They only have hammers

I had a talk with someone I know the other day, and she spoke in favor of the deployment of the National Guard in DC. She's qualified to have an opinion because she lives and works in DC and is often harassed by homeless people in the street. She thinks that the deployment of troops, and we can, as of today, add West Virginia National Guards into the mix, will help against crime. It seems like common sense.

Here's why she's wrong.

You wouldn't hire a plumber to rewire your fuse box.

You wouldn't hire a barber to remove your appendix.

You wouldn't hire an unqualified anti-vaxxer to be your head of Health and Human Services (unless you're an addled moron controlled by fascists).

It should be obvious why you wouldn't do those things - training and expertise. Unfortunately, people often conflate police and the military because they tend to be big, strong men and women trained to shoot people.

But here's the thing. Police receive training in community engagement. They operate in civilian populations every day. Plus, they receive training in the laws and regulations of their community, their state, and the nation. (Putting aside the fact that many, many police in America are terrible, violent, and a blight on their communities).

Soldiers are NOT trained in any of that.

There may be a big, strong National Guardsman on your street corner, but you can't trust that he'll be an effective crime deterrent or law enforcer, because that's not what he's trained to do. He's more likely to stand there ineffectually or cause problems himself. Given that trained police often don't understand civil rights or due process, why would you expect soldiers to?

The bottom line is that soldiers are not trained law enforcement officers and expecting them to be is unfair to them, and unfair to the citizenry that are obviously expected to obey them. (Ask the Iraqis how that worked out.)

As Commander William Adama said: 

"There's a reason we separate military and the police: one fights the enemy of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people."

It is illegal to deploy American troops on American soil for that very reason. And this invasion of our own troops is going to quickly expand to other cities, also not guilty of the hellscape designation that MAGA have given them. These troops are not there to fight crime. They are there to quell dissent, attack and arrest protest and resistance, and end American democracy in favor of a king. A really petty, stupid, king.

Don't support this.

Fascism. It's the new black!

What are right-wing (Republican) fascists up to this week? Let's find out!

Donald Trump’s former national security adviser and felon Michael Flynn called for a single religion in America.

“If we are going to have one nation under God — which we must — we have to have one religion,” Flynn said in San Antonio at a stop for the far-right “ReAwaken America” tour. “One nation under God, and one religion under God.”

Not sure how that would work, what with the Constitution, and the fact that there are currently several thousand different religions practiced in the U.S. Hmm. I wonder which religion Flynn would pick as the One American Religion? Ha! Just kidding! We all know it would be Christo-fascism, silly! Certainly not Judaism, that's for sure! Of course, it goes without saying that those of "No Religion"  like me would be forced to worship Republican Jesus. 

Next up, an oldie but a goodie!

Courtland representative Rabih Abuismail and Livingston representative Kirk Twigg both championed burning the books that have been removed. “I think we should throw those books in a fire,” Abuismail said. Meanwhile, Twigg said he wanted to “see the books before we burn them so we can identify within our community that we are eradicating this bad stuff.”

... 

The calls for book burning in Virginia follow the election of Glenn Youngkin, who said during his gubernatorial campaign that he would ban critical race theory on his first day in office, and ran an ad featuring a local mother who tried to get Beloved, the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Toni Morrison, removed from her son’s A.P. English curriculum. The mother claimed the book contained “some of the most explicit material you can imagine,” which is entirely true, given that it’s about the horrors of slavery, which many conservative parents would prefer their children not really learn about.

Yep! It's book burning! Because nothing says "Nazi" like burning books that portray people you hate as actual people. So, let's cancel those books the permanent way, not like Aaron Rodgers is being cancelled, that is to say, not at all. I look forward to these morons throwing their Kindles onto a bonfire. Oh, who am I kidding? They probably can't even read, why would they have a Kindle?

And with calls for book burning and one state religion, I think that's enough American fascism for today.

Hamilton

 

In 2015, my daughter, Rachel, was lucky enough to get tickets to see previews of a soon-to-open Broadway show, Hamilton. She raved about it, but Carol and I never got a chance to make the trip to see it before it went into eternal sold-out status. We couldn't even get tickets to see the touring company when it came to D.C.

Getty Images

Thanks to Disney+ (and, let's face it, quarantining during COVID-19, which prompted Disney to release it), we recently watched the beautifully filmed performance of the original cast production. If you're interested in seeing the show, it's definitely worth it to get Disney+ for a month.

Everything about the show was amazing. The cast, the concept, the music, the dancing, the stage production. Hamilton is brilliant, accessible, vibrant, and thought-provoking. I've seen a few Broadway shows and a lot of community theater, both pro and amateur, and Hamilton was easily the best show I've ever seen - absolutely deserving of all the praise. 

