The Wisdom of Pooh

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And with this fucking shit-eating grin too.
Irony #2: Firearms are prohibited at the Ohio Statehouse.

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It’s happened again … and again … and again, who cares? In the past week we’ve seen a lunatic open fire in a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood, murdering people; then we saw another lunatic shoot up a Taiwanese church in California; and now, more schoolchildren dead, and families destroyed, again, in Texas. We don‘t care though. We don’t care. There are so many other things to grab our attention … Kim Kardastrophe wore Marilyn’s dress to the Met Gala; Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, two self-entitled, self-involved celebrities are battling again in court; because there’s something new to stream on Netflix or a new iPhone to stand in line to buy. We don’t care. We stopped caring ten years ago after Sandy Hook. Oh, sure, we get pissed and we stomp our feet and we yell, but what else do we do? Do we demand, DEMAND, that out elected officials do something about the ease with which nearly anyone can get a gun? Do we require that gun owners be licensed and trained in the use of firearms? Do we say No to anyone who wants a gun without a background check? Do we even ask the question about requiring gun owners to carry insurance? You need to be trained and tested and licensed and insured to buy and operate a car in this country, but all you need to get a gun and carry it wherever you want is a credit card and a trigger finger. And we still don’t care. We whine and cry and stomp our feet and then turn back to our devices. When will we learn? Well, learn this: Texas GOP Senator Ted Cruz, who doesn’t think gun control, gun licensing, gun registration, a full ban on assault weapons will stop these mass shootings was paid $442,000.00 from the NRA; that’s a lot of money to keep getting you reelected while children are gunned down. Louisiana GOP Congressman Steve Scalise has $396,000.00 reasons to not vote for stricter gun laws, thanks to the NRA. Senator GOP John Cornyn of Texas earned some $340,000.00 while kids in his state are murdered. GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, from South Carolina, pocketed $284,000.00 from the NRA to look the other way, while GOP Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky took in $247,000.00 in blood money. GOP Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, GOP Congressman Kevin McCarthy of California, GOP Congress man Pete Sessions of Texas, and GOP Senator Steve Daines of Montana, also padded their election coffers with nearly a quarter of a million dollars each from the NRA. Notice that the politicians raking in the most money from the NRA, and the ones most adamant about having no need for gun control, sensible, responsible gun control, are all Republicans. Money talks, children die; we don’t care. And those in the GOP who don’t work in politics and don’t cash NRA checks offer up their own solutions … Maureen O’Connell, a former FBI agent, says schools should invest in “ballistic blankets” and in obscuring windows, to keep shooter at bay. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton thinks teachers should be armed. Not a single word about stopping the flood of guns into murderers’ hands, just ways to sell more guns. Don’t stop the shooter; don’t stop the lunatic with the gun. The hypocrisy of Texas’ GOP Governor Greg Abbott waging a war against face masks in schools during a pandemic, but who cares nothing about keeping guns out of the hands of madmen who shoot schoolchildren isn’t lost on me. The hypocrisy of GOP and their war against abortion this week, talking about fetal heartbeats, when they don’t care at all about the dead 19 school children, each of whom had … had … a heartbeat isn’t lost on me. The hypocrisy of the GOP who have traded out their ridiculous “thoughts and prayers” responses of for a new message about “lifting up in prayer” the survivors and the families of those whose children and loved ones were murdered isn’t lost on me. How about lifting up your fucking voices and demanding this madness stop? How about lifting up your fucking hand and voting Yes to responsible, sane, gun control? The hypocrisy of the GOP offering condolences to the families of murdered school children at the same time they are saying there’s nothing that can be done isn’t lost on me. The hypocrisy of the GOP banning books about slavery, books about trans kids, books about racism, books about LGBTQ+ Americans, while allowing anyone to own a gun and carry it wherever they choose and open fire at will isn’t lost on me. Books are killing students, but by god keep them out of our schools. The hypocrisy of the GOP saying deaths of schoolchildren, of People of Color, of church goers, movie goers, shoppers should be used to justify the Second Amendment isn’t lost on me. But again, we don’t care because those on the right think gun control means the government is coming for your guns. Remember they screamed that, while Obama was president, he was coming to take their guns away. And how many guns did Obama confiscate? I’ll wait until you count to “zero.” I know people who have guns; I know a guy here who operates a gun club and operates gun shoots about once a month; those men, and women, aren’t shooting up schools and churches and such. Those are the ones who understand the power of guns, how to handle them. They aren’t fighting background checks and licenses and registrations. Those are the gun nuts, who have twisted the Second Amendment from having a “well-regulated militia” to fight against an attack on this country by a foreign nation, to mean that y’all can have guns and carry them into the Piggly Wiggly, and throw ‘em over your shoulders in Starbucks, and buy as many as you want at guns shows, and purchase as many assault weapons—a gun with just one use: to kill—as they want. Those people shouldn’t have guns, and the people collecting money from the NRA to protect their terror group, the ones like Cruz and Rubio and Graham and McCarthy and McConnell, who have the blood of schoolchildren on their hands, should not be allowed in public office again. Each and everyone in the GOP who stands with and for the NRA is complicit in the murders of schoolchildren and teachers and rabbis and pastors and concertgoers and worshippers. But we don’t care. And I say that because in the ten years since Sandy Hook we’ve seen thousands of Americans killed by guns and we’ve done nothing. I say we don’t care because something shiny will come along to catch our eye, or a new TikTok will need a million views, and so we’ll stop and look. I say that because we get complacent and look the other way and don’t demand that our elected officials stop the killing. I still say we don’t care. Prove me wrong.

