Tuesday’s ‘Toons …

Posted on May 21, 2019 by jilldennison under cartoons, Global Issues, Humour, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

I decided to hop around and see how the cartoonists are handling things this week. Y’know, it’s odd that we can still manage to find humour in the atrocities our government is inflicting on us every day, but … I guess in order to maintain some degree of sanity, we must find something to laugh about, yes?

This week the three biggest topics were Trump’s & Bolton’s taunting of Iran and the likely fallout, the draconian anti-abortion laws being passed in many states, and Trump’s trade wars. But first … the world lost two fabulous entertainers last week, Doris Day and Tim Conway … so let’s start there.

Alabama, Georgia, Utah, Ohio, Missouri, Mississippi and other states have recently passed highly restrictive laws banning abortion, in some cases calling for long periods of incarceration for both mother and doctor. The ultimate goal of the far right evangelicals and Trump, of course, being to get these cases to the Supreme Court and overturn the federal law established by Roe v Wade, thus completely subjugating women to the whims of a few. They call it “pro-life”, but it is, in fact, anti-women’s rights, nothing more.

Trump and his National Security advisor John Bolton have been seemingly trying to poke the beast (Iran) and start a new war in the Middle East. Just what the world needs, eh?

Trump’s trade war … some time ago he said, “Trade wars are easy to win”. Well, we know … we knew then … that he is clueless, that he doesn’t understand international trade any better than a banana does, and now he’s proven it. He has gone tariff-crazy and it is hurting US, especially the farmers, but he’s oblivious and doesn’t care anyway.

And I close with just a few miscellaneous ‘toons …

Only Two Snarky Snippets Today …

Posted on May 21, 2019 by jilldennison under Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry

Is there no end, you ask, to the snark of the Filosofa? And the answer is … I don’t think so. If there is, I haven’t found it yet. The problem is that I have at least 30 topics backlogged that are snark-inducing and I don’t know where to start. Okay … let’s start here …

Coward of the county …

I had hoped that former White House counsel Don McGahn had conjones. I hoped he was a man of honour and integrity. All indications were that he cared about the letter of the law, for he resigned his position rather than do Trump’s bidding which would have meant breaking the law. A sign of an honourable man. But I was wrong. McGahn is just as afraid of Trump as are the rest of his minions.

Legally, since McGahn is a private citizen and no longer employed by the U.S. government, there is nothing Trump or Barr can do to stop McGahn from testifying. What hold, then, does Trump have? Well, let me tell you … Trump has made it known in a rather offhand sort of way that if McGahn testified before the House committee, he (Trump) would instruct republicans to cease dealing with McGahn’s law firm, Jones Day. McGahn’s lawyer said that McGahn would honour Trump’s wishes. What about the wishes of the citizens of this nation? What are we, chopped liver? I was a fool to believe that Don McGahn might put the best interest of the nation, the common good, before his own personal concerns. Silly me, for believing that anyone who was ever associated with Trump had a backbone or a conscience.

Committee chair Jerry Nadler responded …

“This move is just the latest act of obstruction from the White House that includes its blanket refusal to cooperate with this committee. It is also the latest example of this Administration’s disdain for law.”

Right, Mr. Nadler, so instead of scratching your head, let’s do something this time. Hold McGahn in contempt, swear out a warrant for his arrest, fine the heck out of him. DO SOMETHING!!!

Trump, of course, is gloating, saying …

“I think it’s a very important precedent. And the attorneys say that they’re not doing that for me, they’re doing that for the office of the president. So we’re talking about the future.”

Bullshit. If this is to become the future, then let us simply disband both the executive and legislative branches right now … today … for neither of them is worth a damn at this moment. We the People are being royally ripped off!

Kris Kobach thinks highly of himself …

You remember Kris Kobach, right? Well, perhaps I’ll just briefly refresh your memory, for he has been out of the news for a while now. Kris Kobach is the former Secretary of State of Kansas who was named the vice chairman of Trump’s short-lived, ignominious ‘Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity’ which was a rather draconian committee attempting to prove that there had been massive voter fraud in the 2016 elections. The truth was that the only election irregularities were on the part of Trump and his ‘people’, including his Russian buddies. Kobach demanded that the states turn over all information on all voters, including private information such as address and social security numbers. Most states flat-out refused, there was no evidence of voter fraud, and the commission simply fell apart.

Kobach has a long history of bigotry and attempted voter suppression techniques, and at one point had called for a “Muslim registry”. He was also an advisor to good ol’ Sheriff Joe Arpaio, America’s #1 racist.

