The Wisdom of Pooh

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Jim Jordan, the man accused of covering up a sexual abuse scandal, taking on the Tyre Nichol’s beating: “Well, I don’t know that there’s any law that can stop that evil. What strikes me is just the lack of respect for human life. So, I don’t know that any law or any training or any reform is going to change. You know, this man is handcuffed; they continued to beat him. The fact that we saw that these five individuals did not have any respect for life. And again, I don’t think these five guys represent the vast, vast majority of law enforcement. But I don’t know that there’s anything you can stop the kind of evil we saw in that video. The federal government screws it up so many times. No amount of training is gonna change what we saw in that video.” Yes, he said it: the federal government screws it up so many times. We need police reform; we need instant firing of police officers abusing their power; we need arrests and trials and prison terms for those who literally beat Americans to death, because if we don’t t looks like we condone this behavior. photo

Michael Elizabeth Pence, former Vice President, says he takes “full responsibility” for the classified documents found at his Indiana home. “While I was not aware that those classified documents were in our personal residence, let me be clear: Those classified documents should not have been at my personal residence. Mistakes were made, and I take full responsibility.” Pence also said Biden should take full responsibility—which he has—but Michael Elizabeth said nary a word about Thing 45;s theft of documents, lying about documents, hiding of documents. Michael Elizabeth Pence is an asshat. photo

Nikki Haley, saying Mike Pompeo is lying that she tried to oust Michael Elizabeth Pence from being Vice President so she could step in: “I never had a conversation with Jared, Ivanka, or the president about the vice presidentship. What I will tell you is it’s really sad when you are having to go out there and put lies and gossip to sell a book. I don’t know why he said it, but that’s exactly why I stayed out of D.C. As much as possible to get away from the drama and get away from the gossip. I focused on my job, and that’s what I always did.” Funny then, that Nikki has been a prominent guest at Jared and Ivanka’s dinner parties and at the home of Jared’s parents, as she tries to launch herself as a viable presidential candidate. Nikki Haley is one of the worst, doing anything, saying anything, stepping over anyone, to get where she wants.

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The balloon is down. The Chinese are upset because they were caught doing something stupid. The media, conservative, liberal, and everything outlet in between, set this blaze afire. Rest assured, however, that no matter which way this story drifted, the conservatives were going to fan the flames, anything less would be totally unexpected.


Marjorie Taylor Greene made grew some small headlines when she complained about her salary. That measly $174,000 is wrecking havoc with her finances. The old HR rep in me says if you don't like the job, or what it pays, then get another job. I'm sure she realizes she could probably make a lot more money as a lobbyist, and we all know she's not in Congress to serve her constituents.

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I chose Wanda Sykes as my first Black History Month honoree because she is one of a kind. One of my favorite quotes of hers:
I’m a black, gay woman. I think the only way to make the GOP hate me more is if I sent them a video of me rolling around on a pile of welfare checks.
Tell it, Sister. You make me LOL – no, for real. Laugh out loud.
If Wanda comes to a city near you, treat yourself.

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Ron DeSantis Chooses Guns Over Women's Rights

I never thought Florida could sink lower—though, to be fair, it’s been sinking figuratively and literally, for years now—after last week’s announcement allowing Floridians to openly carry a weapon without a permit and with no training; in the land of Stand Your Ground the blood will soon flow. But also last week the Florida High School Athletics Association [FHSAA ] announced its decision to require student athletes to give their schools detailed information about their periods if they choose to sign up for a sports team. In October the FHSAA changed its annual physical form for student athletes to a digital version and this new form includes optional but detailed questions about students’ menstruation cycles, including when they got their first period, when they had their most recent one, and how many weeks pass between periods. Previously, only one page of the paper form—on which a pediatrician would sign off on a student being allowed to play—would be submitted to a school. But the entire digital form will now be submitted. Oh, it’s optional, okay then guess I got all riled for no good reason—and then this: the FHSAA has since changed the optional requirement to mandatory. The recommendation now goes before the FHSAA board of directors, which will meet in late February to make the final decision. While students’ medical history is necessary for doctors, should the athlete be hurt while playing their sport and require medical attention, but no one knows why any school would need menstrual cycle information other than Ron DeFacsist’s anti-transgender bias and pregnancy and abortion information. And controlling women’s bodies. There are parents, and doctors, who worry that schools will use the menstrual data to monitor students for late or missed periods, a possible sign of pregnancy, or to out transgender students by watching for girls who don’t get periods or boys who do. Florida school administrators say the information will stay private, but there’s no guarantee it will. The platform that hosts Florida’s new digital athletics form are not owned by medical institutions and therefore are not subject to health privacy laws. If subpoenaed for someone’s data, particularly in a state where abortion has been made illegal, companies would be required to hand it over. Florida has been subjugating women and gender minorities since Ron DeSantis was elected; the state has banned abortion after 15 weeks, forbidden transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams, and barred Floridians from using Medicaid to pay for gender-affirming treatments. Funny, or sad, Florida has given all the freedom in the world to people who want guns but keep restricting the freedoms of women. Remember, though, women vote, guns don’t. Cast a goddamned vote and vote Blue.

