‘Toons To Make You Laugh … Or Cry

Posted on March 24, 2019 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Humour, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Tonight I am inundated with the utter ignorance of the republicans and Fox “News” who have all decided, wrongly, that Robert Mueller’s report exonerates Trump and his court jesters. It does not. But, I seriously do not feel like arguing the point with the fools tonight, so instead, I shall relieve my own angst, and hopefully yours, with a few well-pointed ‘toons. Have a Happy Sunday, if you can …

First, there is Donald Trump, white supremacist and racist of the highest order …

And what about Trump’s code of morals, eh?

Remember the big deal about Hillary using a private email server?

I think this is spot on for how most of us feel these days …

And lastly, there is Trump the Duffer … er, ‘golfer’ …

Steve King Strikes Again!

Posted on March 23, 2019 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Back when I was still doing my Idiot of the Week posts, in March 2017 to be exact, I awarded Filosofa’s Idiot of the Week award to a member of Congress named Steve King of Iowa. Mr. King apparently appreciated the award so much that he keeps flitting across my radar, begging to be given some additional recognition, it would seem. All I can say is that he’s lucky I don’t live in his home state of Iowa!

Let’s face it … any representative that earns a score of zero from the Humane Society, but an ‘A’ rating from the NRA is not somebody you’re really going to look up to! Now, King has a reputation, well-earned, of being a racist and a bigot. He is firmly against LGBT rights, has spoken cruelly against Mexicans in general, against Muslims, was against President Obama because of his ethnicity, loves Donald Trump, supports racial profiling, is a climate-change denier and … need I go on? There is a word for people of his ilk … it starts with a ‘J’, ends with another word for a donkey, and if I have to tell you what it is, then you are in the wrong blog!

So, what has King done now, you ask, to ruffle the Filosofa’s feathers? Back in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit both the Florida and Louisiana coasts and nearly devastated much of New Orleans, as parts of the levee system were breached, King was one of 11 members of Congress who voted against a federal aid package for New Orleans. On Thursday, 14 years after the devastating hurricane that took the lives of at least 1,500 in Louisiana alone, King spoke at a Town Hall meeting in his district.

“Here’s what FEMA tells me. We go to a place like New Orleans, and everybody’s looking around saying, ‘Who’s going to help me? Who’s going to help me?’ We go to a place like Iowa, and we go, we go see, knock on the door at, say, I’ll make up a name, John’s place, and say, ‘John, you got water in your basement, we can write you a check, we can help you.’ And John will say, ‘Well, wait a minute, let me get my boots. It’s Joe that needs help. Let’s go down to his place and help him.'”

What. A. Jerk. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), by the way, denies his claim. It should be noted that King’s state, Iowa, is predominantly white, whereas New Orleans is 60% African-American. If New Orleans were predominantly white, King would almost certainly not have made such a ridiculous statement.

Once again, as has happened multiple times in the past year, his fellow republicans took him to task. Representative Steve Scalise, whose district includes parts of New Orleans, said …

“His comments about Katrina victims are absurd and offensive, and are a complete contradiction to the strength and resilience the people of New Orleans demonstrated to the entire nation in the wake of the total devastation they experienced.”

Last weekend, King came under fire for this Facebook post …

Nice, huh? And in January he was stripped of his committee assignments in the House for white supremacist remarks he mad. When asked about an apology for his remarks, he refused to apologize. Even Mitch McConnell condemned King’s remarks …

“There is no place in the Republican Party, the Congress or the country for an ideology of racial supremacy of any kind. I have no tolerance for such positions and those who espouse these views are not supporters of American ideals and freedoms. Representative King’s statements are unwelcome and unworthy of his elected position. If he doesn’t understand why ‘white supremacy’ is offensive, he should find another line of work.”

The late night hosts didn’t miss the opportunity …

The people of Iowa have elected this doofus nine times now! This nation is undergoing a very tense, divisive time and the very last thing we need is an obnoxious white supremacist with a loud mouth in Congress, for we already have one in the White House. Iowans … PLEASE remove your heads from your patooties, wake up, and vote Mr. King out of Congress next year!!!

