It's Simple

People who think that the President is responsible for gas prices don't really understand how Capitalism works. They also seem to have forgotten all about the war in Ukraine and the general perfidy of Saudi Arabia.

People who think we're the only country suffering from inflation haven't taken a very close look at the rest of the world. They also seem to have forgotten a world wide pandemic which disrupted the normal supply chains. In fact, our inflation is relatively low compared to everywhere else.

So voting for Republicans based on those two items is, well, kind of stupid. 

However, there are some issues that should sway your vote.

For instance, one party wants to eliminate democracy, and one doesn't.

One party wants everyone eligible to vote to be able to vote--easily and safely. And one doesn't.

One party wants to help ALL of the people, and one just wants to help the rich.

One party wants to take the steps necessary to save the planet, and one doesn't give a fuck as long as there's a profit to be made.

So, unless you're a Putin loving total racist asshole, this really shouldn't be a hard decision.

If you're a female the choice is very simple.

You can vote for the Party that thinks of you merely as breeding stock,  a vessel to replenish the "domestic supply of infants", with little or no say in the manner. Face it, you're too "emotional" to make your own decisions. Even if you've been raped-or impregnated by a relative. Even if you're carrying a non-viable fetus.

Or you can vote for the Party that wants you to have autonomy over your body.

That's it.

That's all.

Unbelievable

When you look at the "people" that the Arizona Republican Party has nominated for office in 2022, any rational person would say "Gee, these folks should lose by a landslide."

We're not talking the kind of localized goons like Gosar, Schwiekert, Lesko and Biggs, either. There are House districts in my poor, benighted state, that consistently send this kind of, uh, "person" to Congress. 

Doesn't matter how awful they are, their brain dead constituencies "think" (and, of course, I use that word very loosely) that they are doing a bang up job "owning the Libs" and protecting us all from the brown people and, naturally, "socialism." The fact that they have never achieved anything positive for the state doesn't enter the conversation. They have that "R" next to their names, and by God that's enough for all of those schmucks that consistently return them to office.

No, we're talking about state wide offices. Governor, Senator, AG, and Secretary of State.

We're talking Lake, Masters, Hamadeh, and Finchem.

We're talking a former Fox News talking head without a shred of humanity or dignity, but with the requisite extra dose of hypocrisy. She knows absolutely nothing about governing, and is more than willing to share her ignorance. And all the soft filters in the world can't conceal her utter emptiness.

We're talking Peter Thiel's lapdog. A "libertarian" asshole, who doesn't have a clue about how anything works, but is certain he can "fix" it, and who thinks he's found a state with just enough stupid people to get elected.*

We're talking another "law and order" dipshit who is loudly on the 'it's George Soros who's behind it all" bandwagon. Here's a quote from the law and order boy: "the corrupt media, deep state, the establishment, and even the COURTS worked to rob President Trump and the American people in November 2020." Oh yeah, in addition to the Soros bullshit, he's also dabbled in more overt antisemitism. Which makes him an almost prefect Republican, I guess.

We're talking someone who's gone beyond "all hat, no cattle" to "all hat, no brain". He wandered the fringes of the Jan 6th insurrectionist treason, too timid to take part, but wanting to be there--just in case things worked out for the traitors. He's proudly an Oath Keeper--you know, the clowns that wanted to hang John McCain. And, naturally, an anti-vaxxer. Quite the resume.

They've all begged for the Orange Pig God's approval.  They've all lied about the 2020 election to curry the Orange Oinker's favor. They've all proudly sported "Trump endorsed" on their signs.

Again, and it can't be said often enough: If, at this point, you continue to support Donald J. Trump in any way, then you're a TRAITOR, too.

And this also applies to you if you vote for people who happily grovel before Trump.

*(to be fair, this applies to all Republican candidates)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things We Don't Talk About Enough

America's eugenics movement inspired the Nazis. Oops.

