Tag Archive: Donald Trump


Doing it DOGE-y Style

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March 11, 2025

Here’s what some folks are missing with this whole “DOGE” thing.

It’s a scam. All of it.

You see, Trump wants to give tax breaks – like about $4 Trilllion of them – not to regular folks, mind you. I mean we’ll get some pennies or whatever, but he wants to give massive tax breaks to the super wealthy.

And I realize “wealth” is relative, so I’ll be clear – billionaires will have so many tax breaks, they’re likely to pay nothing, while the poor who don’t make enough will pay nothing – leaving the burden to the middle class, where it’s basically been since the days of Reagan – a burden that has gotten heavier with each Republican administration – and Trump is the worst of them.

In order to justify these tax breaks, Trump needs to find “waste” in our government to slash – enter DOGE.

Normally, to find wasteful spending a normal president would hire auditors and certified finance experts. No one is saying these agencies are perfect, or can’t use a little haircut. But not like this. He hired a ‘business’ man and his merry gang of ‘programmers’ to do the job.

They’re slashing everything – It’s not a haircut – it’s a total beheading.

And the things they are slashing won’t make up a fraction of the tax cuts – which is why Congress is asking to lift the spending cap by… drum roll… $4 trillion. Who’s going to pay all that money back?

The middle class – of course.

So instead of feeding poor kids in school, making sure our elderly and veterans are taken care of, keeping our national parks open, funding medical research, like the kind that could cure cancer or Alzheimer’s, we are funding tax cuts for people who don’t need the money – they just want it.

Welcome to the United Oligarch’s States of America, where they are reinstituting serfdom.

And yes, this is what the Trump fans voted for.

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History is begging us to wake up – Is it too late?

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February 25, 2025

The AfD is the ultra-right wing party in Germany.

They are, essentially, the re-formation of the Nazi party. Period.

They came in second place in Germany’s election yesterday, gaining a lot of ground since the last election.

Elon Musk heavily supported them, much the way he supported Trump.

Luckily, unlike in the US, the Germans rejected the far right extremists. But it was too close for anyone with half a brain’s comfort.

You know who congratulated them on such a great showing? You guessed it – Donald Trump.

We have a President who is destroying this country, both inside and outside – buddying up to Nazis and Fascists on the world stage, while allowing the richest man alive, a man who is promoting and backing far right elections all over the world, to destroy us internally.

I am the descendant of Holocaust Survivors. I am a first generation American, whose family escaped the USSR. I know way too many descendants of Holocaust survivors, and former subjects of the USSR who support Trump, to count.

It’s shameful. It’s embarrassing. It’s sad and, boy, is it scary.

Because this has happened in this world before. Most of us have (or have had) parents and grandparents who lived through this kind of shit before.

The Nazis, back in the 30s had a similar situation. They had an election in 1932 and came in second place – gaining a lot of ground over the previous election, in 1930, where they barely won anything. As a result, and in an effort to unite the country, the president of Germany appointed Hitler as Chancellor.

That’s how Hitler gained power. And among the 33% of those who voted for Hitler’s Nazis in 1932, there were members of the citizenry he explicitly spoke about destroying. So yeah, Jews, gays, intellectuals, etc, voted for Hitler in 1932 – because they bought the propaganda he was selling.

Every history teacher I ever had, both in private, and public school, as well as in college, told me that this shit could happen here. I didn’t want to believe it, but here we are.

History cannot, MUST NOT, repeat itself. But with the United States in the hands of a Nazi Sympathizer and Putin Fan-boy (regardless of whether you see Musk OR Trump as the President), this possibility is perilously too close for comfort.

History is calling to us. It is begging us to not repeat it. Is it already too late?

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On the Death of the Grand Old Party

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August 17, 2022

The Grand Old Party is dead.

It’s been steadily heading in that direction for years now. But last night’s primary defeat of the most conservative member of Congress has proven, that whatever democratic values the party still held, they’re gone now. The Republican Party would be unrecognizable to it’s founder, if he could see what’s become of it today.

The party of Lincoln ceased to be ‘the party of Lincoln’ when Richard Nixon welcomed in the Dixie-crats (read: White Supremacist members of the Democratic party who felt left out once the Democrats became the pro-Civil Rights party).

The party of Reagan died when Donald Trump became the GOP standard holder.

The last true patriot (whether you agree with her policies or not – I absolutely do not), in the Republican party was given the boot yesterday.

Liz Cheney’s defeat marks the end of any notion that the current iteration of the Republican party has anything to do with what most people, regardless of party affiliation, have held to be “American” values.

