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23 Mar

Posted at 13:49h in Uncategorized

Censorship is a tough subject to talk about. Nobody likes being censored, but many people would like to censor speech that they don’t agree with or find offensive.

Never has this subject been more urgent in our country then after the prominence of social media. When Elon Musk responded to a particularly vile anti-Semitic tweet, saying “you speak the truth”, many people wanted that original tweet taken down. But who determines what is offensive? I certainly did find it disgusting, but a whole lot of right wing extremists had another view of it, and they too have the right to freedom of speech.

So where is the line? Or is there even a line? Who determines what needs to be censored, and who determines what the limits are to free speech?
Imagine if the MAGA movement wins the election (God forbid), do we then assume they are the majority, and therfore they determine the standards? That could mean that some of that movements slogans, like “Jews will not replace us”, are all of a sudden acceptale?

Even now, the house voted to ban TikTok, unless it is sold to an American company. That is some serious censorhip! Shouldn’t it be up to the users to decide if they want to give a Chinese owned company their personal details? After all, there is no law against being stupid.

Censorship is a difficult subject. A case can be made both for and against it. For me, as much as I dislike some of the vile stuff that appears on social media, I believe that censorship is so incredibly subjective that it cannot be properly justified.

Please feel free to leave your comments on our message board.

07 Mar

Posted at 07:15h in Uncategorized

I am so sick and tired of hearing everybody on TV talk about the threat to our democracy. Politicians, punters, commentators, all of them droning on about the threat that Donald Trump represents to our democracy.

While the threat to our freedom is very real, it is not a threat to our democracy because we do not have a democracy! Our system is that of a representative republic. We are based on an outdated constitution that is supposed to give us protection for the minority, but it is incredibly undemocratic. It gives us garbage like a Supreme Court with lifetime appointments, gerrymandering, 2 senators per state regardless of state population, and the extremely undemocratic Electoral College.

A true democracy is based on majority rule. It is the tyranny of the majority where the minority just loses out without recourse. We don’t want to strive for that. Even in the system of a representative democracy with a constitution, like most European countries, the majority still wins in all cases.
Our constitution is designed to overcome that problem, but it has a lot of problems. As long as we have a Electoral College we can in no way be characterized as a form of democracy.

In our current system we are subject to the tyranny of the minority, where gerrymandering allows politicians to select their voters instead of the other way around. Where the supreme court is corrupt, taking bribes and enriching themselves. Where a right wing fascist minority faction enforces religious views that restrict or eliminate the rights of the majority to even be in charge of their own body.

To those who keep whining about the threat to our “democracy” ……. Keep voting for Trump and his sycophants and you won’t have to worry about that. Whatever you consider to be “democratic” in our country today will all be gone. Elections will be Putin style. Racism will be rampant, opposition to government will be punishable by law, Muslim bans and persecution of Jews will be the norm, unions will be outlawed and only the ruling class will get rich. Vote the MAGA crowd into power and you can kiss the so called American Dream goodbye.

So instead of whining about getting court cases done before the election, focus on voting for people who can actually, eventually get us a system that at least somewhat resembles a democracy. A representative system can actually work if we fix the problems in our constitution.

Vote for people that are willing to change our electoral system. People that will change the constitution to have our Supreme Court be elected instead of appointed for life. People that will outlaw gerrymandering.

If the electorate in our country does not smarten up we will become Russia, and our quest to be an actual functioning “democracy” will become a footnote in history. The choice is ours.

01 Sep

Posted at 19:21h in Uncategorized

Photo by Adam Schultz

There is a new word creeping into our political dictionary promoted by the Democratic Party. That word is Bidenomics. It is supposed to represent all the various laws and presidential dictates that Biden and the Democrats have implemented in order to correct the economy. They are used to get inflation down, which has to some degree worked but has cost many people the ability to buy a home or get a loan, because the interest rates are ridiculously high.

President Biden loves to look into the camera and in a whispering voice say “it is working”. Is it really? Certainly, if you look at things like unemployment rate yes, that’s coming down very, very low and the inflation, which was at 9% is now at 3%, a great result.

