenthused about an election without the presidency on the line. Whatever the case the mid-terms come and go and the country rolls on. It is, in most minds, nothing more than an adjustment in the ever shifting American political landscape.

Then along came Donald John Trump and his cult of lunatics, street thugs, criminal minds, and autocrat wannabes. Their devotion to the orange leader is matched only by their utter disdain for American democracy and the rule of law.

This isn't just liberal alarmism. Hundreds of these awful cranks are on tomorrow's ballots across the nation from top to bottom. They are exemplified perfectly by Jim Marchant, the guy running for the Nevada Secretary of State job.

This campaign season, Mr. Marchant has been telling the good people of Nevada, "Your vote hasn't counted for decades. You haven't elected anybody. The people that are in office have been selected." Not only does he claim Donald Trump won Nevada in 2020, but that democratic leaders such as Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Adam Schiff are all the beneficiaries of stolen elections.

In fact it would seem in Marchant's eyes the only legal election outcomes are when republicans win. He isn't alone. According to him there is a coalition of republican candidates who are running for secretary of state in their respective locales who believe exactly as he does. He claims they are dedicated to an, "America First," agenda. What he means is they are really dedicated to Donald Trump and their party rather than the United States.

If elected, Jim Marchant says he will eliminate early voting, all mail in voting, and electronic voting machines. He also believes the Nevada Secretary of State has the power to not certify any election results he, or she doesn't like, including those in presidential elections. In other words, if any election outcome is not to his liking, he will nullify it, then send the matter to the GOP controlled legislature for resolution. 

Political and social gadfly, Bill Maher, for one believes if yahoos like Marchant win tomorrow we can kiss democracy goodbye. His reasoning being once these killer clowns assure Trump's election in 2024--and unless a miracle happens tomorrow he will be running again--he will simply refuse to leave office...ever.

Maher doesn't believe such a miracle will happen. He has already predicted the end of democracy in America. He cites the national tradition of opposition party gains in the mid-terms for one. For another he believes the American public is so ignorant of our system of government they simply don't see the impending danger, or care.

He may have a point. When Hitler's political party made sizable gains, although not a majority, he was named Chancellor of Germany to quiet the bellicose Nazi mobs in the streets. Later, when he suspended elections, his buddy, Joe Goebbels took to the airwaves to remind everyone, "We have never said we are in favor of free elections."

In short, hey, you knew we were a snake.

The mid-term elections tomorrow might be the most important in the history of the republic. If the republicans sweep both houses of congress things are going to turn ugly at the beginning of January next year. The purge, as they say, will be upon us.

The feeling here is we're fucked. Not necessarily because of tradition and ignorance, although they will both play a part, but because these days too many of us are fine with the notion of an autocrat in charge forever--and--in the final analysis, the short term economy wins out over the long term ideal of freedom.

soc vita est

11-7-22

Welcome to the Banana Republic--No, Not the Store

David DePape was born in British Columbia, but has lived in Berkeley, CA for a number of years. His main claim to fame, before this past weekend, was being a vocal activist for nudism and as a hemp jewelry maker. He also dove head first into QAnon conspiracy theories, especially when it came to COVID vaccines, censorship, and globalist plots to take over the world. With those ideals in mind he invaded the home of Paul and Nancy Pelosi early in the morning of Oct 28th.    

After DePape whacked Paul Pelosi in the head with a hammer, Elon Musk decided to give his new toy a whirl. He went on Twitter and posted something along the lines of, "There may be more than meets the eye in the Paul Pelosi attack." Along with the cryptic message was a link to a, "report," that blamed the assault on Pelosi's supposed homosexuality. That's right, the 82 year old husband of  the Speaker of the House of representatives, it said, is secretly gay. According to information contained in the link, Paul Pelosi went to a San Francisco gay bar, got drunk, picked up the 42 year old DePape, then took him home for a roll in the sack which turned violent.  

No one, not even Musk, knows who penned the, "report," It just appeared anonymously like all these cruel and baseless right wing accusations' do.. In other words someone just made it up--perhaps Roger Stone, it sounds like something he'd do--and Musk, either out of stupidity, or sadistic joy decided to run with it.

Within a day that nonsense was debunked by DePate himself. He confessed to the FBI he broke in looking for the speaker, not her husband. His plan was to either kidnap her, or hold her hostage until she told him, the truth. If she didn't he was going to break her knee caps so members of congress would see there are consequences for lying. He had with him rolls of tape, rope, and a second hammer, presumably just in case Ms. Pelosi became, let's say, resistant to cooperation. Luckily the San Francisco cops arrived just in time. It is reported Mr. Pelosi received only one devastating blow to the head.      

But wait, as they say on TV ads, there is more. Donald Trump Jr. also took to social media over the weekend. He posted a photo showing a man's underwear and a hammer with a caption that read, "I have my Paul Pelosi Halloween costume ready." He later made some dreadfully droll comment about restricting the purchase of hammers nationwide. At about the same time, Arizona GOP candidate for governor, Kari Lake cracked a joke about the lack of security at the Pelosi residence. The crowd roared with laughter. 

Ms. Lake steadfastly refuses to pledge she will accept the Arizona gubernatorial election results if she loses. Saturday, surgeons had to put Paul Pelosi's skull back together.

Welcome to the Banana Republic--no, not the store--but rather the post Trump United States of America. 

As these words are being typed, in Arizona armed right wing vigilantes are camped out at early voting drop boxes across the state. They are taking photos of early voters, marking down their car license tags, and in some instances following them home. A few weeks ago the former President told a radio host if he is indicted for anything at all there will be violence in the streets. Former Trump savant, Steve Bannon has called upon the MAGA movement to come riding to his and rescue. "You are the cavalry," he said. 

Yes, it would seem the only campaign slogan left available to the GOP is, "Vote for us and no one gets hurt."

Last night MSNBC commentator, Rachel Maddow told her audience there are two avenues for America to go forward. They are free elections, or violence and force. "There are no other solutions',," she said.

She is right. We either have elections and abide by them, or we hand over the nation to the David DePapes of the world. Tragically, it would seem the republicans have chosen the DePape option.

Everything we've seen from them since January 6, 2021 proves it.

Ladies and gentlemen, the midterm elections are seven days away.    

11-1-22

   

   

 

A Long Weekend at Spooky Nook

It would be easy to blame all this insanity on Covid. The months long isolation, the fear, and perhaps an unknown consequence of exposure to the virus which caused huge numbers of us to part with reality. You know--like the brown acid at the Woodstock music festival that sent so many of the crowd into fits of paranoia and panic. 

Alas this isn't the case. We know this for a fact because Donald Trump was elected before any of us had even heard of the damned bug.

So the question is, did Don Trump cause the mass hysteria, or is he simply a product of it? Personally, I like to think it is a little of both. It was already there, but Big Don brought it out of the mental closet, so to speak, nurtured it, then spread it like a run amok arsonist in a drought stricken forest.

