Do you really want this man in the Senate?

Watch this before Twitter dies.

OMG THIS AD FROM SEN WARNOCK IS PURE GENIUS,LOVE IT 🔥🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/DAUsZnvXmr

— Henry Djoutsa 🇨🇲🇺🇸 Supports🇺🇦 (@D_jeneration) November 27, 2022

Yikes. Vote for Warnock.

NOPE

Carol and I watched Jordan Peele's NOPE last weekend. We are both fans of Peele's previous movies, Get Out and Us, the former more than the latter, and were looking forward to this. 

I loved it. (Carol was less enthusiastic).

Basically, this movie hit many of my buttons -- past, horrific, tragedy which affects the present day, mysterious nighttime phenomena, interesting characters trying to deal with the bizarre. I like that the movie plays with your expectations about the type of movie it's going to be before making it *very* clear. 

On first watch, a couple of scenes seemed not to fit into the rest of the story, but upon reflection, their purpose was revealed. Like Peele's previous, NOPE was very much a "show don't tell" type of movie. And, as you can tell from the preview below, the cinematography was incredible and the performances were great.

Plus, two scenes were absolutely haunting.

As I said, I loved it.

Change of focus

Now that America's political season is over (Narrator: It's never over.) I'm going to try to post about more fun, less depressing, less political, topics and doings. I'll still throw in some posts on outrageous, seditious, inhuman actions by American conservatives, but hopefully I can reduce the percentage for a while.

Where were these guys during his Presidency?

Brilliant coverage today from the New York Post on Trump's announcement of his latest, doomed, candidacy.  On page 26.

Hilarious!

Hope is kindled

Phew.

Looks like American democracy had a good day last week. The Democrats held the Senate, swept the election-deniers running for various Secretaries of State and Governors, and may still hold the House. although that now looks unlikely. Still, things could have been far, far worse.

Of course, as some have said, many Americans are really, really stupid, and continue to believe lies, moronic lies, and damned lies, while voting against their own self-interest to elect cynical, hateful morons, all to own the libs. That in itself is disheartening and bodes ill for the future. Fortunately, they didn't win this year and there may still be time to reverse America's destructive course. It also looks like we may have avoided immediate political violence, but who knows if that will hold?

While still hoping for some good news in the remaining House races, and that Senator Raphael Warnock returns to the Senate in next month's Georgia runoff, we can at least, for now, breath a sigh of relief.

And of course, now Trump is running again for President. He likely believes this will continue the grift and keep him out of jail, but he's never been very smart. At the very least, it will be fun watching Republicans tearing each other apart at this latest development.

And so it begins, the great battle of our time

Tomorrow is it. 

The results will take a few days, but tomorrow we'll start to find out if America resumes moving forward, or if decades of hard fought progress will be turned back even more than it already has - if Americans are to continue into a new dark age of oppression. 

If the Republicans take back the House, there will be no more legislation passed during the Biden Administration. They'll likely cut off all aid to Ukraine, discontinue the Jan. 6th investigation, and waste time and millions of American dollars in endless, pointless, political investigations of Democrats. They will pass a national abortion ban. They will go after Social Security and Medicare. They will pass nothing to fight climate change, virtually ensuring the doom of countless species, including the human race. They have already said that's their plan. Nothing Republicans will do will help anyone but the rich.

If Republicans take the Senate, it's unlikely that Biden will get another judge confirmed during this administration, exacerbating our long-term judicial emergency and ensuring decades more of far right judicial activism. Americans will lose voting rights, same-sex marriage, and even the right to contraception. They will continue going after vulnerable transgender folk and immigrants. No rights will be protected except for those of rich, white men.

If you're concerned about the economy and inflation, ask yourself, "What will Republicans do about either of these issues?" They have voted against every single bill the Democrats proposed to fight these economic problems. It's not really a matter of disagreeing with the proposals, they voted against these measures to satisfy their MAGA base and own the libs.

Don't vote for Republicans for they have no ideas except hatred, division, and destroying hard won rights that have improved the lives of all Americans. They are not interested in actually governing, only increasing and cementing their power over the rest of us, forever.

But . . . 

If Democrats take the day, you can count on continued legislation to expand opportunity and fight increasing social and economic inequality, additional support for Ukraine, legal protection for abortion services and access to healthcare, and the expansion of voting rights for all. Because the Democratic agenda isn't geared towards hurting people, it's geared towards helping all Americans.

Vote for Democrats up and down the ticket. This is our last chance.

Make no mistake, if the Republicans lose, there will be violence. Trump and his minions have been encouraging violence for years now. But we cannot let the threat of violence destroy American democracy.

Don't let the fascists win.

Last Call

Get out and vote!

I voted. Please vote too.

We've crossed another line

Let's make sure everyone understands the bottom line here.

The attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of Nancy Pelosi, was an attempted assassination attempt on the Speaker of the House.  

A Republican loony, spurred on by FOX News, Q-Anon, and actual Republican leaders, including Trump, attempted an assassination on the person second in line to the U.S. Presidency. 

Republican reactions have been everywhere from muted condemnation to joking to blaming President Biden to just ignoring the incident. I'm SURE some are disappointed he didn't succeed.

Imagine if this had actually happened to Mike Pence. Oh, wait. Imagine if this had happened to someone Republicans cared about like Greg Abbott or Ron DeSantis.

One of the two major political parties in the United States has gone fascist, anti-democracy, and imspires and supports violence against their political enemies. They must be stopped. Vote for Democrats like your life depends on it because it does.

Toe Tags

I heard this story on the news while driving yesterday and angrily screamed at the radio.

The state of Texas is sending public school students home with DNA kits designed to help their parents identify their children “in case of an emergency.”

In 2021, the Texas state legislature passed Senate Bill No. 2158, a law requiring the Texas Education Agency to “provide identification kits to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools for distribution to the parent or legal custodian of certain students.”

The news said Texas was claiming these kits would make your child "safer" which is, of course, absolute bullshit.

Texas isn't doing anything to stop school shootings, like limiting access to guns. They're just preparing to make it easier to identify your child's shredded, bullet-ridden body after the next school shooting.

How depraved do you have to be to know that there's an ongoing problem with children being murdered, and do absolutely nothing about it except make it easier for the coroner to identify the mutilated victims?

Are you outraged? Want to do something about this? Stop voting for these assholes and vote for Democrats.

The third planet presents a mystery

Alien anthropologists, digging through the rubble of our civilization, will wonder at the apparent apathy or stupidity of the American voter who just kept voting for Republicans, even as those Republicans sealed the fate of the human race. After all, it's not like Republicans made a secret of their terrible plans.

If the GOP regains the House, four of the leading Republicans contenders for the House Budget Committee chair have all vowed to demand cuts to Social Security and Medicare in return for their cooperation in raising the debt ceiling next year. To be clear, that’s Republicans saying they will crash the U.S. economy to force President Joe Biden to give into their demands.

Now would-be House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has confirmed that yes, that’s exactly what Republicans intend to do. That continues to generate yawns from the super savvy reporters in D.C. and New York, who largely ignored the first reports of this threat. Now they’re continuing to try to downplay it. But it’s as real and as dangerous as can be.

Republicans are against everything that helps anyone but the already wealthy. Just this year they've voted against fighting inflation, against greater access to healthcare, against lowering prescription drug costs, against raising wages for the poor, against rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, and against fighting climate change. Basically, if it helps anyone but the rich donor class (including themselves) they've voted against it. This is in addition to actively going after the rights of women and minorities.

And yet, Americans will continue to vote many of them into office. In a just (or even rational or even not-entirely-moronic) world, they would ALL be out of jobs, and the Democrats would pass legislation making all American lives better.

Those aliens are really going to be puzzled.

We need an awful lot more of this

Rich Logis - The New Republic

I Voted for Trump and DeSantis—and Now Regret It. Here’s How Democrats Can Appeal to Voters Like Me.

There are plenty of conservatives willing to join an alliance to put the GOP out of its misery and preserve democracy.

Here’s a plain truth: The vast majority of the adults left in the room are Democrats, and there are millions of Republicans who know this. I recognize this because I was, once, such a Republican. The Democratic Party may not always get policies right, but it works to better the lives of all Americans and not just its own voters. Most Republicans, by contrast, now make mockeries of the oaths they swear to uphold. Deep down, if you’re a sensible Republican, you know you’ve been lied to, and exploited, by your party; voting Democrat will mean you elevated your nation, and your democracy, above your party affiliation.

I don’t want to mercy-kill the Republican Party because I want one-party rule. I hate to be a party-pooper, but I think we are structurally suited to—or perhaps simply stuck with—a two-party system. But we need a healthier two-party system, and so the GOP, in its current, destructive form, has to go. But getting there will take a cooperative effort: There must now be an alliance between Americans who may disagree on policies or have ideological differences but who agree that in order to preserve a nation where we might hash out these important political debates with one another, we need to band together in defense of a stable government and a stable nation, where freedom might be expanded for all to enjoy. The GOP only wants to constrict freedoms, bring about one-party rule, and bring the whole nation under its traumatizing vision. That’s not very kind and caring of them, is it?

I question anyone who ever voted for Trump and DeSantis, but better late than never. If we don't see a lot of this in a few weeks, American democracy is doomed.

Uh-huh, she was DEFINITELY a Democrat

Former Democratic presidential candidate and always dumbass, Tulsi Gabbard, quit the Democratic Party today. Yawn. This is is the most shocking development since former Democratic candidate, and dumbass, Andrew Yang left the Democratic party.