What is left within the ranks of the GOP is a group of White Nationalists whose policies are not in line with anything that remotely resembles the aspirations of the founding of this country.

There was a time when I was firmly considered ‘in the middle,’ politically. I used to look at candidates from both sides of the aisle and voted based on what I believed would be best for either the city, the state or the country (based on which position they were running for).

And yes, I have, in the distant past, voted for Republican candidates in local elections, because I either felt they were more qualified, or had better ideas, than whoever they were running against. But I haven’t had any confidence in any candidate the GOP has presented in decades.

But there is no “middle” anymore. You are either pro-Democracy, or pro-Fascist Theocracy.

You either want to live your life freely, or you want to have every part of your life dictated to you by the government, based on your race, religion, sexual orientation, and ethnicity.

You don’t have to believe me. Go and listen to them. Hear what they are saying

They’ve made no secret of their goals. They are all shouting their desire to turn our country into a majority white Christian nation, where any man who isn’t a member of their religious, nationalistic, cult, is a second class citizen, and any women, regardless of race or religion, has no rights at all.

If you vote Republican, that is what you are voting for.

They have no helpful fiscal plans for the country, (unless you consider tax breaks for the wealthy and the eradication of Social Security and Medicaid helpful to you).

They are no longer the “old school,” “reasonable” Republicans willing to come to the table to make a deal that can help the citizens. They want to rule based on their bastardized version of their religion (their version of “Christianity” doesn’t remotely resemble anything I’ve ever learned about Christ or the religion he inspired).

What’s best for the citizens of this country is irrelevant to their goals.

I know many folks who hate the Democrats.

I am also aware that much of the abject hatred stems from the erroneous beliefs about the Democrats cultivated after years of listening to them being demonized by a propaganda machine created specifically to indoctrinate people who felt left out, into believing they were losing something when others gain anything.

These propagandists knew, as they all do, that people who were feeling insecure about their prospects in life, would cling to any lie that would lay the blame at anyone else’s feet other than their own.

It’s a tactic used by power hungry fascists throughout history.

Sadly, the audience at which these propaganda tools are often aimed, has rarely been curious enough to check the validity of the hateful claims being made.

The fear mongering was very effective, I’ll admit.

But now we really are in a dangerous place in this country.

We can either defeat the liars, thieves and grifters who have taken over the Republican party, or we can allow them to win and watch our country lose its core values and us, any semblance of ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’

There are many people in my life who I disagree with politically. But many of these people came from countries, or rather, they escaped, the countries with the very kind of policies today’s GOP wishes to install here.

I truly hope those people see what is happening. That they notice the parallels of propaganda being fed to them on a daily basis. That they actually hear what the members of the GOP are saying, and that they understand, we don’t have many places we can run to if the people currently running the Republican party ever gain power.

You’re either an American Patriot, or you are a Republican voter – You can no longer claim to be both.

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Fight the Power

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February 24, 2022

Do you have any idea how brave you have to be as a Russian citizen to protest, in Moscow?

Do you know how against the war the thousands who are right now in Pushkin Square protesting, have to be, to brave arrest and all that goes along with it in Russia?

Putin does NOT have the support of Russians in Russia.

Putin does NOT have the support of the “Russian Speaking Eastern Ukrainians” in Ukraine.

Putin does NOT have the support of the majority of the world.

I think Putin realized he had no choice but to shit or get off the pot.

Putin was trying to play the long game here, starting with disinformation campaigns in the US and other western countries.

He meddled in a few elections (notably, ours), to try and weaken Democracies.

He bought a weak minded leader, a ‘useful idiot, Trump, specifically with the intent of weakening the United States’ relationships with her Allies and to destabilize NATO.

And for a while there, the plan was working.

But then we elected Biden.

Putin was not expecting that. But I’m sure he believed that his misinformation campaigns, along with the indoctrinated likes of Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingram, would help him to weaken Biden’s Presidency.

And on the surface, that looked like it was working as well. But Putin is a realist. And folks tired of the fact-free fantasies of the conspiracy theorist lunatics stopped playing nice. Reality was seeping in, and while things were getting better for the US, things for Putin were going to worse if he didn’t act soon.

For the last year and change, Biden has been reaffirming and strengthening the relationships Trump tried to break. NATO countries saw Trump for what he was – a temporary mental illness within the Democratic sphere – a malignant cancerous tumor – that once removed, would bring, if not the country as a whole, then at least our leadership apparatus, back to it’s senses.

Putin had to put up or shut up – now.