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Whobert? Honey? It was thing 45 who closed the schools back in 2020, you dimbulb. But then what do you expect from a “Good” Christian woman who, earlier this week, prayed that that Joe Biden would die. Again.

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The miniscule minority of Republicans controlling the House is desperately trying to kick that dead horse known as the Hunter Biden laptop for as much publicity as they can get. To do this, they went after Twitter yesterday because in their tiny minds, Twitter permitted all types of liberal messaging while censoring conservative comment. It turns out that both parties requested the removal of content. The White House, itself, was making frequent requests. I enjoyed the exchange where the committee learned how Trump had wanted a comment by Chrissy Teagan removed. He didn't like the fact that she had called him a ''pussy assed bitch," at least I think it was "pussy assed bitch." This has long been a problem for Republicans, jumping to conclusions that will never be concluded.


Another funny bit was these Twitter execs released the names of the 2 individuals who had requested the most censoring and, as you might expect, they were Republicans. In case you're interested, they were Elise Stefanik and Kevin McCarthy. In case you're forgotten, it was Elise who endorsed George Santos.

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Steve Bannon, QAnon wingnut and whiny slob, on Sarah Huckleberry Sanders responding to the SOTU: “If you’re going to give a counter speech, you’ve got to talk about important issues. Don’t get me wrong, the wokeism is very important. But it’s not quite the heart of the matter right now, right? It’s not the heart of the matter. She is not—the reason is she’s just not—she’s not intellectually capable of going to the heart of the matter, let’s be blunt.” She’s not smart but she’s who the GOP chose which simply means the GOP is not smart. photo

Raphael Warnock, Georgia Democrat Senator, saying his new children’s book, “Put Your Shoes on and Get Ready!”, could be banned in Florida: “Black history is the American story. That’s why I wrote this book. We have to reject the idea that our children will be so traumatized by the truth of our complicated American story that they can’t bear it. [This book] shows young readers that they, too, can find the power to be themselves and make a difference when they have the shoes that fit their feet.” Children of color? Check. It’s definitely not going to be allowed in any Florida school, especially since a Democrat wrote it. photo

Megyn Kelly, podcaster, ripping CNN’s Don Lemon for screaming at his CNN This Morning co-anchor Kaitlan Collins: “If somebody ever screamed at me to the point where I was visibly upset and ran out of the studio, I would have that person fired. I will go out on a limb right now and tell you, that’s not the first time. There will be another woman who he’s co-anchored with—I guarantee you—who’s going to come out and say, ‘Me too.’ Because if you behave like that toward a colleague with whom you share the air and you share the show, this will not be the first time.” Boy, this Megyn Kelly really stands up for women … unless you’re Dr. Jill Biden. That Megyn Kelly was pissy as hell because the First Lady was introduced as Dr. Biden and Kelly says she’s not a doctor. Typical rightwingnut hypocrite.