One thing left me sad. And I don't like bringing Trump into this, but our current political situation affects everything. What left me sad was the understanding that this type of great art doesn't flourish under repressive regimes. Hamilton illuminates history and America in ways that authoritarians view as subversive and dangerous. If we get another four years of Trump, the administration will continue to attack anything they view as insufficiently loyal to the Trump Regime. In fact, they'll most likely accelerate their attacks. Things will get a lot worse.

You can't create great public art in an environment of oppression, diminishing rights, violence, hatred and anti-intellectualism. People will continue to create subversive art, but it will be pushed underground as it becomes more and more dangerous to express oneself. Mainstream art will become subservient to the political will of the authoritarian regime. There's a reason the Nazis didn't produce great art.

You may think that it can't happen here, but it's happening right now. 

We have one chance to stop it -- by voting these bastards out and doing whatever we can to stop Republicans from stealing the election. And we damn better well do it, because I want to see more great shows like Hamilton.

COVID-19 Binge Recommendation

If you're looking for something entertaining to binge during social distancing, I heartily recommend the best sitcom of the past ten years, Community, which is now happily available on Netflix.

Watch the first three seasons, they're golden. Season four, the so-called "gas leak year" is less good because Sony stupidly pushed out series creator Dan Harmon (Rick & Morty) and the show started losing some of the cast. Harmon returned during a re-invigorated season five, and after NBC cancelled the show, the sixth season was produced by Yahoo TV.

Whatever the weakness of its latter seasons, seasons one through three are among the best seasons of any sitcom in history. Smart, funny, clever, well-acted, genre-bending, surprisingly warm and good-hearted, and a joy.

Cool, cool, cool.

It's lies all the way down

A somewhat mawkish tradition is for Presidents giving the State of the Union to bring out someone to "recognize", either an average citizen who did something amazing, or someone to represent a particular policy need. This year, Trump brought out Philadelphia fourth grader Janiyah Davis. Trump said that Janiyah was trapped in a "failing government school" and he was awarding her a scholarship to transfer to a good school.

Before we get to the main point here, let's reflect on the President of the United States, the person RESPONSIBLE for government schools, not working to stop "failing government schools" but mocking the concept of government schools. Also, the worst Secretary of Education ever, Betsy Devos, was there cheering on the "failed government school" line. Isn't making government schools successful the entire point of her job?

Anyway, aside from that, the story of Janiyah was supposed to show Trump's magnanimity, right? Only problem? It was all a lie.

As the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, Janiyah attends Math, Science and Technology Community Charter School III, one of Philadelphia’s most sought-after schools. It’s a charter school, but paid for by public funds, so Janiyah and the 900 other students don’t pay tuition.

Janiyah moved to the school last year after previously attending a Christian school that did have a tuition. Based on a statement from the principal at Janiyah’s former school, it seems that someone called up the Christian school and asked about students who might need a scholarship. That principal apparently gave the White House Janiyah’s name. After this, Janiyah’s mother got a call inviting them to appear in the gallery during the SOTU.

But what the White House failed to do was to check on where Janiyah Davis was going to school, or if she needed a scholarship. They also didn’t bother to tell her mother why she and Janiyah were being invited to appear, or warn them that Trump was going to turn the camera their way during his speech.

Let's recap. Janiyah doesn't go to a government school. She doesn't pay tuition, and so doesn't need a scholarship. And, after incompetently failing to confirm that she fit their narrative, the f'ing White House didn't even tell her or her mother why she was at the State of the Union. They literally used her as a prop to make Trump look good.

Now if this outrages you, the following tweets by Republican ex-Presidential candidate and former Tea Party'er Joe Walsh should chill your bones.

I spoke in front of 3,000 Iowa Republicans last night. It was like a MAGA rally. I told them we needed a President who doesn’t lie all the time. The crowd booed me. I told them we needed a President who wasn’t indecent & cruel. The crowd booed me. 1/

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) February 4, 2020

Afterwards, I realized again that my Republican Party isn’t a Party, it’s a cult. I realized again that nobody can beat Trump in a Republican Primary. And most importantly and most sadly, I realized again that I don’t belong in this party. I have no home in this party. 6/

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) February 4, 2020

The Republican Party is a cult. Said by a terrible conservative who belatedly realizes what he has helped to unleash on America.

In a follow up editorial, Walsh elaborated on his experience.