Still More Snarky Snippets …

Posted on March 20, 2019 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, Environmental Issues, Free Press Issues, Global Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry

Will there ever come a day that I can read a news story and not want to throw something? I wonder. I had a greater plan for today, but as you may have noticed, my plans often go awry. Today, I slept too late to finish the post I started last night, so instead, I bring you more snarky snippets …

Abandoning ship?

Donna Brazile has long been associated with the fight for liberal causes. And yet, this week Ms. Brazile joined none other than state television network, Fox ‘News’. Why? Brazile is far above the likes of Jeanine Pirro or Ann Coulter. I first saw Ms. Brazile on This Week with George Stephanopoulos many, many years ago, and she impressed me with her intelligence, knowledge, her ability to speak well on nearly any topic and the warmth she projected. So why would she align herself with a network known for its extremely right-leaning views, and outright conspiracy theories?

“I know I’m going to get criticized by my friends in the progressive movement for being on Fox News. My response is that, if we learned anything from the 2016 election, it is that we can’t have a country where we don’t talk to those who disagree with our political views. You can be darn sure that I’m still going to be me on Fox News.”

Hmmm … that almost makes sense. We do have to talk to each other, to try to understand those on the “other side” of the aisle. Perhaps this should be looked upon as an opportunity for Trump’s supporters to actually hear a reasoned voice, a logical opinion for a change. I simply have no respect for Fox at this point, and do not trust them or their motives. I will reserve judgment until we see the results. Will Fox allow Ms. Brazile to “still be me”? I have my doubts, but time will tell.

Score one for Planet Earth!

Thumbs up for Judge Rudolph Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia who ruled against the Trump administration and in favour of the environment. Judge Contreras concluded that the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) “did not sufficiently consider climate change” when making decisions to auction off federal land in Wyoming to oil and gas drilling. The judge temporarily blocked drilling on roughly 300,000 acres of land in the state.

While the judge did not void the leases, what his decision does is to force the BLM to perform environmental impact studies on hundreds of projects currently under way in Wyoming.

The Interior Department began to take into account the climate impacts of federal oil, gas and coal leasing toward the end of President Obama’s second term, but Trump jettisoned those plans almost immediately after taking office.

No doubt Judge Contreras’ ruling will be appealed and will work its way up the judicial ladder, but it is a start … a step in the right direction.

Two peas in a pod …

Yesterday, Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, visited Donald Trump in the White House. Bolsonaro had nothing but the highest praise for our Idiot-in-Chief:

“It gives me great pleasure to be here in the United States, to take part in this visit, after decades on end of anti-U.S. presidents in Brazil. We will certainly work toward the benefit of our two nations. Just as [Trump] wants to have a ‘great’ America, I…also want to make sure we have a great Brazil. We have a great deal in common. I have been highly criticized because of this but I will not, of course, deny what I do think. … I’m willing to open my heart up to him and do whatever is to the benefit of both the Brazilian and the Americans.”

Pity the poor people of Brazil! I cannot help but wonder if Bolsonaro’s election was bought and paid for by Putin, just as Trump’s was.

Two peas in a pod — Bolsonaro & Trump

Since Bolsonaro took office, police in Rio de Janeiro have averaged more than three killings a day, and residents have accused the police of brutality, including waging unauthorized sniper campaigns and firing indiscriminately from a helicopter.

Bolsonaro’s embrace of fiery populist rhetoric has also frequently boiled over to galvanize supporters into acts of violence, specifically targeted at opposition supporters and the media. Sound familiar? During the Brazilian election last November, the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism documented more than 140 cases of violence against reporters, mostly by Bolsonaro supporters. Sound familiar?

On Monday night, Bolsonaro appeared on Fox ‘News’, and said …

“The vast majority of potential immigrants do not have good intentions.”

Sound familiar?

“Brazil and the United States stand side-by-side in their efforts to ensure liberties in respect to traditional family lifestyle, respect to God, our creator against gender ideology or politically correct attitude and against fake news.”

Sound familiar? Pity the people of Brazil … and we of the United States.

And that, folks, is a wrap. Have a great rest of the day!

White Fascism

Posted on March 19, 2019 by jilldennison under Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Fascism is a form of radical, right-wing, authoritarian ultra-nationalism, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy, which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe.

White nationalism is a type of nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a race and seeks to develop and maintain a white national identity. Its proponents identify with and are attached to the concept of a white nation.