However the contagion is spread, it reared its ugly head this past weekend in the sleepy little hamlet of Manheim, PA. The town, located in the southeast corner of the state, hosted the latest installment of what is billed as the, "ReAwaken America Tour." The event, attended by all manner of right wing and conspiracy adherents, was held at the--you can't make this shit up--Spooky Nook Sports Center.

The ReAwaken America Tour is a combination of traveling fundamentalist revival, lurid carnival, and fascist politics. It was co-founded by, "Oklahoma Young Entrepreneur of the Year," recipient, Clay Clark. Clark, moved to Tulsa from Minnesota some time ago so he could attend Oral Roberts University. His main gig before the Tour was owning a DJ business which provided tunes at wedding receptions and other events. He showed up on the right wing radar when he sued the city of Tulsa over Covid restrictions.

Many of the speakers at the gathering were the usual suspects. Tour co-founder, Mike Flynn, now known among true believers as, "America's General," was there. He had a book to promote and words of warning, "We have a battle in our country," he said. 'I mean Christianity is under attack. Honestly if feels like everything is under attack." 

Mike Lindell, the My Pillow guy, told the audience, "Coronavirus is still the China virus and Trump is still the rightful president." 

Eric Trump asked the crowd, "Does anyone in this room not think we won Pennsylvania?, It was the biggest fraud." Then he called up his Dad and let him make a short statement broadcast over the microphone. The insurrectionist in chief promised, "We're going to bring this country back." 

Also haunting the halls of Spooky Nook was Roger Stone. The Washington Post reports he was collecting cash donations for his, "defense fund," in a plastic trash bag.   

All of this pales though compared to what, Julie Green, the prophet, told the audience on Friday. Apparently Ms. Green is in direct communication with the Almighty. According to her, "Says God, you cannot stop my son who is the rightful president. He is on his way back and how he takes his position back on center stage, you will never see that coming because you won't see me coming. And I am with him." 

Ms. Green's web site tells us YouTube cancelled her account for, "unknown reasons," but she can still be found on the social media outlets, Rumble, Telegram, and TruthSocial.

The Sooky Nook center provided a portable stock tank for baptisms. The Post reporter counted 46 dips into the cold water by the end of the confab. Also popular were tee shirts which read, "Jesus is my savior: Trump is my president." 

Clay Clark told reporters the price of a ticket was on a, "whatever you can pay," basis, but the average attendee paid anywhere from $50 to $75. VIP seats cost $500. The estimated crowd numbered a little over 5,000 souls.  Brother Clay insists the tour is a break-even deal. 

One has to wonder though. After all you have to be a little suspicious when cash is being dropped into plastic garbage bags, not to mention Clark himself might need some, "defense fund," donations. He is currently being sued by the Dominion voting machine manufacturer for defamation. 

Besides, no one involved with this enterprise is a socialist. God forbid it--just ask them.

 

10-24-22

Putin's Latest Idea: Bomb Them Back to the Stone Age

 You know you are desperate when you offer all manner of felons a get out of jail card. No, it isn't a free one. If you are sitting in a Russian pen, Vladimir Putin will let you out, give you a few weeks of military training, then send you to Ukraine. Unfortunately, as everyone knows, things aren't going so well there at the moment for anyone in a Russian army uniform. The truth is a few battalions of rapists, murderers, and drug dealers might raise havoc on the streets of Ukrainian cities, but they have to get there first. Their effectiveness in the field, facing a well armed and thoroughly pissed off Ukrainian army is at best a tad iffy.

It is unknown at this time how many Russian cons have taken Vlad up on his offer, but we do know his, "partial mobilization," proclamation was a stunning failure. Immediately after Mr. Putin gave the order tens of thousands of Russian men left the country--their desire to fight for the mother land, and their belief in Putin's bullshit, completely lacking.  In the eastern parts of the country, where borders aren't readily available, there were a few riots when the press gangs came to town. 

As a result of these miserably humiliating events Vladimir Putin has obviously decided his next course of action is to, as we Americans used to say, "bomb 'em back to the stone age." 

Hey, you have to do something, right? 

At this moment the Russian military is raining down cruise missiles and other ordinance, not on Ukrainian troops, but rather their home towns. Many of unmanned drones involved in the strikes have been bought from the Iranians who don't give a shit what damage they cause. All they care about right now is improving their cash flow and chucking little girls into prisons for not wearing hijabs.

Putin's plan is apparently to deprive Ukrainian civilians of power and heat this winter. Obviously, the hope is a frozen and hungry populace will be, let's say, more compliant when his motley crew arrives a second time around next January, or February. It is even possible he is counting on the American ultra right to gain control of congress around then.  The theory being, since those crazy fuckers actually like him, they'll stem the flood of military supplies to the Ukrainian army. What we know for sure is there are reports of the Russian forces being shipped fuel at a rate not seen since the invasion began, so something vile is coming up soon.

Meanwhile, the Russian president has declared martial law in those territories he, "annexed," into the federation a couple of weeks ago. At this moment he is forcing the evacuation of Ukrainian civilians from the cities within those lands in case the Ukrainian army shows up. The excuse, presumably, is the Ukrainians are being moved, against their will, for their own safety. However, in situations such as these the word hostages comes to mind.

There is a long, cold winter coming. It will be second one of this war. Vladimir Putin, at this point anyway, can't win it on the ground. His options have been reduced to an air blitz which will freeze and starve an entire people, or the unthinkable which might plunge the entire world into a nuclear war. Right now he seems to have chosen the first. If it fails though, he's got nothing left except the second.

10-20-22  

The Trump Argument: It's Mine

Our man, Donald Trump employed a unique defense in the case being leveled against him by the DOJ this weekend at a rally in Arizona. When it comes to all those document he ran off to Mar A Lago with, he told an audience, "They should give me immediately back everything that they've taken from me because it's mine--it's mine."

Debatable syntax aside, I believe that is the same argument used by my three year old granddaughter last week when her older brother took a ball she was playing with. It didn't matter it actually was his soccer ball she was holding--she had it at the moment--so to her, "it's mine."

One of the media's premier Trump haters, Lawrence O'Donnell immediately claimed Trump's complaint was an admission of guilt to a federal crime. While it might be a little more complicated than that, O'Donnell did accurately point out Trump, for some reason, seems to be daring the U.S. Attorney General, Merrick Garland to indict him. 

While no one can truly analyze the motives of a lunatic--which Donald Trump is--one can take a guess. It could be he really believes if he is indicted hundreds of thousands, if not millions of his supporters will take to the streets, launching a second American civil war. It is a war they will win and after the traitors are executed he will triumphantly re-enter the White House as the American version of Vladimir Putin. If that is the plan it faces long odds, not to mention if things continue the way they are in Ukraine there might not be a Russian version of Putin for very much longer.

While all that is pure conjecture, we do know Mr. Trump is continuing to claim the FBI, "planted," evidence at Mar A Lago. Which begs the question, if they did is the planted evidence his too? Or, does he get to look at it then send back the stuff that wasn't there to begin with. 

