September 11th: Then, Now And Tomorrow

With the caveat that I would like nothing more than to be wrong and have to eat my words, I must say, that the hope of uniting this country as it was in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, is no longer a possibility. Why? Because we had a an even greater and grimmer and deadlier event a mere four years ago which placed in stark relief the chasm between us as a country. 

Back in 2001, I remember vividly when, immediately after the attacks, unrequested volunteers showed up from all over the country to aid us in our time of need here in New York City. All across the country, “We’re all New Yorkers” was the mantra.

 

Fast forward to 2020 and red state folks wishing further death upon us, as a global pandemic ravaged my beloved Gotham City. So, to answer your question, I firmly believe another September 11 would fail to unite us, seeing as a more deadly event has already exposed the extent of our polarization.

 

Which dovetails with the subject of the political choices of those who, on the surface, seem to align themselves with those purveying a platform contrary to their benefit.

 

The reason I have cut out 99% MAGAt family or friends from my life, is not merely the political differences between us. No. It’s that I have come to the conclusion and realization that the preference for this Orange Monster and the ideology of those around him and supporting him, betrays a deep rooted evil that goes way beyond any sort of political inclination or thought. At their core is a lust for the destruction and ultimate demise of all those who do not think or look like them. They have renounced their loyalty to country, Constitution and civility, all in the name of punishing those who dare not only disagree, but who they feel threaten their centuries-long privilege and protected status with diversity, equality and inclusion and, more importantly, justice.

 

I fully and completely respect however others who share my political ideology decide to conduct themselves within this regard. But let me humbly state that if I were them, I’d stay away from these people as best as humanly possible. Unless your plan involves growing eyes in the back of your head.

The Lefties Are Getting Restless

When a bunch of prominent Republicans—including a former congressman, a former Lieutenant Governor and a member of the #TRE45ON cabinet—spoke at the DNC, I knew certain people would start to get nervous.

Then, 200+ aides, advisers, etc to prominent GOP figures of the past wrote an open letter pledging their allegiance to Kamala Harris. The nervous people were starting to sweat.

But when former congresswoman and House leader, Liz Cheney, publicly announced that her father—Darth Vader himself—Dick Cheney, would be voting for Harris, I knew I had to reach out to the nervous, sweaty people before they lost their minds. 

So this is for them:

I know you’re freaked out that a bunch of Republicans who don’t share our views on a myriad of policies, particularly domestic ones, have now lined up to support and even endorse the Democratic Party presidential ticket. But this alliance doesn’t mean we’re changing who we are. This is more about them, recognizing that their party is wrecked and the only way to salvage it is to deliver a pronounced defeat to the cancer that has eaten away at their party. And so they are willing to help us win so they can tear down their own house and rebuild it. They’re not changing who they are and neither are we. We just share the common goal of getting rid of the Orange Turd.

And I know you’ve been uneasy about this from the moment The Lincoln Project showed up. But I’ll repeat what I said then: it doesn’t matter who we ride the bus with as long as we are going towards the same destination. When we get there, then we’ll figure it out.

Listen, just because I welcome their alliance so we can reach a similar goal doesn’t mean I have forgotten who they are. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger voted in sync with Trump more than 90% of the time when they were in Congress; The Lincoln Party’s head honcho, Rick Wilson, was a very close advisor for Ted Cruz; Steve Schmidt worked for George W. Bush and most famously was campaign manager for the late John McCain’s 2008 presidential aspirations. These are people who worship Ronald Reagan. ‘Nuff said.

With the exception of Schmidt—who has become a registered Democrat—I can assure you these folks are still thinking along the same lines as they did 10, 20 years ago in terms of policy and whatnot. So, yeah, definitely not our kind of people, in terms of political ideology. And while I welcome them in our shared goal of ridding ourselves of Mango Mussolini, I’m sleeping with one eye open. The ones who are supporting Harris and even campaigning for her, I appreciate and thank them for the effort, but I am in no way under the illusion that these aren’t the people who I have deep differences in terms of how we want to move the country forward. The difference between them and the MAGAts is that the MAGAts are OK with an Orange dictatorship and the classic Republicans are not. And that is a very important distinction at this moment in time. One we should take advantage of, but always remember who it is that we’re partnering with in this particular endeavor.