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President Biden, on those dead children, victims of yet another mass shooting in America: "I had hoped when I became president I would not have to do this—again. Another massacre. Uvalde, Texas. An elementary school. Beautiful, innocent second, third and fourth graders. And how many scores of little children who witnessed what happened—see their friends die, as if they're in a battlefield, for God's sake. They'll live with it the rest of their lives. What struck me on that 17-hour flight [Biden was returning from Asia] what struck me was these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world. Why? They have mental health problems. They have domestic disputes in other countries. They have people who are lost, but these kinds of mass shootings never happen with the kind of frequency they happen in America. Why? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? As a nation, we have to ask, when in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God's name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?” When all of you in Washington finally stand up; when those of you who want comprehensive, rational gun control call out the other side for offering no solutions. When you decide to do something.

Greg Abbott, Republican governor of Texas, saying the Uvalde school murderer had a "mental health challenge": "We as a state, we as a society, need to do a better job with mental health." Just last month Greg Abbott slashed $211 million from the department that oversees mental health programs. Texas now ranks dead last—pun intended—out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia for overall access to mental health care. Greg Abbott was scheduled to speak at an upcoming NRA event but pulled out at the last minute in an effort to make it seem like he gives a flying fuck about dead kids; let’s be clear, he does not.

Chris Murphy, Democrat Senator from Connecticut, speaking on the Senate floor begging the Republicans to act against gun violence: "I’m here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues. Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely. This only happens in this country and nowhere else. Nowhere else do little kids go to school thinking that they might be shot that day. Nowhere else do parents have to talk to their kids as I have had to do about why they got locked into a bathroom and told to be quiet for five minutes just in case a bad man entered that building. Nowhere else does that happen except here in the United States of America. And it is a choice. It is our choice to let it continue." The GOP talks about being pro-family, pro-children, but when it comes to children being murdered in schools, their offer the solutions of arming teachers, having more active shooter drills, or locking the kids inside the building. Nothing about the guns.

Ted Cruz, Republican Senator from Texas and NRA bitchboy, on the shootings, which have left his hands and soul covered in the blood of children: “Heidi and I are fervently lifting up in prayer the children and families in the horrific shooting in Uvalde. We are in close contact with local officials, but the precise details are still unfolding. Thank you to the heroic law enforcement and first responders for acting so swiftly.” Cruz said, the next day: "When there's a murderer of this kind, you see politicians try to politicize it, you see Democrats and a lot of folks in the media whose immediate solution is to try to restrict the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens. We are seeing way too many of these horrific mass murders. And we need to devote far more law enforcement resources to stopping violent criminals preventing these kinds of absolute acts of evil." First off, Rafael, your prayers are hollow when you take money from the very people who flood our streets with guns. Your prayers mean nothing when you block even the discussion of gun control. You don’t care about dead children; you care about political office. Fuck completely off.

Steve Kerr, coach for the Warriors basketball team, refused to talk about basketball before the team’s playoff game against the Mavericks, but instead spoke of murdered children in the United Sates of Guns: “Since we left shoot-around, 14 children were killed 400 miles from here and a teacher [now 19 children and 2 teachers dead]. And in the last 10 days, we’ve had elderly Black people killed in a supermarket in Buffalo, we’ve had Asian churchgoers killed in southern California, and now we have children murdered at school. When are we going to do something? I’m tired, I’m so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I’m tired of the moments of silence.” Moments of silence, thoughts and prayers, lifting people up in prayer, will not save the life of one American. Gun control, and better access to mental health care, together, can start to solve the problem.

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I saw Governor Abbott of Texas has chosen to cancel his speech at the NRA convention in Houston. Instead of spending some quality time with his donors, he's going to put on his phony Debbie Downer face and visit the grieving town of Uvalde because voters are unhappy. Beto made him look like dog shit.


Ted Cruz will still put in an appearance. He knows which minority group butters his campaign bread.


So will the Spawn of Satan, Donald Trump. No guns will be permitted on the premises while he's there. He spoke at their last convention and the same rules applied. I'm wondering if this year, besides outlawing guns, they also outlaw fruit. I understand he now has a fear of pineapples.


My Newsweek feed sent me an opinion this morning on Herschel Walker's campaign. The writer believes he has a good chance of winning. I mused about that for a few moments. This is a man who only speaks in coherent sentences when he's reading a teleprompter. He will never debate. And you can bet he will only take questions from his friends at Fox News. Rather than respond personally to issues, Walker will let someone from his campaign speak for him. Warnock is going to play hardball, and that's the wrong sport for an aging Walker.

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This country has lost it's mind!

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The American teacher:

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Driving around this last weekend, as we are apt to do every weekend, we came across church after church, synagogue after synagogue with 19 student chairs, and 2 adult chairs out on each of their respective lawns or parking lots.

I stopped only twice of the 7-8 we ended up seeing, to take these images.


I am assuming through their own social media streams, many of these houses of worship got together to do this. It would have been too coincidental otherwise.


But this got me thinking too. FFS, the GOP and "the church" are forever in a perpetual 69. Religion has such a sway in whatever the GOP wants to do, or that religion wants the GOP to do, that why the fuck are they not pushing some gun control? ANY gun control.


But then I realized that it is really the GOP and the Evangelicals. They are "the church" of which we speak. Yes, they support Catholics when they want to deny Pappy Joe communion, but that's about where it ends. Jews? Only if they want to support Israeli forces - but actual Jew stuff? Noooooooooo.


And the Evangelicals already open carry in their churches, so there is no one taking up this cause. The ecumenical and unitarian factions - the liberal wing of religion, if you will - are the ones putting up these displays [[and some reform Jews), but they hold no chance of change with the GOP.........or the Democrats for that matter.


