Who Me? Snarky? You Bet!

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Election 2022, Global Issues, guns, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

I’m in a very snarky mood today, so proceed with caution …

A simple formula …

If you live in Florida and you’re still torn about who should be your next governor, you need look no further than the National Rifle Association (NRA).

The incumbent governor, racist Ron DeSantis, has just received an A+ rating from the NRA while his Democratic opponent, Charlie Crist, earned a D.  Now, in high school, this would make DeSantis a glowing symbol and Crist a dumb jock, but this ain’t high school, although admittedly it is sometimes difficult to tell U.S. politics from high school hijinks.  And in the race for Senate, the incumbent Marco Rubio aka Little Marco, earns a B ranking from the NRA while his Democratic opponent, Val Demings, earned a whopping grade of F.  Thumbs up to Ms. Demings!

So, if you’re in doubt about who is the more worthy candidate in Florida or anywhere else in the nation, just ask the NRA … the person with the lowest grade should be the best choice on the ballot!  Sorry Ron & Marco, but you guys are the definition of what’s wrong in this nation.  Go home now … cry in your pudding for a while, then go get a real job!

A thousand steps backward

Yesterday Italy held national elections – unlike the U.S., most every other nation holds their elections on Saturday or Sunday so that people can more easily vote.  To cut to the chase, Italy has its first ever female Prime Minister.  Now, you might expect me to be doing a happy dance over the election of a woman, but in this case, there is no joy.  Giorgia Meloni, the next Prime Minister, is the closest thing to Benito Mussolini that the right-wing Italians could find.  She looks sweet and innocent but looks can be deceiving.

Ms. Meloni’s role model and inspiration is none other than Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s dictator disguised as a Prime Minister, and the two have met on numerous occasions.  Like Orbán, Meloni’s ideology is largely based on anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ rights, and anti-immigration.  She is a fan of Vladimir Putin, though she has spoken in support of Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

There is much I could say about Ms. Meloni, for many analysts consider her a threat to all of Europe.  But the source of my annoyance today is the response of some of our own politicos here in the U.S. to Ms. Meloni’s election.  While much of the world watched the election with concern, with alarm, here’s what the Republican politicians had to say …

  • “The entire world is beginning to understand that the Woke Left does nothing but destroy. Nov. 8 is coming soon and the USA will fix our House and Senate! Let freedom reign!” – U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado
  • “It’s interesting to see that Europe is leading the way by throwing out socialists with conservatives—and great bold conservative women like Meloni and Truss. We need to bring that kind of conservatism to the United States.” – U.S. Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana
  • “God Speed to Italy’s incredible Prime Minister-elect @GiorgiaMeloni!” – Kari Lake, gubernatorial candidate from Arizona
  • “Congratulations to Giorgia Meloni and the winners of the Italian elections. We look forward to working with her and other Italian leaders to advance our shared interests. America is stronger when Italy is strong, sovereign, prosperous, and free.” – Senator Tom Cotton, of Arkansas

Others, such as Ted Cruz and Marge Greene also praised Ms. Meloni and her racist, extreme far-right ideology.  This, my friends, is what will be on our own ballot in just over a month.  Let’s not go the route of Italy.

And I end with just a few cartoons of the political variety …

28 thoughts on “Who Me? Snarky? You Bet!”

  2. Pingback: Who Me? Snarky? You Bet! .|jilldennison.com | Ramblings of an Occupy Liberal

  3. Jill, people having conservative opinions do not bother me, as I have both progressive and conservative opinions depending on the topic. What I do not care for is so-called leaders of conservative movements having to buy into untruthful information as a ticket to be in that party. It truly saddens me that many know they are lying, but feel they must to win an election and not be outed to some of the more rabid fans.

    As an independent and former member of both parties, both sides exaggerate and even lie. But, it is not a normal distribution. Here Republicans lie in a mainstream and recurring way. They lies dwarf that of the Democrats. I can disagree on policy with some more progressive Democrats, but I find myself arguing what is real to Republicans.

    Politicians and elected officials owe us the truth. Quite simply, I cannot take a politician seriously if he or she has to embrace a lie to defend one of the most untruthful former presidents ever. We are more at odds, because Donald Trump cannot man up and admit the truth – he lost the election and is unable to prove otherwise after spending a lot of other people’s money to do so.