Fast forward to today. Trump is trying to create a new position in his administration that would be titled “Immigration Czar”. Say WHAT??? We don’t have ‘czars’ in this country!!! Donnie has been hanging out with the Russians too long! The position would be ostensibly to “coordinate immigration policy across government agencies”. There is no doubt that it would, in reality, be much more than that. Trump is considering a couple of people for that position, and Kris Kobach is one. Well, he thinks highly of himself, and he provided the White House with a list of his ‘requirements’ for the job:

Office in the West Wing.
Walk-in privileges with the president.
Assistant to the President rank – at highest pay level for WH senior staff.
Staff of 7 people (2 attorneys, 2 research analysts, 1 scheduler, 1 media person, 1 assistant).
POTUS sits down individually with Czar and the secretaries of Homeland Security, Defense, Justice, Ag, Interior, and Commerce, and tells each of the Secretaries to follow the directives of the Czar without delay, subject to appeal to the President in cases of disagreement.
24/7 access to either a DHS or DOD jet. Czar must be on the border every week.
Ability to spend weekends in KS with family on way from border back to DC, unless POTUS needs Czar elsewhere.
Security detail if deemed necessary after security review.
Serve as the face of Trump immigration policy – the principal spokesman on television and in the media.
Promise that by November 1, 2019, the president will nominate Kris Kobach to be DHS Secretary, unless Kobach wishes to continue in Czar position.

My jaw had to be picked up from the floor … in fact, I laughed so hard that I had to be picked up from the floor!!! Who does this yahoo think he is???

A closing note …

Please keep our good friend rawgod and his family in your hearts tonight. They have had to evacuate their home due to wildfires in Alberta, Canada. They and the kitties are safe, but don’t know yet whether they will lose their home to the fires. 😢

Another of those WTF Moments …

Posted on May 19, 2019 by jilldennison under Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Rants

The Equality Act was introduced into the House of Representatives by Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island on March 13, 2019. In summary …

This bill prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system. Specifically, the bill defines and includes sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation.

The bill expands the definition of public accommodations to include places or establishments that provide (1) exhibitions, recreation, exercise, amusement, gatherings, or displays; (2) goods, services, or programs; and (3) transportation services.

The bill allows the Department of Justice to intervene in equal protection actions in federal court on account of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The bill prohibits an individual from being denied access to a shared facility, including a restroom, a locker room, and a dressing room, that is in accordance with the individual’s gender identity.

Nothing too controversial there, right? The LGBT people in our world surely deserve the same rights and protections as everyone, right? It isn’t rocket science, right? Well …

“Standing with my colleagues in opposition to the so-called “Equality Act” as it undermines human dignity, freedom of speech, religion, and conscience, and puts parental rights at risk.” – U.S. Representative Warren Davidson, Ohio

Say WHAT???

No no no no no Warren! Human dignity is what it is trying to protect and preserve. What, do you want separate water coolers, perhaps, for LGBT people? Or … perhaps they should have segregated schools? Oh, I know … you don’t want any to be able to buy a house in your neighborhood, or to get a decent job, or even to be able to purchase a wedding cake, perhaps? Or … perhaps you would like them to have a number tattooed onto their arms and wear a gold star on their clothing? Dignity, Warren? How do you define that word? Seems to me you’re trying to take away the dignity of an entire group of people … yes, Warren … people.

Religion? How does giving an LGBT person a fair shot at a job or at a slot in college or to get a loan to purchase a car interfere with anybody’s ‘freedom of religion’? Answers, please? Freedom of speech? Um, excuse me, but what … you want to be able to shout from the steps of the Capitol Building “I hate gays!”? Sure, go ahead … see if anybody votes for you next year. How in the Sam Heck does ensuring equal rights for people interfere with your or my freedom of speech? The answer is it doesn’t.

And lastly … “puts parental rights at risk”??? What planet are you on, Warren? Let me ask you a quick question, if you don’t mind … just how much alcohol do you drink in the course of a 24-hour period? First, I’m not even sure what you mean when you say, “parental rights”. I think of parental responsibilities as parents’ duty to keep their children warm, healthy, well-fed, safe and to see to their education, but … what “rights” do you refer to? And how does giving people equal opportunities in employment, housing, credit, education, and public facilities undermine those “parental rights”? Answers, please.

Warren Davidson happens to be my representative and I know him to be a fool who is more concerned with preserving bitcoin than human life, so apart from the fact that he represents my district in Congress, it would be easy to write his babbling rhetoric off as foolishness. But …

“Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) joined with Reps. Vicky Hartzler (R-Missouri), Jody Hice (R-Georgia), Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) and Carol Miller (R-West Virginia) to speak out about the Equality Act’s harmful effects on women and girls. Alongside the lawmakers, representatives from CWALAC, Women’s Liberation Front, Alliance Defending Freedom, Susan B. Anthony List and Family Research Council, were clear – the “Equality Act” will do away with women’s sports, safe spaces for women, and jeopardize parents’ jurisdiction over their child’s health care. It is dangerous for our country. This bill is extreme and dangerous. It is not about equality; it is about imposing a new form of discrimination against women and people of faith in our country.” – Concerned Women For America

WTF???

Has this entire bloomin’ nation gone loco?