BTW - FUCK Chuck Schumer. He has stated there are ZERO plans to put forth legislation for any sort of gun control. "Your vote for change matters this November" - or some such bullshit.


Dude - you're already losing the mid-terms in the House. The writing is on the wall. DO SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE you fucking piece of shit!


As much as I hate McConnell, he at least had his people in check. Schumer is a 'leader' in name only. It says 'majority' [[for now), but he has no majority..........he barely has the minority.

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In the wake of the latest—cuz it won’t be the last—mass shooting, Texas Governor, and REPUBLICAN, Greg Abbott said he expects new laws to be enacted in response the Robb Elementary School shooting, and added: “Do we expect any laws to come out of this devastating crime? The answer is yes. Absolutely yes.” When asked about calling a special session for the legislature Abbott made no move on that. He is resistant to measures targeting background checks on guns and new laws around buying rifles: “Anyone who suggests we should focus on background checks instead of mental health, I suggest to you it is mistaken.” REPUBLICAN Governor Greg Abbott has cut $200,000,000.00 from departments that deal with mental health. He has children’s blood on his hands. We all know the NRA held one of their terror-paloozas in the wake of the shooting in Uvalde, but did you know that this vile group, headed by murderer Wayne LaPierre, as part of its ongoing “Banned Guns Giveaway,” the NRA raffled off a Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 rifle as 1,000 rounds of ammunition—the same gun used to slaughter children at Robb Elementary. A Domestic Terror Group. GOP Representative Matt Gaetz tried to answer the question why anyone not serving in the military would have a need for an AR-15 capable of quickly spewing 300 bullets and he replied: “Target sport. Self-defense. Hog hunting. Just to name a few…” Keep in mind that one person who was a survivor of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida was David Hogg, a gun activist. Matt Gaetz is a pig. New York Congressman, and REPUBLICAN, Chris Jacobs, a former gun advocate and supporter of the NRA, made a surprising about-face last week becoming perhaps the first congressional Republican to call for an assault weapons ban in the wake of the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas. In addition to saying he would vote for a Democratic bill banning assault weapons, he also said he would support raising the age on some gun purchases to 21, limiting the capacity of magazines and banning the sale of military-style body armor to civilians. Perhaps the tide is turning … ? Lastly, President Biden was greeted warmly greeted when he visited Uvalde over the weekend, while Texas GOP Governor Greg Abbott was loudly booed when he approached the memorial at Robb Elementary: “Shame on you, Abbott!” “Please, Governor, help Uvalde County! We need change! Our children don’t deserve this.” “Our children are under constant attack in this community. We need help.” Sadly, we already know where Abbott stands, so change won’t likely be coming at a state level, unless the people of Texas vote him out of office. Vote every single politician who has blocked gun control legislation, who takes blood money from the NRA, who suggests arming teachers, giving students ballistic blankets, or locking all the doors in schools, as a solution to mass shootings. CAST A GODDAMNED VOTE.

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Try as he might, Tuxedo, and his two dads, cannot understand this country sometimes.

Last week, before Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Basketball Finals the Miami Heat began with a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas that ended with this message: "The Heat urges you to contact your state senator by calling 202-224-3121 to leave a message demanding their support for common sense gun laws. You can also make change at the ballot box. Visit Heat.com/vote to register and let your voice be heard this fall." Gun control is once again a major issue after last week’s shooting, especially in Florida, where the state's GOP leadership is pushing for a change in state law to allow residents to carry concealed guns without permits. CAST A GODDAMNED VOTE!

Oh Marge Traitor Greene. You are really giving Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz a run for their money as the Dumbest Member of Congress. Y’all might recall when Greene warned of Biden’s “gazpacho police”? Rumor has it she meant Gestapo, but maybe Marge was hungry. Well, she’s at it again, this time claiming that the government wants “surveillance on every part of your life,” including on what people are eating: “Which is very bad because Bill Gates wants you to eat this fake meat that grows in a peach tree dish so you’ll probably get a little zap inside your body that’ll say ‘No, don’t eat a real cheeseburger, you need to eat the fake burger.’” Peach tree dish? Seriously, Georgia, between this moron and Herschel Walker, you state Republicans look like you only elect idiots.

The other day I ran a red light and crashed into a man's car; luckily, while both cars were heavily damaged neither one of us was hurt, and I said to the man: “This must be a sign that we should meet and be friends for the rest of our lives.” And he agreed with; that’s when I looked in my car and saw that the bottle of 75-year-old scotch I’d just bought was still intact, surely another sign, and I said: “Let’s toast to the fact that we survived this crash.” I handed him the bottle and he took a long swig and handed it back to me. I put the cap on and gave it back to him, and he asked if I was having any, and I replied: "Nah. I think I'll just wait for the police." And what if it did happen?

Like McDonald’s did last week, Starbucks is leaving Russia and closing all 130 of its locations after 15 years in business saying: “[Starbucks] has made the decision to exit and no longer have a brand presence in the [Russian] market." Starbucks will continue paying its nearly 2,000 employees in Russia for six months and help them find new jobs, but no more Big Macs and no Half-caf, Half-decaf, extra foam lattes for you, comrade.

Now this did happen … a co-worker was telling the story of how he’d been at Food Lion and when the cashier gave him his change, one of the dollars bills had this written on it: “I suck dick for a dollar.” Everyone chuckled, but I said: “I always knew you were a cheap cocksucker.” Again, why I still have a job, I don’t know.

Over there in the UK a Rainbow 50p coin will be minted to mark the 50th anniversary of the Pride movement in the country. The coin features Pride in London’s values of Protest, Visibility, Unity, and Equality in rainbows with the Pride progression flag. This will be the first time the LGBTQ+ community has been celebrated on official UK coin, and it begs the question: where’s our coin America?