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Mitt Romney, GOP Senator, after telling George Santos at the SOTU, that he didn’t belong there: “He should be sitting in the back row and staying quiet instead of parading in front of the president and people coming into the room. Given the fact that he's under ethics investigation, he should be sitting in the back row and staying quiet instead of parading in front of the president and the people coming into the room. He shouldn't be in Congress and they’re going to go through the process and hopefully get him out. But he shouldn’t be there, and f he had any shame at all, he wouldn’t be there.” Sadly, Mittsy, your party wants him there because he’s a vote they so desperately need. It’s a good thing the GOP has no conscience or spine because if they had then he’d never have been seated. photo

George Santos, responding to Romney: “I think it’s reprehensible that the Senator would say such a thing to me in the demeaning way he said. It wasn’t very Mormon of him.” It was very Catholic of Santos to lie about being Jewish, or his mother’s passing, or his relationships, or his grandparent’s history, so he’s the last person to have an opinion on anyone else. photo

Kevin McCarthy, House Speaker, for now, admitting Republicans “took the bait” by allowing President Biden to their childish heckling at the SOTU into political gold: “The one thing we need to be is, we need to be smart. Don’t take the bait, stay with the American public about what we want to do.” And yet they don’t know what they want to do. The border? They have no plan. Fentanyl? Nothing done. Inflation? Nope. But they have tons to say about a laptop and gas stoves and drag queens and education and investigating the investigators investigating the GOP.

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The best part of this GOP Congress’ antics is that they produce ridiculousness rather than giving us anything substantive. Case in point: at a recent hearing about The Twitter the Republicans brought up the fact that a 2019 Tweet by Chrissy Teigen wasn’t removed from the platform after Thing 45 got his Depends in a snit because she called him, um, ahem, “Pussy ass bitch.” My Thought: That will now and forever be the best part of the Official Congressional Record.

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is it bad of me that this made me laugh?

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Tweet of the Day

FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Jeff Tiedrich @itsJeffTiedrich
#BREAKING: Well-Regulated Militia Opens Fire On Michigan State University In East Lansing; Cheap Thoughts And Useless Prayers Now Being Rushed To The Scene … more on this soon-to-be-forgotten-and-then-repeated story as it develops …

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Who Wore It Better?

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

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For those who didn't hear, Mike, mother may I, Pence is trying to get out of his subpoena to testify before the DOJ. Why, you might ask? Because his pea brain still believes he has a shot at getting the nomination for president in 2024. I don't know who's advising this knucklehead, but that opportunity has never, ever existed for him. And I don't doubt for a second that Nikki Haley's advisers are telling her the same thing.


In an odd way, I find this rather pleasing. The larger the number of candidates, the uglier their quest for the nomination will be; in no time they'll be trying to rip each other apart with verbal chainsaws. This is going to hit the GOP hard in the House since it will be their job, using investigations, to attempt to keep America's eyes on them, rather than their backstabbing leaders. Under McCarthy's failed leadership, the House of Representatives will get louder and crazier in order to create a distraction. This could all be rather enjoyable.

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Today is Release Day. In other words, some of the Grand Jury report on Trump's Atlanta interference is going to be released to the public, i.e. the prologue and the conclusion. Oh, and there's a bit about the liars. You know? Those people who swore to tell the truth and then lied. I do believe the reason the judge decided to have Release Day was an incentive for Fani to speed up the action, another way to tell her it's time to either indict or get off the pot, so to speak.


And evidently a 3rd Trump attorney has been forced to testify in Jack Smith's investigation. These attorney's are basically being treated as hostile witnesses. If they get caught lying, they can be prosecuted. We all know that by working for Trump, lying is second nature to them.

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Ronald DeSantis Is Leading Florida to Freedom, One Ban at a Time

FEBRUARY 16, 2023
With each law restricting what people can say, read, and study, they become more Free.
From Esquire, by Jack Holmes:
Freedom means the government bans something new every day. Just ask the newest rising star in the Party of Small Government—at least according to very savvy politico types—Florida Governor Ronald DeSantis. He cut his teeth as a national figure by styling his state as the last bastion of human freedom in the United States during the pandemic, a place where the government wouldn’t make you do anything ever. But DeSantis is almost inevitably going to run for president, and now that the pandemic is finished as a public policy issue, he needs some grand public gestures to get him into the news cycle and onto the Fox News airwaves on a regular basis. It’s certainly more fun than talking about his record on Medicare and Social Security. Enter the bans.
Below, you’ll find a list of things whose banning the Florida governor championed or carried out directly. As you reach a new subject, remember that you’ve taken another stride towards true freedom.
Books