If those things are your measure then certainly it is working, but should that be the measure? There are other measures that are much more important for the people in our country. When the price of eggs, milk, bread, and all other staples that people need are so ridiculously high…. is this Bidenomics really working?

If the people in California are paying $5.80 for a gallon of gasoline is that Bideomics really working? When even people with jobs that are considered to be good paying have to make choices between gasoline or medication or food or insurance or housing is the Bidenomics really working?

It is high time that president Biden and the Democrats wake up to the reality of life. You cannot say to the people that your system is working if this is the result of it. We don’t care that unemployment is low if we can’t afford housing. We don’t care that insurance costs have been capped for people who are on Medicare if we are not on the Medicare system. We don’t care that you say the inflation is down to 3% if we still pay a freaking fortune in the supermarket and we have to live on ramen noodles for a while.

If the Democrats keep up with their current policies then they are assured to make Donald Trump the next president of the United States. Democrats need to understand what real life is like. We don’t care how you measure whether the economy is good or bad. We care how our personal economy is doing. If Democrats don’t do anything soon to improve the economy of the people, and start talking about THAT economy, then they lose our vote.

Don’t tell us it is working when it is only working on paper and not in the real world.

28 Aug

Posted at 19:21h in Uncategorized

Image credit: Gage Skidmore

Does anybody really like Jim Jordan? It is hard to imagine. He is nothing more then a glory
hunter of average intelligence and no scruples or principles whatsoever, other than that he wants
to promote his own career. For him life decisions are only made for the greater glory of Jim
Jordan.

The big mistake he seems to be making is that he does not understand that this makes him
incredibly unpopular, if not straight out disgusting to large portion of this country. But he
only seems to care about his popularity with the former president. One man without any socially
redeeming qualities trying to curry favor with another.

John Boehner was right when he called Jim Jordan a political terrorist. Jim is often referred to as
Ted Cruz in the extreme. Given Ted’s weaselly, racist, homophobic, fascist, and spineless
character that comparison is quite a statement.

But Jim Jordan is much more dangerous than Ted Cruz. Jim is absolutely ruthless in spreading
his lies. He is sitting so deep up the backside of the former guy that he can’t get out. He firmly
believes that it is the best way to further his career to be the self appointed henchman for the
former guy. And for Jim Jordan all that matters is his career. He will stop at nothing.

Recently he took his judicial committee to New York. Ostensibly this was for the house
committee to investigate, and hear witnesses about, the crime level in New York which he stated
was ridiculous. Of course what he didn’t say is that the crime level in New York is considerably
lower than in his own state of Ohio. It was simply a political ploy to put pressure on Alvin
Bragg, the prosecutor who has indicted the former president.It was no more than a political stunt
paid for with tax money.

In his past there is a great example of his willingness to be the slimiest of all slimes.
When he was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University it was brought to his
attention by a number of students that the head coach was sexually abusing them in the showers
for years. And what did Jim do about it? He buried the story. He did absolutely nothing about it,
because he did not want to get involved with that which would hurt his political ambitions.
Jim Jordan is an example of what is the worst in humanity. This guy does not belong in our
politics, he belongs in Bellevue.

27 Aug

Posted at 19:21h in Uncategorized

Image credit: DonkeyHotey

Remember when the former guy referred to some countries as shithole countries? Although we don’t like the term, what defines a country as a shithole country? Is it corruption? Probably yes. Is it undemocratic government? Also, probably yes. Is it politicians with a fascist leaning suppressing people’s personal freedom? Absolutely yes.

Now let us see how we in the USA measure up to this. Let’s start with the first one, corruption. We have some of that here. Let’s look at Clarence Thomas. His wife was actively involved in organizing the January 6 insurrection. But Justice Clarence Thomas did not recuse himself from a related case that came before the Supreme Court, in spite of an obvious conflict of interest. That is corruption.

Then, for decades, Justice Thomas accepted lavish vacations on luxury yachts, private airplanes, and in luxury accommodations, from a billionaire with severe Nazi tendencies. He did not declare any of that either. Again, corruption.