There is not one single legitimate concern voiced by either Davidson or this “women’s” group or anyone else, for that matter. So … what’s going on here? Well, folks, it’s called b-i-g-o-t-r-y. Homophobia. Fear of that which is not understood. So, rather than seek to educate, they choose hate. Rather than accept people as they are, they choose to shun them because they are not just like them.

LGBT people are people. Humans. Just like me and you. Just because some narrow-minded portion of society feels threatened by people who love someone of their own gender is no reason to deny people the right to earn a living, live in a decent neighborhood, shop in their local store, send their children to school, get a loan, or have a wedding cake baked. People, that’s all.

The Equality Act bill passed in the House of Representatives on Friday by a vote of 236-173, with 23 abstentions. Eight of the ‘Aye’ votes were by republicans, and all 173 ‘Nay’ votes were by republicans. The eight republicans who supported the bill are:

Susan Brooks (Indiana)
Mario Diaz-Balart (Florida)
Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania)
Will Hurd (Texas)
John Katko (New York)
Tom Reed (New York)
Elise Stefanik (New York)
Greg Walden (Oregon)

These eight deserve a thumbs up for voting their conscience instead of toeing the party line. The rest of the republicans continue to do the bidding of the evangelicals and the person in the Oval Office … shame on them!

Sadly, the bill will die a rapid death when it reaches the Senate, for Mitchell McConnell has made a pledge, it seems, to ensure that no bills that are for the benefit of the people of this nation will pass under his watch. And, if it passes the Senate by some miracle, Trump will veto it, for his puppeteers like Franklin Graham, Robert Jeffress and Pat Robertson are against it and he does their bidding, not ours. ‘Tis a sad state of affairs when people in this nation no longer have basic civil rights, human rights.

An Anniversary To Remember …

Posted on May 18, 2019 by jilldennison under education, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Yesterday marked the 65^th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision on Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, the landmark decision that established that racial discrimination in schools is unconstitutional. To honour this anniversary, I would like to share with you a post by the Jon S. Randal Peace Page that tells the story better than I could.

She just wanted to go to a good school, to be with her friends.

She lived in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, growing up playing with children of all races.

The school she wanted to attend, where her friends were, was only four blocks away.

Her father would take her to that school, the Sumner School. Being a part of the neighborhood, the family received a registration form for the school in 1952. She was so excited, to be able to attend a school nearby with her friends from the neighborhood.

But, when they arrived there, the principal would take her father to the office and close the door. She didn’t know what was happening, why the principal had to speak to her father alone. She heard her father’s voice begin to rise. After a few minutes, her father opened the door, he was upset, and he just took her hand and walked back out of the school.

The school had apparently sent the registration form to her family by mistake. They thought the family was white, Linda Brown and her parents were black and Sumner was a whites-only school.

“I just couldn’t understand what was happening,” she would say, “I was so sure that I was going to go to school with Mona and Guinevere, Wanda, and all of my playmates.”

Linda Brown did not realize that she was unable to attend the school because of the color of her skin. This was because the elementary schools in Topeka, Kansas, were racially segregated, with separate facilities for black and white children.

“I didn’t comprehend color of skin,” she said later. “I only knew that I wanted to go to Sumner.”

She and other black children were barred from sharing the same buses, schools and other public facilities as whites because of the “Jim Crow” laws.

Brown would be forced to walk 6 blocks through the dangerous Rock Island Switchyard in order to catch a bus to the segregated all-black school.

According to the Washington Post, Linda’s father, the Rev. Oliver L. Brown, an assistant minister at St. Mark’s African Methodist Episcopal Church, “felt that it was wrong for his child to have to go so far a distance to receive a quality education.”

Linda’s father would join several other parents, and, together, led by a young, NAACP attorney named Thurgood Marshall, would take the case, Brown v. Board of Education before the U.S. Supreme Court.

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, would rule in their favor, saying that school segregation violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The unanimous ruling declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Brown v. Board of Education would be the basis for many other rulings that led to desegregation, motivating the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

But, not only did black students benefit from the ruling, Native American children were also affected. Native American communities had to deal with segregation laws as well, with native children being prohibited from attending white institutions. After tribal leaders learned about Dr. King’s desegregation campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, they would contact him for assistance, resolving the problem.

Although Brown’s family was just one of 13 plaintiffs who sought to ensure the city fully integrated the rest of its schools, Brown would be burdened with the publicity because her family’s name was part of the case name. Her family would briefly leave their home in Topeka, Kansas, when she was a teenager, but she would return to Topeka after her father died in 1961.

She would also take on the civil rights mantle of her father, becoming an educator and civil rights advocate.

Brown was part of a group of Topeka parents who, in 1979, joined with the American Civil Liberties Union to successfully argue for the reopening of the Brown case. The parents argued that because of housing patterns in Topeka, racially segregated schools remained in the city, in violation of the 1954 ruling.