PEN America compiled a list of 176 books that were removed from classrooms in Duval County, Florida, last year because they fell afoul of new laws passed by the Florida legislature and signed by DeSantis. ABC News reports that upwards of 1 million books are now under review in that jurisdiction, home to Jacksonville: “There are approximately 1.6 million titles in our classroom and media center libraries that need to be reviewed by a certified media specialist,” said Tracy Pierce of Duval County Public Schools. These “media specialists” are incentivized to err on the side of banning a book because of vague criteria—more on that below—and fear of stiff punishments if they fail to ban all the right books. There are widespread reports of teachers removing or covering up their classroom book collections.
Titles that have been caught up in these reviews include books on Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, “Queen of Salsa” Celia Cruz, and baseball legends Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente. [[County officials have said the latter two are back on shelves.) When asked about the Clemente book, DeSantis said, “Roberto Clemente? I mean, seriously. That’s politics,” which is accurate in a way. These books require investigation because they supposedly run afoul of three fresh laws: The “Stop W.O.K.E.” Act, the Parental Rights in Education law, and House Bill 1467, which focuses on books alleged to contain “pornographic” or otherwise “inappropriate” content.
Teaching About How Gay People Exist

The laws above have also had an impact on what teachers believe they can say in the classroom. A key provision of the Parental Rights in Education statute, which critics have called “Don’t Say Gay,” is the following: “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” You probably won’t find many people fighting the K-3 provision, but who decides what’s “appropriate” or “in accordance with standards” everywhere else? It seems almost intentionally vague, tailored to once again have people on the ground err on the side of not talking about this stuff at all




Meanwhile, the bill’s sponsors in the legislature were less clever than DeSantis and made it clear that the “sexual orientation or gender identity” language was about keeping talk of how “Sally has two moms or Johnny has two dads” out of the classroom.
AP African American Studies—No, All AP Courses?

DeSantis has sought to ban AP African American Studies, claiming that the course lacked “educational value” because among the curriculum’s 100-plus units, a few focused on queer theory or the prison abolition movement. [[State officials have also claimed the course is historically inaccurate and violates a state law on how race issues are taught in schools.) This prompted the College Board to change the curriculum, though they’ve denied it was in response to political pressure, and DeSantis is now floating a general ban on AP courses. He’s also pushing the study of Western Civilization, as if that’s in short supply in American schools and universities.
Teaching About Privilege and Oppression

The Stop W.O.K.E. Act focuses on the notion that teachers are teaching white kids that they’re inherently evil racists and Black students that they’re morally superior to their white counterparts. It outlaws this supposedly widespread behavior, but also includes a ban on teaching that “a person’s moral character or status as either privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by his or her race, color, national origin, or sex.” This is a very strange formulation: that some people have faced oppression or enjoyed privilege in America is not a matter of their moral character, it’s a social dynamic. But again, the sweeping language and harsh penalties will likely work to push discussions of race—a real and persistent social force in American life—out of the classroom. According to PEN America, the fact that this statute applies to public colleges and universities likely renders it unconstitutional.
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This is part of an extended campaign: “No investment decisions at the state or local government with ESG,” he said, “no use of ESG in procurement and contracting, and no use of ESG when issuing local or state bonds.” DeSantis is painting this as a retired cop getting ripped off by Woke Hedge Funds on the basis that an ESG investment vehicle might yield slightly lower returns because it considers, say, the future habitability of our planet. Maybe it should be refreshing to hear a Republican consider the plight of everyday people who can be caught up in schemes from powerful financial interests, though in this case DeSantis translates it to a pure distillation of Reaganomic corporate governance: nothing matters except money. You may well consider many firms’ ESG programs to be bullshit—plenty of environmentalists do!—but it’s worth considering that DeSantis can’t actually say Florida cops are getting ripped off because Bloomberg found Florida’s public money wasn’t really in ESG in the first place.
Granted, all this is best understood as secondary to the aim of punishing companies who do politics that Ronald DeSantis does not like. This hit a high point with his war on Disney after one of Florida’s largest employers pushed back on the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Tenure