El Donald also maintains everyone from George Herbert Walker Bush, to his kid, and Barack Obama kept, "millions," of presidential documents for themselves. He says the unsecured locales they were stored at included a former bowling alley, a shuttered Chinese restaurant, and a deserted car dealership. The National Archives refutes the claim, saying the former presidents were never in personal possession of the papers, that they were all stored at secured facilities manned and administered by Archive personnel. 

Meanwhile Trump's lawyers have made an emergency motion to the Supreme Court asking that all documents seized by the DOJ be turned over to the Special Master and them for review. Every legal expert featured on CNN and NSNBC believes the Supremes will deny the motion based on current law. None of them take into account Donald John Trump also believes the Supreme Court is, "mine." He may not have appointed them all, but he considers that court a wholly owned subsidiary of Trump Enterprises. It's the only reason he could possibly have for running to them so quickly. 

Most of the legal eagles on cable news believe Garland will indict. It isn't a matter of if, but when. Some say he is simply waiting to get all his ducks in a row on the Mar A Lago documents. Others say he is waiting until the DOJ gets all the January 6th Committee evidence so he can combine both cases. 

The AG might want to hurry. Even though Biden's job, in theory, is good for another two plus years if the GOP wins both houses of congress, by the middle of January, 2023 they will be impeaching everybody in the current administration, including him.  

It is what happens when you're dealing with slugs who value power over democracy.

sic vita est

10-12-22

Caligula, His Horse, and Herschel Walker

Gaius Julias Caesar Augustus Germanicus was officially the third Roman Emperor. His name was a mouthful even back then so pretty much everyone called him by a nickname he had picked up when he was a kid---Caligula. Caligula really didn't like the Roman Senate. In fact he went out of his way whenever he could to denigrate the members of that esteemed body. 

Caligula also had a horse he loved named Incitatus. He built the nag a stall made of marble and a manger constructed of ivory. He even had a collar fashioned out of jewels for his beloved steed. Ancient historians have written the Emperor had plans to name his horse a Roman Consul. It was probably to further humiliate the Senate. Unfortunately it never happened.. You see, Caligula was, as we'd say here in the U.S. a one term emperor. His reign ended after only four years, not because of some vote, but his untimely death. He was murdered by members of his personal guard. 

Despite being bat shit crazy and having a propensity for throwing members of the audience into the arena when the lions ran out of prisoners to eat, some historians maintain Caligula was popular with large portions of the population. The reason? They hated the Senate and Senators as much as he did.

All of which brings us to Herschel Walker, former University of Georgia Heisman Trophy winner, NFL running back, and current republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in the Peach Tree State. It is an office he is about as qualified for as Incitatus was when Caligula was running amok. 

No, I'm not saying Mr. Walker is like Caligula, although in the past he has certainly displayed a Caligulan attitude when it comes to women. Nor am I comparing his intellect to that of a horse who lived nearly 2,000 years ago, although we should all be suspicious of a potential senator who believes evolution isn't real, because monkeys still exist.

We do, however, have to wonder about Georgia republicans. Has Walker been nominated to show their utter contempt for the United States Senate, or is he the best they could come up with? And, are they supporting him only because they are so desperate to regain the office they'll vote for anyone, no matter how stupid and hypocritical they are?  

Well there is a history of that sort of behavior in Georgia. Let's face it they voted for Don Trump in 2016, although they seemingly came to their senses in 2020. 

Given that moment of clarity, the incumbent, Senator Raphael Warnock is safe and sound, right? I mean the man is an ordained Baptist minister with a degree from Morehouse College and multiple other degrees from Union Theological Seminary. He has two legitimate children and no hint of scandal of any sort. He has served in the Senate for two years, giving him experience and he won't speak ill of his opponent, but rather about what he stands for and what he hopes to accomplish.

Walker on the other hand says he is against abortion for any reason, but has been accused by a woman of paying her to get one. After denying he ever heard of her, he finally admitted she was the mother of one of his children. Despite earlier claims to the contrary he doesn't have a college degree and his only political experience he has is he, like everyone else who won the trophy gets to vote for the Heisman winner every fall. Hell one of his own kids doesn't even like him and criticizes his dad regularly on social media. In campaign speeches he exposes himself to be a fool on a regular basis--how exactly do those monkeys still exist--while being even less inarticulate than his pal and supporter, Donald Trump.

With less than a month to go before mid terms, Ralphael Warnock and Herschel Walker are in a statistical dead heat. Warnock's lead is well within pollster's margins of error. The situation makes one wonder, if the GOP can nominate and elect this sort of clown, what kind of monster will they run for president in 2024?

Oh wait, we've already been there once haven't we.

Or, as Roman history shows us, twice.

10-7-22

 

The Further Adventures of Romana Didulo, Queen of Canada

 All hail Her Majesty, Romana Didulo, Queen of Canada!

You might think of her as strange. After all, many times she dresses in men's suits and wears her hair cropped short and spiked, very butch. The fact is though, she is, by her own proclamation, the Queen of Canada. You might even think it is odd Canada has a queen who is a Philippine immigrant, but hey, it is a progressive country.

Indeed, that all seems a little, let's say, off, however you will have to admit, despite the odds. she can shake down your average dim bulb for some, if not all their money. According to VICE, an online news organization, it happened to a Canadian couple named Corey and Daisy. They refused to let VICE use their last names for a couple of reasons and considering how Romana played them for saps, one can hardly blame them.

It would seem Her Majesty prefers not to use her personal bank accounts for cash in flow and disbursements. Instead when she solicits donations--and at last count since March she has received over $140,000 in Canadian dollars--she has them sent to the accounts of followers like Corey and Daisy. Didulo has access to the accounts and can spend the money without the account holders permission, or knowledge. Apparently all goes well for a while, but invariably, like many governments across the globe, the Queen eventually succumbs to the need for deficit spending.

Corey and Daisy, who claimed to have dropped out of the cult, say their account was closed because they have, according to the bank, become an "unacceptable, risk."  Despite opening a new account they say their kids' government subsidized education fund is gone. That would be over 50 grand worth.

Romana, of course, has moved on to new sets of rubes who finance things like a $300 a night hotel room on the off chance Vlad Putin shows up for a meeting. So far the Russian President hasn't made the trip, possibly because he is losing a war he started for no good reason. Besides, it's never a great idea for a dictator to go overseas during a time of crisis, because the powers that remain might not let him come back.

Whichever the case you still have to pay for the room, plus the RV Romana is either renting, or in the process of buying, depending on the source. The RV being necessary because of the extended tour of her realm she has been on since early this spring. The tour allows the Queen to meet her subjects in shopping center parking lots and the like. Reports are the crowds she commands number in the tens, wherever she goes. All cash donations go straight into her pockets.

In August she shared a fund raising video with her 58,000 followers on Telegram. It featured none other than Roger Stone, one of Don Trump's hit men. Stone, who was last seen holding a strategy meeting with the leadership of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers on Jan. 5th, 2021, said in the clip, "Romana this is Roger Stone. I know you're on a mission to expose the Deep State and epic corruption in Canada under little Fidel (Cañada's PM Justin Trudeau). I want you to know that many people across the globe appreciate what you are doing in the fight for freedom and liberty and all that is good. God Bless you."