He couldn’t wait for NATO to grow stronger. He couldn’t wait for the US to fully recover from the Trumpian disease. He couldn’t wait for the world to recover from the pandemic we all suffered from.

That’s why he struck now.

I think he may actually be surprised at how much resistance he is facing – How united so many countries are against him – How united so many of his people are against him.

The history of Russia is full of megalomaniacal leaders who destroy their own citizens for personal gain. Putin is the most recent in that long line of bad actors who misrepresent the will of the good people who live in that country.

I hope this Hitleresque attack of Putin’s ends quickly, and much the same way Hitler’s did.

I pray the people of Russia are finally able to elect someone who will represent them better on the world stage.

I pray that soon they can have peace and freedom and freedom to cry out for peace.

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Why we can’t just “Let it Go”

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February 3, 2021

The other night, as I watched NY Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez describe the harrowing events she went through on 1/6/2021, like most decent people, I was horrified.

I’ve often told someone that unless you were present for a traumatic event, you really can’t understand what the folks who were actually physically there, went through – what they felt – the trauma they will deal with for, likely, the rest of their lives.

Every time, I’ve described the events I went through on 9/11 to anyone who wasn’t there, folks would respond with “Oh, I know what you went through, I watched the whole thing on TV.”

No. No you don’t understand. Unless you were physically in downtown NYC that day, you may have felt fear, confusion and anger, but you really don’t have a clue what it felt like to not know whether you’re ever going to see your family again, to sleep in your bed, to see your front door. You just don’t know that feeling. You can’t grasp that fear, that gut wrenching, mind-numbing, absolute fear. You don’t really know what it’s like to have your instincts kick in. To, in the moment, not even realize how scared you actually are. Or, how after you’re safe, and are in a position to process everything you’ve experienced, realizing, “holy, shit, did I really go through all that? How the hell did I even get through it?”

You may have experienced fear for those you loved who may have been there, but you weren’t there. You don’t know what THAT felt like.

And that’s what I felt when I heard AOC speak her truth.

I have no idea what she went through that day. I watched, as most of us did, on TV, as an angry mob attacked the Capitol. I was shocked. I was angry. I was stupefied. And, yeah, I wanted their blood and the blood of anyone who gave them the idea they had any right to do that. But I have no idea how it felt to be inside that building, hiding, knowing with ever fiber of your body that if the wrong person got a hold of you, you very well may end up dead.

I remember after 9/11, the way the country came together – despite political affiliation or beliefs – how we were collectively in mourning – how we were collectively pissed off at the people who did this. And while the perpetrators of the attack were all dead, the folks that sent them there were not – and we wanted those mother fuckers really bad. We wanted them SO badly, we started two wars to try and find them – one under false pretenses, even. We killed the guy who sent those people there. We’ve captured the folks who helped in the planning of it. It’s been 20 years since 9/11 and we STILL haven’t ‘let it go’ – and we really shouldn’t. Because we were attacked. The country was traumatized. People are STILL mourning those they lost in those attacks.

“Never forget” is an apt sentiment when folks attack you.

So why should we forget what happened on 1/6/2021?

Why the hell should we ‘let it go’?

We shouldn’t. There was an act of sedition. An insurrection. An attempt to overthrow the very Democracy we all claim to hold so dear. And while only one of the folks who perpetrated this crime is dead, and many are in custody, why shouldn’t we go after the folks who sent them there?

Unity?

Bullshit.

How do you ‘unify’ a country by letting those who incited an insurrection off without any consequences? How do you ‘unify’ a country by letting people who incited an insurrection know that they could get away with it, giving them an opening to do it all again – this time with a leader who isn’t a complete moron at their helm.

If a member of your family, say, one you didn’t agree with, decided to rob your home, because they felt you had something they wanted and it was unfair to them that you, despite earning what you have, had whatever it is they didn’t have, if they, along with some of their friends, wrecked your car, smashed your windows busted down your doors, looking to steal what you worked so hard to earn, would you just ‘let it go’?

And if they then told you, they were encouraged to commit that crime, by say, the head of their branch of the family tree, and they got money for weapons and travel from another member of that branch, would you let those people go?

If people aren’t held accountable for their actions, they will simply do it again – and next time they could succeed. Not in just overrunning our democracy, but they actually could kill more than just one brain-washed, deranged, asshole who tried to climb through a window to get to Mike Pence, or Nancy Pelosi – to kill one or both of them – because she was told they were enemies of the President she loved so much she was willing to kill for him.