The US Soccer Federation reached an agreement to pay its men’s and women’s teams equally, making the American national governing body the first in the sport to promise both sexes matching money. About effing time.

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Eric Swalwell, Democrat Congressman from California, to his GOP counterparts regarding legislation that would raise the age limit for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21: “Are you here for our kids, or are you here for the killers? Because if you were here for the kids, you would do all you could to protect the next school shooting that’s about to happen, and we know it’s gonna happen in America. You would vote to raise the age on purchasing an assault rifle, you would vote to ban high-capacity magazines, you would vote to require safe storage and you would vote to address ghost guns, which are ravaging communities across America. But if you’re here for the killers, you would do everything to make it easier for the next school shooting to happen.” Or simply do nothing other than cash those NRA checks while offering meaningless prayers for the dead.

Louie Gohmert, Texas GOP Congressman, responding to Swalwell: “I don’t think that it’s very effective for the children to have people on the other side of the aisle come in and accuse Republicans of being complicit in murder. And that we put our right to kill over others’ right to live, to infer by rhetorical supposed questions, who are you here for, we must be here for the gunman, is an outrage. How dare you. You think we don’t have hearts? We care about people. We care about their lives, and lives have been so trivialized. We care deeply. How dare you. How dare you, you arrogant people, attributing murder to those of us that want to do things to stop it. Because we’ve seen what your ideas do, they create more murder.” Democrats create murder? This from the party that sucks at the teat of the NRA, Loonie Louie, who has taken more than his fair share of blood money. This from Loonie Louie and his party who offer NO response other than arming teachers or doctors or more Americans as a solution to gun violence The good news is that Loonie Louis Gohmert will be leaving Congress at the end of the year, hopefully to never be heard from again.

Bill Cassidy, Louisiana GOP Senator, on a proposed ban on assault weapons … he’s against it: “If you talk to the people that own it, killing feral pigs in the, whatever, the middle of Louisiana. They’ll wonder: ‘Why would you take it away from me?' I’m law abiding, I’ve never done anything, I use it to kill feral pigs. The action of a criminal deprives me of my right.” What a typical NRA-loving GOP asshat who thinks there an explosion of feral pigs in Louisiana, and that the the only weapon capable of killing feral pigs is an assault weapon.

Gabe Kapler, manager of the San Francisco Giants, speaking out about the United States of Guns: “The day 19 children and 2 teachers were murdered, we held a moment of silence at sporting events around the country, then we played the national anthem, and we went on with our lives. Players, staff, and fans stood for the moment of silence, grieving the lives lost, and then we [[myself included) continued to stand, proudly proclaiming ourselves the land of the free and the home of the brave. We didn’t stop to reflect on whether we are actually free and brave after this horrific event, we just stood at attention. When I was the same age as the children in Uvalde, my father taught me to stand for the pledge of allegiance when I believed my country was representing its people well or to protest and stay seated when it wasn’t. I don’t believe it is representing us well right now. This particular time, an 18-year-old walked into a store, bought multiple assault rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, walked into a school with an armed resource officer and its own police district and was able to murder children for nearly an hour. Parents begged and pleaded with police officers to do something, police officers who had weapons and who receive nearly 40% of the city’s funding, as their children were being murdered. We elect our politicians to represent our interests. Immediately following this shooting, we were told we needed locked doors and armed teachers. We were given thoughts and prayers. We were told it could have been worse, and we just need love. But we weren’t given bravery, and we aren’t free. The police on the scene put a mother in handcuffs as she begged them to go in and save her children. They blocked parents trying to organize to charge in to stop the shooter, including a father who learned his daughter was murdered while he argued with the cops. We aren’t free when politicians decide that the lobbyist and gun industries are more important than our children’s freedom to go to school without needing bulletproof backpacks and active shooter drills. I’m often struck before our games by the lack of delivery of the promise of what our national anthem represents. We stand in honor of a country where we elect representatives to serve us, to thoughtfully consider and enact legislation that protects the interests of all the people in this country and to move this country forward towards the vision of the “shining city on the hill.” But instead, we thoughtlessly link our moment of silence and grief with the equally thoughtless display of celebration for a country that refuses to take up the concept of controlling the sale of weapons used nearly exclusively for the mass slaughter of human beings. We have our moment [[over and over), and then we move on without demanding real change from the people we empower to make these changes. We stand, we bow our heads, and the people in power leave on recess, celebrating their own patriotism at every turn. Every time I place my hand over my heart and remove my hat, I’m participating in a self-congratulatory glorification of the ONLY country where these mass shootings take place. On Wednesday, I walked out onto the field, I listened to the announcement as we honored the victims in Uvalde. I bowed my head. I stood for the national anthem. Metallica riffed on City Connect guitars. My brain said drop to a knee; my body didn’t listen. I wanted to walk back inside; instead, I froze. I felt like a coward. I didn’t want to call attention to myself. I didn’t want to take away from the victims or their families. There was a baseball game, a rock band, the lights, the pageantry. I knew that thousands of people were using this game to escape the horrors of the world for just a little bit. I knew that thousands more wouldn’t understand the gesture and would take it as an offense to the military, to veterans, to themselves. But I am not okay with the state of this country. I wish I hadn’t let my discomfort compromise my integrity. I wish that I could have demonstrated what I learned from my dad, that when you’re dissatisfied with your country, you let it be known through protest. The home of the brave should encourage this.” That is everything Americans need to know. That and registering to vote, and casting a vote against each and every politician who takes blood money from the NRA.