Stone later told VICE he, "had no memory, or record of fundraising, by, or for this person."

That's up for debate. Stone does admit the video might be real. Somewhere out there on the internet there is a site called, Cameo. It is an app on which people can pay cash hungry celebs, famous, or infamous to record personal messages. For example, if I had the cash and he needed some pocket change, I could pay George Clooney to show up online to say something like, "Hi, Sid, this is George Clooney, I just wanted to tell you how much I love, Ghost Shirt Papers. Good luck with it." Don't look for that video any time soon. I have a suspicion George's idea of pocket change is my notion of a life savings. 

However, let's get back to the subject at hand. Mr. Stone actually has a Cameo account that he sometimes uses to pick up some spare coin. And he says someone, "may have told me what to say," without him realizing who, or what he was endorsing. What he vehemently denies is a second video which seemingly shows him soliciting money for Didulo, then promising to match every donation received.

Brother Stone screamed enough the video has been deleted from Telegram. Obviously if Roger doesn't get a cut, no one does. 

The royal tour, however rolls on. VICE is reporting Didulo is taking her act to the wilds of northern Canada. And while $142,000 Canadian doesn't seem like much when you compare it to the cash Donald Trump has dragged in it is a bunch for someone who started out her reign in, "a pigsty attic apartment." According to Corey and Daisy, that is where the Queen of Canada was living when they first met her in person.

It is unknown whether Her Majesty will continue to claim home utility bills have been outlawed and still advocate for the assassination of health care officials who distribute the Covid vaccine. What we do know is the money will keep coming in. That's a given, because, as P.T. Barnum said, 'There is a sucker born every minute." 

Yes, even in Canada.

Hail to the Queen.

9-30-22 

  

Breaking Contracts in Russia

 Dictators all have an inherent problem. Once they are completely in charge and every vestige of democracy has morphed into satiric mockery when things go wrong, really wrong, there is no one else the people will blame but them. Russian President, Vladimir Putin is learning that hard lesson as I type.

CNN' reporter, Fareed Zakaria described Putin's, "contract," with the Russian population this way--sort of--if they let him run things he will basically leave, them alone, make sure they have steady jobs and provide them with a workable, although not great economy. In exchange they'll look the other way while he and his pals steal everything that isn't tied down. Zakaria described the system, accurately, as a, "kleptocracy." 

Even when it comes to military adventurism, like the take over of Crimea, as long as it happens nearly painlessly and fast with no real interruptions in daily life it is okay with the population. Besides, who doesn't like a little imperialism now and then? Especially when life is appallingly mediocre, and the weather is always rotten. Hey, it's good for the national ego.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, as Zakaria pointed out, Mr. Putin has now broken that unwritten contract with the Russian populace. That's what happens when you put yourself in a position that requires you to call up nearly a half million, "reservists," to fight a war you recklessly started for fun and some twisted idea of glory.

Indeed, a steady job doesn't mean much when the government pulls you out of it then sends you off into a meat grinder with little, or no real training. Yes, Putin might not call it a war, in fact you can go to jail, for just saying it is a war, but semantics mean very little to the average Russian who might have been anything from a student to an accountant, when there is a real possibility they'll get their asses shot off.

Of course, Putin never lacks a political plan to justify this, "partial mobilization." Right now the Russians are conducting a vote in the parts of Ukraine they still control. There is one question on the ballot, Something akin to, "Do you want to be annexed into the Russian Federation?" Presumably the campaign slogan for the referendum is along the lines of, "Vote yes and no one gets hurt."

When the results come in, a couple of minutes after the polls close for appearances sake, Vlad can tell those 300,000 poor souls he is forcing into service they aren't invading anyone, they are defending, "Mother Russia," from the Nazi hordes. This, as opposed to simply saving the Russian speaking population from Nazis, the excuse he used to start this whole nightmare to begin with.

On a darker note, Putin went on Russian TV, a day late, this past week saying threats to Russian territory--no matter how new and illegitimate they might be--will be answered with every available Russian weapons system. Then he added, "This is not a bluff."

It might not be. Years ago a guy I knew who spent some time in Russia and not just Moscow, told me, there was no reason to fear the Russian army. He said their equipment and training were terrible. He probably knew what he was talking about since he spent two tours in Vietnam with Army Intelligence. But he added, the reason to worry about Russia is all their nukes. Those were the real danger.

Last week thousands and thousands of Russians headed for places like Finland and Turkey because they didn't want any part of Putin's war, regardless of what he calls it. Protesters hit the streets in a number of cities which is a gutsy move considering the amount of hard time you can do for such behavior. The Russians are attempting to ban draft eligible men from international travel. If a Russian court decides one of their men surrendered voluntarily they can sentence him to 10 years once he gets home. Meanwhile the Ukrainians are promising safe haven for any Russian soldier who throws down his weapons and surrenders. 

It would seem like Russian morale on the ground lacks the elan Mr. Putin would like. Good news, right?. No, because ultimately it creates a situation which makes his nuclear threat a tad too real. 

All of which brings us to this question. If Putin has broken his contract with the Russian people, how far will he have to push them before they break their contract with him?

9-25-22

Donald Trump Goes All Q in Ohio

 "There's only one source for this stuff (adrenochrome)...the adrenaline glands from a living human body. It's no good if you get it out of a corpse."

Hunter S. Thompson from the novel, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

Thompson probably came up with the idea of using adrenochrome as a plot device from Aldous Huxley's work, "The Doors of Perception." Huxley compared adrenochrome to mescaline. The problem is Huxley never actually used it. Thompson probably didn't either, but it sounded good in a piece of  fiction if a character did. He made up that part about the drug having to come from a living body simply for shock value. 

Does everyone understand that? Thompson just made it up.

Unfortunately for all of us, the loons who spread the QAnon nonsense seized on this morsel of fiction and are using it as a central part of their dire world vision. According to them, the world elite--an amorphous lot that includes anyone they don't like--traffics children not only to rape them, but to drink their blood in order to get a big hit of adrenochrome. This process is known as adrenochroming children. It is done to ensure those powerful and famous people can achieve immortality.  

Adrenochrome is real. The compound was discovered in the 1950's. It was thought to have something to do with schizophrenia, but there is no definitive proof. It also doesn't have any psychedelic properties. And it certainly doesn't do anything to keep you from aging, or reaching immortality.

So why does any of this matter? We all know the QAon followers are bat shit crazy, right? Well, the former President of the United States, who is running for that office again showed up last week wearing a lapel pin with a Q on it and the words, "The Storm is Coming." This was after he promised there would be violence in the streets, 'the likes of which the country has never seen," if he is indicted for anything.

On Saturday in Youngstown, OH Trump spent his opening remarks blathering on about the stuff he always blathers on about. However, at the end of it Q themed music began to play. He spoke over the sounds calmly, promising the crowd a return to greatness, a return to power, a return to wealth. The audience rose and a large number of them raised their arms at a 45%  angle, then extended their forefingers in the unofficial Q salute. During those moments the political rally had turned into a frightening pagan sacrament. The only things missing were the torches and possibly a cross burning.