This is insanity. This idea that we should just ‘let it go.’ We didn’t ‘let it go’ when, long after she’d given up her position as Secretary of State, the senate tried Hillary Clinton for Benghazi – and then all but buried the news when their investigations concluded that neither she, nor the Obama administration, were at fault for what happened there.

We didn’t just ‘let it go’ when Charles Manson sent his deranged cult members to murder innocent people. That cult leader died in prison, and he never murdered anyone. But he incited the murderers – and he paid for that crime, as well he should have.

So please, miss me with the ‘let it go’ crap. Yes. This country is hurting. We need bold legislation and funding to get us through yet another post-Republican administration crisis – and we’ll have that. The Senate will just have to do something it hasn’t done in years – work. They’ll have to not take random ‘recesses’ only to be called back to vote in yet another conservative judge, pass $3 trillion tax breaks for the wealthy, or hold another Benghazi hearing. It’ll be a change for them, I’m sure. It’ll be hard, but the Democrats are in charge, and I’m guessing their itching to actually do something they haven’t been able to do since McConnell took over – work for the people they represent.

And the threats coming from the likes of Lindsay Graham like “the Democrats better not call witnesses or we’re going to call in the FBI”? Hysterical. Please, do. Call in the FBI. Call in the DOJ. Please let us hear what they have to say about how they’ve been telling you all for two years that White Supremacists and the Q-Anon crew were the biggest national threat to our security and how Trump’s rhetoric was egging them on and empowering them.

Please, let us hear ALL the pieces of shit who stormed the Capitol tell us how they were ‘invited by Trump,’ and how when Trump told them he’d ‘see them on January 6th – it’ll be wild,’ they knew there’d be some violence – and how when he told them to march on the Capitol and that he’d be right there with them because if they don’t fight, they’ll lose their country, after two months of hearing the big lie about how the election was stolen from them, an election, mind you, roughly a third of those assholes DIDN’T EVEN VOTE in – they took it as ‘storm the Capitol’ – because that’s EXACTLY what he meant. Please, let us hear them tell us how his expression of disappointment in Mike Pence, and his abject hatred of people like AOC and Pelosi, led them to believe they’d be rewarded by him if they got rid of those problems for him.

Those aren’t threats to those of us who want to see these assholes pay. They are only threats to those who know they’d be implicated in these crimes. Who knows what witnesses will say about not only Donald Trump, but Lindsay Graham (who called the Georgia Governor to try and get him to not certify that state’s votes), or Ted Cruz, or Josh Hawley?

So bring that shit on. But don’t tell us to ‘let it go.’ Everyone who had anything to do with the events on January 6, and all the lies they helped spread, should be held accountable. Whether it’s via legal action, or whether it’s via campaign ads where their words, and actions, can, and will be, used against them in the court of public opinion.

What happened on 1/6/2021 didn’t have to happen. But the people who made it happen need to pay for it. Once they do, maybe we will finally ‘let it go.’

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The Kids are Alright…

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March 15, 2018

“And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations.
They’re quite aware of what they’re going through”

“Changes” – David Bowie

In response to yesterdays “walk out” by HS Students all over the country,  protesting gun violence in schools, and the refusal of legislators to do anything to prevent another school mass shooting, some folks decided that kids should have, instead, had a “walk up.”

The idea was, instead of walking out to protest the fact that adults have failed them, the same adults who elected a bully into the oval office, believe that kids should have walked up to kids who were bullied, or who were loners, or otherwise ignored, and befriend them.

It’s a nice notion, and should definitely be promoted by schools on a daily basis. The fact that bullying is wrong and harmful should be taught all the time, not just as an expedient distraction from a recurring national tragedy.

Of COURSE we should do everything we can to prevent bullying. That should be a no-brainer. But it is a discussion completely separate from the mass-shootings we, as a country, have experienced over the past few years, in schools, churches, malls and movie theaters.

Shootings that had very little, if anything, to do with people who were bullied in school.

Put it this way, none of the school shooters were victims of school bullying.

– The guy in Florida was expelled for threatening violence against his classmate, and he beat his ex-girlfriend. He was actually a bully.

– The guys in Columbine bullied all the classmates they later killed.

– The guy in Sandy Hook was diagnosed with emotional issues and instead of seeking medical assistance for him, his mother took him to a gun range and gave him virtually unfettered access to her stockpile of guns.

Clearly, bullying is a problem, and it needs to be addressed. But the fact is, most bullied children end up committing suicide. They don’t kill others.

