This, That, and ‘TOONS!

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Election 2022, Environmental Issues, Humour, Law and justice, Political commentary, religion, Social commentary

Until the past week, I was generally able to focus on a single issue or topic for an entire post, but my mind seems to be made of rubber these days and just bounces all over the place, hence I have done a number of posts with a variety of ‘mini-thoughts’.  This afternoon’s post is yet another such …

Apparently, some people wish to live in a nation where all people are controlled by a single religious belief set.  To those people I say, “Then please, feel free to relocate to Iran.  I would caution you, though, if you are a woman, you will be controlled, manipulated, and killed if you break the religious laws. If you are a gay person, you will be killed if it is discovered, no questions asked.”  Meanwhile, here in the United States, women are, at least in theory, given equal rights, although only for the past 100 years or so.  We now have the right to divorce our spouse, to own property in {gasp} our own name, receive equal pay for equal work, and even to … VOTE!  Okay, so we’re still working on that ‘bodily autonomy’ thing, but we’ll get there, because it’s important enough for us to fight tooth and nail for.  That’s not quite how it works over in Iran, but hey … if people want religious laws to dominate the people, they’ll just have to … get over the level of bigotry that is the foundation of such a society.  Meanwhile, here in the U.S. the majority of us fully support women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, and realize it is nobody’s business whether a woman chooses to have children or who a person chooses to love.

I respect every person’s right to believe as they wish, to adhere to the religion of their choice or no religion, if that is their choice.  But what I cannot tolerate is people trying to force everyone into their own narrow-minded box.  One of the things that the United States is noted for is freedom of religion, freedom to believe as you choose.  You have the right to attend the church, mosque or synagogue of your choice and participate in the various rites & rituals of your religion. BUT … when politicians pander to a religious group that wants to impose their will on the entirety of the nation, they are attempting to rob us of one of our most fundamental constitutional freedoms.  Be a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew or a Jain, but don’t tell me that I have to believe as you do.  Freedom OF religion must also include freedom FROM religion as an option.  The United States is not and should not become a ‘Christian nation’ but is founded on the basis of welcoming people of ALL beliefs.

A reader recently commented the following in regard to my concern for the environment:

“Time for the USA to get the message. As far as destruction of the enviro, humans cause somewhere i between 0.00020% and o.00034% of global warming. We’ve seen far bigger periods of gobal warming and ice ages throughout recorded history. Guess why the ice desert Greenland is called Greenland. It was fuxn green when the first settlers arrived there. In late Roman times they made wine in England! And we had periods of unusual warm weather but also mini ice ages and freak storms not too far in the past. Vineta (Atlantis) happened in medieval times, Tenerife will probably split in two during our lifetimes. With or without our ‘help’.”

How does one even converse with someone who is so convinced their ignorant views are correct and who looks down their nose at those of us who believe the science that tells us human activities, particularly continually increasing emissions of CO2 are creating an environment that will no longer be able to sustain human … or most other … life within a relatively few short years?  I have come to the point that I no longer bother to respond to such, for there is no give-and-take, no meaningful dialog, just arrogance and an unwillingness to consider facts.

Lindsey Graham said that if Catherine Cortez Masto beats Adam Laxalt in the race for the senate seat from Nevada, then it was fraud.  So, let me get this straight:  If the candidate Lindsey likes loses, it was fraud, but if his candidate wins, it was a fair and honest election.  Sounds to me like a rather juvenile viewpoint, rather like the ten-year-old child turning over the checkerboard and running in tears to her room and slamming the door because her dad won the game.  “No fair!  You cheated!”  But then, I guess the ten-year-old mentality is in keeping with the Republican modus operandi of late, ever since they decided to make a ‘man’ with a funny creature atop his head, a pocky complexion, a contorted mouth, and lies flowing from his mouth their “Supreme Leader”.  As of 8:49 p.m. last night, Cortez Masto is the projected winner of the race for the senate seat from Nevada, giving the Democrats a majority in the U.S. Senate.  I wonder what ol’ Lindsey will have to say this morning?  Will he have the decency to keep his mouth shut, or will he whine and demand that the election be overturned?

My jaw dropped last night when I logged onto Twitter and found that an off-the-cuff remark I had left on someone’s tweet had gained 1,281 likes, 92 retweets, and 51 comments!!!  I’M A TWITTER CELEBRITY!!!  (just kidding)  I have never had more than 30 or so likes on any tweet or tweet comment I’ve made.  Never!  This is the tweet and my response that gained so much notoriety …

And I conclude with a few political ‘toons I’ve run across over the past few days …

21 thoughts on “This, That, and ‘TOONS!”