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And for those who missed it, Peter Navarro was taken into custody yesterday, not because he was fomenting the insurrection, this had to do with his ignoring the January 6 committee subpoena asking him to spend some quality time with them. Being the old, white supremacist he is, Petey boy flipped out. I watched about 20 seconds of his whiny performance. That's all it took for me to realize he was cut from the same material as the orange douchebag America fired in 2020.


Is it me, or has anyone else noticed how self-destructive conservatives have become? Because they are anti-mask, and anti-vaccine more conservatives die from Covid than any other group [[it used to be black men, I believe). Because they are so vehemently pro-gun, they are responsible for more gun deaths among children than any other group. Anytime someone mentions the word regulation they go into conniptions shrieking "it's my right to make that decision," however, they sure do like to make the rules. WE must not let them get into power ever again.

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Here's a bit of humorous, speculative political news. Trump has left Florida for New Jersey. Florida gets stinky, winky hot in the summer and who knows what that humidity would to do his fake tan. I also find it interesting that a number of polls have come out recently noting that DeSantis is... well, to put it bluntly, more popular with a growing number of ex-MAGA cult members. There are whispers Republicans lean towards Ronnie because he doesn't have the boorishness and buffoonery that comes with Trump. That must really burn Trumps ass. That, coupled with several articles about his announcing his candidacy for 2024 leads one to wonder if he's trying to get a jump on Ronnie. Let's face it, the candidates Trump has been endorsing are not hitting homeruns in this primary season. While there are still Republicans in line to kiss his ass, that line appears to be growing shorter by the day.

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At least 14 people were shot, three of them killed, when shooters fired into a crowd on a popular stretch of South Street in Philadelphia late Saturday night. But that's not all; according to Gun Violence Archive the United States of Guns has seen mass shootings—where at least four people are shot—on: Sunday June 5: Grand Rapids MICH [1 dead, 3 injured]; Saginaw MICH [3 dead, 2 injured]; Chattanooga TN [2 dead, 12 injured]; Mesa AZ [2 dead, 2 injured]. Saturday June 4: Ecorse MICH [0 dead, 4 injured]; Hempstead NY [1 dead, 3 injured]; Summerton SC [1 dead, 7 injured]; Macon GA [1 dead, 3 injured]; El Paso TX [0 dead, 5 injured]; Phoenix AZ [1 dead, 8 injured]. Friday June 3: Chester VA [1 dead, 5 injured]; Omaha NE [1 dead, 3 injured]. Wednesday June 1: Tulsa OK [5 dead, 0 injured] Tuesday May 31: Waco TX [0 dead, 4 injured] Monday May 30: Charleston SC [0 dead, 10 injured]; Benton Harbor MICH [1 dead, 6 injured]; Philadelphia PA [2 dead, 2 injured]. Sunday May 29: Taft OK [1 dead, 7 injured]; Merced CA [1 dead, 3 injured]; Houston TX [0 dead, 4 injured]; Chicago IL [1 dead, 4 injured]; Phoenix AZ [1 dead, 5 injured]; Henderson NV [0 dead, 7 injured]; Chicago IL [0 dead, 5 injured]. Saturday May 28: Chattanooga TN [0 dead, 6 injured]; Fresno CA [1 dead, 3 injured]; Malabar FL [0 dead, 4 injured]; Colorado Springs CO [1 dead, 3 injured]; Memphis TN [0 dead, 4 injured]. Friday May 27: Anniston AL [0 dead, 6 injured]; Stanwood MICH [4 dead, 1 injured]. Wednesday May 25: Philadelphia PA [0 dead, 4 injured]. That’s 246 mass shootings this year; nearly one every single day, sometimes several each day, since Uvalde and still the Democrats are not demanding action and the Republicans still don’t see a problem.. You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming …

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Trump May Join ‘ReAwaken America’ Conspiracy Theory Tour Before 2022 Elections | Right Wing Watch

Talk about 'unhinged'.

[Jerry Oz]

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These really are the easiest posts to compile because there are dumb people everywhere and it seems they are all trying to out-dumb one another with fear and loathing, but there are some bright spots, and given this is Pride Month, it’s especially nice there most are LGBTQ+ … so here goes:
MASSACHUSETTS

Rayla Campbell, the GOP nominee for Secretary of State, said this at the state Republican convention:

“You can’t just sit and say, ‘Oh, that’s terrible. Maybe somebody else will take care it. Oh, that’s not so nice.’ Well, I don’t think it’s so nice when [teachers are] telling your five-year-old that he can go suck another five-year-old’s dick, do you? This is what they’re doing!”

And uttered without a shred of proof.

MISSOURI

GOP Representative Billy Long, a candidate for Senate, has a bizarre new plan to get Thing 45 reinstated to office.
He says that he will get Vice President Kamala Harris to resign, and then he have President Biden appoint Thing 45 as vice president, and then have Biden himself resign, putting Thing 45 first in line to ascend to the presidency.
Seriously, he thinks this might work.

LOUISIANA

The Louisiana House approved two anti-abortion bills that restricts access to abortions.
One makes it a crime to sell abortion pills through the mail, while the second closes every abortion clinic in the state, criminalizes most pregnancy termination actions, and sends physicians who perform the procedures to prison.
I really want the mistress of just one GOP politician to come forward and talk about the abortion she had at the behest of her anti-abortion lover.

OHIO

House Republicans passed a bill to ban all transgender students from playing high school and college sports and requires a genital exam in any disputes.
These pigs voted on this bill on the first day of Pride Month.
Hate.

TENNESSEE

Stewart Parks is a GOP candidate for Congress and wants y’all to know that if he’s elected Pride celebrations are done.