In a 1985 interview for “Eyes on the Prize,” a PBS documentary series on the civil rights movement, Linda Brown said, “I feel that after 30 years, looking back on Brown v. the Board of Education, it has made an impact in all facets of life for minorities throughout the land. I really think of it in terms of what it has done for our young people, in taking away that feeling of second-class citizenship.”

When Brown died on March 25, 2018, at the age 76, the Kansas governor paid tribute to Brown, saying:

“Sixty-four years ago a young girl from Topeka brought a case that ended segregation in public schools in America. Linda Brown’s life reminds us that sometimes the most unlikely people can have an incredible impact and that by serving our community we can truly change the world.”

In an interview with the Washington Post in 1994, Brown had said, “We feel disheartened that 40 years later we’re still talking about desegregation. But the struggle has to continue.”

Sixty-five years later. Everybody accepts that racial intolerance has no place in our schools, in our society, right? Wrong. A number of Trump’s recent judicial nominees have flat-out refused to affirm the Brown decision. One even went so far as to say she did not agree with the decision in 1954. Why??? Are we, in fact, headed on a backward slope in terms of racial discrimination just as we are in terms of women’s and LGBT rights? Suffice it to say that with the recent rise in white supremacy and Trump’s pandering to the right-wing hate groups, it is something we cannot afford to ignore.

He Sure Can Pick ‘Em …

Posted on May 17, 2019 by jilldennison under Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Trump's Staff Picks

I’ve frequently written about Trump’s staff picks, for they all seem to be the most un-qualified people for the jobs they are assigned. I mean, he hired Scott Pruitt, a man who had sued the EPA numerous times, to head the EPA! He chose Betsy DeVos, a woman who doesn’t believe in public schools, to head the Department of Education! It doesn’t get much more buffoonish, does it? Anyway, I haven’t written about any of his recent staff pics, but since a couple of them are cluttering up my radar screen, it seems a good time to do so!

Mark Morgan …

Typically, we wouldn’t pay much attention to a new Director of Ice (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), but in the era of Trump, we pay attention to things we never needed to before. And so it was that Trump’s latest staff pick, Mark Morgan, flew across my radar. Well, truth be told, he rather flopped onto it like a dying bird.

Mark Morgan

The thing that brought Morgan flopping onto my radar screen was his claim that he can look into the eyes of a child and know if that child will grow up to be a criminal. Say WHAT??? In an interview with Fox News’ resident moron Tucker Carlson, Morgan said …

“I’ve been to detention facilities where I’ve walked up to these individuals that are so-called minors, 17 or under. I’ve looked at them and I’ve looked at their eyes, Tucker — and I’ve said that is a soon-to-be MS-13 gang member. It’s unequivocal.”

Morgan likes to be on television … a lot. In addition to at least three appearances on Tucker Carlson’s show, he has racked up more than 100 television appearances on other shows such as those of Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. He sure knows how to pick ‘em, yes?

Morgan was head of Border Patrol for the last four months of the Obama administration, but was almost immediately fired by Trump once he took office. Perhaps solely on the basis that he had been hired by President Obama … we all know how jealous Trump is of anything with Obama’s name on it. However, he has proven his worth to Trump by being a cheerleader for Trump’s ignominious border wall, and Fox News refers to Morgan as a former Obama administration official who “saw the light”.

Morgan has also applauded the administration’s policy for keeping immigrant children in cages, saying how wonderful it is that the cages were designed with the occupant’s safety in mind. Seriously???

His nomination will have to be confirmed by the Senate, and that, believe it or not, is not a certainty. Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Cory Gardner of Colorado, both of whom will be up for re-election next year, are treading softly on the issue of immigration, as they have come under fire from their constituents over the abominably cruel policy of separating children from their parents at the border. Other republicans in the Senate have also expressed concerns, such as Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Let us hope that at least 5 of the 54 republican senators find a bit of a conscience and refuse to confirm this animal. Of course, it won’t matter, for Trump will no doubt find another who is just as unacceptable.

Steve Dickson …

And then there is the position of FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Administrator. The purpose of the FAA in a nutshell is to regulate all aspects of civil aviation. This includes airline safety. Remember the Boeing crashes in recent months?

Steve Dickson

For this crucial post, Trump has nominated Steve Dickson, a former Air Force fighter pilot who went on to become a commercial pilot for Delta, where he has worked for 27 years. Dickson retired as the company’s senior vice president for flight operations last year. Okay, so he knows how to fly a plane, but frankly those ties to the airline industry seem a built-in conflict of interest to me.

Initially, Trump had planned to name his own personal pilot, an employee of Trump’s company, to head the FAA, but even senate republicans balked at that one. So, last fall, Dickson stepped down from his position at Delta almost at the same time that Trump announced his decision to nominate him.

On the surface, there isn’t a lot to dislike, but … something is niggling at me. Perhaps it is the fact that he just left Delta as a senior V.P. … it’s rather like having people in the interior department and the EPA with ties to the fossil fuel industry. Inherent conflict of interest.