Mental illness is also a problem, and it definitely needs to be addressed. But it is only part of the problem, when folks with mental illness, or violent backgrounds, are still able to purchase guns with little to no background checks. And the fact that the current President, in his effort to get rid of any progress made by his predecessor, got rid of the regulation that would have helped prevent those with mental illness from purchasing guns, doesn’t help.

And then there’s the Second Amendment – The NRA’s favorite tool by which to instill fear in gun enthusiasts. But have any of these ‘protectors’ of the Second Amendment ever read the whole thing?

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”

Regulation IS a part of the language, and since most states don’t have a “well regulated militia,” (The National Guard is as close as most states have to anything that qualifies) all you gun owners are subject to the laws of the individual states. It’s not your God-given, or Constitutionally-given, right to own a gun without anyone regulating said ownership. Sorry. Read it. Read it over and over and over again until you let it sink into your brain.

Just like my First Amendment rights don’t allow me to shout “fire” in a crowded theater, your Second Amendment rights aren’t absolute.

And that should be common sense, no?

We live in a society made up of people and laws made to protect us from those among us who may not have the best of intentions, or who may not have the mental capacity or responsibility needed to carry something that, in the wrong hands, can be dangerous to innocent people around them.

What most people, including most responsible gun owners, want, is for some form of unity in the law that would make it equally as difficult for, say, a mentally unstable 18 year old to get a gun in Virginia as it would in New York.

And, for the record, I really don’t give a shit about the semantics or the differences between guns and rifles and semi-automatic, or high caliber blah blah bullshit. A gun is a fucking gun and every single one of those things was created to kill a living being. So before you give me some bullshit about cars, or whatever distracting, irrelevant, nonsense argument you’re about to try and throw at me, shut it.

Seriously. I’m done debating this shit. It’s all a bunch of semantics and deflection. And doing nothing about the issue hasn’t helped anyone except the NRA and gun manufacturers.

I’m sure that if someone really wants to get a gun, they can. Just like someone who REALLY wants to buy drugs, will always find a way. Just like someone who REALLY wants to rob your house, or your place of business, will find a way.

So we should make it easier on them by not even TRYING anything to stop them?

Why bother having any kind of laws at all if everyone who wants to do a bad thing will find a way to do it?

And please, give me a break with the nonsense about needing the Second Amendment so we can rise against tyranny. Are you kidding me? Does that mean, by your definition, you should also be able to buy a tank, or a nuke? Because you’re not going to do much damage with your AR-15 against the full force of the US Military.  Besides, that is exactly what the National Guard is for.

The kids who marched yesterday said it. Adults have failed them.

And those ‘adults’ who are coming up with every excuse to disregard or discredit these kids, guess what?

Roughly a quarter of HS kids will be eligible to vote in the mid-term elections this year.

Roughly three-quarters of todays HS kids will be eligible to vote in the 2020 election.

So please, do continue to disregard their concerns.  Maybe they’ll finally make the changes we need to truly make this country great again – Starting with ridding us of the plague of NRA-purchased legislators in DC, and then ridding us of the pestilence currently spreading his vile, putrid, stench throughout the White House.

For the first time in 15 months, I see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Ms. Houston said it best… The children are the future. And the best thing we, as adults can do, is either get on board and help them make a better world for them, or get the hell out of the way.

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Letter to Senator Gillibrand (sent via Email and Snail Mail, just because..)

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December 8, 2017

Dear Senator Gillibrand,

I am usually proud and very happy with the choices you make and causes you back on behalf of all of us New Yorkers. I’ve often considered you to be one of our brightest and most thoughtful elected officials, and have trusted that you have always taken into consideration what is best for us, not just the party, when making your decisions.

However, I am writing today to express my severe disappointment in your decision to request Senator Franken’s resignation. I understand we are at a fever pitch with the #MeToo movement, and the response on our side to victims finally having their voice heard has been overwhelmingly supportive. I am very happy about that. But, there needs to be a point where we differentiate between unapologetic, perpetual sexual predators, like Rep Conyers, verses a guy who acted like immature kid who saw breasts for the first time.

Senator Franken’s actions WERE creepy, and WERE inappropriate, but he’s like every man over the age of 50 who woke up one morning, in a new day and age, and suddenly realized “crap, I’ve been harming people for my own giggles for too long. I need to stop that.” And he did. Treating him the same way as we would a Roy Moore is unquestionably stupid and makes us, as well as the movement we’d like to see progress, look stupid and reactionary.

This need to raise pitchforks and hang every man who has ever made an inappropriate pass at a woman, while understandable, will end up backfiring on us, and the #MeToo movement.