I was already sensing this, but I was slapped hard in the face this past week at the Iowa caucuses: Last Thursday, the president came to Des Moines for one of his narcissistic rallies. I was in Des Moines, too, so I tried to talk to some folks outside the event before they went in — makes sense, right? Here’s a captive audience of Republican voters. But it turned out to be one of the most frustrating (and frankly, sad) experiences I can recall. I asked dozens of people a very simple, straightforward question: “Has President Trump ever told a lie to the American people?” And every single person said, “No.” Never mind that thousands of his misstatements have been meticulously documented. No, they said, he’s never lied.

HE'S NEVER LIED.

Be very afraid if we don't take back the Senate and the White House this fall.

Home town stupid

This week, Trump and Pence held a political rally in my hometown, Elkhart, Indiana.

Elkhart, a manufacturing center for the recreational vehicle industry, was hit hard by the great recession. President Obama made Elkhart an example of how his policies could help the economic recovery. He visited the town four times during his administration and steered stimulus money directly to Elkhart. Did it work?

That's the unemployment rate in Elkhart. It hit a high of 20% at the height of the recession and during the Obama years steadily fell to less than 3% at the end of the Obama Administration.

Thanks, Obama.

Elkhart was also lifted out of the recession by a large wave of Mexican immigrants who came to town because of the manufacturing capacity. These immigrants became part of the community and brought millions of dollars with them.

And yet, most of the population supports President Trump, who has attacked the very immigrants who helped Elkhart and is sabotaging the healthcare on which many residents depend. Republicans' only legislative achievement, the tax cut for the rich, won't help Elkhart one bit. Trump also pushes policies that hurt working men and women and will start reversing those unemployment numbers.

The ingratitude is galling to me and the lack of perspective frustrating. Democratic policies helped the town recover and they've turned their backs to support a guy who doesn't give a damn about them and is actively attacking their neighbors.

Then there's this.

Yes, I remember how Republicans separated the President's personal life and his job during Democratic administrations. They completely ignored Clinton's consensual affair with a non-porn star. They did such a good job they even ignored fictional issues with the President's personal life, like, say, whether or not he was born in the United States.

The hypocrisy is stunning, but not surprising.

Is this a country to be proud of?

Every week of the Trump Administration is an exhausting exercise in discovering what horrible and inhumane thing he's doing now. He's encouraging war with North Korea -- he's defending Nazis -- he's banning transgender people from the military -- he's dismantling the government.

Today, he may have outdone himself with his, I mean, Jeff Sessions', announcement that Trump has "decided" to end the DACA, i.e. throw children and young adults out of the U.S.

If Congress doesn't act, this means that up to 800,000 young Americans (Dreamers) will be deported to countries they may not remember and where they don't even speak the language. Now, I call them Americans because in pretty much every way, they ARE Americans. They were brought here as children by their parents and grew up here. They love America and uphold its values and its promise every single day. If they're now adults, they have jobs, they pay taxes, they go to college and they serve in the military. They are among our very best. And THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG.

Throwing these people out of the country is not just repugnant, morally unjustifiable and a crime against humanity, but, for all you selfish pricks out there, it will also seriously hurt our economy. You can't throw that many people out without having a large economic impact. We'll lose not only these kids' taxes, but their spending, their contributions to productivity, and their entrepreneurship. (But, of course, that's just a reason for selfish assholes to want them to stay.)

THIS IS A TRAGEDY AND A CRIME. IT'S UN-AMERICAN.

Let's take a look at what Trump has said previously about the Dreamers.

From December, 2016:

President-elect Donald Trump says he is "going to work something out" for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

Trump said in a Time "Person of the Year" interview published Wednesday that he will do something that will "make people happy and proud."

"They got brought here at a very young age, they’ve worked here, they’ve gone to school here. Some were good students. Some have wonderful jobs. And they’re in never-never land because they don’t know what’s going to happen.”  Link

Ah, yes, I'm brimming with happiness and pride at the awesome thing he has "worked out." I guess now they know what's going to happen.

From February, 2017:

“We are gonna deal with DACA with heart,” Trump pledged at a news conference Thursday, referring to former President Barack Obama’s deferred action program for so-called Dreamers. “I have to deal with a lot of politicians — don’t forget — and I have to convince them that what I’m saying is right. And I appreciate your understanding on that.”

Trump stressed that DACA is “very, very difficult” but maintained that, as a father and grandfather, he loves children.

“To me, it’s one of the most difficult subjects I have because you have these incredible kids — in many cases, not in all cases,” he said. “In some of the cases, they’re having DACA and they’re gang members and they’re drug members, too. But you have some absolutely incredible kids — I would say mostly — they were brought in here in such a way. It’s a very, very tough subject.”  Link

I guess he was wrong. They're apparently ALL drug dealers and gang members. You know, "bad hombres". But at least he loves children! Oh, he probably just meant his own children and grandchildren. Oh, wait. I doubt he loves them a whole lot either.