“If you elect me, this month will be the last National Gay Pride month ever celebrated. We need to elect people into US congress that will stand up and say Homosexuality and Transgenderism are evil. I will push to have the 2015 Obergefell vs Hodges ruling overturned which legalized same sex marriage … We have to ban it asap and safeguard our children against it. We have to get Transgenderism out of our schools. When I win this election everyone will know their gender again.”

Stew seems a little too enthralled with being gay or trans. I think he has a secret …

GOOD
AMERICA

The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from Boozy and Clod, AKA Mark and Patricia McCloskey, that St. Louis couple who waved guns at a Black Lives Matter protest outside their home in 2020. They are both facing an indefinite suspension of their law licenses.
Sorry, not sorry.

NEW JERSEY

Students and faculty at Passaic Preparatory Academy rallied to show their LGBTQ+ pride after a school board policy prevented them from hoisting a rainbow Pride flag on the flagpole in front of the school.
After students at Passaic Preparatory Academy raised the flag last June for Pride Month, the Board of Education, realizing there was no policy covering which flags could be flown, worked to change that policy into one that allows only an American flag, a New Jersey state flag, or a school flag to be flown.
So, what did the students do? Well, since the law says you cannot fly a Pride flag on the flagpole, the students opted instead to hang Pride flags in every single window, and on every wall in the school.
This is how you do it.

UTAH

The state’s GOP Governor Spencer Cox issued a proclamation marking June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month and calling on Utahns to be more welcoming and accepting of the community:

“This should not be controversial. There should be nothing controversial about supporting a group of people in our state who have historically felt marginalized.”

Cox may be the only Republican governor in the entire country to issue such a proclamation; last year, he issued a similar proclamation, becoming the first Utah governor to officially acknowledge Pride Month.
Good on this Governor.

CALIFORNIA

Years back the Los Angeles Dodgers mistreated Glenn Burke, the first out gay player in Major League Baseball history; this week the team will be honoring Burke’s legacy and his family at its 9th annual Pride Night.
In 1978, the Dodgers traded Burke to the Oakland Athletics because the Dodgers’ general manager, Al Campanis, disapproved of his homosexuality. Campanis ALLEGEDLY tried to hide Burke’s sexuality from the public by offering him $75,000 to get married, to which Burke incredulously replied, “To a woman?!??”
It was particularly insulting to Burke as he had a solid rookie season and helped the team advance to the 1977 World Series. During his time with the Dodgers, Burke was also credited with inventing the high-five as a congratulatory gesture with teammates.
Burke’s stint with the Oakland A’s didn’t go much better after the team’s manager Claudell Washington introduced him to the team with:

“Oh, by the way, this is Glenn Burke. And he’s a faggot.”

Some teammates avoided showering with Burke, and he was released from his contract and sent to a minor league team in Ogden, Utah. After Burke left the sport entirely he moved to San Francisco and played on gay teams, but later fought addiction and died of complications related to HIV in 1995.
Over 40 of Burke’s family and friends are expected to attend the event. During the event, the Dodgers will take a moment to officially honor Burke and the players will wear custom rainbow ballcaps.
Think of how different this all might have been if professional sports wasn’t such a hotbed of homophobia.
Congratulations, Glenn, I’m giving you a high-five right now.

Remember, We The People have to make the Good News happen by speaking up and standing up and shouting out and voting to remove those people from office who are out to harm women, People of Color, and the LGBTQ+ community in their quest to take this country backwards.
Not to mention the NRA lapdogs and asshats.
CAST A GODDAMNED VOTE!

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For those who didn't hear, and this news shouldn't be surprising at all, Fox News is not going to be airing the January 6 prime time hearings. I do believe I might have mentioned earlier that they were never going to participate directly; that would be like waving their shitty underwear in public. I didn't see if OneNews is going to carry the hearings or not. For those who haven't heard, MAGAs are switching to OneNews because... well, their lord and savior, Donald Trump, no longer likes Fox. Many Americans now realize that Fox News has turned into the National Enquirer of cable news networks. This should have been expected. Rupert Murdoch and his spawn will always fall back on that open thing that made them rich: tabloid news.

[Jerry Oz]

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During a radio appearance last week, The Kenosha Murderer did his best impression of a high school athlete announcing his college choice on National Signing Day by pulling a Texas A&M hat from under a table, putting on his head, and saying: “I’m going to be going there, and it’s going to be awesome.” Odd then that a university official released a statement that The Kenosha Murder isn’t attending Texas A&M: “He has not been admitted as a student this summer or fall.” To be fair, he’s a murderer so it isn’t much of a stretch for him to be a fucking liar, too.

Pope Francis added fuel to rumors about his future as Pope by announcing he would visit L’Aquila for a feast initiated by Pope Celestine V, one of the few pontiffs who resigned before Pope Benedict XVI stepped down in 2013. Italian and Catholic media have been speculating that Frankie might be retiring, given his increased mobility problems that have forced him to use a wheelchair recently. Now, work with me here because I have a theory. You see, Queen Elizabeth just had her Platinum Jubilee, and there are rumors that she might step down, given that she is in her last nineties. And she is newly widowed so … maybe it’s true that Betty Windsor and Frankie Pope are a “thing”? I mean, c’mon, they both love fancy robes and jewel-encrusted headwear and pomp and circumstance; Grindr couldn’t make a better match.. And what’s their celebrity name? Peen? Quope? Fretty? Bankie?

In Republicans Are Pigs News … in Tennessee, mere minutes after a vigil for the victims of the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, the state’s GOP asshat of a governor, Bill Lee, had the memorial deconstructed and removed from the building. According to video from local news organization The Tennessee Holler, all the flowers, cards, a teddy bear, and even a letter to the governor signed by dozens of clergy, appeared headed for the garbage. Not a real surprise Lee is a pig; last year he signed legislation allowing almost any adult to carry a firearm without a permit/license, training, or insurance. Fuck Bill Lee and the GOP and Tennessee.