DeSantis would be quick to insist he has not pushed to get rid of tenure at public colleges and universities, only for tenured professors to come under “review” every five years. He’s since pushed for more frequent reviews, to be carried out by institutional boards appointed by…Ronald DeSantis. If you stand a chance of getting fired every five years, or maybe more often, that ain’t tenure. The point of tenure is to shield teachers from retribution, particularly from politicians who can affect public institutions, when they study controversial topics. This is going to affect what teachers teach and research, which is, of course, the point.

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And, of course, sections of the Grand Jury report in Atlanta were released yesterday. Caution needs to be taken. I did see on Twitter where are least 2 individuals were shrieking that Trump needed to be indicted. Both received scathing rebukes because not only were no names mentioned, the recommendations for indictment were for those individuals who were believed to have committed perjury, Lyndsey Graham, for example. What wasn't released was the middle section, think of it as the meat and potatoes of the report. What we got were the appetizer and the desert, that main course, the part where they might recommend Trump be indicted for racketeering has yet to be served.


Finally, a few words about the mess in Ohio. I was not surprised when the same people who voted for Trump pushed back on a Tweet for Buttigieg noting the former president deserved some of the responsibility, since it was his administration which relaxed the safety rules regarding rail shipments. His MAGA base is dealing with a great disconnect from reality. They truly define the Republican party.

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Joe Walsh @WalshFreedom
They all knew it was bullshit. Everyone who worked at Fox. Everyone in right wing media. Every Republican elected official. They all knew it was bullshit. And in private, they all said it was bullshit. And then in public, they all lied and said it was real. And now it’s too late.

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Of course, Dominion, the company suing Fox News, published quite a few disturbing emails on Thursday and the repercussions are still bouncing off the walls. Here's the gist: Fox knew Trump lost the election and that his minions were spinning unbelievable lies, its broadcasters [[Hannity, Ingraham, et al) knew this too, yet the network endorsed these lies to keep from losing viewers to Newsmax. Here's a bit from the Washington Post if you want a more detailed explanation. Will Dominion win its lawsuit? It is difficult to say. Fox is saying their First Amendment rights give them the permission to say whatever they want. What will come into play is their insistence of calling themselves a news channel. From what I've read, this is a true nightmare for the network. They jumped into a real shithole when they chose to ignore the truth in order to satisfy their loyal viewers. They may survive, but a name change to Fox Conspiracy Channel might be required.

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Whether it was because I was too busy to pay attention or not, yesterday seemed to be politically on the quiet side. The same conservative buffoons and blowhards were spouting out the same drivel. People are still chattering about Dominion's release of the Fox emails. That's one story that's going to have legs.


The silence surround Mark Meadows is leading some to believe he's cooperating with the DOJ. That wouldn't surprise me. Like many Republicans, his loyalty has always been decided upon what's best for his ass and he's not about to let that ass fry.


And finally, if you think Republicans have decided to target Pete Buttigieg you're right. He's far more intelligent than most of them and puts them in their place as frequently as possible. They do see him as a serious threat. His response so far seems to imply that he enjoys attacking their charges no matter how simplistic they may be

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You won't be missed.

Virginia Governor Glenn Younkin was originally a member of the Episcopal Church but left the denomination after their support for same-sex marriage.

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I saw where the moral degenerate, Donald Trump, has posted a jolly comment on Truth Social about his ex-BFF Rupert Murdoch and the news outlets he owns. They're all fake news. Yep, that's right. Of course, most of us realized a long time ago that unless a news outlet kisses the orange anus, they're fake news. For the first time in a very, very... well, maybe for the first time in his life, Trump has been honest accurate. We've all known that Fox News is fake news for years. His jolly post will hurt them almost as much as the Dominion law suit, maybe more since his base consists of quite a few individuals losers who believe Fox News is sacred. And, luckily for Trump, so many people repost his comments on Twitter, and Mastodon, and Post, and Tribal, that the entire world knows exactly what he thinks of Fox. As Eli would say, just before he reaches for his glass of wine, shit.