Yes, at the end of the day Republicans are Republicans. And we’ll be on the alert. But, for now, let’s chill and not freak out about who it is that we are siding with and work on getting the job done. We can figure out the rest of it later, when Harris and Walz are in the White House.

It'll be alright. Let's just get this done, OK?

The Enemy Is Us

Can we be honest here? We can attack #TRE45ON and his sycophantic minions for their decidedly unAmerican, fascist dreams of a theocratic dictatorship all we want, but they’re not really the problem here. Nope.

It’s the millions of everyday Americans who want to establish a White Nationalist “Christian” state in which PoC, Jews, LGBTQ  and women are second class citizens; same sex and interracial marriage are outlawed; a nationwide abortion ban is put into effect; undocumented migrants—or even first generation Americans who don’t fall in line—are kept in concentration camps; political protest is illegal; the EPA is abolished; the U.S. civil service is gutted; the DoJ is a puppet organization dedicated to prosecuting political enemies; plus the demise of NATO and the rise of the Soviet Union 2.0.

Millions of our fellow Americans—including some of your family and friends—are not only fine with all of the above, they feverishly want to see it become reality.

And so, when faced with such an inescapable fact, what is there to do? Every election can’t be do or die, that’s just unsustainable. So what’s the answer? What is the long term solution?

I will say this: as I humbly see it, the biggest obstacle we face in avoiding the above is the arrogance and complacency that comes with American exceptionalism. In other words, we are so confident in the “it can’t happen here, that’s in *those* countries” axiom that it’s become a dangerous mantra that fails to take into account that the corrupt and the gullibly ignorant—as well as evil, of course—are everywhere and we’re nowhere near from being exempt of their pernicious thoughts and deeds.

“Well, our American institutions are strong and…”

Are they? A failed former POTUS—who lost the popular vote—and a vulgar ignoramus sowing division and actively furthering enmity among our citizens, is the presidential candidate for the opposition party, despite the fact that this individual incited an insurrection with the goal to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power; hoarded boxes and boxes of classified documents with the likely intention to offer them up to the highest bidder; owes approximately half a billion dollars in fines due to having engaged engaged in massive bank fraud; and has made it clear he will govern as much of a dictator as possible. So, how’s that working out?

Whatever the way out is, we need to find it. And soon. Maybe it actually might be too late. At least I hope not.

STEPHEN A. SMITH: AN UTTER DISGRACE

From what I understand, ESPN has internal rules about anchors not discussing politics on the air, as well as not broaching the subject publicly elsewhere. So, how does this jibe with Stephen A. Smith going on Faux News to praise and defend the Orange Turd? 

 

(Btw, Smith’s appearance on the infamous rightwing network coincided with one by Newt Gingrich, in which the disgraced former Speaker compared the Orange Turd’s legal woes to the plight of beaten, brutalized and murdered Civil Rights activists of the 1960s. Yeah, he went there.)

The cries of "sellout!" from prominent members of the African American community were expected...until you see Smith's appearance on Hannity's show. It's much worse than you think and to call him a useful idiot is to be kind to the man: Smith spewed a smorgsabord of ignorance, false equivalency, disinformation and GOPee talking points. 

He's a fucking disgrace.

Pro-Death

South Carolina Republicans want to impose the death penalty on South Carolinian women who seek abortions in another state. You know, because the GOPee is pro-life, right? 

Hell is too good for these PoS.

The GOPee Are Just Following Orders From Their Base

These Republican sewer rats masquerading as politicians are merely individuals. The true rot lies at the heart of the QOP base who vote for this scum in droves. And in the case of the Orange Turd, by the millions. Those millions are the truly putrid ones: those who celebrate the authoritarian measures and dictatorial rants; who mix anti-Semitism and a contempt for the press by chanting "Jew York Times!" at rallies; who endorse the banning of drag shows in public places but are fine with Nazis demonstrating in the same public square. They are filth of the lowest kind and the worst of this country by far. And no one can change my mind.

What's The Frequency, Rupert?

Now that there is a preponderance of evidence that Fox News deliberately lied to their audience in order to stop the hemorrhaging of viewers—who didn’t want to hear the unbearable news that their favorite Orange Turd had lost the election—there’s a lot of talk going around about the infamous cable network going bankrupt from this Dominion lawsuit and a similar one by Smartmatic alleging defamation with intent. The former is looking for $1.6b in damages but with a punitive award the sky’s the limit.