    Under oath (there is that oath thing again), Trump’s long time attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen said to Congress, “Donald Trump is a racist, he is a con artist and he is a cheat.” A fixer makes his problems go away by paying people off or threatening a lawsuit. So, Cohen’s words, again under oath, should be a tell-tale sign.

    The sad truth is Trump has shown the way for a lot of other untruthful elected officials to act. It is “fake news” is too much of a mantra.

    Keith

    Liked by 2 people

    • People having any opinions doesn’t bother me, but it’s when they attempt to write their opinions into laws that affect every one of us that I sometimes have a problem. What is a conservative opinion? I thought ‘conservative’ was defined as “averse to change or innovation; holding traditional values”. But what I’m seeing the ‘conservatives today calling for is not traditional values, but rather archaic values. By ‘traditional’, do they think they must return to the dark ages to find the roots of that tradition? Is supporting an accused child sex trafficker ‘traditional’? I suppose opposing women’s rights could be considered traditional, as we have fought long and hard for our rights to own property, divorce an abusive husband, receive equal pay in the work force, and vote. But really, is that where we want to go again? Sigh.

      I’m with you, my friend. If nothing else, we deserve … we are OWED the truth, yet the GOP feeds us lie after lie after lie. And sadly, there are a large number in this country who cannot seem to be bothered to check out the facts, to do a bit of research, to take a break from their fun lives for just a moment and engage their brains. Consequently, the liars are succeeding in getting people to believe and promote their lies. And the people remain ignorant. They go on with their backyard barbecues, their Christmas shopping, and tell me I’m too worried over nothing.

      Truth is, I despair tonight for where this nation … and many other nations such as Sweden, Italy, and the UK … are heading. It’s a path that has already been taken once, back in the 1930s, and apparently we failed to learn the lessons of history and are treading down that path again. Only this time … this time, technology may raise the stakes … 😔 So yes, I rant, I sometimes say that which I shouldn’t, but … I see humanity being eaten alive by greedy, corrupt politicians. I see a future that … may well be the end of life as we know it. And I am depressed, frightened, but most of all angry. Angry that people won’t even bother to try to separate truth from lie, fact from fiction. And angry that the people who we pay to represent us are stabbing us in the back. Sigh.

      Like

      • Jill, sometimes the best we can hope for is to get a few folks on the outer layers of the MAGA onion to get peeled off with the truth. The other hope I have is to convince a Congressional staff member or two to think more. They need to know, if they don’t already know, how harmful their bosses are being by supporting lies to the public. Keith

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Interesting comparison between Meloni and Truss. The papers here today are hugely critical of Truss’s economic stance, her own MPs are already against her and the wheels are falling off. I wish Meloni the same success 🤣

    Liked by 2 people

    • Wow … it didn’t take long for Truss to fall into disarray, did it? I thought it would at least be a few months! Yes, I wish Meloni the same misfortune. While I don’t care for Truss, I don’t see her as truly evil … I DO see Meloni in that light and fear her evil could spread well outside of Italy’s borders.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Her problem is that she didn’t get remotely close to 50% support from Tory MPs, and only just sneaked into the ballot for the final two having been in third place all the way until then. It was party members who chose her but as most of those are probably the recipients of her tax cuts they are no doubt happy. The IMF isn’t so impressed.

        I agree she isn’t evil in the same sense as Meloni, but possibly not far from it…

        Liked by 1 person

        • Hopefully the safeguards are in place to stop her more destructive inclinations and then she’ll be ousted in 2024. Question is … who, then? You guys have the same problem we have … there is no ‘shining star’ waiting in the wings. Our safeguards have been chipped and chiseled to the point they are crumbling just when we need them to be strongest. I hope yours fare better … I really do.

          Agreed, and if the two of them put their heads together? And then if you add LePen into the mix? A disaster looking for a place to happen!

          Liked by 1 person

          • They do exist but, as the summer showed, it takes ages for the Tories to replace their leader. You’re right in surmising that they don’t have anyone else, and the decent thing would be to call a general election. Labour are miles ahead in the polls and might well win a majority – and I think Starmer would do a far better job. He could hardly do worse!