Republican presidential candidates committed treason on at least three separate occasions: Nixon's team meddled in the Paris peace accords in 1968, promising the North Vietnamese a "better" deal if they'd reject LBJ's proposed deal. Reagan's team talked to the Iranians in 1980, promising them a "better" deal if they'd reject Carter's deal for the hostages. And Trump, of course, is so far up Putin's ass that he can count the Republican Congressmen nesting there.

Slavery and stolen land helped build this great land of ours.

Guns DO kill people. All the fucking time.

Nobody needs an AR-15 for self protection.

People who like to throw their Second Amendment "rights" in your face always leave out the part that says "a well regulated militia."

Back in the 1950's, the decade that conservatives are so nostalgic for, the corporate tax rate was 45%, and the personal tax rate for the richest people topped out at 91%.

(Actually, it's the 1850's that they're really longing for.)

There's way too many Catholics on the Supreme Court. And the Republican ones are seemingly longing for a return of the Inquisition.

Churches that decide to meddle in politics should be taxed.

Apparently the Christo-fascist majority on the Supreme Court think that their black robes and lifetime appointments make them bullet proof. I guess we'll see.

Libertarians have never built a goddamn thing by themselves.

Without massive government support, all those Billionaire Libertarians would just be a gaggle of cranks sitting at the far end of some dive bar, talking to themselves.

 

But I Thought...

But I thought Donald J. Trump was a billionaire?

So why is he always asking Cletus and Ruth Ann RealAmerican to send him their Bingo money?

A billionaire shouldn't need pocket change from common folk, should he? 

I mean, the Windsors didn't pass the hat to put Queeny in the ground, did they?

Hmmm. Curiouser and Curiouser.

But I thought the Republicans were the law and order party?

So how do they rationalize the constant law breaking of their members?

Oh! That's right, laws don't apply to Republicans. My bad.

But I thought TREASON was a bad thing?

Apparently not when Republicans do it.

But I thought hating people because of the color of their skin, or their sexuality, or their beliefs in general wasn't a particularly Christian thing to do?

Then again, many American Christians are about as far from Christ as you can possibly be. In fact, they spend their lives doing un-Christian things--and then expect to be "saved", because they put some money in the collection plate.

But I thought Hitler was a bad guy?

Then how come Trump rallies look more and more like Nazi rallies, right down to the salute?

Hey, that's a pretty good question!

What Did They Think Would Happen?

So you nominate a life long criminal, who has been charged with money laundering, and accused, with good reason, of multiple sexual assaults, defrauding subcontractors, buddying up to mobsters, lying/cheating/stealing, to name just a few of his accomplishments.

And somehow, with a lot of help from RussiaRussiaRussia, Facebook, a nonfeasant media, the head of the FBI, and a few million gullible and/or brain dead American voters, this asshole gets elected President of the United States.

Did they think he would suddenly stop all of his crime-ing?

Are they fucking stupid?

Well, yes.

But they also knew this was their best, and perhaps last, chance to pack the courts with Christo-fascists.

AND to give a huge tax cut to all of their billionaire/millionaire supporters.

What's a little grifting compared to all of that? 

But when you have someone without any morals at all in a position of almost unlimited power, and you let him go unchecked because you're busy screwing the country in your own way, really bad things can happen.

Donald J. Trump only cares about himself and money. He will do ANYTHING for money, and to gratify his ego.

Selling our secrets to the highest bidder? Why not? If the price is right, anything goes.

It's a safe bet that intelligence assets have died because of him.

It's also a safe bet that some of our nuclear secrets may now be in Moscow, Beijing, Riyadh*, wherever the money was right.

I've said it before, and I will say it again: 

At this point, anyone who still supports Trump is a goddamn TRAITOR.

*There's a reason the Saudis gave Jared Kushner 2 billion dollars to "invest" and it isn't because he's good with money. He gave them something in return. Something he shouldn't have had any access to at all, since he couldn't get a security clearance without his father-in-law's interference. Hopefully, the DOJ will get to the bottom of his crimes, and Jared can spend the rest of his life in prison.