So Trump's actions today completely contradict what he said before. In other words, Trump is lying. Of course he is, it's Tuesday.

Here's what a real, compassionate, smart, literate, human being thinks about this. (Hint: It's President Obama).

Immigration can be a controversial topic. We all want safe, secure borders and a dynamic economy, and people of goodwill can have legitimate disagreements about how to fix our immigration system so that everybody plays by the rules.

But that’s not what the action that the White House took today is about. This is about young people who grew up in America – kids who study in our schools, young adults who are starting careers, patriots who pledge allegiance to our flag. These Dreamers are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper. They were brought to this country by their parents, sometimes even as infants. They may not know a country besides ours. They may not even know a language besides English. They often have no idea they’re undocumented until they apply for a job, or college, or a driver’s license.

Over the years, politicians of both parties have worked together to write legislation that would have told these young people – our young people – that if your parents brought you here as a child, if you’ve been here a certain number of years, and if you’re willing to go to college or serve in our military, then you’ll get a chance to stay and earn your citizenship. And for years while I was President, I asked Congress to send me such a bill.
That bill never came. And because it made no sense to expel talented, driven, patriotic young people from the only country they know solely because of the actions of their parents, my administration acted to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people, so that they could continue to contribute to our communities and our country. We did so based on the well-established legal principle of prosecutorial discretion, deployed by Democratic and Republican presidents alike, because our immigration enforcement agencies have limited resources, and it makes sense to focus those resources on those who come illegally to this country to do us harm. Deportations of criminals went up. Some 800,000 young people stepped forward, met rigorous requirements, and went through background checks. And America grew stronger as a result.

But today, that shadow has been cast over some of our best and brightest young people once again. To target these young people is wrong – because they have done nothing wrong. It is self-defeating – because they want to start new businesses, staff our labs, serve in our military, and otherwise contribute to the country we love. And it is cruel. What if our kid’s science teacher, or our friendly neighbor turns out to be a Dreamer? Where are we supposed to send her? To a country she doesn’t know or remember, with a language she may not even speak?

Let’s be clear: the action taken today isn’t required legally. It’s a political decision, and a moral question. Whatever concerns or complaints Americans may have about immigration in general, we shouldn’t threaten the future of this group of young people who are here through no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking away anything from the rest of us. They are that pitcher on our kid’s softball team, that first responder who helps out his community after a disaster, that cadet in ROTC who wants nothing more than to wear the uniform of the country that gave him a chance. Kicking them out won’t lower the unemployment rate, or lighten anyone’s taxes, or raise anybody’s wages.

It is precisely because this action is contrary to our spirit, and to common sense, that business leaders, faith leaders, economists, and Americans of all political stripes called on the administration not to do what it did today. And now that the White House has shifted its responsibility for these young people to Congress, it’s up to Members of Congress to protect these young people and our future. I’m heartened by those who’ve suggested that they should. And I join my voice with the majority of Americans who hope they step up and do it with a sense of moral urgency that matches the urgency these young people feel.

Ultimately, this is about basic decency. This is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated. It’s about who we are as a people – and who we want to be.

What makes us American is not a question of what we look like, or where our names come from, or the way we pray. What makes us American is our fidelity to a set of ideals – that all of us are created equal; that all of us deserve the chance to make of our lives what we will; that all of us share an obligation to stand up, speak out, and secure our most cherished values for the next generation. That’s how America has traveled this far. That’s how, if we keep at it, we will ultimately reach that more perfect union.

Praise from Useless Idiots

This is absolutely pathetic. And nauseating.

At Trump's first meeting with his full Cabinet today, instead of getting down to business, he had each of them go around the table and PRAISE HIM on live television.  (As you read below, imagine if President Obama had done the same thing and what the Republican reaction would have been.)

Here are a few of the comments made by these leaders of men, these towers of intellect and integrity, these thoughtful public servants, knowledgeable and aware of the state of the country and the world.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (referring to his delayed Senate confirmation)

"First of all, I apologize for being late to work. I got bogged down in that swamp that you've been trying to drain."

Energy Secretary Rick Perry

"America is not stepping back, but we're stepping into place and sending some messages, that we're still going to be leaders in the world when it comes to the climate, but we're not going to be held hostage to some executive order that was ill thought out. And so, my hat's off to you for taking that stance and presenting a clear message around the world that America's going to continue to lead in the area of energy."

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley

"It's a new day at the United Nations. You know, we now have a very strong voice. People know what the United States is for, they know what we're against, and they see us leading across the board. And so, I think the international community knows we're back."

Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney

"Thanks for the kind words about the budget. You're absolutely right: We are going to be able to take care of the people who really need it. And at the same time, with your direction, we were able to also focus on the forgotten man and woman who are the folks who are paying those taxes."

Vice President Mike Pence

"It is just the greatest privilege of my life is to serve as the -- as vice president to the President who's keeping his word to the American people and assembling a team that's bringing real change, real prosperity, real strength back to our nation."

Let's see. Over 140 days in office. No legislative accomplishments. The courts striking down his ill-conceived illegal executive orders. Multiple members of his team, including his Attorney General and his son-in-law, under investigation for ties to Russia. Our alliances teetering on collapse because of Trump's boorish behavior and his inability to not spill intelligence secrets. His White House in collapse with many people already fired or quit. His former FBI Director testifying that the President obstructed justice. The only thing he actually got done was naming a new Supreme Court Justice but Senate Republicans were set to confirm even a dog Trump named so long as that dog was anti-abortion. (And even then the Republicans had to CHANGE THE RULES OF THE SENATE to get it done.)

So either these awesome folk are COMPLETELY UNAWARE OF THE SHITSHOW that has been the Trump Administration so far, or they are just sycophantic enablers of our delusional, narcissistic Commander in Thief, hoping that by praising him publicly he won't throw them under the bus when given the chance.

That chance is coming soon and this sickening display of North Korean style brown-nosing will not save them. Or us.

Americans are stupid and doomed

What? Voting for the party that's doing everything they can to hurt me is a bad thing?

People in poverty-stricken Clay County [Kentucky] worry about what will happen to their health care if Gov. Matt Bevin's and President-elect Trump's ambitions to overhaul Medicaid proceed.

In Clay County, 60 percent of residents are covered by Medicaid. They voted for Republican Matt Bevin 71-27, and for Donald Trump 86-11. Neither Bevin, nor Trump, made their opposition to Obamacare secret.

So how does that happen? Because of shit like this:

"If anything changed with our insurance to make it more expensive for us, that would be a big problem," [Lisa] Botner, a community college student, said Friday at the Owsley County Public Library, where she works. "Just with the blood tests, you're talking maybe $1,000 a year without insurance."

But then ol’ Lisa Botner voted GOP.

"I'm just a die-hard Republican," she said.  Link

::Pounds head repeatedly::

Ya know, I really wish I could laugh at people like this. They're so tribal, so ingrained in their ways that they can't see which party champions policies that would actually make their life better. A higher minimum wage, affordable healthcare, tuition free college, all Democratic positions that would make a huge difference in these communities.  But they're actively voting for people who will make their lives more difficult. Because they've always voted for the person with an (R) after their name and they've bought into decades of propaganda from FOX News, talk radio and the Republican party and aren't smart or curious enough to learn the truth.

I really wish I could laugh and tell them, "TS. You voted for these monsters, so you deserve what you get." But unfortunately, they're taking millions of other Americans down with them.

Morons.

Reasons to vote for Hillary

I've made a lot of posts about why I think Donald Trump is not only unprepared to be President of the United States, but absolutely unfit for the office and just a terrible, vindictive, cruel, ignorant, selfish, and assholish person. I've also posted why I think Gary Johnson is a bad choice for progressives who want to "send a message" and not vote for Hillary Clinton.

But if you're looking for some positive reasons to vote FOR Hillary, here you go.  (This is obviously a partial list).  See the links below to two articles.

• She worked with Ted Kennedy to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program.
• Directed the State Department to “champion a comprehensive human rights agenda” that included protection of LGBT human rights.
• Made the promotion of equality for gay people a core value of U.S. foreign policy.
• Declared that “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights” to the international community.
• While a member of the U.S. Senate, Hillary sponsored 713 pieces of legislation.
• As one of her first acts in office as Secretary of State, created equal benefits to domestic partners working for the State Department.
• Launched the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, which has 37 countries working to reduce methane emissions.
• Senator Clinton was an original co-sponsor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
• Worked to increase the military survivor benefit from $12,000 to $100,000, and cosponsored the Support for Injured Service Members Act to extend benefits provided under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
• Fought to secure funds for medical assessment, referrals and outreach for 9/11 first responders and volunteers.
• Became the most-traveled Secretary of State in history, 112 countries and 956,733 miles -- enough to span the globe more than 38 times.
• ​Co-Sponsored the PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT
• Initiated the creation of the Adoption and Safe Families Act, protecting abused children and encouraging the adoption of children with special needs.
• As first lady of Arkansas, she instituted cutting-edge early childhood education programs;
• As U.S. first lady, she worked with Congress and succeeded in passing a historic childhood health insurance program;​

Just what has Hillary done?