“I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party. It’s now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue & stoking anti-white racism, who actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms enshrined in our Constitution,” Gabbard said in a video posted to social media. The announcement was made on the first episode of her new podcast, “The Tulsi Gabbard Show.”

Here's a big clue. If you use the term "cowardly wokeness" unironically, you were never a Democrat. If you use the terms "elitist cabal of warmongers" and "anti-white racism", you're an anti-semite and a racist. And if you use the term "God-given freedoms enshrined in our Consitution", you're just plain stupid.

As others have said.

via GIPHY

September 2022

Hi!

This has been a crazy month. 

We've been back and forth to Indiana twice, once to bring my Mom out here to visit, then a return two weeks later to take her back, and to move Carol's mom from her home of 68 years to an independent living place in a different city. I've also had a bunch of doctors appointments, got a new crown in my mouth, and just a bunch of stuff. It's been exhausting.

And tomorrow morning, we're flying to Disney World. Nine months in the planning, it's our first visit in four years and we're going with both kids and their husband & girlfriend, so we're really excited. Oh, and there's a major hurricane coming that looks to drench our vacation next week. 

So, we're crossing our fingers and hoping they don't have to close the parks.

Wish us luck. I'll be posting again in October.

Life status

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, but I have a lot going on in real life.

I'll be back in a bit.

In the meantime, watch some Star Trek: Lower Decks. It'll make you happy.

The math checks out

 

Karma

"Notably, Trump—after a fierce campaign against Clinton in which he called for her to be jailed for her handling of classified material—signed a law in 2018 that stiffened the penalty for the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents from one year to five years, turning it into a felony offense."  Link

Hahahahahahahahahaha!!

Lock him up.

Redneck's reaction to Mar-a-Lago search

Trae Crowder is indeed brilliant. I love this guy.

Brilliant… really good points sandwiched in humor. Thought it was from @TheDailyShow. pic.twitter.com/w3XIUf4MrD

— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) August 10, 2022

From Trae Crowder in IA, NE, and MO 9/6-8

 

Abortion restrictions harm everyone

In the land of unintended consequences you may not have considered:

Unfortunately, those who have ulcers, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, psoriasis, Crohn's, psoriatic arthritis, colitis and many other health problems may not get to sleep so easily after all — because one of the primary drugs used to treat some of those things happens to be methotrexate. Methotrexate, you may know, is an abortifacient. It's part of the usual cocktail given to those having medical abortions but can also be used on its own to end a pregnancy.

Thus, many doctors in states with abortion bans are now afraid that prescribing the drug for these other reasons to those who can get pregnant could lead to the doctors being arrested. And even when doctors do prescribe it, pharmacists at drug stores like CVS and Walgreens are being told that if they live in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Montana, Texas, or Oklahoma, they cannot fill methotrexate or misoprostol prescriptions for women and others assigned female at birth under the age of 60 without official proof that it is not for an abortion.

Link

Of course, Republicans don't care how many people they hurt, so long as they can control what women do with their own bodies. It's never been about life, it's always been about power.

Theoretical, high-energy, quantum Google searches

Quantum dentistry

High-energy dentistry

Marine theology

High-energy biology

Astrodentistry

I'm pretty sure these are going to become popular search terms, so I'm trying to increase the hits on my page by posting them here.

xkcd

Mar-a-Lago has been invaded!! It's the worst day ever!! Aargle bargle!!

Today's word is SCHADENFREUDE. It's a wonderfully specific German word which means feeling pleasure at the misfortune of others. (There is an English equivalent, epicaricacy, but who uses that or can even pronounce it?) I am definitely feeling some schadenfreude today!

FBI Executes Search Warrant on Trump's estate. 

The raid is because the corrupt dumbass stole a bunch of historical documents from the White House which he was legally required to turn over to the National Archives. Those documents belong to the American people, and not to this thief.

It's about damn time.

Vote Tracker

I'm sure this is already dated.

But let's blame President Biden for all these problems, shall we?

Synergy

Amazon often has some weird combo deals for sale, but I think this has to be one of the strangest I've seen. What audience are they trying to reach with this combo?

They're speaking loud and clear

They are coming.

This week, Democrats in the House passed legislation to protect rights being threatened by the extremist conservative Supreme Court.

How did Republicans, many of whom are saying Democrats are "over-reacting" about losing anything but abortion rights, vote?

- 209 House Republicans voted against abortion rights
- 205 House Republicans voted against protecting interstate travel for reproductive care
- 195 House Republicans voted against protecting contraception access
- 157 House Republicans voted against marriage equality

When Republicans tell you their plan, right out in the open, believe them.

Polarization - Sorensen