            Meloni, Truss, Le Pen, the new Swedish government, Belarus, Orbán, Putin…

            Liked by 1 person

            • Even if they called a general election, is there anybody outstanding to take the helm? I’ve rather liked Starmer since I first read about him, but I don’t see much about him lately. Truss’ tax cuts have made me growl … she could have learned a lesson from our side of the pond after Trump did the same and we all suffered, but instead she’s decided to follow Trump’s playbook!

              Yes, the populist/autocratic movement seems to have reached pandemic stage. I am sickened today by Republican claims that they plan to impeach Biden if they take a majority in Congress. They give no reason, just that they don’t like him. Sigh. This is all getting a bit depressing, isn’t it?

              Liked by 1 person

              • You’ve maybe not had the same coverage there that we’ve had. Labour have been all over the media these past few days, as it was their annual conference and those generate a lot of interest. Trussonomics have reaped their reward: four different opinion polls yesterday gave Labour a lead ranging from 18% to 33%! Even Truss wouldn’t be stupid enough to go for an election now: they would be obliterated! One of her MPs was quoted yesterday as saying “she’ll be gone by Christmas.”

                I’d like to see what grounds they could have for impeaching Biden. Maybe they should try ‘stealing the election’ – that always seems to do well in court cases 🤣

                Liked by 1 person

                • Ahhhh … no, I’ve missed that! Could be I’ve just been so focused on what is happening here that I haven’t paid enough attention. Gone by Christmas, eh? Somehow I doubt it, but time will tell. David tells me she has authorized new offshore oil drilling … that, on top of the tax cuts … boy, she didn’t waste any time doing stupid stuff, did she?

                  Thus far, nobody is speaking of any grounds, just impeaching him. One person said because of his mishandling of inflation, but that’s ridiculous, since he inherited much of the economic angst, and then Putin attacked Ukraine and added to the mix. I don’t think they will be successful, but all this just adds to the angst and divisiveness that are destroying our morale. Sigh.

                  Liked by 1 person

                  • She has also broken their manifesto pledge on banning fracking. Onshore wind farms rather than offshore oil drilling would be better, but like most of her party she is swayed by business and money. The reports that Johnson was hoping she’d fail so he could make a triumphant return don’t seem so stupid now!

                    Like most things the GOP say, no substance.

                    Liked by 1 person

                    • Fracking should be banned globally! Another reason for me to dislike Ms. Truss! It appears that in both our countries, the wealthy are calling all the shots and the human species will ultimately pay the price for their perfidy. That the people whose salaries we pay go along with their schemes sickens and disgusts me to no end.

                      I hadn’t heard that Boris thought he’d make a ‘triumphant return’ if she failed! What lunacy!!! Where has sanity gone in this world???

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • Indeed it should, but the companies involved have good lobbyists. It will just become another reason for them to be voted out, if anyone actually tries it.

                      He hasn’t said anything himself, but those ‘quote from a friend’ type stories have done the rounds here. I doubt he’d have enough support from his own party, but it’s typical of leaders who can’t accept reality, isn’t it.

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • You’re right … yet another example of those who care far more how many millions or billions of dollars they have in their investment portfolios than they care about the world their grandchildren will inherit.

                      Boris was so far out of his league from day #1 that I was surprised he lasted as long as he did. I actually felt kinda sorry for him a couple of times! Speaking of leaders who can’t accept reality … keep an eye on Brazil’s election today … I’ve got a feeling the fireworks will be something to behold. Sigh.

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • Sadly there are far too many like that.

                      I always described Johnson as a triumph of ambition over ability and he proved me right. He only decided to support leaving the EU at the last minute as he thought it would give him a better chance of leading the Tories. He was right, up to the point where he repeatedly proved his complete unsuitability to the role.

                      I fear Bolsonaro is about to do a Trump (and I don’t mean a fart).

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • I saw an interesting headline in The Guardian this morning: “Liz Truss’s poll ratings plummet lower than Boris Johnson’s before he was forced out” Wow, it sure didn’t take her long, did it? She’s been in office what, about a month now?

                      Yes, Bolsonaro is a Trump clone, but I fear he may go even further than Trump did in trying to hold onto power. I didn’t know that trump was a word for fart over there! How appropriate!!!

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • It will be four weeks on Tuesday since the Queen invited her to form a government. Don’t get in a car with her: its wheels will fall off.

                      That always amused me, as did ‘Johnson’ having a different meaning over there.

                      Liked by 1 person

  5. Pingback: Who Me? Snarky? You Bet! | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

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