A few weeks ago Donald Trump went on social media to say he should be declared the official winner of the 2020 election. he also said the only solution to the 2020 election was to throw out the results and hold a new one. At the time one media wag said, "The more desperate he becomes the crazier Trump acts."

This weekend author, John Wooley told me, "The noose is tightening on Trump." 

Apparently so. Because last week Don Trump was acting as crazy as they come. And if you support him or say you will vote for him now you're going to have to admit you not only believe the last presidential election was stolen, but also that everyone from Tom Hanks to Barack fucking Obama is hooked on adrenochrome.

Hey, it's either that, or you like voting for insane people just for the fun of it. 

9-19-22

QAnon and Queen Elizabeth II

You know I don't despise the QAnon cult because they are stupid. Hey, that's a given. I don't even despise them because they are delusional, because, quite frankly, hating someone because they are functionally insane should be beneath us all. No, What I truly loathe about these fuckers is their abject cruelty. That's right, I can, in my own way, excuse ignorance and craziness, but I can never abide those two things when they mix with a sadism so extreme it borders on being a crime against humanity.

Yesterday, right after it was announced Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom had passed away this message showed up on the social site, Telegram. "May she burn in hell for all eternity." Another read, "So happy the evil witch is dead."

Ahh, there is nothing quite like the internet--a place where you can say anything your twisted mind can think of free of all consequence and identity.

According to QAnon the Queen was part of that global child trafficking conspiracy that includes pedophilia, child sacrifice, and rituals that includes drinking the blood of babies. (That last one they stole from the Nazis who accused the Jews of the same sort of behavior.)

To make sure we don't forget it, another post read, "They are preparing the Black Mass and baby buffet as we sit here." It is unclear if the feast will be held at a Washington D.C. pizza joint, or another locale.

Of course, as all things QAnon do, the theories are sometimes at odds with each other. As one acolyte wrote, "She died several months ago. Remember she went through a transition, or whatever. That was the embalming process. CGI and body doubles are in place."  Another posted, "She's been CGI for a while now. Wonder why it is being announced now?" Speaking about the last official photo of the Queen, one cultist said, "Maybe that's the cleaning woman, but that isn't the woman who has been playing the Queen."

The notion the Queen has been dead for a long time isn't new. Various QAnon sources have posted about it for years now. Last fall, our old pal, Romana Didulo, the self proclaimed, Queen of Canada, told her followers, "Elizabeth II was shown the photo of true and real Queen before she was executed "

The true and real Queen wasn't identified, but the smart money is going to one place on that bet. Indeed, all hail Romana, Queen of Canada. It is not known at this time if her majesty, Romana will be attending Elizabeth's funeral, or not. 

Others, as they always do, are hinting the death of the British Monarch, somehow portends the return of Donald Trump to the presidency. According to one, the10 official days of mourning in the UK are the 10 days of darkness that someone predicted would lead up to the grand return of The Big Orange Guy to the White House. 

There is more. We haven't even touched on the Lizard People, "connection." That whole sub plot is probably best left for another day. After all you can't really dissect a novel, or play by Kafka in a single essay.

What we can say, however is there are those among us, as the late author Phil K. Dick, said, who appear like us. They eat, sleep, and talk like we do, but they are not human. They are, in fact, monsters.

God bless the soul of Elizabeth II.

And may God damn the cruel idiots who believe and spew all that QAnon shit.

8-9-22

Donald Trump: The King of All Media

The horrors keep rolling in these days. A week, or ten days ago some monster in Oklahoma City murdered his three young children before killing himself. Over the weekend a mass shooting in Virginia wounded five and killed two, Around the same time that night another shooting took place in Charlston, SC during which four were wounded and one was injured while diving for cover.

Even up in Canada, where most of the violence is confined to hockey game brawls, things spun out of control. Ten people were stabbed to death and another 19 wounded in a Cree Indian community and a nearby town located in Saskatchewan. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are saying some of the victims were, "targeted," while others appeared to be simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The RCMP are desperately searching for two suspects, Damien and Myles Sanderson. If authorities have a motive they aren't releasing it at this time. As you can guess, both of the Sanderson boys are considered armed and dangerous.

All this mayhem begs the question, why is the American national media so fixated on Donald J. Trump? Indeed, every time one turns on cable news, no matter which side it leans to you cannot escape him. Turn on the desk top, or phone and there is his Cheeto infused mug staring back at you. 

Apparently, for Americans anyway, Don Trump has become the itch we cannot scratch--the ear worm we can't rid ourselves of--the foul acid flashback that continually disrupts our reality.

The headlines are everywhere. "Trump Calls For New Election, Declares Himself Rightful 2020 Winner.."  "Trump Complains the FBI Has Never Searched Biden's Residence." Trump Complains FBI Searched His Son's Bedroom." "Trump Says He Will Execute Drug Dealers." Trump Promises to Pardon Jan. 6th Rioters."  "Trump Takes a Dump."

Okay, the last one wasn't real, not yet anyway, but sometimes it feels we are only a half step from it.

When he lost in 2020 I thought we'd be done with this bellicose and openly criminal asshole. Silly me. Even after five plus years on the national stage where he commanded every news cycle, his ego demands we notice him, compels us in a strange and terrible way to write and speak about him.

Yes, after all these years it is finally time to admit Don Trump is an addiction worse than any induced by illegal drugs. 

I'll be the first to admit he has me hooked too. Right now I should be writing about a ghastly family annihilator in Oklahoma City, or two deranged Canucks who ran amok in Saskatchewan. However here I am ranting yet again about a former reality TV host, turned dictator wannabe.

His cult loves him without question, many for reasons they can't even explain, at least not coherently. The media, no matter how harshly they criticize him, broadcasts and prints his every word. And the tragedy is, all of that just fuels his massive ego even more, not to mention his own horrifying vision of himself as King of All Media and the World.

I've come to conclude there is something truly Satanic about the man--that Donald fucking Trump just might be the Anti-Christ. Consider me as unhinged if you will, but the truth is when the sun rises in the morning he will do, or say something that 30% of America will applaud, while the rest of us  react in horror and disgust. 

The point being we all, each and every one of us, will react to it. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly what he wants.

Sic Vita Est

8-5-22

   

The Many Guns of Benjamin Plank

 Meanwhile, here in Oklahoma City things took a deadly turn on Monday. Three Oklahoma County Sheriff's deputies showed up late in the morning, or early that afternoon at a house in southwest OKC. They went there to serve an eviction notice to one, Benjamin Plank. The deputies weren't there at the behest of some greedy bank, or cold blooded lending institution.. They had arrived because Mr. Plank's mother wanted him out of her place and he wouldn't leave. As you can guess Ben Plank took umbrage with all this.  He opened fire on the deputies with an AR-15 style assault rifle, killing, Sgt. Bobby Swartz and severely wounding deputy Mark Johns. The third deputy, who still hasn't been identified was unharmed.  