    • Indeed, women who are incensed at having their rights taken out from under them, and young people who are tired of school shootings that have changed their lives forever, played a significant role … one that was downplayed and underestimated by the Republican Party! No, I don’t really care much what ol’ Lindsey says, but the hypocrisy and the fact that people aren’t able to see that hypocrisy is what drives me crazy. ❤

      Liked by 1 person

    • Exactly … they are FOR freedom of speech as long as it’s their speech, what they want to hear. But, if it’s somebody in, say, the LGBTQ community speaking about their rights, the maga crowd quickly turns and walks away. They would ban all talk of the systemic racism that is a large part of this nation’s history, they ban books that refer to racism, slavery, or LGBTQ people. It’s very much a one-sided ‘right’ that they support.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. “feel free to relocate to Iran.”

    Oh, Iran isn’t half as bad as Saudi Arabia and some other, much more radical countries. Reason you Americans hate it so much is that they got rid of the shah (American puppet) and are doing their own thing now, and that they are far more advanced than their neighbour countries.
    And they wanna become member of BRICS. 😮

    Liked by 1 person

    • No, that’s where you’re wrong. First, let’s be clear here … you cannot lump all 330 million people in this nation into one classification or ideology. When you say, “You Americans …” I bristle, for I am Jill … an individual with thoughts of my own. I’m not a nationalist, nor a patriot … I believe I stand for humanity, honesty, integrity, kindness, and compassion, for equality, for life. Now, that said … no, I don’t hate Iran for deposing the Shah. I hate what the nation is doing to women. Period. I don’t care about their religion, but to use it as a tool to oppress half the population … that, in my book, is wrong.

      Liked by 2 people

      • As mentioned there are far more worthwile targets to vent your anger. In Iran women are relatively free to do whatever. It’s overall a very libertarian society, considering the context, even kinda modern with industry and all. And at least when you’re a tourist you don’t need to wear a headscarf. And Iranian women go out without any chaperone. Try that in the emirates or Saudi.

        About my “Americans” generalisation: You won’t believe how often I’ve heard exactly your argument in almost the same way, showing us that the generalisation isn’t that far-fetched as you so falsely assume.

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  5. I read this whole blog intently though I’ve wanted to comment from the beginning. Yay me. Anyway, it was, in fact, the Southern Baptists, Christian’s mind you, who met with the founding fathers and argued on behalf of freedom of religion because it says right there in the bible that church and state should be separate.

    Liked by 1 person

    • You are more than welcome to comment any time, my friend!

      I wasn’t aware of that about the Southern Baptists, and … are you sure they were even an organized religion back then? I’m not a Christian and thus haven’t read the bible, nor do I know much about it other than that Jesus was seemingly a pretty decent guy, but I’m not sure most would agree that the bible calls for the separation of church and state. Ah well, what do I know? 😊

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  7. Jill, seeing Lindsey Graham’s latest comment, let’s take stock. Former SC Republican governor Nikki Haley said Senator Warnock of Georgia should be deported. And, Graham said if incumbent Democrat Senator Cortez Masto wins the election is a fraud. Haley is supposed to be one of the more rational Republicans and Graham, at one time was also considered such. Haley, who once made a speech that derided then candidate Donald Trump, should be embarrassed by this statement. Graham, of course, has been the worst of Trump’s sycophants since calling then candidate an “a**hole” during the 2016 election. Graham has bigger problems in Georgia with his SCOTUS ordered response to a subpoena in the election meddling investigation.

    To be frank, I expect gibberish like this from Graham, but Haley’s comment is highly disappointing. Ruining one’s reputation for the likes of the former president is truly a fool’s errand. Keith

    Liked by 2 people

    • PS – Your comment on Trump not wanting to visit the war deceased does speak volumes. But, so does his comment about Senator John McCain which Trump is recorded as saying is not a war hero because McCain was captured. It was so egregious, the GOP friendly host gave him a chance to rectify his remark. Trump doubled down on the criticism of McCain, again all recorded. And, then there are all of his other egregious remarks such as groping women with impunity or mocking a disabled reporter, which he denies but obviously did. This is on top of his deceitful, seditious and bullying behavior. So, why do people support him? Keith

      Liked by 2 people

      • Oh yes … you’re so right … that one incensed me! John McCain was captured and tortured fighting for this country and when Trump said that, I wanted to bash his head with my rolling pin! Another similar remark was when, and I don’t remember the year, but it was sometime during Trump’s presidency, he accompanied his Chief of Staff John Kelly to Kelly’s son’s gravesite and asked “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?” THIS from the president [sic] of the United States.

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    • You are quite right … Haley’s comment is unconscionable! I hadn’t heard that, else I would certainly have included it in my little rant here. What’s really too bad about Haley is that when she was the Governor of South Carolina, I had a lot of respect for her. Then she jumped onto the Trump bandwagon, learned to hold her nose while pandering to him, and eventually I guess she got accustomed to the odour and didn’t even need to hold her nose anymore. She sold her conscience and all the integrity she once had downriver for … for what? Power? Wealth?

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  8. Pingback: This, That, and ‘TOONS! — Filosofa’s Word | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

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