Growl-Worthy Snippets

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Economic issues, education, Election 2024, guns, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry

There is so much going on this week that I cannot keep up … my mind is pulled into multiple directions, all of which bring a strange growling sound from deep within.  So, since I don’t like to growl alone, here are just a few of the things I’ve observed in my traipse through the news lately …

You are judged by the company you keep

I cannot understand how or why the Republican Party even wants something like Donald Trump on their ticket.  If it’s true that we are judged, at least in part, by the company we keep, then Donald Trump should be the single most shunned ‘man’ in America!  First there was white supremacist and anti-Semite Nick Fuentes, along with Kanye West, also a white supremacist (despite being Black) and anti-Semite, but also a Holocaust denier and adorer of all things Hitler.  He dined with these two not long ago and who knows what role they will play in his rhetorical campaign this year and next.

And now, Trump is adding none other than the conspiracy theorist, anti-Muslim, white supremacist Laura Loomer to his list of nasties!  Yep, you heard right … he has directed his staff to offer Ms. Loomer a position with his campaign.  Apparently some of Trump’s aides have reservations and have not yet made Loomer an offer, but … Fuentes, West, Loomer and Trump are four peas in a very nasty, moldy pod and I hope to see them all go down in flames long before the ballots are even printed next year!

Feed the legislators, not the poor children

A couple of weeks ago in North Dakota, the state Senate struck down a bill that would have provided free lunches to low-income students in grades K-12.  The bill had previously been passed by the North Dakota House of Representatives but was rejected by the Senate by a single vote, 23-24.  Either half of the North Dakota Senate have no children or have never known what it’s like to be poor.  But wait … it gets even better …

Ten days later, on Thursday, the same Senate passed another bill … this one giving themselves an increase in their meal allowance!  This one passed 26-21.  If Governor Doug Burgum signs the bill into law, it will increase the daily meal reimbursement from $35 to $45.  Okay, not a lot, but a hell of a lot more than they provide for those kids living in poverty!  One senator, Jerry Klein, said that the increase is only right because inflation has made eating out so much more expensive.  So, bring a sandwich from home, fool!

An update on the Clarence Thomas story

I wrote on Thursday about the Pro Publica story regarding Justice Clarence Thomas and the extravagant vacations and other items he had been given by billionaire Harlan Crow … expensive gifts that he had failed to disclose.  Yesterday, Justice Thomas defended his failure to disclose these very expensive trips and gifts, saying that he was advised “that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.”

First of all, Harlan Crow is a Texas billionaire with his finger in many pots, and to believe that he had no ulterior interests in spending millions of dollars entertaining Clarence and Virginia Thomas is a stretch for my imagination.  But what really struck me about Justice Thomas’ self-defense was that … he has a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School!  He has held a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, the highest court in the nation, since October 1991, and before that served on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.  He is supposed to KNOW the law!  And now he basically says, “Oops, silly me, I didn’t know I was supposed to disclose millions of dollars in gifts.”  Sorry, I’m not buying it.

An update to the ousted Tennessee legislators

Yesterday I wrote about two Black Tennessee state legislators who had been ousted from the Tennessee House of Representatives for participating in a rally against gun violence in the wake of the Nashville school shooting last week.  Many of us were outraged that they were being punished for standing with their constituents in this all-important matter of guns and children dying on a daily basis, but the Republican Party in Tennessee stands firm.

According to the laws and procedures in the state, when a seat becomes vacant, it is up to the county commissioners to appoint someone to fill the seat until the next election.  In both Nashville and Memphis, officials have indicated they may return Representatives Pearson and Jones to their seats next week.  Now, if they do, the Tennessee House of Representatives could not refuse to seat them.

However, leave it to the Republican Party to play dirty, and as of yesterday it was reported that Republican leaders in the state House have threatened to take away funding of projects in Nashville and Memphis if the county commissioners return one or both of the men to their rightful seats in the legislature.  This is political blackmail, pure and simple.  This would involve taking state funding away from schools, infrastructure, and other projects currently being funded in the two largest cities in the state.  This is not governance of the people, for the people, and by the people, but rather a power struggle with its basis in racism and greed.

Now, if you’ve had enough of my dark news, I suggest you head over to Annie’s place for an equal amount of very GOOD news!!!

31 thoughts on “Growl-Worthy Snippets”

  1. The Tennessee three will go down in history. Amazing how democratic procedures are held in Congress with subpoenas and hearings and those Rethuglicans just took it upon it for themselves to just toss them out. Those white supremists just booted their asses because they asking for gun control, and because they were black. You better believe they reinstated one of the Justin’s quickly. Waiting for the other to be reinstated. They better hurry because if they didn’t and do reinstate they will deal with the People’s wrath. 😦 xx

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Think of Moses as the US constitution, think of the folk of MAGA as the people of Israel and Aaron as Trump/DeSantis and the rest…..
    Then onto the Book of Exodus Chap. 32

    When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

    2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.”

    3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.

    4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

    Liked by 1 person

    • I tried, but I’m afraid you lost me with this one, my friend. Not your fault, but mine. I did get some of it, though, wuch as Aaron/Trump/DeSantis demanding all the gold, but … in the case of Trump and DeSantis, they wouldn’t fashion a useless statue, but would spend it on themselves and their pleasure. Sorry … I’m not the sharpest bulb in the pack these days 💡

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Keith, you’ve made a good case for why We the People must close down a cafeteria that metes out poisoned food.