But perhaps the thing that is causing my antennae to twitch is that two days ago, Nicholas E. Calio, President and CEO of Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, sent a letter to Senators Roger Wicker and Maria Cantwell, the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, calling for the quick approval of the nomination of Steve Dickson to serve as the next Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. I tend to twitch these days when somebody calls for “quick approval” … remember Brett Kavanaugh?

I would urge caution and research on the part of the Senate, but of course he will be confirmed hands down, in all likelihood, and no doubt quickly. The FAA dropped the ball on holding Boeing to the industry standards when they rolled out their 737 MAX fleet, and as a result, 346 people died in two crashes within a few months of each other. The U.S. was the last country to ground the MAX 8 after the second crash, once again putting corporate profit ahead of human lives. We need to ensure that whoever heads the FAA is independent of Trump and able to stand against industry pressure for profit. I’m not so sure Steve Dickson is that man.

This administration is looking more and more like a circus every day, but do you notice anything? Take a look at this picture … granted, some of these are gone and have since been replaced, but you can still see what I’m driving at in this picture, and then look at the statistics chart at the bottom.

He’s got his ‘token black (male)’ in Ben Carson, but Ben is … well, let’s just say he is a poor representation of his race. And a smattering of women, but not nearly representative of the population of women, and as far as DeVos, I’m not convinced that she is a woman at heart. Oh yeah, folks, we definitely have a racist, misogynistic bigot in the White House, and he is surrounding himself with people who look just like him. Think about that.

Say WHAT???

Posted on May 16, 2019 by jilldennison under Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

My inbox this morning contained the latest column by one of my favourite journalists, Nicholas Kristof. As I read his column, I was torn between rage and tears, disbelief and horror. I present portions of that column, but you can read the entire column here …

A Good Samaritan and the Border Patrol

A motorist may have saved a life when she stopped to help three desperate young adults. Then she was arrested.

By Nicholas Kristof

Opinion Columnist

May 15, 2019

The path to Teresa L. Todd’s arrest began when three desperate Central American migrants waved frantically at her car on a Texas highway one night in February.

At least one other car had hurtled by, afraid to stop. But for Todd, compassion overrode any fear. “I’m a mom,” explained Todd, who has two boys, ages 15 and 17. “And I see a young man who looked the same age and size as my younger son. And if my son was by the side of the road, I would want someone to help.”

Todd, a single mom who works as a lawyer for a city and county in West Texas, found three siblings: two brothers ages 20 and 22 and their sister, Esmeralda, 18. To escape violence, they fled their native El Salvador years ago and recently Guatemala, where friends were murdered and a gang leader wanted to make Esmeralda his “girlfriend.”

Teresa L. Todd was detained by Border Patrol agents after stopping her car to help a group of migrants in Texas. CreditJessica Lutz for The New York Times

Esmeralda was suffering from starvation, dehydration and a potentially fatal syndrome called rhabdomyolysis that can lead to kidney failure. Seeing that Esmeralda was very sick, Todd invited the migrants into her car to warm up, and she began frantically texting friends (including one who is a lawyer for the Border Patrol) for advice about getting Esmeralda medical attention.

A sheriff’s deputy pulled up behind Todd’s car, lights flashing, and a Border Patrol officer arrived shortly afterward. The officers detained Todd for three hours, confiscating her possessions and keeping her in a holding cell.

By stopping to help a stranger, Todd may have saved a life — but this also got her arrested.

“It was totally surreal,” Todd recalled. “Especially for doing what my parents taught me was right, and what I learned in church was right, which was helping people. So finding myself in a holding cell for that, it was hard to wrap my head around.”

Esmeralda was hospitalized for four days, and she and her siblings are now in ICE custody. Todd has not been charged with a crime so far, but the authorities seem to have been considering a federal indictment. I reached out to federal and local officials for comment; they did not respond.

Todd told me that she has no regrets. “I think it’s the right thing to help those in need,” she explained. “That’s what I learned from my parents. That’s what I learned in church.”

“This is all about trying to chill the willingness of people to help others,” Todd said. “A friend told me, ‘The other day, someone tried to flag me down by the side of the road and waved an empty water bottle, and I thought about what happened to you and didn’t stop.’”

Referring to Trump, Michele Bachmann, the former Republican congresswoman, recently said, “We will in all likelihood never see a more godly, biblical president again in our lifetimes.”

I thanked Todd for her humanity, and for helping save a life. She said her assistance had been instinctive.

“I’m simply a mom who saw a child in need and pulled over to try to help,” she said. “The whole time I was by the side of the road, I was thinking: What country am I in? This is not the United States.”

OH FOR PETE’S SAKE!!!