Now we learn that the same right-wing billionaire bought a number of real estate properties from Clarence Thomas, which by law the Justice has to report, but didn’t. Surprise? No, systematic corruption.

Then there is the Republican lead House of Representatives where Jim Jordan is corruptly trying to breach the barrier between the judicial and the legislative branches by demanding that Alvin Bragg hands over all the evidence in the investigation into the former president’s corruption trial. Of course, the only reason he wants this information is that he can then give his guy a heads up about what evidence the opposition has. Corruption.

Want more examples of corruption? How about the former guy suing his former lawyer Michael Cohen for $500 million. This is pure witness intimidation. It’s a crime, and it’s corrupt. There are many more examples in the USA about corruption, but we will leave it at this, and move on to the next criteria for being a shithole country. We will note however that by far most of the corruption we see in this country comes from the GOP. That means that the voters have an easy fix.

Now, let’s talk about undemocratic and oppressive government. Main example right now is Ron DeSantis. The Disney corporation did not agree with Ron’s “don’t say gay” bill. As a result Ron tried to take away their lawfully established limited self governing rights. Fortunately, the Disney corporation thwarted that idea.

Next, Ron focused on book banning. Books about Rosa Parks? Shouldn’t be read by children at all according to Ron. Books about the true history of the USA? Students should not be exposed to that either. Ron is on a mission to totally whitewash (pun intended) our history.

LGBTQ+ events? Ban them! Transgender bathroom rights? No way! Transgender athletes? Also, no way. Taking in asylum seekers from Texas and then putting them on a plane and sending them unannounced to Martha’s Vineyard? Nothing is below Ron.

Oh, and to “fight crime” Ron now signed a law that allows concealed carry of a handgun without a permit in Florida. Yeah, that is really gonna reduce the number of murders isn’t it?

They don’t come any more corrupt and undemocratic than Clarence Thomas, Jim Jordan, other Republican house members, the former president, and Ron DeSantis. And how about suppressing people’s personal freedoms? That certainly must be a sign of a shithole country.

A number of states have not only made abortion effectively illegal, they have also created laws that make it illegal to assist women who need an abortion, not just by treating them, but even by driving them to the hospital. Or helping them get out of state. All for something as fundamental as women’s personal healthcare, and having control over their own bodies.

In many cases there is not even an exception for rape, incest, or for women at risk of losing their life. Teenagers are being dragged into court for trying to terminate a pregnancy that is the result of incest, or trying to get out of state treatment. Hundreds of women being forced to have a child by a rapist. All of these oppressive laws are created by Republican politicians in deep red states. Again, for the voters there is an easy fix.

We love this country, but we seem to be on our way to becoming a shithole country if corruption, fascist behavior, and oppressive government are all the trademarks.

The GOP of old is gone. That party is now ruled by exactly the kind of people that will turn this country into a shithole country.

It is time for some of those in the Republican Party, if they still exist, who have a spine, and a common sense of decency, to take back their party or start another one. In the absence of that it is up to us, the voters, to take care of this.

26 Aug

Posted at 19:21h in Uncategorized

Image by DonkeyHotey.

Lets have a TEDtalk; about Ted Cruz, that is.

Imagine you were told your wife was ugly. What would your reaction be towards the person who said it? Imagine you’re told. That your father was possibly involved in the murder of JFK. How would you react to the person who said this?

Initially Ted Cruz had the reaction you would expect. He was angry. He said the former game show host was not fit to be president and was a hypocrite, and called him all kind of horrible, but well deserved, nasty names.

But then the former game show host won the presidency, and all of a sudden Ted forgot all about the insults, and overnight became one of the most fervent disciples of the new president.

Why did he do that? Fear! Cowardly fear of becoming irrelevant in the senate because he didn’t support the MAGA guy. Ted showed he was suffering from the same disease that affects Lindsey Graham, called DSS, or dissolving spine syndrome. All of a sudden he became one of the biggest supporters of the game show host. He bent over and let the president do what he wanted to do.