    I think they’ve finally gone too far. And with a highly motivated Gen Z leading the way, America has begun tacking up “This Property Is Condemned” signs on Republican-led legislatures and courtrooms.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. I was trying to make the “is it good or is it bad” my thing. I now find Miss Annie and yourself tag teaming me. In my comment on her site I found myself unable to play the Debbie Downer role and blamed Spring for the euphoria.
    The thing about Spring euphoria is it fools the mind into WANTING to pick up a shovel and muck out the stalls.
    Tennessee proves they are prepared to muck them up again. Thanks for some darkness sometimes the light is just too bright. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Yep, Annie and I are in cahoots to keep your head spinning! 😉

      I know of some stalls I’d like to ‘muck out’ right about now! The Tennessee legislature is obviously one, and the state of Florida is another, as is the U.S. House of Representatives. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr … I sure do growl a lot these days … perhaps that’s why my voice is getting gravelly.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Jill, the company you keep is important and exemplifies who you are and what you stand for. The message that the former president sends is to endorse white nationalists allowing them to come into the light. His “good people on both sides” still echoes in too many ears.

    As for Clarence Thomas, his defense is poor. Of course, he knows better. If he said that retort to a judge, he would be admonished. It truly is that simple.

    The Tennessee debacle just reeks. It is an abuse of power and people should know this. I guess they feel empowered by the autocratic acting Florida governor. Bully opponents. We need to shed a spotlight on this kind of behavior.

    Keith

    Liked by 3 people

    • Indeed, that comment about ‘good people on both sides’ will not soon be forgotten, at least by most of us, but it seems that too many just don’t care. I understand from today’s news that he changed his mind about Laura Loomer after Marge Greene threw a hissy fit. Who knew ol’ Marge might be useful for something after all?

      Clarence Thomas — yes, it really is that simple. He was intelligent enough to be placed on the Supreme Court, so he’s smart enough to know that what he did was wrong, and to have known it was wrong while he was doing it. I say impeachment is the only answer.

      I was thinking this morning that what I’m hearing about Tennessee and this debacle is so ridiculous … it basically says that one party can just get rid of members of the other party with or without cause. That’s not quite how democracy works!!!

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  6. Thanks, Jill! As you point out, there’s lots to be angry about—that far-right Texas judge telling the FDA that they can’t allow mifepristone nationwide any more is the latest. (I’m sure you’ll cover that.)
    I think the Tennessee ouster and this judge’s ruling—stirring together a poisonous stew of racism, gun rights run amok, and a sweeping, also potentially lethal, anti-choice decision—will galvanize the American majority who oppose all these anti-democratic power seizures at last. The piece you link to on my blog shows what persistent citizen activism can do. We MUST do it!

    Liked by 3 people

    • I thought it was just too perfect that you had 4 bits of good news to offset my 4 bits of not-so-good news! Oh yes, I’ll be addressing that one … doing a bit of research first, but I’m taking this afternoon off for family time, so it’ll be tomorrow or Monday. You’re so right … we must keep up the momentum and not let it all get us down to the point we throw up our hands and give up.

      Liked by 2 people

    • Annie, Jill, I feel like we have entered the GOP Cafeteria where the food is meted out. You want civil rights, I am sorry you are the wrong color. You want the morning after pill, I am sorry we cannot have your promiscuous kind here. You want to check out Huck Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Hand Maid’s Tale, Billy Elliott, eg, I am sorry those books are no longer available. You want to go to Disney World, let me see if they are complying with our rules. Have you tried the Creation Museum? You want to vote, now that just tickles me.

      Here are some meatloaf and mashed potatoes and a piece of apple pie. Oh, here is your ammunition for protection. God bless America. Keith

      Liked by 3 people

      • That’s an excellent analogy, Keith. The Republican Party is now the party of “NO”. Equal rights? NO. Civil Rights? NO. Women’s rights? NO NO NO. I used to think it was a stroke of luck that I was born into this nation, but … not so anymore.

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  7. Pingback: Growl-Worthy Snippets | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

  8. I had to come to your blogsite to comment. The post showed up in my email but not my WP reader. How odd. (Truth is I have not received any new posts in the past 12 hours. This is very unusual.)

    And after that I have forgotten what I intended to say. Yuck! So I’ll leave you with this thought instead, lol. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY SUCKS BIGTIME!!!!!

    Liked by 2 people

    • The post finally showed up at 7:30AM MDT. Not aure where it was hiding, or why. Were “the powers-that-be” trying to protect me from your dire warnings? They can stuff that!

      Liked by 1 person

    • I wondered if perhaps some of my posts weren’t showing up for people in Reader. I see them there, but that doesn’t mean everybody does, and my ‘views’ have been way down for the last 3 weeks or so. They have a new thing called “Blaze” where you can pay them to promote your posts, and I wonder if they’re intentionally withholding some of our posts from public view in order to make us use their new paid service. Sorry you had such a hard time with this one, but your conclusion is apt: The Republican Party DOES suck these days!

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      • I don’t trust WP as far as I csn throw it these days. I just found out I am no longer following a number of sites I know I have been following for years. This has been happening off and on, even yours, but 5 at once! That is new!
        The thing is, they cannot get money out of a minus bank account. I guess they want to be like everyone else, make money while the making is high. But they’re too late, the money is all gone!

        Liked by 2 people

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