Posted on May 16, 2019 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Rants, Social commentary

Ever notice how sometimes a headline catches your eye and your jaw immediately drops to the ground? The lunacy, the utter ignorance and stupidity of the human race never ceases to astound me. A couple of things brought about this head-shaking, eye-rolling, jaw-dropping reaction from me today. The first …

Proposed Fur Ban in New York Pits Animal Rights Advocates Against Black Ministers

New York City is currently considering a proposal to ban the sale of animal fur. For the record, and in case there was any doubt, I fully support this proposal! If nobody can sell the fur, fewer animals will have to die. Most of you already know that I like animals better than I like people, for the most part. So, where’s the controversy?

Black ministers have protested the proposed ban on the steps of City Hall, saying that furs are a treasured part of African-American tradition and culture. Hasidic rabbis point to their own tradition of many Hasidic men wearing fur hats on the Sabbath. And fur shop owners and garment manufacturers have raised alarms over the potential loss of jobs and an attack on an industry that has a centuries-rich tradition in New York.

So, let me get this straight … we should encourage the wanton killing of beautiful animals so that fur shop owners can continue to make a profit, so that Hasidic rabbis can buy new fur hats when they wish (take care of the one you have, or wear faux fur!) and so that African-Americans don’t have to be deprived of cultural frou-frous? Um … probably half of my friends are African-American and I don’t know a single one who actually owns a fur garment.

I can only imagine what the hunters and the NRA will have to say once they hear about this proposal and respond! Have I mentioned that people are selfish, arrogant and ignorant?

Pat Robertson: God Will Destroy America if Pro-LGBTQ Rights Bill Passes

Well, Pat, you know what? That’s fine by me, for I don’t think a nation that discriminates against people on any superficial basis should exist, and I damn sure don’t want to live in such a narrow-minded, bigoted nation.

“They always give good names to these things. This is a devastating blow to religious freedom and to the sanctity of America. If you want to bring the judgment of God on this nation, you just keep this stuff up. I was reading in Leviticus where it says because of these things the land ‘will vomit you out.’ Vomit you out. I think God will say, ‘I’ve had it with America if you do this kind of stuff, I’m going to get rid of you as a nation.'”

What an arrogant, narrow-minded, nasty prick! Sorry … I try not to be vulgar here, but this ‘person’ has ruffled my feathers and I’m not biting my tongue on this one.

The Equality Act is a bill that would modify existing civil rights legislation to ban discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment, housing, public accommodations, jury service, education, federal programs and credit. Now would somebody please explain to me just what has Mr. Robertson’s knickers in a wad? Remember when we had to pass legislation to ensure these very same rights to African-Americans? It was called the Civil Rights Act. Why do we keep having to legislate common sense? Why??? Because of people like Pat Robertson and Franklin Graham who think that their religious beliefs give them the right to take away fair treatment for those of us who do not share their beliefs.

The bill’s sponsor is David Cicilline, a democrat from Rhode Island, who says …

“In most states in this country, a gay couple can be married on Saturday, post their wedding photos to Instagram on Sunday, and lose their jobs or get kicked out of their apartments on Monday just because of who they are.”

Even though the bill is all but guaranteed to pass in the House, it’s fate in the Senate is less certain, and Trump is almost certain to veto it, as he has expressed his opposition already.

Sigh.

Conservative Radio Station Plans To Rebrand As ‘Trump FM’

Yep, you read it right, folks. And this one isn’t even down in Trump country! A far-right conservative radio station in Connecticut plans to temporarily rebrand itself as “Trump 103.3” when it converts from an AM station to an FM one. Like Trump needs his ego stroked even more???

The station hosts a number of far-right-wing syndicated programs, including Bill O’Reilly, the NRA’s Dana Loesch, Michael Savage, and the Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro. Full Power Radio, which owns the station, said the goal is to “unite conservatives in Connecticut” and make the state a conservative, Republican-led one. NOOOOOOOO … we don’t need any more of those!!! What have these people been smoking???

“There is a real hunger for the truth and ‘Trump 103.3’ will report and uncover statewide waste and corruption that conventional media are afraid to touch.”

Truth??? Oh the irony!

Well, folks, that’s it for now … I’ve got work to do … be back later!

Election 2020 … Part First of Many To Come

Posted on May 11, 2019 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

I have lost count of how many times I’ve heard people say that the democrats will win big in 2020, that Trump doesn’t stand a chance, that the democrats have a bunch of good candidates, that the nation will not re-elect Donald Trump, etc., etc. And I know those people saying this mean well, and in most cases, I think they believe it. But folks … make no mistake … it will be an uphill battle, and we haven’t yet taken the first step up that hill. In this post, I want to talk just a bit about what is wrong with the democratic stance and what some of the problems facing the democrats are going to be. I speak at the moment only of the presidential election, though I will later talk about the Senate and at some point, the House.