I am incredibly enthusiastic about voting for Hillary Clinton. Here's why.

If you're a fan of Bernie Sanders, then Hillary Clinton is the obvious choice. Don't throw your vote away on a pointless protest vote for a terrible, right-wing candidate or the anti-science left wing nut.  Hillary is a progressive with a long record of helping Americans, especially children. She is smart, caring and will lead America with a conscience.

The Walking Dead have walked too far

The Walking Dead season finale is on tonight, with the survivors meeting their arch-nemesis, Negan, for the first time. After 6 seasons of our heroes encountering zombies, cannibal humans, and other violent survivors, I'm not really looking forward to it.

I've watched The Walking Dead since the beginning and have really enjoyed the depth to which the show has examined a zombie apocalypse. They do a great job of developing interesting characters and showing the dehumanizing effects that living in such a world would have. The characters have ups and downs in morale, meet new friends and often enemies, lose people constantly, and even sometimes manage to find stable homes for months at a time. But inevitably, some outside force (zombies, other humans) manages to drive them out onto the even more dangerous road. The show is intensely nihilistic, as there is no happily ever after possible for these characters. The show's creators and showrunners have said as much.

Last season, the heroes of the show arrived in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside of DC. You wouldn't know it since they still film the series in Georgia and the setting looks nothing like any of the modern cities around DC. (In fact, pretending they're in Alexandria is kind of laughable at this point.) By now, the characters have had a home in a fenced in community for several months, although still in daily danger.

For the last several episodes, they've come into contact with small groups of other survivors who are led by a man named Negan. Their encounters with these groups have been uniformly deadly for Negan's people, up to an episode where the heroes of the show preemptively attacked a building filled with Negan's people. They went into the building at night and killed all of Negan's folk without a single casualty on their side. The show tried to make it very clear that the people they were murdering in their sleep were bad, evil people. Okay. But they killed them in their sleep.

In The Dark Knight, Harvey Dent says of the Batman, "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

The Walking Dead has reached that point. The good guys have become the villains.

I'm not sure I want to watch that any more.

More proof that (1) relentless propaganda works and (2) Kentuckians are idiots

BOONEVILLE — The 66 percent of Owsley County that gets health coverage through Medicaid now must reconcile itself with the 70 percent that voted for Republican Governor-elect Matt Bevin, who pledged to cut the state's Medicaid program and close the state-run Kynect health insurance exchange.

Lisa Botner, 36, belongs to both camps. A Kynector — a state agent representing Kynect in the field — recently helped Botner sign up for a Wellcare Medicaid card for herself and her 7-year-old son. Without that, Botner said, she couldn't afford the regular doctor's visits and blood tests needed to keep her hyperthyroidism in check.

"If anything changed with our insurance to make it more expensive for us, that would be a big problem," Botner, a community college student, said Friday at the Owsley County Public Library, where she works. "Just with the blood tests, you're talking maybe $1,000 a year without insurance."

Yet two weeks earlier, despite his much-discussed plans to repeal Kynect and toughen eligibility requirements for Medicaid, she voted for Bevin.

"I'm just a die-hard Republican," she said.  Link

The face of hatred

Look closely.

This woman is NOT a hero.

She is NOT a selfless martyr going to jail to honor her faith.

She is NOT being persecuted for being a Christian.

She is NOT taking a moral stand against injustice.

She does NOT speak for any god.

She is a bigot.

She is a public employee, paid by taxpayer dollars, who is refusing to serve the very people who pay her salary.

She is violating the Constitution of the United States and the civil authority of the courts.

She is a grifter, who is looking towards a bright financial future of being crowd-sourced by other religious bigots. (Just ask the pizza parlor owners who made nearly a million dollars for refusing to serve gays.)

She is an agent of injustice, the face of hatred, ignorance personified.

I have no doubt that she believes she is a holy saint for defying a law she personally doesn't agree with and if she wasn't a county clerk, there wouldn't be an issue.

I have no doubt that conservatives will continue to rally behind her because she is in jail for hurting gays in her community. They like that kind of thing.

Isn't it funny how the "law and order" party so often support those who break the law like this woman and Cliven Bundy?

Kim Davis is in jail, not for her beliefs, but because hurting gays is more important to her than being a kind human being.

Because that's what fanatical religious belief does to you.

Kim Davis deserves to be in jail right now. I have no hope she'll learn from the experience and become a better person.

Baltimore

I just have a couple of things to say about the riots in Baltimore after the funeral of Freddie Gray who died in police custody.