Of late, it’s been called ‘white nationalism’, and it is that, but it is so much more than that. It truly is fascism, for it is supported by authoritarian dictators and wanna-be dictators, and it is spreading. Donald Trump denies that it is a growing problem, and also that he has anything to do with it, but the truth is that he is the personification of white fascism. Even the New Zealand mosque shooter, Brenton Tarrant, cited Trump as a part of his ‘inspiration’.

Let’s take a look at just two of the many manifestations of the ever-growing white fascist movement.

Corinne Terrone was a school teacher in the Hamden, Connecticut school district. Last Friday she was shopping with her two children at a ShopRite supermarket in East Haven. There is a video recording of what transpired when she confronted an African-American couple who were also shopping for groceries. I choose not to post the video here, for it is disgustingly vulgar, however here is a brief synopsis of what happened:The video begins with Terrone screaming, “…I will. Don’t you dare talk to me like that in front of my children motherfucker.” A few words are inaudible until she’s heard saying “they’re fucking ni**ers in East Haven, that’s why.”

The man to whom she was directing her rage can be seen heading toward Terrone as people he’s with hope to calm him down, saying, “Don’t do it.” But Terrone yells, “put your hands on me. Come on. Come on,” and then points her phone close to his face as if to record. Another man attempts to get between them when the first man pushed the phone out of her hand and walks away.

But Terrone hurries after him shouting, “Oh you motherfuc*er, you motherfuc*er. That’s why there’s ni**ers in East Haven.” And when a person who appears to be a store employee comes toward her Terrone yells: “Fu*k you, ni**er.”

Terrone comes at the couple and spits at them. Twice.

Keep in mind that Ms. Terrone was a school teacher who has a role in building ideas in the minds of our nation’s young people, our future. Ms. Terrone is a white fascist. The East Haven police department is considering criminal charges, but the victims of her attack have chosen not to come forward, at least for the moment. The Hamden Superintendent of schools responded with a public statement condemning Ms. Terrone’s actions and notifying her that an investigation is pending. Ms. Terrone thereby tendered her resignation. The school superintendent also reported the incident to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, since her two children were with her and were exposed to her horrid language and behaviour. The town’s mayor also issued a public statement condemning Ms. Terrone’s behaviour.

Just one woman, you say? Just one incident? No big deal? According to the FBI, hate crime numbers jumped more than 17 percent in 2017, and that may be a low figure. Now is it a bigger deal? Consider the incident involving Jill Cronenberger who was eating at Tampico Mexican Restaurant in Parkersburg, West Virginia last month. Cronenberger happened to overhear the restaurant’s owner, Sergio Budar, speaking Spanish. Seems logical in a Mexican restaurant, owned by a Mexican-American man, yes? But, apparently Cronenberger failed to see the logic and immediately lashed out at Mr. Budar.

“I lived in California for 20 years. English is our first language, so you need to speak English. Get the fu*k out of my country.”

When Mr. Budar tried to reason with her, explained that he is a U.S. citizen, and even told her he was sorry she was upset, she came back with “Will you shut the fu*k up!” Ms. Cronenberger is a white fascist. The man who was with her merely hung his head and apologized for her behaviour, saying that she was “just a friend”.

Mr. Budar showed remarkable restraint and at the end of Cronenberger’s tirade, he simply said that he would pay for her meal and asked her to please leave. And then …

“I got raped by illegal aliens and you want me to be nice to you? You’re a rapist. You’re rapists!”

Sound familiar?

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” – Donald Trump, 16 June 2015

These are but two of hundreds of examples of this sort of behaviour in the past few months. Friends, it almost feels as if we are living in the pre-civil rights days. It almost feels as if we are living in Germany in the 1930s. Now, I have been mocked for making Trump/Hitler comparisons, but I stand by my assessment. We have a demagogic person at the helm who is a white fascist, who has denigrated quite literally people of every other ethnicity or religion in the nation. He has taken upon himself power that was never intended for the president. He has bypassed Congress and made a shamble of the system of checks and balances. He has locked Hispanic children in cages, far away from their parents. How many steps are there between a ‘detention camp’ and a ‘concentration camp’? And worst of all, he has in essence said to those who feel ethnically superior, that it is “okay” to be a racist, that it is okay to hurt anybody who doesn’t fit the WASP mold.