Apparently the trouble began in July when Plank's mom claimed her son had grown verbally abusive and increasingly irrational. He also had lots of guns he'd carry around inside of the house, while occasionally saying he should just, end it all. In short, she realized her son had become crazier than a bed bug on the brown acid.

Understandably dear old Mom became frightened and around the first of August asked for and got an eviction notice for her kid. Plank, who is 35, ignored it. In fact, one day while his mother was out he disabled the garage door opener and used the deadbolts on the doors in order to keep her out of her own home.

After that incident Plank's mom returned to court. On August 12th she secured a Victim's Protection Order which not only banned her kid from the home, but ordered him to surrender his weapons to the authorities prior to a hearing. 

It was at that point things got muddled. According to an Oklahoma law, endorsed by Governor, Kevin Stitt and passed by a legislature with the collective IQ of tree moss, no one can seize the guns of a person, no matter how bat shit crazy until after a competency hearing. Stitt calls this due process--you know--for heavily armed homicidal maniacs. 

So far officials aren't saying the anti red flag law is what caused the situation. When asked why Plank still had the guns on hand, OKC Police Chief, Wade Gourley responded with, "Our department doesn't do that. No one thought to ask Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommy Johnson the same thing. Later, Gourley amended his statement by saying, "There was something wrong with the VPO.

Well yeah, it was in violation of Stitt's fucking law.

It remains unclear at this time if Swartz and his partners knew of the gun snafu, or not. Apparently they were there to evict Plank from the premises and nothing more. 

Whatever the case after the shooting Ben Plank escaped the scene in his pickup truck, with his boat in tow--hey, a captain always stays with his ship. What followed was a high speed chase up I-35 which turned into a rolling gunfight as Plank traded shots with at least two different OKCPD officers. He headed east on I-40, perhaps thinking of all those lakes in eastern Oklahoma, then took the Air Depot exit in Midwest City. He turned south, either by design, or accident and ran smack dab into the most heavily guarded gate at Tinker Air Force Base. 

At that point Benjamin Plank threw his rifle out the window, exited the truck, and dropped his shorts, presumably so police could see he didn't have any concealed weapons. After being gang tackled by about a half dozen cops and, according to Gourley, tased he was carted off, first to a hospital, then the county lockup where he now sits. Gourley told the media his boat contained a bag full of guns and ammo and investigators found other weapons at the home. "He was going to shoot the first law enforcement officers he saw, no matter what the uniform," the chief said.

Right.

Swartz's funeral is Friday. It has been reported Johns is in for a long hospital stay and extensive rehab. The third deputy is on leave and Sheriff Johnson describes her as, "really shook up." 

No one is asking how, or when Benjamin Plank got his arsenal of weapons. Why should they? This is America for God's sake. Guns and ammo are easier to purchase than bananas. The real question now, is why he still had them and if Kevin Stitt, who is running for re-election, enabled him to do so. 

The problem being, no one in the Oklahoma City right wing leaning media wants to ask it.

8-24-22

 

Smashing All That Was Sacred to Us

 Way back in the fall of 1963 I distinctly remember a woman who attended our church express her disgust of John F. Kennedy. "I wish someone would just shoot him," she said. A couple of weeks later Kennedy made a trip to Dallas and Lee Oswald did just that. I have no recollection of her reaction to the murder.

Later, in the mid 1970s I had a neighbor named Bill Snyder. He told me one day over beers the United States would be better off if the government was run by a military man without any interference from a Congress, or Supreme Court. 

Yes, the yen for political violence infesting so called Christians and the desire for a benign authoritarian leader with no need for legislative, or judicial restraint have been around for longer than many of us would like to admit. The difference between those quaint times and now being in the past the terrible rubes who believed that shit were rare and they had the sense to keep it to themselves most of the time.

Not anymore. 

The vile fuckers are out of the closet and so common sometimes they actually get elected to the very Congress they want to either disband, or turn into a rubber stamp for a dictator who is to their liking. We used to call these clods crazy and worse, now they are known as republicans. 

The, Great Awakening, as they say began when an American of African descent won the presidency. Barack Obama was the sum of their fears. He was living proof white people were losing their grip on power. His desire to, "even the playing field," drove them stark raving mad. How else can you explain all the accusations about him not really being an American and snide remarks about having to rename the presidential residence from the White House to the Black House and more. You know, he's going to seize our guns so we can't rise up when the time comes.  

When he beat mainstream GOP candidates not once, but twice, it pushed them further to the fringe. Then along came the man who fulfilled all their desires. 

He was and still is, loud and inarticulate. He levels crude personal insults against political opponents and is more than willing to publicly repeat every myth and lie they have come to believe. He also has the not so subtle ambition to be the leader for life and no qualms about purging, what quakily became his party, of those who actually think we should be loyal to the republic rather than him. Finally, like the mob who adores him, he has no knowledge, or respect for the Constitution of the United States of America. To him and his fans other than the second amendment the entire document just gets in the way.

This disease isn't just at the top of the party. It percolates up from the bottom where local legislators have set new lows in intelligence and decency. They are busy as beavers on meth restricting voter and women's rights. The aim being simple, if you aren't just like us, you don't get to cast a ballot and if you get raped, even by dear old Dad, it's your problem and you get to carry the beast's fetus to full term. 

Indeed, screw democracy. We know what is right for you and the country. After all, as Joe Goebbels once said, "We will reach our goal when we have the power to laugh as we destroy, as we smash, whatever was sacred to us..."

It makes me wonder what ol' Bill Snyder, if he is still alive, thinks about it all.

8-18-22 

Saint Donald, The Perpetual Martyr

 It must be tough being a republican these days. You not only have to be able to shift gears faster than a driver at Le Mans, but you have to throw your vehicle into reverse in order to change directions in full view of everyone in the grand stands. Such adroit and high speed maneuvers began to take place this past Monday morning when agents of the FBI showed up at Donald Trump's front door.

Some members of the GOP were so outraged at this turn of events they forgot their anger a couple of years ago about calls for the police to be defunded. That's right, suddenly they were demanding the FBI be stripped of its funding. Others, who up until Monday were saying Joe Biden was a senile old man who didn't have a clue about anything, are now maintaining he is the evil mastermind behind the plan to execute the search warrant at Mar-a-Lago. A few are howling the search of a former president's residence is proof the United States is becoming a, "banana republic." They seem oblivious to the fact that particular ship sailed on January 6th 2021 when Trump inspired the mob to storm the capitol building in order to illegally keep him in power.

Well, as they say, times change, although not usually so quickly.

Brother Don, predictably, is now in full martyr mode. Indeed, to hear him is to believe no man in history has been crucified as often as he has. He is living proof the deep state exists. That they really are out to get you. 

Some are speculating and a few are hoping the search warrant affair has all but guaranteed him the republican nomination in 2024. The reasoning is it has galvanized and energized his base. This thinking doesn't seem to recognize Trump's cult of ghouls are already galvanized. They have been since 2016 when he came gliding down the golden escalator Let's face it, the man could walk outside, look at the sun and say, "That's a great full moon," and they would believe him. He literally could shoot the poor schnuck in the middle of 5th Avenue and they'd let him off.