“This will finally break Fox.”

“They’re gonna go bankrupt.”

“Fox News will disappear.”

 

Nope. I don’t think so.

 

To be completely honest I’m basing this on my ever growing cynicism. I mean, if you’ve lived in this country, or have been observing it closely, you know that in the last few years, in particular, the lack of accountability is breathtaking, even by Third World standards. I mean, if any of us had committed a mere fraction of the crimes #TRE45ON is guilty of, we’d be wearing orange jumpsuits at Guantanamo already. And yet…

 

Meanwhile, there are traitors to this country who supported the January 6 insurrection currently seated in the halls of Congress, and on investigative committees, who should be, as they say in mob parlance, “guests of the government”—behind bars not grandstanding on TV.

Alas…

 

Yes, I believe Fox will lose the Dominion defamation case and pay $2 billion or $3 billion or whatever the amount ends up being—the company coffers are deep and Rupert Murdoch is worth tens of billions if I’m not mistaken, so that’s covered—but the Fox audience isn’t going anywhere and those who think that advertisers are going to leave the network on principle because they lied to the audience, are delusional. Advertisers aren’t going to walk away because the eyeballs are going to be there: as long as they keep bashing Dems, PoC, LGBTQ folks and celebrate the likes of Putin and Ordan, the Fox faithful will tune in. They won’t care that they were lied to about the 2020 election or Dominion, etc. or even care about the contempt that Fucker Klansman has for them and their Mango Mussolini. As long as they’re being fed red poisonous meat every day they won’t care and tune in as usual.

 

Don’t get me wrong: Fox •should• be destroyed and not a moment too soon. But I think people are making a much bigger deal about this than it actually is in terms of consequences for Fox. The greater consequence, in my humble estimation, is that a hugely popular, well-established TV network blatantly lied for ratings while showing a huge disregard for what the propagation of those lies would mean in terms of further polarizing a deeply divided nation, but isn’t losing their license and being shut down.

The GOPee Is For The Children

On Tuesday, former White House propagandist and current governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, signed into law the Youth Hiring Act of 2023. Under this new law children younger than 16 do not need permission from the Division of Labor to get a job or an employment certificate, which verified their age, described their work and work schedule, and included written consent from a parent or guardian. This is what the party that beats its chest about protecting children is up to. Yup. 

Mind you, this bill was signed into law on the heels of the Department of Labor reporting widespread employment of children in at least eight states doing hazardous work involving caustic chemicals; and in Arkansas proper—as well as Texas—Chili’s restaurant has allegedly subjected teenage females to sexual harassment. (The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission is suing.) Perfect timing, Guv. 

But let’s not put all the onus of evil on Huckabee Sanders and her ilk. No, there has to be a plurality of voters siding with them to be able to reach office and put laws like this one into effect. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again and I’ll probably keep saying it for a very long time: the GOPee are immoral hacks, but the people who vote for them and enable this sort of thing are the true demons.

Republicans and the Trans Community: Just Spreading The Hate

Why the big focus on the trans community? All this effort to hurt people who have done NOTHING to you, not to mention the hypocrisy of the “small government” faction involving the government in every aspect of people’s personal lives and their bodies. (Btw, when is Caitlyn Jenner gonna call out the anti-trans mob? Oh, that’s right: she’s a Republican, too, so I guess they get a pass.) 

What the fuck is wrong with these PoS?!

Monday Morning Thoughts

- With the World Cup being held in Qatar, a country that doles out 7-year jail sentences for simply being gay, there has been an international LGBTQ+ boycott of the games. In response, a prominent local journalist, Abdulla Alemadi (who may or may not work for Al-Jazeera) tweeted that Qatar is “not honoured to welcome such abnormal ideas and tendencies” and his upcoming delight in enjoying a “clean sporting event without homosexuals”. He further added it would be a “blessed moment” to not have LGBTQ+ fans (who he also equates to "demon worshippers") in attendance for the World Cup. Well, that's one way to handle it.

Meanwhile, FIFA, soccer's international body which governs the World Cup, has been facing mounting criticism from both fans and players for choosing Qatar as the site of this year's Cup, in light of the country's stance towards the LGBTQ+ community, as well as its other numerous human rights violations. Heckuva job, Brownie.