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[Jerry Oz]

After four years of emoluments clause violations and taking millions from the Saudies to sponsor the LIV golf tour, Jimmy Carter has a message:


What a difference a vote makes:








Meanwhile, just about 100 miles away from my present location:

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[Jerry Oz]

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Today's the one year anniversary of Russia's invasion of the Ukraine. Things are not going well for Trump's Blo Bro Vlad. Will wannabe authoritarian dictators learn their lesson? Absolutely not. They may temper their ambition for a short time, but that will pass. One of the reasons they will never change is billionaires. Money talks. While Russian oligarchs have been financially injured by the war, those injuries are minor, scratches and nicks that will heal. They may actually replace Vlad because he screwed things up so badly. Unfortunately, they will most likely put another incompetent in power. Money talks, but it doesn't make you smart. Look at Elon Musk, if you want a good example. That man is stupid.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “National Divorce” Riff Is Weapons-Grade Trolling

FEBRUARY 22, 2023
This year may see her take her final form as a being of pure grievance, existing online as a pulsing ball of energy.
From Esquire, by Charles P. Pierce:
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has decided to elaborate on her master plan to reverse the results of both the Constitutional Convention and the Battle of Gettysburg. Say one thing for our Strip-mall Maleficent, she’s not shy about sharing the exotic fauna of her mind with the wide world. Her Twitter feed on Tuesday was a great big bag of mixed nuts. Here is how some things would work under the terms of her proposed “National Divorce”:

Red state schools would bring back prayer in school and require every student to stand for the national anthem and pledge of allegiance while blue states would likely eliminate the anthem and pledge all together and replace them with anthems and pledges to identity ideologies[…]
Red states would not have to abide by climate cult lies. Red states would be completely free to build and use fossil fuel energy for their citizens. Oil, natural gas, clean coal, and nuclear power would very likely be growing strong energy sources for red states[…]Red states would throw out all Environmental Social Governance regulations and requirements on corporations and businesses. Companies would no longer have to meet ESG scoring measures on anything from hiring to work culture to products.

[[A Note to Readers Joining This Looniverse Already in Progress: ESG is the latest group of initials that terrifies the goobers, none of whom have the foggiest idea what it is.)

Of course interstate trade, travel, and state relations would continue. However in red states, they could have different rules about store product placement on national store’s shelves. In red states, I highly doubt Walmart could place sex toys next to children’s toothbrushes.

Admittedly both useful, but hardly interchangeable.

The federal government would have to maintain the Department of Defense but it would need to return to it’s [sic] original purpose. The United States border and our national security would be the border the DoD would defend. The federal government would have to defend the states from invasion, not enable daily invasions. Dangerous international criminal organizations like the Mexican Cartels that are responsible for murdering Americans, trafficking in drugs and humans, and operating deadly gangs inside our country would be dealt with by the United States military.

I guess we can call this posse committed. I also look forward to the U.S. military turning into the South Vietnamese Army. And by the way, good luck the next time a tornado comes to call in Georgia’s 14th. Ask Texas for help with your power grid.
The woman is a troll who is so thoroughly a creation of wing-nut media and the internet that I believe—according to the principles of DeSelby’s atomic theory—that she has become more than 50 percent pixels. Which does not mean she is insubstantial. She is a woman of great influence in the Congress of the United States! Of this, as was said by the foremost student of DeSelby, “I am completely half afraid to think.”

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Drink the Water

Such a fucking publicity stunt. All that's missing is a line of script from Erin Brokovich .

DeWine & Co drink the water in East Palestine, OH to "prove" the water is safe. The same water where some 42,000 wildlife died since the train derailment.


A regular commenter, I believe, tried to take me to task when I made fun of Florida. I stand by my statement. Our governor and one senator was called out, I'm assuming on my alleged hypocrisy.