Be that as it may a nomination might not be in the offing. It's tough to appear on a ballot after you've been convicted of a felony.

What no one is contesting is that he did possess the documents he wasn't supposed to have--that he did withhold them from the National Archives despite what the law says. There had been months of negotiations held to get them back to where they belonged. He had even turned over some, but refused to come clean on the rest. What no republican wants to admit is that subpoenas wouldn't have worked because Donald Trump is a congenital liar and cannot be trusted to do anything a court requests, or be trusted with government documents no matter what their importance. Yes, the only way to get them back was for the FBI to execute a search warrant.

Some right wing hacks are comparing the search to the Watergate break in. Their recollection of history is astoundingly bad. Either that, or they are depending on the defective memories of Trump's band of hysterics. A legally executed search warrant carried out in the middle of the day by law enforcement officials has nothing whatsoever to do with a gang of Cuban expats breaking into an office during the middle of the night in order to steal campaign strategies and material. They were breaking the law, not following the instructions of a federal judge.

Of course logic and a sense of the law are severely lacing in today's republican party. All they know is, in their minds, their man has been wronged. And, that wrong is enough for some to threaten civil war, not to mention sending scores of demented messages to law enforcement agents and opposing politicians.

It might behoove them, however, to remember what happened the last time these soldiers of heaven took to the streets and committed violence in the name of their guy. In the end, Donald John Trump hung them out to dry.

Such is the one way street named loyalty for the former President of the United States of America.

sic vat est

811-22

The Donald Trump is the Lord Jesus Christ Incarnate Revival: AKA, CPAC 2022

The late author, Hunter S. Thompson once said taking acid in Las Vegas is redundant. One can only imagine how he would have described what happened in Dallas over the last three days. 

Indeed, reality took a deeply surreal, yea, hallucinogenic turn at the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference--also known as The Donald Trump is The Lord Jesus Christ Incarnate Revival. How else can you describe an event that started with a speech by the Hungarian fascist Viktor Orban then ended with an address by Herr Trump himself. 

In between these ghoulish bookends were people like the republican candidate for Governor in Arizona, Kari Lake. She told the faithful she won the nomination because MAGA voters, "overwhelmed," the fraudulent machines in her state which were rigged against her. If elected she promised to officially declare Arizona's southern border is being, "invaded." 

My Pillow guy, Mike Lindell was also there. He made sure those in attendance understood elections in 54 different countries had been left up to voting machines. Those countries, he said, "were lost," because once the machines have control they never give it up.

In other words, according to both these loons the age of Skynet has arrived. 

There were others, of course, including a guy in a fake jail cell who represented the poor incarcerated January 6th insurrectionists. According to CNN the, "actor," in this little passion play really was in the mob that day. The reason he was available for the job was because he had turned state's evidence on other rioters who are currently doing time in real lock ups.

Well these republicans have never lacked when it comes to irony, or hypocrisy. 

Obviously Orban and Trump were the stars of the show. Orban, who a few weeks ago delivered a speech that was called, "pure Nazi," by one of his own aides, received a standing ovation after his address. It moved one analyst to declare the GOP is now openly in support of white nationalism. The Hungarian Prime Minister's only uncomfortable moment was when he said his country supported Ukraine in its struggle against Russia. He apparently didn't realize most of the people in that hall actually like Valdimir Putin. 

Our Donald, the alleged billionaire, shook down his supporters for donations to pay for a proposed law suit against CNN. Then he proclaimed both the January 6th coup attempt and the foiled plot to kidnap Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer were faked.

The crowd ate it all up. Hey, what do you expect from a bunch of fat grotesque rubes, many of whom were dressed in outfits so horribly garish and ridiculous it made you think of Porter Wagoner on Peyote. There is no telling how much cash they'll shovel into Trump's law suit plan, not realizing huge chunks of it will go directly to some fraudulent committee, or foundation run by one, or more of his kids, or cronies. 

Let's face it, the only one of these MAGA grifters nailed so far has been Alex jones, but even he received a few kind words from GA congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene who made the speakers list this year. 

Yes, there aren't any lies, conspiracies, or scams too big for the crowd in Dallas this year. Not so long as you keep telling them this country belongs to them and them alone and they are being persecuted by radical leftists only because they are white.

It is, in their twisted brains, the will of God. 

Don't believe it? Just ask Donald John Trump and his pals. They are more than willing to tell you just that.

sic vita est

8-7-22

Fox News Drops The Donald Show From Its Lineup

 What was unthinkable a year ago appears to be happening. Last week the New York Times reported it had been 100 days and counting since former president, Donald Trump made an appearance on the Fox News Network. That's right, Big Don hasn't been shown, or heard from on Fox since April 13th of this year when Sean Hannity interviewed him.

But, as the TV pitchmen say, wait, there is more. At least two major conservative newspapers, The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, have recently run editorials condemning Trump's actions prior to and during the failed January 6th coup. 

Yes, there looks to be a disturbance in the force. The connections are obvious. All three outlets are owned by the mad Australian, Rupert Murdoch, who serves as the emperor of all right wing media. It would seem he and his son, Lachlin, who is the Fox CEO, have grown tired of Brother Don's act.

Of course this isn't the first time Fox News has gotten crosswise with Donald Trump. On election night 2020 the network was the first to call Arizona for Joe Biden. The announcement came right as the then president was preparing to fraudulently proclaim victory. It also prompted a call from at least one Trump family member, it isn't clear who, to call either the old man, or his kid to demand a retraction. The response was a firm no. According to the Murdoch involved, "The numbers are ironclad."

Then, a couple of weeks ago, The Don was thrown into a rage when his former pals on Fox and Friends cited a CNN poll which found nearly 55% of republicans asked said they preferred Trump no run in 2024. Trump immediately labeled the show, "Terrible," and accused Fox of, having, "gone to the dark side."

There has been oodles of speculation as to why there has been a falling out between the Murdoch family and Trump. Most traditional journalists believe it's because Lachlin especially thinks, Mr. Trump is stuck in the past. Instead of providing any new ideas and moving forward he has become a one note Donnie, obsessed with changing a past which cannot be changed. There is a fear that this obsession will blunt GOP efforts to retake the Senate and House this fall and the White House in 2024. In short, in the eyes of Murdoch and son, he has gone from asset to liability. 

This reversal of fortune has Fox looking for a fresh face and voice to carry the party standard in 2024. There are indications it has settled on one. Recently, instead of covering a Trump stop on his Greatest Hits Tour, it gave Florida Governor and possible presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis 13 minutes of free air time on Laura Ingraham's show. For those 13 minutes it was if Donald Trump no longer existed.

Other analysts have been a tad more mercenary in their assessment of the situation. According to them the Murdochs and Fox consider Don Trump old news. He is like any television commodity which had a good run, but now has grown passe. Or, as they say in the business, the Donald Show has jumped the shark and it's time to put someone new in his time slot. 

After all, in TV, ratings are everything.