 

And speaking of gay panic...

 

- The gay-hookup-gone-wrong scenario that wingnuts have been pushing vis-a-vis the Paul Pelosi Sr. attack (or rather, the attempted assassination of Speaker Nancy Pelosi), originated with a half-assed report from a SF-based Fox (who else?) "journalist" who has since retracted his story. The wingnut universe has not, however. My take is that the reporter knowingly put out this bullshit on purpose so that assorted MAGAts would disseminate it and then he'd retract it to cover his ass, after the damage was done.

 

- Overlooked in the wake of the Pelosi attack is the news that the DoJ has added David Raskin, an accomplished terrorism prosecutor, to the Mar-A-Lago stolen documents case against the Orange Turd. WaPo reports that experts on the matter believe the DoJ bringing on heavy hitters such as Raskin is a strong indication of the seriousness with which the DoJ is taking this case. (Espionage charges, maybe? Fingers crossed.)

 

- There are reports that defeated incumbent Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro had ordered that roads in districts heavily favoring his opponent, President-elect Lula da Silva, be closed on election day to make it harder for those folks to vote. Watch the MAGAts pull that bullshit here.

 

- This past weekend when the GOP's candidate for Pennsylvania governor (and confirmed bigot) Doug Mastriano was questioned by an Israeli reporter about his ties to anti-Semites as well as his dog whistles about his opponent, current PA AG Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, Mastriano's wife stepped in (it) and intercepted her husband with “I'm gonna say we probably love Israel more than a lot of Jews do.” Yup.

What she didn't clarify was that her "love" of Israel does not extend to Jews, and that's all part of an Evangelical fundamentalist End of Days prophecy in which all the Jews return to Israel and either convert to Christianity or are slain. To these people Israel only matters as a place to fulfill this prophecy; Jews not so much. So I guess the reporter got the answer he needed. And so did we.

 

- During the telecast of the first World Series with no African-Americans on the field since 1950, Fox Sports is airing what the LA Times called "openly racist" ads by "Citizens for Sanity", a group which includes the involvement of the spawn of Satan himself, Stephen Miller, among other former aides of the Orange Turd. Many baseball fans, Hispanic and not, were incensed over the ads in which immigrants are portrayed as “drug dealers, sex traffickers and violent predators”, and have lit up social media with their rabid complaints.

Listen, Fox Sports is supposedly a separate entity under the Murdoch umbrella, but this assholery does not surprise me one bit. That doesn't mean I wasn't pissed off when I saw the ads but, you know...

 

#USPolitics #Pelosi #Israel #Josh Shapiro #Brazil #Lula #WorldCup #Qatar #LGBTQ

The GOP is a Terrorist Organization [ex #648]

See, this is what I'm talking about:

 

A Danish documentary crew captured MAGAt sewer rat and pardoned criminal Roger Stone on camera, days before Election Day 2020, laying out plans for the election results and the "Stop the Steal" bullshit.

 

“Fuck the voting, let’s get right to the violence. Shoot to kill. See an ANTIFA? Shoot to kill.”

 

 “I really do suspect it’ll still be up in the air. When that happens, the key thing to do is to claim victory. Possession is nine tenths of the law...No, we won.”

 

Post January 6:

 

“I believe the President is for it. The obstacles are these lily livered, weak kneed, bureaucrats in the White House Counsel’s Office and now they must be crushed because they’ve told the President something that’s not true.”

 

Stone had been going on this tip for months, according to CNN:

 

"As far back as July 2020, Stone talked about challenging the upcoming presidential election in the courts. 'The election will not be normal,' he said. 'Sorry, we’re not accepting them', he said of the anticipated results. 'We’re challenging them in court'. 'If the electors show up at the Electoral College, armed guards will throw them out', he continued. 'I’m challenging all of it. And the judges we’re going to, are judges I appointed'.”

 

The media has found Stone's violent pronouncements "shocking".

 

Wait...what? "Shocking?"

 

The man is an operative in a TERRORIST ORGANIZATION (aka the GOP) and A CRIMINAL, why is it "shocking" that he would advocate for violence and electoral destabilization?

 

When will the media (and by extension the Dems) recognize these people as the terrorists they are and treat them accordingly?! What's it going to take?! Good fucking grief!!!