Al Franken has been a passionate supporter of women’s issues. He has also been a royal pain in the neck to the GOP, who are now ecstatic because the guy they saw as the biggest threat to their leader, is gone.

Why not let this go to an inquiry? Let these women face him, or have him face his accusers and listen to how his actions hurt them? And then, if warranted, have him resign?

It’s this kind of reactionary, short-sighted, sanctimonious desire to gain some ‘moral high ground’ against a group of people with no morals, that makes the Democratic party a laughing stock, and why, as of yesterday afternoon, I am no longer registered to vote as one.

You could have used this situation with Franken as a teachable moment. It’s not like he was a threat to his coworkers, and I will guarantee you, you won’t hear about him trying to touch anyone’s derriere without permission ever again.

He’s clearly not a predator. The fact that you and Sen Harris, et al, can’t see the difference is why the Democrats will continue to lose.

Instead of focusing on Franken, what you should have been doing this week is poking the hell out of the Roy Moore situation. Heaven knows they have been spoon feeding you all the ammunition you need. Instead, you took out the only member of your party who had the balls to stand up to the bullies on the other side of the aisle. Nice going.

Sorry this is so long winded. Please know, I’m not the only one who feels this way. You have diminished my faith in your ability to lead with any kind of real focus. And your party has let me and many like myself down with this action.

Yours truly,

Miriam Greenberg

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Terror

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November 1, 2017

Terrorism: The unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

It really shouldn’t amaze me how quickly the current administration politicized yesterday’s terror incident in Lower Manhattan.

Instead of focusing on those who lost their lives, OF COURSE our fear monger in charge went straight for the battle cry of hatred that unifies his supporters.

Sure, it makes total sense that in the aftermath of a tragedy, the first thing that should pointed out is the culprit’s religious belief, unless of course the culprit is a white dude.

Cue in the idiotocracy that supports Donny the Dunce maniacally  shouting “send them home,” in all their self-righteous ignorance, while quickly forgetting that an old white guy, a Christian no less, committed the worst act of violence on US soil since the 9/11 attacks just a couple of weeks ago.  They want to ban all Muslims, or carry out something their cheeto-tinted messiah calls “extreme vetting” (which is not a thing, by the way, the vetting process is pretty extreme already, but I digress), when, in fact, the majority of terrorist attacks on US soil have been perpetrated by, you guessed it, Caucasian males with US Citizenship, who claim to be Christian.

 

In the crazy debates that followed yesterday’s events, one person dared anyone to come up with a list of terrorist attacks perpetrated by white people, you know, aside from Oaklahoma City (which by definition, WAS a terrorist attack) and Vegas (which is unclear, because we don’t know this monster’s motive, which actually IS important when trying to differentiate between a terrifying act, and a terrorist attack).

I was seriously tempted to write an entire list starting with all the lynchings, church bombings, and beatings, of African Americans in the south in the post Civil-War era, but, I know the folks with whom I am debating. These people already forgot that a white guy plowed into a bunch of protesters a couple of months ago because they disagreed with that whole “Nazi” thing he was trying to promote. I highly doubt they’d pay attention to something they clearly see as “ancient” history.

So I typed in “White Extremist Terrorist attacks on US soil” and BOOM, someone had already done the research for me.

So here you go, all the terrorist attacks perpetrated by white people since the Oklahoma City bombing:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/06/18/white_extremist_murders_killed_at_least_60_in_u_s_since_1995.html?cq_ck=1486485587473

You can use this the next time some poor, orange kool-aid drinking drone tries to spew some bullshit about the biggest threat to our country, which isn’t any religion at all. In fact, the biggest threat to our country currently resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue…

 

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Civics 101: Changing ANYTHING in the Constitution – It’s not that easy

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November 16, 2016

For 8 years I have been pulling my hair out trying to explain to people who were afraid of losing their 2nd amendment rights, exactly why that couldn’t happen – and why no one was taking away their guns.

 

Guess what? No one is taking away your Freedom of Speech either.

You know why? Our Constitution has quite a few safe guards, intentionally placed there by the framers, to ensure its’ laws aren’t taken lightly, or easily changed, without quite a bit of thought going into the process.

First of all, before taking office, a President Elect has to swear to protect, preserve and defend the United States Constitution. A similar version of this oath is also taken by all new members of the House of Representatives, Senate, and each military branch. It’s a pretty hefty oath – violation of which is considered a federal crime – treason.

Second,  you can not repeal an amendment without actually having something to replace it which has to go through the same process of ratification as a new amendment would. In other words, it wouldn’t be a ‘replacement’ so much as an addition that would nullify the other amendment. The other amendment will always be a part of the overall document.