We all remember what happened when a large part of the state of Texas lost electricity. We saw Ted running through the airport on the way to the gates to catch a plane to Mexico. The reason he had to run was that his spine was about to give up completely.

At a time when his constituents needed him most he did not have the will (or the spine) to stay and do what he was elected to do and help these people. Instead, he decided to flee and have a nice long weekend with the family on a sunny beach, while the people of his district were fighting to get food, heat and water.

SHAME on you Ted. You are a nasty, cowardly and spineless excuse for a human being. Don’t just take our word for this. Below are a few quotes from people on both sides of the political spectrum about how they view you. We looked long and hard to find complementary quotes but not surprisingly were unable to do so.

1. “If you killed him on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you,” (Lindsey Graham)

2. “I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.” (John Boehner)

3. “I hate Ted and I think I’ll take cyanide if he ever got the nomination.” (Peter King)

4. “I would rather have anybody else be the president of the United States. Anyone. I would rather pick somebody from the phone book.” (Craig Mazin, former roommate at Princeton University;now a Hollywood screenwriter)

5. “He’s a nasty guy. Nobody likes him. Nobody in Congress likes him. Nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him.”
(The former gameshow host)

6. “Just look at Ted’s face: it’s got career scum politician, aka liar, written all over it.” (Ann Coulter)

7. “You know, it’s always the wacko birds that get the media megaphone,” (John McCain)

8. “Ted is an army of one, alienating anybody who is in his path. He advocates losing strategies purely to further his own career at the expense of the party.” (John Feehery, former Republican congressional aide)

9. Ted Cruz, go fuck yourself. (John Boehner in his audio book “On The House”)

10. “I mean, think about what a yutz this guy is! I don’t care what your political view is: If a guy said that my wife was ugly and my father killed Kennedy, there is no way in the world you could have me come out and say, ‘I’ll defend you in front of the supreme court.” (George Clooney)

26 Aug

Posted at 19:21h in Uncategorized

Image credit: Master Steve Rapport.

This week saw mass shooting number 145 in just the first three months and a bit of this year. This one in Kentucky. The shooting took place in a bank, the shooter’s workplace. This idiot killed five of his colleagues. Fortunately, he was killed by the police, but not before he shot a policeman in the head.

The shooter used an AR15, a ridiculous gun to be used on our streets. But even more ridiculous, the state of Kentucky has a law that requires this gun to be turned back to the police, who will then have to auction it off, so that this military grade idiotic weapon goes back into circulation!

Of course the politicians, both nationally and local, were quick to offer what they called “Thoughts and Prayers”. They were not talking about doing anything about guns, they were saying “we are thinking of you, we have sympathy for the victims and their family and friends”. That must be such a comfort for them! Quick, somebody please give me a large bucket to puke in!!!

Of course we hear a few politicians say “we have to do something”. But they never do. The NRA is too powerful and they are too slimy to even risk not being re-elected by a few idiot constituents

Shootings in schools, in supermarkets, in churches, at workplaces, at parades, in theaters. It is absolutely disgraceful that none of these politicians think it’s worth doing something about guns on our streets.

What do they think that their prayers will fix? Remember the demonstrations during the Vietnam War where one of the slogans was “God is dead or God is deaf”? For God to be allowing this kind of massacre is absolutely unthinkable, so your prayers are falling on his deaf ears. But you know this. You just don’t care.

If God exists, and somehow has not gone deaf, he (or she) will want you to fix this shit. So don’t give us your phony prayers thinking that will fix everything. It won’t.

It is up to good people to fix this, and those of you that don’t do anything about this, but have the ability and the power to do it, you are not good people

SHAME ON THE POLITICIANS ONLY OFFERING THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS!

23 Aug

Posted at 19:21h in Uncategorized

DeSantis

What does that spell?

Who talks a big game about freedom, but then tells the people of his state what they can and cannot read?

Who talks a big game about freedom, but then tries to limit voting rights for certain groups of people?

Who talks a big game about freedom, but then dictates what children can and can not learn in school?

Who talks a big game about freedom, but then restricts the human rights of LGBTQ+ people in his state?

