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.

Every Sperm Is Sacred...Alabama Toodleloo

This country becomes more of a joke hourly.

From the spray tanned Traitor in the White House, to the organ grinder's monkey pretending to be our Attorney General, and all the other Trump appointed misfit grifters polluting our body politic, it's hard to be shocked by anything that happens in the good ol' USA.

But...

A bunch of good old white boys who happen to sit in the Alabama legislature, and the Georgia and Missouri legislatures as well, have decided to put uppity wimmenfolk in their place, and let the poor things know, once and for all, who's in charge of their bodies.

Spoiler alert! It ain't the women.

Obviously, these women just don't appreciate the wonderful blessing they've received when they are impregnated by a mouth breathing hayseed. Even if the hayseed raped them, or is related to them. After all, every sperm is sacred. It says so in the Bible-doesn't it? It must! If it doesn't, it should! Roll Tide.

Under normal circumstances, we could wait for the Supreme Court to explain to all the Bible thumpin' Jethros out there that Roe v Wade is the law of the land, and to mind their own fucking business.

But these are not normal circumstances. Thanks to Mitch McConnell (who, if there is a Hell as described by Dante, deserves his own ring) we now have a Supreme Court peopled with the likes of Brett "I Like Beer!" Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch to go along with Clarence "I've Done All You Asked--Now Can I Be An Honorary White Man?" Thomas, Alito and Roberts.

Do not hold your breath waiting for them to do the right thing.

(By the way, there are a disproportionate number of Catholics on the Supreme Court. Way too many. And their religious beliefs tend to color everything they rule on. This is not a good thing.)

So, here we are. Going backward in a hurry.

I would say boycott Alabama, but honestly, who the fuck wants to go to Alabama in the first place?

Say Anything

You gotta hand it to Das Trumpo.

He can really read a room.

He looks out at his typical crowd of sad, broken, delusional, angry, mouth breathers.

These are trusting people who have voted for Republicans for years and never gotten a goddamn thing from the Party of Lincoln--except lies regarding how the black and brown people are stealing from them. Oh, and the occasional war to thin out the herd. All the while, the rich get richer...

And Trump tells them what they want to hear.

How it's not their fault! How they're going to be winners! The biggest, yoogest winners ever! He's gonna build them a wall! He's gonna round up those murdering, raping Mexicans! And then things will be all right again! The good jobs will come back! They'll have all the money! They'll be in charge!

ISIS? He knows how to deal with them! Climate change? All a liberal plot! China? Make a better deal! Abortion? Punish the women! No! Punish the doctors! No! Punish somebody! Yay!

Like any carny barker worth his salt, Trump knows that all you really have to say is,

"Step right up! Everybody's a winner!"

Ooops...

Wouldn't it be funny if Il Trumpo was done in for saying out loud what is essentially the logical next step in the Republican position on abortion?

After all the other stupid shit he's said?!

That insane crap about Mexicans and Muslims and the Middle East and building walls and China and the whole world laughing at us and "birtherism" and nuclear weapons and every piece of offensive, idiotic nonsense he's burbled in the last few months...

That was all OK. After all, anything to attack the black president is OK.

But voicing what many pro-lifers must truly believe?

Oops.

I say "truly believe" because abortion is "murder" to them. And there must be punishment for "murder". Ask all those fire breathing, frothing at the mouth, fundamentalist pastors that support Ted Cruz.

Somebody has to pay!

So they applaud or look the other way when women's clinics are fire bombed and doctors murdered.

And they create ridiculous laws to hamper the whole process of abortion.

Which, the last time I checked, was a right protected by the Constitution.

Oh, I forgot! Republicans get to pick and choose which parts of the Constitution, and laws in general, that they follow. Because, uh...Jesus?

Therefore, based on their line of reasoning, it only makes sense that there should be some form of punishment for the women who participate in these "murders".

Unless it's a Republican woman who gets an abortion...

But that would never happen, would it?

Chances Are You're Not Going To Die From Ebola

Unless you're unfortunate enough to be stuck somewhere in West Africa, chances are you're not going to die from Ebola.

No, more likely you'll get shot by some Second Amendment nut who feels "threatened" by you.

Or you'll die from all the pollutants those free market, Ur-capitalists the Koch brothers and their ilk continue to spew into our air and water.

Or you'll get t-boned by some teenager driving and texting.

Or you'll eat too much fast food and fall over from a stroke or a heart attack.

Or, if you're a black male between the ages of, say, 6 and 86, maybe the cops will gun you down--just because they can.

Hey, you could always OD from prescription drugs! That's increasingly popular.

And, if you're female, I hear back alley abortions are making a big comeback in certain Red States. I guess that is the understandable Republican free market response to Obamacare.

Of course, there's always the "I didn't know it was loaded" and therefore it was a "tragic accident" that Bobby shot Billy, or Suzy, or Uncle Jeff, or Grandpa, or you, or, what the hell, himself.

Finally, if you're silly enough to listen to Fox News, your head just might explode from all the bullshit they pump out 24-7.

Hey, this is America, God Dammit! We've got plenty of ways to die before your time...

But chances are you're not going to die from Ebola.

My Religion

Since we're apparently headed into the "my religion says I don't have to obey your laws" era of American History 101, I might as well lay out what my religion says:

My religion says your religion is based on an invisible, unprovable, sky God who is deaf and blind. When you pray to Him you are essentially just talking to yourself, for all the good it will do you.

My religion says His son is a mostly fictional amalgam of whatever the earliest "christians" thought they needed to convince the ignorant masses to enlist in their cause.

My religion says any religion should be a deeply personal matter, and it is oafish to force your religious beliefs on others.