I was talking with some folk last night and some suggested that the police should have just started shooting the looters. Let's get some perspective, shall we? The looters weren't murdering people, they were stealing and damaging property, so executing them in the streets wouldn't have been an appropriate response. What's more, decades of police violence and intimidation helped to create the environment in which the riots erupted, so an escalated police response would have just made things worse. We'd have had riots around the country today.

Bob Cesca had the perfect response to the events.

It’s unfair that the memory of Freddie Gray, the latest victim of unfair police profiling and excessive force, is besmirched by looters and rioters who are effectively spitting on his grave by turning what ought to be peaceful protests into self-serving violence and theft — where personal outrage and greed supersede a far more noble cause. The fact is, the looters probably don’t care too much who was killed or by whom. They’re merely piggy-backing their personal greed and lack of morality onto an entirely unrelated event.

It’s unfair that more commentators don’t make a clear distinction between the original tragedy and the violent unrest.

...

It’s unfair to the broader African-American community, which still struggles with racism and racial discrimination, that a relative few looters reinforce the ugly stereotypes marketed by those who seek to separate rather than unite. The looters and assailants are no more representative of the African-American community than secessionist Bundy ranch hooligans are representative of whites.

It’s unfair that poverty, one of the root causes of racial animosity, isn’t viewed by more Americans as a national problem demanding national solutions, rather than a wedge to be marginalized, ridiculed and demagogued with racial scare-words and Southern Strategy dog-whistles.

And if you're one of those charming people who believe that people reacted with violence because of the color of their skin, then check out Cesca's article for a gallery of other recent riots, committed mostly by white people over far more trivial matters.  Here are a couple.

The top is Vancouver, the bottom Kentucky. Both riots occurring after sporting events.

Running a business in a civilized society

Apparently it's not obvious to some why Indiana's "religious freedom" law is a bad idea. I've seen posts on Facebook defending the law and, of course, every single Republican Presidential candidate is defending it. Some members of my family in Indiana think it's a good idea. After all, everyone is in favor of religious freedom, right?

Putting aside issues of morality and common decency, the reasons it's a bad law are very simple.

If you open a business to the public, you take advantage of American infrastructure. That is, your business relies on publicly constructed roads, a publicly built and funded water system and electrical grid. You rely on regulations and laws that protect your business and public schools to educate your workers. You rely on police and fire protection, as well as our court system. Without these institutions, your business wouldn't be possible.

All of these important things are paid for through taxes. Liberal, conservative, religious, non-religious, straight, gay, black, white, men, women, everyone pays taxes of some sort or another. Therefore, everyone has contributed to your ability to establish and run your business. The community, and everyone in it, has earned the right to patronize your business.

Therefore, we don't tolerate allowing businesses to close their doors to people because they don't like their gender, their sexuality, their religion or their color. It's an issue of fairness and the social contract. If you open your doors, you open them for all.

If you don't want to serve everyone, then don't open a business.

Indiana's law flouts that. The law would allow a business to refuse to serve anyone for any reason, and then claim religion as a defense. It's different than the federal law that conservatives keep citing as a defense. It straight up allows discrimination, and we can't have that and have a civil society.

That's all there is to it. It's not difficult.

State of Ipecac's World - March 2015

What's going on with Ipecac?

Things have been crazy busy recently. A couple of weeks ago our heat pump/air handler crapped out during the nasty cold spell. The HVAC guy got it kind of working through the worst days while we decided whether or not to invest in a completely new system. (At night, the temperature in the house was dipping down into the fifties.) Since we've been hemorrhaging money for electric bills to heat the house, we decided to get it over with. Installation was done earlier this week, so now we're finally back in the world of warmth. Our new system should reduce our electric bills considerably.

What's going on with Asshats?

In the meantime, 47 Republican Senators wanted to show just how much they hate the President by sending a letter to Iran in an attempt to scuttle a negotiated deal to keep Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. The letter said Iran shouldn't bother coming to an agreement with President Obama, because we'll just renege on it later. Let's quickly put that into perspective.

There are three (realistic) ways Iran won't develop a nuclear weapon.

One, they decide not to build one on their own. This is unlikely. Since the United States doesn't bomb or invade countries with nuclear bombs, see Iraq versus North Korea, for example, our usual militaristic foreign policy provides them with a perverse incentive to actually build a bomb. Once they have the bomb, the odds of the United States bombing or invading them drop significantly.

Two, Iran negotiates a settlement with the United States and other countries. This is what President Obama, as well as Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, are trying to do. If successful, war is avoided, Iran builds no bomb, and the sanctions on Iran are lifted. It might even help to bring a more moderate Iran into the international community. This is the best outcome.

Three, the United States, or Israel, and Iran go to war. This would be catastrophic for all involved and cost possibly hundreds of thousands of lives. It would also, once again, sow chaos in the Middle East and continue the cycle of violence for another twenty years.