Well, 2024 is still two years off and that is a long time in presidential politics. There is no telling what will happen between now and then. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent Donald John Trump has lost Fox News and the vast Murdoch media machine. 

Indeed, the worm may have turned for, Our Donald. And let's face it, your lies don't matter anymore if no one can hear them.

.

8-1-22 

The Man Who Would be Dictator Part 8: Trust in Adolf

 It is not truth that matters, but victory.

Adolf Hitler

By January 6th, 2021 everything had failed, Donald Trump. State election officials from Pennsylvania to Georgia and Arizona had stood fast despite all the cajoling and bullying he could delegate and deliver himself. Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and a battalion of others had been turned away by over 60 different judges. The string of failures had moved Powell to declare all of them, including the ones appointed by the Trump administration, as corrupt. The increasingly bizarre and fanciful conspiracy theories had either been disproven, or dismissed as bullshit. The Justice Department had refused to act and the highest ranking members of it had threatened mutiny.

The states had certified their electoral votes. His own staff considered John Eastman's legalese fol-de-rol insanity. And the final insult, Mike Pence was proving himself disloyal, not to the constitution, but to, El Presidente.   

In short, time was almost up and the options were down to one. Send in the thugs and stop the congressional certification of the election results by force.

It isn't clear if even Don Trump knew exactly how that was going to be accomplished. Other details, however, have become appallingly obvious. 

First, Mr. Trump really did plan on leading the mob to the capitol building, or at least meet them there. When his Secret Service detail refused to take him there was a shouting match in his vehicle. Although the details may have varied some from Cassie Hutchinson's account a verbal confrontation did occur that the President lost. 

There are reports that Giuliani, who by then could be considered clinically insane, had wanted Trump to enter the building, make some sort of speech to the assembled Senators and Representatives, and perhaps personally lobby them to reject the certification. Presumably this would happen as the insurgents cheered him on and threatened anyone who might object.

Second, when he couldn't make it to the capitol, El Don squirreled himself away in the oval office dinning room, banning even the official White House photographer. During the next three hours, or so, with limited interruptions, he was by himself, glued to the TV. Because the White House phone records for that period were scrubbed there is no telling who he was in communication with, although it is known large numbers of the rioters were paying close attention to his tweets. 

It was during this blacked out time the President of the United States tweeted to the insurgents that his vice president didn't have the courage to overturn the election, driving them into a further frenzy. It was at that moment it became obvious to everyone everywhere. Don Trump was willing to sacrifice the life of, Mike Pence along with any and all members of congress in order to stop the vote count.

Some of  Pence's security detail certainly knew this to be true. A few began sending radio messages asking fellow agents to tell their families they loved them. During those terrible minutes they were increasingly sure their chances of surviving the day were, let's say, limited. The Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were also aware of it. They laughed during their communications and noted Trump had asked them to not hurt Capitol Police members, because they were, "on our side," but didn't mention not harming members of congress.

Hell, even the despicable Missouri Senator, Josh Hawley knew it. A photo of him egging on the crowd with a clinched fist salute before the riot began in earnest was juxtaposed with a tape of him sprinting away from the mob as they breached the building. It was, as one analyst put it, "The most emasculating moment in American political history."

Thanks to an unknown number of text messages deleted by the Secret Service it has even been suggested some elements of the bureau were in on the plot. Busses mysteriously appeared to whisk congressmen and women to safety. Pence himself, refused to, "get in that car," because he didn't trust the driver. Indeed, it could have been, short of murder, the plan was remove everyone from the building to unknown locations, thus stopping the vote.

A little after 4pm that day Trump reluctantly filmed a message telling his warriors to go home in peace, that he loved them. He still maintained the election was stolen, Many credit White House aides, media members, and even his family for convincing him to do so. However, in reality it had probably dawned on him Pence and Congress could not be found and were refusing to leave the premises. The final push was over.

The next day someone convinced him to make a video calling the attack heinous, although he still refused to admit the election was lost. Publicly he still won't.

It is abundantly clear the threat to American democracy isn't over. Trump is still out there and he is going to run again. This year it is reported over 100 GOP candidates from top to bottom have made, "the election was stolen," major parts of their campaigns. Countless others are proud to compare themselves to Donald John Trump and brag they have his support. 

They are a cult of blood thirsty werewolves who have no respect for the republic, or its laws. Not to mention they and their Leader all abide by another quote from Herr Hitler:

If you want the sympathies of the broad masses, you must tell them the crudest and most stupid things.

7-24-22

Chaos, Incompetence, and Cowardice in Uvalde

 On May 24th of this year, Salvador Ramos attacked Robb Elementary School in, Uvalde, Texas. Seemingly within moments after he opened fire police began arriving at the scene in droves. It is now estimated that before the ghastly affair was over law enforcement personnel from various agencies outnumbered young Mr. Ramos 376 to one.

Despite the odds the gunman held off this huge posse of Texas lawmen for well over an hour, as God only knows how many of his victims bled out in a classroom. When it was over 19 elementary school students, two of their teachers, and the shooter himself were dead. The authorities, all 376 of them, escaped harm.

So how did Salvador Ramos survive a massive barrage of gunfire during his reign of terror? Well, it turns out there wasn't a barrage of gunfire massive, or otherwise for over 70 minutes. It has now been revealed that a vast array of authorities stood frozen in a school hallway waiting for someone to take charge. Tragically no one wanted that particular job.

That's right, none of those big bellied good ol' boys wearing their starched white Stetsons and fancy badges--the law in these here parts pilgrim--wanted to take command. No one wanted to lead the charge and take the responsibility for it. In other words, one, or more Robb students might have died while the cops were too busy covering their own asses to save them.

Not all the police were paralyzed in that hallway, of course. There was a good number outside the school restraining the parents of those kids. Moms and Dads didn't give a shit who was in charge, they just wanted inside in order to protect their kids. It was an attitude the police couldn't seem to comprehend.  

The fact is everything about the nightmare in Uvalde reeks of a cluster fuck. Two months before it happened some of Ramos' pals knew he was off the rails. So much so they had begun to refer to him, behind his back, as, "school shooter." Despite a long, sordid, trail of social media postings containing depictions of beheadings and violent sex he was still able to spend more than $5,000 on weapons, ammunition, and things like body armor. People who knew him understood perfectly he was obsessed with two things: violence and instant fame.

The Uvalde School District had six officers, supposedly under the command of Pete Arredondo while the city cops numbered 40, or so paid officers. Coming to aid them were Sheriff department deputies, Texas highway patrol troopers and even federal border and DEA agents. In theory Arredondo was in charge, but according to reports he was too busy looking for a key to the classroom door--which some are reporting was already unlocked--to give any meaningful orders to the troops. 

While the chief looked for the master key and avoided any type of real leadership, Ramos continued to shoot.

Now all those hot shot Texas officials who initially praised the police response, including Texas governor, Greg Abbott are back peddling, ducking, dancing, and trying desperately to evade the terrible truth. That is their boys weren't heroes, they were at best incompetent fools and at worst, cowards.

And children who could have been saved died because of their inaction.

sic vita est

7-19-22