My religion says you shouldn't meddle in the personal lives--with particular emphasis on reproductive issues--of other people, especially women.

My religion says that people who, prima facie, hate other people because of the color of their skin or their sexual preferences have voided their membership in humanity and should be ignored until they see the error of their ways.

My religion says politicians who start unnecessary wars should be hung from trees in public display until their rotting carcasses are picked clean by birds. Ditto for the pundits, intellectuals, clergy, radio/tv hosts, etc. who act as cheerleaders for said wars. Obviously we're going to need to plant more trees.

My religion says corporations are not people, money is not speech, and hatred is not a family value.

My religion says that organizations that don't pay taxes get to have no say in public policy.

My religion says if you elect idiots to govern you, you will be governed by idiots.

My religion says everyone is entitled to their own beliefs--however loopy--but not their own facts. This is 2014, not 1014. We should not have to go through the Dark Ages and Enlightenment more than once in an eternity.

My religion says cookies good, Nazis bad.

So it is written, so it shall be. Amen.

They're All The Same? No,They Aren't.

We've really got to stop this nonsense about "oh, both parties are at fault. The extremists on the left are just as bad as the extremists on the right."

No. They aren't.

One party wants to discriminate against gays. The same party wants to demonize unions. This party does everything it can to deny voting rights to minorities. This party also wants to take away a woman's right to control her own reproductive system. And destroy public education.

Affordable health care reform? Not if this party has it's way.

Rebuild the infrastructure? Sorry, can't afford it.

In general, this party has said a loud, resounding "No!" to every progressive measure. Even those that they originally supported.

Of course, this party does say "yes" to some things:

Lower taxes for the rich? You bet!

Beat up on poor people? Fuck yeah!

Industries free to pollute? Right on!

Money equals speech? Makes sense!

Destroy the safety net? About time!

Ignore science? The Bible says so!

Corporations are people? Sure!

War? Why not!

No, the fault runs entirely in one direction.

Oh, and by the way, what extremists on the left?

Barack Obama? 

Elizabeth Warren?

Nancy Pelosi? Harry Reid?

Give me a break.

Trent Franks, Defender of the Unborn

Is anyone surprised that Trent Franks said something stupid again? Didn't think so.

Take a good close look at Franks, yet another of Arizona's illustrious Congressmen.

Would you say he's one or two chromosomes shy of completeness? Yep.

Franks keeps getting re-elected for one reason and one reason only: his district includes all of the dried up douche bags, male and female, in Sun City.

These are people who haven't been fertile since the Truman administration. Yet they get all worked up over "the rights of the unborn".

The operative theory goes something like this: Fetuses have rights, old people have rights, everybody else who isn't rich and white can suck it.

And Trent Franks, who isn't as dumb as he looks (it's close though), knows how to pander to their fears with the usual litany of right wing paranoia: immigration, the black man in "our" White House, etc.

Normally, these are the "get the government off our backs!" crowd.  Why won't they just leave us alone!

Except when it comes to a woman's right to control her own reproductive system. Then the government should jump in with both jackbooted feet and punish the bitches!

These folks rely on government assistance of all kinds--but they hate the Federal government with a passion.

Oh, those meddlesome Feds, with their hot lunch programs, and Head Start, and public education, and welfare, and regulations, and taxes! Oh, don't get them started on taxes...

Get rid of all that stuff. It's socialism!

But keep your goddamn hands off our Social Security and our Medicare and our Medicaid!

It's cognitive dissonance like this that keeps the Trent Franks of the world in office.

Democracy In The 21st Century

We've got a lot of nerve, trying to export "democracy" abroad when we no longer practice it at home.

"Chutzpah", I think our Jewish friends would call it.

For instance, in the US Senate, a simple majority is no longer considered a majority. No, now you need a "super" majority. Why? Just because the Republicans want it that way...or else they'll filibuster everything. Why? Because they still can. (We can thank, dear, trusting, simple minded Harry Reid for that one.)

OK,  what about gun control? Having approximately 90% of the populace supporting some kind of new regulations should be enough, right? Au contraire, mon frere! The NRA doesn't want any changes and what the NRA wants the NRA gets. Wayne "A Gun Is A Tool And So Am I" LaPierre and his bags full of cash make sure of that.

Depending on how the questions are phrased, the majority of the American people also support abortion rights, gay marriage, green energy, sensible immigration reform, high speed rail, rebuilding the infrastructure, higher taxes for the rich, closing corporate tax loopholes, health care reform, cutting the defense budget, and a long list of other "progressive" actions.

So what's the problem? Guess.

That we are still arguing, and, as a result, stalemated over these issues is indicative of one thing:

Money trumps democracy almost every time. And the Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case has only made the situation exponentially worse.

Forget all that one man one vote, land of the free, "We the People" nonsense.

Money trumps democracy almost every time.

That is the one thing we really should teach the kids in school. That and Mandarin.

It's the Hypocrisy, Stupid (part 2 of a series)

With all the other troubles we find ourselves facing, the Republican legislative giants of Arizona have tackled the really big problem of race and/or sex based abortions. That this is a problem that does not exist in Arizona only shows how truly visionary these guys are. Anybody with a brain can attempt to solve a real problem, but it takes a very special intelligence to tackle imaginary problems. We are lucky, dare I say blessed, to be governed by such geniuses.

It's strange, isn't it, that the political party that screams the loudest about keeping the government out of our private lives, has no problem intruding into what should be a woman's most personal decision?

Maybe we should just change our state's motto to, "Arizona, where common sense and common decency go to die..."

Just out of curiosity, I wonder how many wives and daughters of Republicans have had abortions? Probably none, right?

Of course, a person's medical records should remain private...however, if push comes to shove...I wouldn't be surprised to see a list turn up somewhere...