The Republican Senators clearly want the third option. By engaging in an unprecedented act of sabotage against the President's foreign policy, they are actively working towards the third option. They hate President Obama so much, that they're willing to side with the hard-liners in Iran to hurt the President's peacemaking efforts.

Immoral, traitorous scumbags.

What's going on with the Jedi?

At the beginning of The Phantom Menace, the earliest Star Wars movie chronologically, we learn that the Jedi believe that their ancient enemy, the Sith have been extinct for 1,000 years. This means that for the most part, the Jedi have been facing non-Force-wielding beings in their peace enforcement duties. These beings would undoubtedly use modern weapons like blasters, missiles, and such. Given the advantage of the Force, it would be suicide for anyone to try and use lightsabers against the Jedi.

So why do the Jedi still use lightsabers? Against whom are such weapons useful?

Sure, lightsabers are useful in deflecting blaster fire, and useful for things like melting through walls, but they aren't useful against missiles or other high explosive ordinance. Plus, lightsabers are not range weapons and have no stun setting. You can't really subdue someone with a a lightsaber without lopping off one of their limbs.

So, maintaining a dueling tradition for 1,000 years when the only people you will need to swordfight are your fellow Jedi, doesn't make a lot of sense. In fact, when Darth Maul shows up and engages Qui Gon Jinn in a lightsaber fight, that should have been the first lightsaber duel Qui Gon ever fought.

Looking outside the story, we know why the Jedi use lightsabers. George Lucas wanted the Jedi to be like Samurai and even envisioned stormtroopers carrying lightsabers. In such a world, it would make sense for the Jedi to carry them. But as the story developed, only the Jedi and the Sith used the weapons, and with the Phantom Menace, we learned that there are only ever two Sith at one time. So why would the Jedi waste all that time and effort perfecting the use of a weapon of absolutely marginal utility?

Awesome, early Ralph McQuarrie concept art.

To conclude, it makes no sense that the Jedi use lightsabers.

Just something that occurred to me.

Five Seasons, No Movie

NBC has cancelled Community.

The fourth season, without creator Dan Harmon, was very rocky, but Harmon’s return gave us a very good, if not quite the same, fifth season. It will be the last. This is definitely not streets ahead. NBC Britta’d it, big time.

I consider Community to be the best sitcom of the past decade and one of the greatest of all time.

Farewell, Greendale Human Beings. You will be missed.

Noooooooooooooooo!!

Just heard the news about Stephen Colbert taking over for Letterman. Colbert's conservative pundit character will end with the Colbert Report.

This is a HUGE loss for those of us in the rational community. Damn. I am really, really unhappy.

Get to know me! TV Shows

I was watching part of a Gilligan’s Island episode the other night on TV Land and got to thinking about TV shows that made a big impact on my life or that I really, really loved. I haven’t seen many of these shows in years, and I may never see some of them again, but at some point, they were really important to me.

This isn’t a comprehensive list as I’m pretty sure I could come up with dozens more, especially sitcoms from the sixties and seventies. But I’ve tried to limit the list to just those special shows.

In more or less chronological order, here they are.

Captain Kangaroo
HR Pufenstuf
Scooby Doo, Where Are You?
F Troop
Gilligan’s Island
Star Trek
Happy Days
Welcome Back Kotter
Quark
Battlestar Galactica
Taxi
Doctor Who
Soap
Hill Street Blues
Cheers
Star Trek: The Next Generation
The Simpsons
Mad About You
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Mystery Science Theatre 3000
Friends
Futurama
Survivor
24
Pushing Daisies
Battlestar Galactica
Lost
Community

Which brings us to 2014. I reserve the right to amend the list if I remember anything I’ve missed.

What about you?

Community Repilots

On Thursday, the best sitcom of the past decade, Community, returned to NBC's Thursday night lineup with two new episodes. Last year's fourth season was wildly uneven as NBC fired show creator Dan Harmon and his replacements had a difficult time finding the right tone for the show. In an almost unprecedented move, NBC renewed the show and rehired Harmon for this shortened season.

Amazingly, the two episodes demonstrated immediately why it's hard to take over for a brilliant, mercurial show creator and how that creator can instill a unique voice in a show. The two episodes were great, reestablishing the characters into the Greendale universe and restoring the distinct, fast-paced dialogue the show uses like few others. The difference from last season was startling. Chevy Chase was the only original cast member not to return, but (spoiler) he made a wonderful, completely unexpected cameo that I absolutely loved.

TV critics received five episodes for early reviews and word is that the fourth episode is amazing.

Can't wait.