For example: The 18th Amendment prohibited the sale and manufacture of alcohol in the United States – the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment, but the 18th Amendment is still a part of the Constitution as a repealed amendment.

Next, a proposed amendment (whether new, or intended to replace an existing one) must be approved by a 2/3 majority of both legislative bodies of the US Congress (so Senate AND House of Representatives each have to come up with a 2/3 majority willing to give up Freedom of Speech).

After that, the Proposed Amendment must be sent to every individual State’s legislature for consideration. Each state then votes either yes or no on the Proposed Amendment.

 

For the Proposed Amendment to become a Constitutional Amendment, 3/4 of the individual American States must ratify the amendment. That means 38 states would have to agree to whatever amendment that was being proposed to repeal and replace the First Amendment before the Amendment becomes a part of the Constitution.

 

So, let’s be realistic here, do you think 38 states will ratify an amendment to curtail freedom of speech? And before that, do you really think 3/4 of the Senate and 3/4 of the House of the Representatives would even vote for the Amendment?

Let’s just put it this way – Since 1789, there have been over 11,000 proposed amendments introduced – of those, 33 have been approved by Congress – 27 have been ratified by the states. Those 27 make up our Constitution.

 And while I agree there is much to be wary of with our President Elect, one thing is clear, for all his bluster, he himself clearly doesn’t know of what he speaks when he claims he can ‘amend the First Amendment’ or ‘open up the Libel Laws.’ (I’d love to get in to Libel laws now, but, this is getting way too long for most folks’ attention spans, including mine. Next time, perhaps.)

 In other words, being the President of the United States is vastly different than being the President of your own company.

 I certainly hope that while President Obama assists President-Elect Trump during this transition period, that he also imparts some Constitutional wisdom on our future President.  Mr. Trump  will be taking an oath to protect and preserve the Constitution – it would be a shame if he didn’t actually have a basic understanding of what was in it when he took that oath.

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Nasty Woman-splaining for clueless hombres.. I can’t believe this is still a thing..

Filed under: Life and Stuff, politics — 1 Comment
October 21, 2016

 

“I think it’s terrible if you go with what Hillary is saying… in the ninth month you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb of the mother just prior to the birth of the baby. Now, you can say that that’s okay, and Hillary can say that that’s okay, but it’s not okay with me. Because based on what she’s saying and based on where she’s going and where she’s been, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month, on the final day. And that’s not acceptable.” – Donald Trump , Las Vegas NV, 10/19/2016
Ever find yourself ‘woman-splaining’ women’s issues to a guy? You know, like, how no matter how evolved they are, they can’t understand fully how it FEELS to be a woman? There’s no ‘put yourself in my shoes’ examples that can fit. You can be sympathetic, but you really just don’t know how it feels.. No more than a woman can understand a man’s need to scratch his groin area every few minutes.. It’s gross.. Dude, stop.. No, seriously, get that shit checked out already k?
But the one thing men REALLY seem to not understand, is a woman’s reproductive system. I mean, they know the basics and many actually have evolved enough to care to read about all the stages a woman goes through from conception to birth, and stick by through every step of the process. But what’s become glaringly obvious, is that most men, even those who have had, say,  not just one kid, but 5, with 3 different women, still don’t have a clue.

Nothing can be more obvious than Trump’s ridiculous, insulting and glaringly ignorant remarks about “Late Term Abortions,” (please see above), and the largely clueless male response to the topic.