Last week, we went to a Memorial Day gathering at our friends, the Round-The-Way-Gays, Neal and David, who have recently moved back to Camden. We saw a bunch of old friends we hadn’t seen since the pandemic started and had a lovely afternoon of food and drinks and laughs. As we were eating David, the perfect host and bartender, asked if I wanted another margarita. I replied: “Oh, one is my limit.” “But this will be your fourth!” "I didn’t say I adhered to it.” And the fourth was the best one ever.

Antonio Sherrodd McGarity of Arlington, Texas, pleaded guilty last week to Lewd, Indecent, or Obscene Acts While on an Aircraft and was sentenced to 48 days in prison, followed by one year of probation. He is also prohibited from flying commercially in the United States while on probation. What did he do? Well, during a Southwest Airlines flight from Seattle to Phoenix, McGarity exposed himself to other passengers while masturbating several times. Wow, and that’s just a 3-hour flight. Imagine how many times he could have choked his chicken if he was headed to Australia?

Fox News will be the only major news network not to air the entire January 6 Committee hearings live probably because some of their most vile on-air talent is complicit in the attempt to overthrow the government. Plus, Fox News can’t handle the truth.

The other day Debra had a post on She Who Seeks about companies that profess their support of the LGBTQ+ community only during Pride month, but what about the ones who think their showing Pride when they’re just showing ridiuclousness? Amirite Burger King? To be fair, amirite Burger King Austria? This week the fast-food company unveiled its new Pride Whopper, which features “same-sex” buns and asks that age old question: are you a top or are you a bottom? “We stand for the equal rights of all identities and sexual orientations. A little twist to put a smile on your face and remind us to treat each other respectfully and peacefully. No matter who you are and who you love.” Is it really “respectful” to make your Pride burger something that could be interpreted as being a sexual joke about “tops” and “bottoms”? And then think about those conservative wingnut parents trying to explain to their kids why mommy’s a top and daddy’s a bottom. This is the most ridiculous attempt at pretending to have LGBTQ+ Pride as I have ever seen.

In the wake of all the mass shootings in the United States of Guns a new poll conducted by CBS News and YouGov surveyed Americans about their thoughts on guns and gun control, asking respondents if they felt that mass shootings are an unavoidable by-product of a “free society” or if they believed the issue could be tackled. Forty-four percent of all respondents who identified as Republicans believe mass shootings are “unfortunately something we have to accept as part of a free society.” I wonder if any of these illiterate fuckmonkeys will feel the same when their little Billy or Julie gets slaughtered in the schoolyard.

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Trump Throws Ivanka Under the Bus: She Was ‘Checked Out’ and ‘Not Involved’ in Studying Election Results





Former President Donald Trump took a shot at his own daughter Ivanka Trump over video testimony that aired during Thursday night’s House Select Committee hearing on the January 6th attack.
The former First Daughter played a unique role in her father’s administration as she worked in the West Wing as a Senior Advisor, alongside her husband, Jared Kushner. During the prime time hearing, a video of Ivanka aired in which interviewers asked what she thought of former Attorney General Bill Barr’s assessment that the election wasn’t stolen, as then-President Trump has and is still baselessly claiming.

“It affected my perspective. I respect Attorney General Barr so I accepted what he said,” Ms. Trump testified, which represented another, quite personal and familial, nail in the coffin of Trump’s baseless claims.
Considering that her father continues to claim he only lost the 2020 general election because of widespread electoral malfeasance, none of which has been proven in a court of law, this is remarkably damning. So much so that the former president took to his social media platform Truth Social, and did the previously unthinkable: he threw his daughter under the bus, saying:

Ivanka Trump was not involved in looking at, or studying, Election results. She had long since checked out and was, in my opinion, only trying to be respectful to Bill Barr and his position as Attorney General [[he sucked!).

Since the select committee hearing aired Thursday night, Trump has been on a rageaholic bender on Truth Social, spewing most of his bile on his former Attorney General. Not many predicted that he would also go after his own daughter, but here we are.

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Rebel Wilson, comic actor, coming out during Pride Month, and introducing us to her new girlfriend, Ramona Agruma: “We spoke on the phone for weeks before meeting. And that was a really good way to get to know each other. It was a bit old-school in that sense — very romantic. I think going through the process of finding more self-worth, I think that what you want in a partner is elevated, and so it’s great to have someone who feels like an equal partner and be in a healthy relationship. I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess .” Welcome out, Rebel, and please accept as our gift, from Homo HQ, the Official Coming Out Toaster Oven™ and a copy of The Gay Agenda. Love is love; welcome out.

Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation, subtly calling out NRA lapdog Senator Ted Cruz for his “solution” to prevent mass shootings: “We have a horrific scourge of gun violence in this country. As mayor—as every mayor is doing around the country—you take the steps that you can to reduce community violence. But you’re also looking at Washington to say, ‘Will anything be different this time? Will we actually acknowledge the reasons why we are the only country … where this happens on a routine basis?' The idea that us being the only developed country where this happens routinely—especially in terms of the mass shootings—is somehow a result of the design of the doorways on our school buildings is the definition of insanity, if not the definition of denial.” Snap. Pete—and yes, that is my favorite picture of Hot Pete—is all common sense, something an insane loon living in denial would never understand. We need more Pete’s in Washington, and less Ted’s. CAST A GODDAMNED VOTE.

Blake Masters, Arizona Republican Senate hopeful, admits the United States has a gun violence problem, but he knows who to blame: “We do have a gun violence problem in this country, and it’s gang violence. It’s people in Chicago, St. Louis shooting each other. Very often, you know, Black people, frankly. And the Democrats don’t want to do anything about that.” Racist fuck. Plain and simple and right in your face. Racist fuck. Is this what you want Arizona?