First problem … yes, we have a number of highly qualified candidates, from the elders, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, to the newbies like Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker. But that is exactly the problem. Let me explain …

In 2016, when Bernie Sanders failed to be nominated by the Democratic Party, what did his most loyal supporters do? Some voted for independent candidates, some even voted for Trump, but the majority simply did not vote. If every Bernie supporter had cast their vote for Hillary Clinton, we would not have Trump in the Oval Office today. So, next year, at the Democratic Convention, if Kamala Harris is the nominee, what will Buttigieg’s and Warren’s supporters do? Some will vote for Ms. Harris, but more will likely either vote for an independent simply to show their anger with the Democratic Party or will simply stay home and not vote at all. Some will even vote for Trump. This is a big problem, folks, and while it makes no sense, it is reality.

Second problem … this election will not be, for the Democratic Party, about who is the most qualified and capable candidate, but will be only about who can beat Donald Trump. Which translates to: who has the most public appeal, who is the best-looking, who can win what will be naught more than a popularity contest. Oh yes, I hear you saying that we all care about the issues, and I agree … those reading this post no doubt care more about the candidate’s stance on such things as climate change, health care, taxes, foreign policy, gun regulation, Social Security, etc. But we, my friends, are not the majority. The majority do not vote with their heads, do not study the candidates and issues, but rather vote with their hearts. Why do you think Hillary failed to attain a larger margin in 2016? (I remind you that she did win the election by nearly 3 million votes) Because she was not warm & fuzzy, was not a ‘likeable’ persona. And the two straws that broke the camel’s back were her calling republicans ‘deplorables’, and Jim Comey’s “October Surprise”.

Third problem … nobody seems to be doing a damned thing about the fact that Russia did, in fact, influence our 2016 election and, while we will never know for certain if Hillary would have won the electoral college without the Russian influence, we can surmise that would have been the case. This should be something that Congress is demanding be addressed by our intelligence community, and perhaps it is being addressed, but it doesn’t seem to be taken very seriously at all.

Fourth problem … voter disenfranchisement and gerrymandering. Most of Trump’s base are white, middle-income, Christian, non-college-educated voters. They have driver’s licenses, they own cars, and they live in predominantly white, middle class neighborhoods with a polling place only a short distance. A large number of likely democratic voters are poor, are minorities, and live in neighborhoods where there are no polling places close by. They may not have driver’s licenses, they may not own reliable vehicles. They work at minimum wage jobs and by the time they get off work, take a bus to the closest polling place, it has closed, or the line is so long that they cannot wait in line to vote, for they must pick their child up at daycare. States are, even today, trying to pass stricter voting laws. In Texas, proposed legislation would force anyone taking more than 3 non-family-members to the polls to fill out a form listing the people being transported and the reason. In many states around the nation, voter ID laws are being introduced. Polling places on college campuses are being dismantled. And I haven’t seen much being done in the way of re-districting gerrymandered districts. These are all blatant attempts to discourage poor and minority voters, to make it harder for them to vote, and to ensure their votes are diluted when they can vote.

Fifth problem … voter apathy. We are so bombarded every day with news of corruption on both sides of the aisle that some people … I have had people tell me this … just throw up their hands and say, essentially, “To heck with it … they are all corrupt, so why bother?” As heated as the 2016 election was, do you know what percentage of eligible voters didn’t bother to vote? Take a guess. Almost 40%!!! Colorado, Minnesota, Maine & New Hampshire were the only states where 70% or more of eligible voters turned out to vote.

I don’t mean to be a wet blanket, but the real danger, as I see it, is in being too complacent, in believing that because Trump is such a terrible president, he cannot possibly win. He was an awful candidate, but he won in 2016, largely because of Russian interference, Hillary’s unpopularity, voter apathy, and voter disenfranchisement. The Democratic Party needs to seriously get their act together, unite behind the best qualified candidate, and put together a winning platform that includes health care solutions, environmental stewardship, civil rights reform, gun reform, and a host of other solutions to the issues that are plaguing this nation today, such as dealing with Iran, North Korea and Russia, not to mention mending fences that Trump has torn down with our allies.

Let us not make the same mistake we made in 2016, thinking that Trump is such a buffoon he cannot possibly win. He is a buffoon, he is a madman, but … he won in 2016. Let us not let him win in 2020.

Joe Biden: The 7 Issues Guide

Posted on May 10, 2019 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Today I bring you the 13th installment of TokyoSand’s excellent series, The 7 Issues Guide, helping us get to know a bit about the platforms of the democratic candidates running for the office of president next year. Joe Biden is on deck today. Biden is among my favourites, as I have long had respect and admiration for him. Joe was poised to run in 2016, but sadly his son died of cancer in May 2015 and he bowed out, feeling it was in the best interest of his family to do so at that time. Thank you, TokyoSand, and your diligent volunteers, for helping us get to know Mr. Biden!

Political⚡Charge

biden-smile Joe Biden

The Democrats have a big field of candidates running for President in 2020. Each of them brings their own unique strengths to the table in a bid to take our country in a very different direction than the one we’re on today.