Who talks a big game about freedom, but then restricts women’s rights over their own bodies?

Who? He is accurately described below.

Dictator. He will ruin the country.
Extremist race baiting fascist.
Shameless homophobe.
Anti immigrant hypocrite.
Napoleon complex sufferer.
Tirant and traitor to democracy.
Immaculate deception.
Slippery snake oil salesman.

Shame on all those voting for him.

15 Aug

Posted at 19:21h in Uncategorized

Photo by Marcia Fudge

There is a word that snuck into our language a few years ago, especially in the political language. That word is Woke. It is defined as alert to, and concerned about, injustice and discrimination. Now, that is of course not a bad thing. It’s good. Everybody should be concerned about injustice and discrimination, but people like Ron DiSantis, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz and others on the extreme, mostly Republican, right have taken it into a racist, homophobic, and bigoted direction.

DiSantis has gone as far as banning books in schools, even banning an AP course that teaches our American history, and introducing a “don’t say gay” bill. All under the guise of calling it a war on Woke.

Books by black authors? Banned. It would make the kids uncomfortable to learn about America’s shameful history of slavery and segregation. Learning that would be woke. Better to have the kids grow up and become racist themselves not having learned from history.

Books by gay authors? Banned. Those books are woke. It would make our straight and white kids uncomfortable to learn that many people are born gay. They love people of their own sex. It is not a learned behavior. Better to have our kids grow up not understanding this, so that they can start shooting up gay clubs when they are older.

Books by transgender authors? Banned. Can you imagine our kids learning about transgender people? Learning that sometimes people are born in a body of the wrong sex? That is way too woke. Better not to teach our kids about that, so they can grow up hating people that are different from them.

Are you Muslim, or Jewish, agnostic or atheist? Then, according to the War on Woke idiots, you are respectively a terrorist, an untrustworthy agent of the “Deep State”, or a hedonistic monster.

Either way they want you out of their world. DiSantis and his merry band of racist, homophobic and bigoted morons are calling their revolting views “common decency”. Hiding behind what they call their Christian values. What an insult to all Christians of the world! They want to go back to “the good old days”. The days where white people ruled. The days where black people were just cheap labor. The days where gay and transgender people were just freaks. If this guy were actually to realize his dream of becoming president we are all screwed.

We could be going back to being a country where gay bashing is acceptable. Where being black, or Muslim, or Jewish, makes one less than human. That is what the right would call victory over woke.

Shame on DiSantis and his racist, homophobic and bigoted disciples!

06 Aug

Posted at 19:21h in Uncategorized

Photo by Gage Skidmore

No, that is not a typo in this header. We are talking here about the star of the Fox News. I just don’t know what to call this guy! I don’t object to calling decent people by their first name, but this guy does not fall under the classification “decent”, so I will leave it up to the reader what letter theywant to replace that asterisk with.

Why do I have so much trouble speaking (or writing) *UCKER’s name? It’s easy to explain:
First, *UCKER’s hobbyhorse that he calls “Replacement Theory”. He seems to say that immigrants eventually will become mostly democratic voters and as a result ‘people like him’ will be outvoted (replaced).

Well, if it means that racist, xenophobic, homophobic white supremacists like *UCKER and his equally shortsighted, bigoted redneck followers will be replaced with decent multicultural, compassionate, hard-working people, then I am okay with that!

*UCKER calls himself a patriot, but then espouses the governmental system of Hungary, which is ruled by a dictator with a strong antipathy towards democracy. *UCKER knows that controversial statements and provocative stances like that will garner him a large, gullible audience, and thus advertiser money; and that is the kind of power and influence that every little man with a Napoleon Syndrome craves.

In May 2022 *UCKER alleged there is a connection between the Uvalde school shooting, the Buffalo supermarket shooting, and the previously in place COVID shut downs. See here, it must all be the Democrats’ fault. Nothing to do with a lack of gun controls. After all, the NRA tells him that, so it must be true.

Shame on you *UCKER, for being an un-American promoter of conspiracies and for being blatantly racist.