** An aside to the men who didn’t see anything wrong with Trump’s ‘opinion’ about Late Term abortions: Fuck you for not doing some research before saying stupid shit.  Kudos to the women in your life for not gagging you until you learn something.**
So for the past 36 hours or so, in addition to not being able to get Janet Jackson’s “Nasty Boys” out of my head, I’ve also found myself explaining why Trump’s answer is further proof that neither he, nor any man who doesn’t have a medical degree specializing in women’s health, should have any business trying to discuss, let alone pass legislation, on a woman’s right to do what she feels necessary for her own well-being.. I can go off on a rant about a woman’s right to choose, but I’ll just stick to Trump’s incredibly stupid remarks on late term abortions, which had me screaming at my TV.
Facts:
  • “Late-term” is after the 20th week of pregnancy. (24 weeks in some states) 
  •  Legally, unless either the health of the mother is in danger, or the fetus is not viable,  abortion after the 20th or 24th week of pregnancy is illegal in most states of the  union. What I’m saying is, you really can’t just walk in at week 25 and have an  abortion without a serious medical reason for it, let alone at week 36.
Reality check:  No woman carries a baby nearly to term and then arbitrarily says “nah, ya know what doc, rip it out of me, I don’t want it.”
Most women, who have carried a baby beyond the point of legal abortion,  WANT the baby. These women more than likely have had their baby showers, painted the baby’s room and picked out names. Making this decision is most likely the WORST thing that can happen to a woman who wants a child (probably only next to being told she can’t have any).
I’m not saying there aren’t women who get cold feet later in their pregnancies and think “holy shit, what am I doing having a kid?” That’s normal. And in extreme cases those women should, and often do, seek out medical assistance for their psyche – not an abortion.
Just to be clear – those of you who still think that Hillary Clinton approves “ripping a baby out of the mother even on the due date” – she doesn’t.
The fact that Donald Trump is an idiot about this topic, still holds true, however.
An all out ban on late term abortions, which is what Trump, and his frienemy, Paul Ryan, are hoping to make happen, is dangerous to women. I have no illusion that Trump or Ryan particularly care about women. Trump cares about Trump, and Ryan is just an asshole who advocates for rapist’s rights, but I digress.
The ban that the conservatives are looking to enact would have NO exclusions – none. That means that women carrying a fetus who may be suffering in utero, or who has no brain function, or who won’t survive outside the uterus for more than a few painful breaths, will be forced to endure the pregnancy and give birth to a baby who will live its short life in pain. Or, a woman who’s life is in danger because the baby she is carrying, who won’t survive outside of her womb, is killing her from the inside. It’s rare, but it happens.(Statistically speaking, 1% of abortions performed in the USA are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy. 1% folks, just saying).
To put a finer point on it, what Conservatives are saying is that they want every woman to carry every child to term, even if she’s carrying a brain-dead fetus who will never live outside her body, and who may actually end up killing her if she carries it to term. Right to life, my ass! What the FUCK?!  Anyone who can agree with that is an asshole. Yeah, I’m saying it. Fuck you. Unfriend me. Thanks. Life’s better already
** Oh and just an aside – If a woman has carried a baby to term the result is usually some form of birth, not abortion.  Even when doctors are fairly certain that a fetus isn’t viable, at 8-9 months they will still  either try to remove the child via c-section, or if the mother can handle it, vaginal birth – unless, the only way to ensure the mother’s health, again, is to abort the already not viable fetus. In any case the only ‘ripping’ that is usually being done, is in the mother’s sensitive areas because, well, baby-heads are kinda big.  But you know, Trump’s not the best at speaking coherently.  And anyway, Trump might enjoy grabbing a woman by the ‘pussy’ but he clearly knows nothing about vagina’s beyond what he thinks he can do with them. **
I can’t stress this enough – A woman who makes the decision to have a late term pregnancy terminated does so, in most cases, because she was told the baby she was carrying was not going to survive out of the womb. In rarer cases, the decision is made because of a danger to the mother. Again, most women who choose to go forward with a pregnancy beyond the 20 week mark, are playing for keeps. So, even in the case where the doctor tells a woman HER life is in danger, she, along with her doctor, will usually choose an option that will keep the baby inside her for as long as possible to at least TRY to have a healthy premature birth – not a late term abortion.  
 
“Wait,” you say, “what about the father’s decision?”  (Can you tell, I’ve spoken to ALOT of guys on this topic?). Here’s my take – If the father  is involved (not all are – just saying), then absolutely he should be in on the decision making process. But the ultimate choice goes to the person carrying the baby (which is, I believe, the only reason men are so determined to regain control of the issue – they hate that women have ALL the control in this case – but that’s a discussion for another time).
If say, the father  actually wants to go through with a late term abortion, and the mother decides to see if she can carry longer to ensure a baby’s survival, guess what daddy, her decision trumps (punny, I know) yours. If the opposite is true, guess what, again, it’s ultimately up to her. In this situation, the job of the father (or partner) is to be supportive. Don’t like it? Tough shit.
Until men can carry babies (and pigs fly, and hell freezes over, and Trump stops being a misogynistic pile of festering feces), the person that has the ultimate say on what can and can’t be done with HER body, is the woman. Doctors can advise, give options, and perform whatever procedures necessary. Fathers (or partners) can be a sounding board, shoulder to cry on, person who holds her hand while she goes through with whatever choice she made.
But the ultimate decision is up to the woman. Not men, not men in government, not men standing at a pulpit, not even the man sharing her bed – just her.
Now about that whole “Nasty Woman” thing….
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