Yes, Ohio has JD Vance and Mike DeWine, but as of yet, they haven't stopped people from saying "gay", or stripped away the rights of corporations who chastised them for trying to. They haven't taken over the board of education - though they're trying. And they haven't stripped away the ability to teach AP classes that have to anything to do with Black History. Nor has our state paid to have refugees brought into our state only so we can pay for them to be bussed elsewhere for some kind of fucked up statement. They haven't taken over the state college curriculums to white wash whatever "woke" item of the day might be. *


Let's be clear, all red states are taking their queues from what memes are calling Nazi Germany with Amusement Parks.


So yes, I stand by my anti-Florida comments - past and future. But you're not seeing me boast about Ohio either.


The problem with Florida - and what is to come of other states is: no one is stopping these motherfuckers. Rick DeSantis seems to be untouchable by his own state. To be fair, the majority of their residents voted for this turd, so they're on board with what he's doing........clearly. No one is really trying to stop him.


But the Vance / BLOTUS visit to the crash site [[well, the town) is perfect. I mean, East Palasteen [[as they pronounce it) is made up of about 99.8% white republican anyways. There is no losing here. BLOTUS can't provide any relief because he isn't in charge. Vance has actively campaigned for less fedearl aid to places he now needs money in which to go - which is so fucking typical. Yes - I'm talking to you DeSantis and your friend Rafael Edward Cruz.


Yes, there is no active FEMA aid - stop bellyaching about it. Technically - right or wrong - it doesn't meet the standards for emergency relief. The same would be true if fat ass #45 was in office. But he's not. He lost. LOST. DeWine preemptively applied for aid in case it does meet standards eventually. Though this is how it's being spun: "he applied and got not funding" They're just leaving out a bunch of the in between shit for their own gain.


The same train, a short time before the derailment passed right through Cleveland. On tracks where we once considered living. We opted not to because at the time trains came through a minimum of 49 times per day.


The reality is, DeWine would have acted quicker and with more gusto had the incident been in a populated area where he might have garnered more votes - a la Guiliani after 9/11.


Tragedy for political gain. It never gets old.






*btw - that is just DeSantis' actions in the last year.....or less. So far.

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Grooming gone wrong!

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News wise, yesterday seemed fairly quiet, mostly because the Republicans didn't do anything truly stupid. They seem to be re-evaluating their nonexistent plan. They were hoping their committees would produce explosive headlines about Hunter Biden's laptop... ain't happening. They had also been hoping to make hay with the East Palestine trail derailment, however Trump showing up with pallets of 10 year old bottled Trump water sort of put a damper on that.

There was a bit of sunshine, however, evidently on December 28, a Federal Judge ruled that Scott Perry's defense for keeping his cell phone contents secret was pretty much bullshit. This means that through out January and for most of the month of February, the DOJ has probably been looking at Perry's messages and emails. He was evidently heavily involved in the fake elector scheme. This means Scotty's days in the house may be numbered.

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Not That Funny

Dibert is dead. Long not live Dilbert.

You may or may not know [[I did not) that Dilbert creator went off on a fucking racist rant and has been 86'd by our paper.


Effective immediately.


I've never thought higher of the Plain Dealer. I mean, that's a sad statement, however true.


Adams was a douche with which to begin. Yes, being a science denying, election denying, faux voter fraud liar and MAGA fan and participant make you a douche. Being a racist is just part of their starter-package.


I'd say "it's science", but what good would that do?


One of Adams' rants was: "the best advice I'd give to white people is to get the hell away from black people".


The Plain Dealer defended their move - which they said was not difficult - by addressing "cancel culture". They said the paper is not a home for those who espouse racism and that they will provide them financial support.


BINGO.


That won't stop people writing into the paper. And I so fucking hope they do, sign their name and get their letter printed exposing themselves as racists - or at very 'best' condoning racists and racism.


I also hope that every other paper drop the bastard. I mean, sure southern states won't. You know.....racists. And yes, I'm generalizing, but no state in the north has a lynching museum. But it they want to get him where it hurts - Hallmark stores [[and the likes) have to stop carrying mugs, calendars, cards, etc with the comic strip crew.


I was never a real fan of Dilbert. I get it's view of cube life, but it was fairly one-note. Honestly, save Bizarro and Speed Bump, I don't read any comics anymore.


So now, for the time being, there is a grey box where Adams strip used to reside. Good riddance.