 

 

Where Do They Find These "People"?

As I survey the Republican candidates for office in Arizona, I have just one question:

Where do they find these people?

I've never seen such a collection of...God knows what.

It's like if you combined a carnival freak show, with a mental hospital, with a Nazi rally, with the Island of Doctor Moreau.

It's not enough to be just an inveterate liar any more. 

This was, after all, the basis of the Republican Party for many, many, years.

But today you've got to add in fascism, racism, homophobia, misogyny, and good old fashioned treason, to be taken seriously.

And most importantly, you have to crawl on your hands and knees and beg a Traitor-Sexual Predator-Con Man-Pathological Liar-Tax Cheat-Crook-Multiple Bankrupt-Adulterer-Fraud for his approval.

Yeah, without Donald Trump's blessing a Republican candidate doesn't have a chance in Arizona.

So take what little self respect you have left, put it somewhere, and start groveling before a traitor.

That's what Kari "I'm Completely Unqualified To Hold Any Elected Office" Lake, Blake "I'm Peter Thiel's Lapdog" Masters and Mark "I Will Lie About Anything" Finchem did.

Not an ounce of dignity or humanity in any of them. All of them Stop the Steal true believers.

Again I ask, where do they find these "people"?

If any of these assholes gets elected, this state will go backward even faster than it already is.

Which would make all the MAGAts happy. 

Next stop 1850!

Signor Baseball's My God The Season's More Than Half Over Better Late Than Never MLB Predictions

So, it's a little late.

Ok. It's a lot late.

I've been busy.

Not exactly sure doing what...but something.

Anyway, here goes:

AL

I do not trust the Yankees in the playoffs for the simple reason that they can't seem to beat Houston on a consistent basis. And chances are they won't hit 3-4 home runs in every playoff game. Plus their pitching is still inconsistent. (Some things never change...)

So, they will win 108 to 112 games, everyone in NYC will start dreaming of another World Series, and then they will run into better pitching at some point in the playoffs, the homer binge will dry up like last week's flowers, and that, as they say, will be that. This has happened consistently now for over a decade, but "hope springs eternal" et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Still, it will be fun watching Judge hit home runs, knowing that each one will add a million dollars a year to his next contract. 

For a while it looked like all three wild cards would come out of the East, but the Red Sox, Rays, and Blue Jays have started to come back to the pack, and now it will be 6-7 team horse race--including the the three East runners up, the Guardians, White Sox, Mariners, and Orioles (quelle surprise!) for the three slots.

Elsewhere, the Astros are a lock in the West and the Twins have to worry about both Cleveland and Chicago catching them in the Central. If that happens, throw Minnesota into the wild card mix.

And, yet again, the Angels have wasted a year of both Ohtani and Trout's prime. Two of the best players in the MLB have never even come close to sniffing the playoffs. I don't know who's running that franchise, but he should probably do us all a favor and start looking for a new job. 

NL

Those dreams of a Mets-Yankees World Series have withered like last week's flowers. Atlanta is hot on the Mets' tail, and based on past performances will catch them in mid August/early September. However, New York should still grab a wild card slot, and if Scherzer and DeGrom are healthy, can make some noise in the playoffs. Two very strong starters can take you a long way. You only have to look at the Nationals a couple of years ago, or, for you older folks, the Diamondbacks in 2001. In Philadelphia, the Phillies will have to content themselves with the prospect of a wild card.

In the Central, the Brewers and Cardinals will be neck and neck all the way to the end, with the loser having a strong shot at a wild card.

And in the West, once again the Dodgers are far and away the class of the division. Both the Giants and Padres have a chance at a wild card. 

Finally, the Diamondbacks aren't nearly as bad as last year. They aren't good, either. Next stop is mediocrity. Based on where they were, a .500 season would warrant a parade. But that will have to "wait until next year."

And Arizona's fans can content themselves watching all the former D-Back players in the playoffs with other teams. They should be used to it by now.