But as we well know from 2016, the media (and especially social media) gets fixated on non-substantial issues that take up all the oxygen. Plus, they don’t give the candidates the same treatment or the same amount of airtime.

In order to help voters get to know the Democratic candidates, I’ve gathered quotes and information about what the candidates have said or done in regards to the 7 issues that midterm voters identified as the most important. I hope that these guides serve as a helpful starting point for you as you look into which candidates (or how many candidates!) you are interested in supporting…

View original post 1,357 more words

The Face of Ugly

Posted on May 5, 2019 by jilldennison under education, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Rants, religion, Social commentary

I generally try to avoid ranting. As a rule, my ‘snarky snippets’ are enough to release the pressure that builds as a result of the chaos and corruption of our government and the idiocy of our society, and then I can go back to breathing and writing more well-reasoned pieces. But sometimes a number of issues converge, and it is blowup time. I can either blow up at my family, who do not deserve to be the brunt of my temper, or I can let the steam off here on my blog in an all-out rant. I choose the latter, so please bear with me.

There are two professions that should be above politics, though there is a necessary correlation: Teaching and Medicine. There is only one valid reason to enter into either of these fields, and that is a genuine desire to help people, to make a difference in this world, to be a humanitarian. Anybody who enters either of these professions for any other reason … well, they ought to get out. If you have any other motive, then I do not want you teaching my grandkids and I don’t want you being responsible for my life or that of a loved one.

Of late, it seems that some in the medical profession have decided they only want to treat people of one sort, while excluding some of the people who may need their services most. They are bigots and homophobes, and they ought to go work in an auto plant or a bank, for they are not humanitarians. I am talking, of course, about the recent push by some to allow health care workers to legally discriminate against the LGBT community.

Discrimination is against the law, just in case anybody has any doubts. We have something called ‘civil rights’ in this country, or at least we did until just over two years ago. I would also remind you that this is a secular nation, meaning our government is not tied to any specific religion and does not make laws that discriminate pro or con any specific religion. Until, that is, the evangelical Christians and Donald Trump came together. Suddenly, under the Reign of Trump, it is said to be okay to refuse health care to LGBT people.

Why, you ask? Because the bulk of those who support Trump are these evangelicals and Trump believes he only needs to serve his supporters, not the majority of us who cannot stand the ‘man’! So, along come the ‘evangelicals’ and they say to Trump, “Hey, Don, our bible says that sex between two men or two women is a sin, and so we want to have nothing to do with those gay and transgender people. Can you help us out here?” And so Don helps them out.

From the New York Times …

President Trump on Thursday announced an expanded “conscience rule” to protect health care workers who oppose abortion, sterilization, assisted suicide and other medical procedures on religious or moral grounds.

The rule establishes guidelines for punishing health care institutions with the loss of federal funds if they fail to respect the rights of such workers.

“Just today, we finalized new protections of conscience rights for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, teachers, students and faith-based charities,” Mr. Trump said in a Rose Garden event for the National Day of Prayer. “They’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.”

The ‘rights of such workers’??? What about the rights of a sick person or a child??? What about the human rights to an education and health care? What about civil rights??? Only about 25% of the population of this nation identify as evangelical, and yet that 25% … that minority … now gets to decide on the laws of the land for us all?

As those of you who have followed this blog for a time are aware, I am not religious, but I respect the religious views of all others, including Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Jains, and all others. I shy away from discussing religion on this blog for that very reason … I recognize that there are many different sets of beliefs out there and I would never willingly offend any. That said, there is only one qualifier: don’t shove your religion on others, including myself! This latest move by King Trump is doing just that. It is saying that a nurse can refuse to take the blood pressure of a gay person, an ambulance driver can refuse to transport an accident victim who happens to be transgender and instead may leave him by the side of the road to die.This nation was founded in part on religious freedom, and yet now, some 230 years later, the current regime is attempting to force this entire nation to believe as a mere 25% of the population believe. What is wrong with this picture???

I want you to think about a question: What’s next? Yes, what’s next … we know there will be a ‘next’, for when Trump gets his way once, it emboldens him to go on and push for more. So, by autumn will he sign a new rule saying it’s okay to deny an education or medical treatment to African-Americans? Far-fetched, you say? I think not. The bulk of his supporters are evangelicals, and they got what they wanted. The bulk of his supporters are also white and believe that this nation should favour Caucasians. Will they get their way also?

Bigotry takes on many forms from homophobia to misogyny to Islamophobia to racism and in every instance it is a result of fear … in every instance it is the face of ugly. I look around this country … a country I’ve lived in all my life, a country I thought I knew … and more and more I see the face of bigotry, the face of ugly. I see the arrogance of those who think they are somehow superior based on the colour of their skin, or their religion, or even their gender. I don’t like what I see, do you? Think about it.

Filosofa's Word

Cogito Ergo Sum

Category Archives: Racism & Bigotry

Another of those WTF Moments …

He Sure Can Pick ‘Em …