Matthew McConaughey, actor, a native of Uvalde, Texas, telling the stories of those who died at Robb Elementary: "You could feel the shock in the town. You could feel the pain, the denial, the disillusion, anger, blame, sadness, loss of lives, dreams halted. You know what every one of these parents wanted, what they asked us for? ... That they want their children's dreams to live on. That they want their children's dreams to continue, to accomplish something after they are gone. They want to make their loss of life matter. [Meaningful gun legislation reform, universal background checks, raising the minimum age for purchasing an AR-15 to 21, a waiting period for purchasing AR-15s and the implementation of red flag laws] are reasonable, practical, tactical regulations to our nation, states, communities, schools and homes. Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals. These regulations are not a step back—they're a step forward for a civil society and, and the Second Amendment. ... We got to take a sober, humble, and honest look in the mirror and rebrand ourselves based on what we truly value. What we truly value. We got to get some real courage and honor our immortal obligations instead of our party affiliations. Enough with the counterpunching. Enough of the invalidation of the other side. Let's come to the common table that represents the American people. Find a middle ground, the place where most of us Americans live anyway. Especially on this issue. Because I promise you, America, you and me, we are not as divided as we are being told we are." McConaughey and his wife, Camila Alves, spent most of the past week with the families of those who were killed in his hometown. He showed pictures of their artwork and brought to the briefing room green Converse shoes like the ones that one girl wore every day that were used to identify her body after the shooting. She had drawn a heart on one of the shoes. We’re killing children in America and one party doesn’t want to act in any way that inhibits the NRA from making money. They value what is a domestic terror organization over the lives of children. CAST A GODDAMNED VOTE.

And, of course, last night was the first Prime-Time hearing of the January 6 committee. I spent some time looking for any kind of ratings information, none was available. I did find a lot of commentary regarding Fox's continued attempt to foist The Big Lie on its viewers. Someone pointed out that Tucker Carlson did the first 60 minutes of his show without a commercial break, indicating Fox is so desperate they were willing to lose money.

As for the hearings, I watched them. I was impressed by so very much. America got to watch and hear Billy Barr say the election lies were "bullshit." I thought the juxtaposition of Trump's speech with the clips of the mob breaking into the capital buildings quite compelling. I was impressed with Liz Cheney; she no doubt made her dad proud last evening. Her comment to Republicans on how someday Trump will be gone, but their dishonor will always remain was stupendous. I got a real chortle when she mentioned that Scott Perry, a Republican from Pennsylvania, had, after January 6, requested a pardon from Trump. His spokesperson quickly called that comment ludicrous, however, she wouldn't have made it without proof. The testimony by the documentarian was fascinating, pointing out for the first time how The Proud Boys and The Oath Keepers were working in conjunction with each other. The police officer's testimony was riveting as she compared the insurrection to a warzone.


Last night's hearing is not going to change the minds of those who turned to Fox, it was never intended to. It was for the vast majority of Americans, Democrat, Centrist, Independent, and level-headed Republicans, many of whom are just beginning to realize that the party of Trump has morphed into something that is craven for power. Conservatives don't want to make America great,
they want to control your life.

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Of course, there was a lot of chatter on social media about Ivanka's cameo. Let's be honest here. She's looking out for her own ass. Nothing else counts to a Trump. You see, her daddy raised her to be just like him.


The edges around the Magaverse are fraying and beginning to shred. The evil is starting to float to the surface. 31 white supremacists, members of the group Patriot Front, were arrested up in Idaho yesterday. Their plan was to disrupt, possibly cause a riot at a Pride Festival. 29 of them were riding in the back of a U-Haul, along with their shields, clubs, and at least 1 smoke grenade. I know how big that U-Haul is, and they were packed in their tightly, up close and personal tightly, so it wouldn't surprise me if they were celebrating a little Patriot Fund Pride. Maybe that's why they wear those white balaclavas, so they don't know who's zoomin' who.

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The January 6 committee was in fine form yesterday. The only issue I had was with Billy Barr. When he said that Trump did not have a grasp on reality, I wondered whether he was setting up some sort of insanity plea should the DOJ indict. Later, I saw I was not the only to take a long 'hmmm' moment to question what Billy was actually doing. The $250 million raised for an election fund raised the ominous specter of wire fraud. Jail time there, if he's still in this country by then.

A bit I saw in the NYT that I found interesting, helmet-haired Betsy DeVos, upon finding out how arduous the process would be to remove Trump using the 25th amendment resigned. That fit her selfish profile.


And finally, one of the funny things I saw on social media was this: every time the name Rudy Giuliani comes up in the hearings you need to take a drink, alcohol of course, since witness after witness has somehow managed to say, "you could tell he'd been drinking."

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Billy 'I always look greasy and smelly' Barr ain't happy.

Bannon Threatens Barr: “We’re Coming For You, Bro”

June 14, 2022 Extremists, Trump cultists

“We’re not going to be blown off by somebody like Bill Barr. Bill Barr, we’re coming for you, bro! You’re sitting there lying about this.
“If you had any decency whatsoever you would have reached out to Dinesh D’Souza before you smeared him.
“We’re going to deconstruct this, and we’re going to rub your nose in it and then we’re going to come after you legally. We’re not just going to sit here anymore.
“The days of the deplorables and the days of MAGA just sitting there and out betters telling us what it is are over.” – Steve Bannon, on today’s podcast.
Barr’s guest is Catherine Engelbrecht of True The Vote, which was just exposed for a massive alleged scam.