There seem to be a hell of a lot of people in this world today who believe they are better than others simply because they have pale skin, or because they claim to be “Christian”, or because they chose to love somebody of the opposite sex, or … you name it, there’s an ‘ism’ for it. What makes these people tick, what makes them believe that they are superior? I don’t know, but I do know that the leader of this nation is feeding them, encouraging them, and on his shoulders must lie a portion of the blame. Donald Trump is not alone in his white fascist ways … there are many around the globe, and I would call most of the evangelical leaders in the U.S. white fascists, for they send the message of hate and supremacy, rather than the message of love and peace.

Hate crime is rising, not only in the U.S., but around the globe. We simply must put a stop to it soon, else we will destroy ourselves. We must carefully choose leaders who open their arms to people of every race, colour, religion, and gender. We must choose leaders who will unite, not divide. And we must choose leaders who are capable of moderate speech, who do not incite their citizens to violent acts.

Just a few … just a small group, says Trump. Judge for yourself

Last Week Today

Posted on March 18, 2019 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, education, Humour, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

I was reminded that I didn’t do a post with ‘toons last week, so consider this to be last week’s post this week. Rather like the title of John Oliver’s show, Last Week Tonight. Much was in the news this week, but the cartoonists grabbed one topic as their central focus … the college admissions scandal.

Then there was Trump’s ludicrous budget proposal …

The tragedy of immigrant children, separated from their parents and kept in ‘detention centers’ …

And a few just about Trump and his circus act …

Have a great week!

Apologies And Thoughts …

Posted on March 16, 2019 by jilldennison under Global Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

My apologies, but there can be no Saturday Surprise today. In light of the terrible Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday, then the tragic mass shootings at two mosques in New Zealand by a white supremacist on Friday, I simply could not get into ‘fun’ mode and felt that perhaps it would be inappropriate anyway. Saturday Surprise will, hopefully, return next Saturday.

I am deeply disturbed and saddened by both of the aforementioned events. Each took the lives of innocent people, and each was preventable. And, while the causes of the two may seem to be completely different, they really aren’t all that different. They both track back to arrogance and a sense of entitlement. Today I would like to share a few of my own thoughts about the two aforementioned events with you.

First, the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302. I’ve already written about this at some length and won’t repeat what I’ve already said. But this crash could easily have been prevented. Boeing knew that the 737 Max 8 had a flaw, and one crash had already occurred, Lion Air flight 610 on October 29^th, 2018. Boeing was negotiating with the FAA for a software fix when the government shut down and talks came to a halt for 5 weeks. And the rest is history.

This, my friends, is a tragic example of capitalism run amok. Corporate greed. Profit vs people’s lives. We live in a corporate world, where governments pander to rich industrialists such as Boeing, Smith & Wesson, Exxon, General Motors and many others. People are put on the back burner. People’s lives take a backseat to the bottom line. 189 people lost their lives on the Lion Air flight and 157 people lost their lives on the Ethiopian Airlines flight. 346 people died because Boeing was more interested in their profits than in those 346 lives. How many lives will be lost due to the burning of fossil fuels, because coal and oil companies care more about profit than lives? How many will be lost due to the spraying of known toxic chemicals on the food we eat, because ‘Big Ag’ cares more for its bottom line than your life or mine? The time has come … actually came long ago … to rein in capitalism, to impose strict safety regulations on every company doing business. Will it happen? Probably not, for those corporations buy our politicians about as easily as we buy a can of peas.

There is a lot of blame to go around for the killings at the Al Noor mosque and the Linwood Islamic Center, it would seem, for everyone seems to be pointing fingers. Many blame the internet and social media, and yes, there is an element of blame there, since the killer had apparently been posting images of weapons and a “manifesto” for his actions online. Some blame right-wing leaders, such as Trump, who have given voice to and even encouraged and emboldened the white supremacists, and certainly they must share a portion of the blame.

But, the reality is that the internet is … us. It is people, expressing their opinions, their hopes, sharing family moments, keeping up with sports, communicating, and in some cases, promoting hate. People. Trump and other right-wing personas exist only because they are given a voice … by people. Who is to blame? The man, Brenton Tarrant, who planned and carried out the massacre, and any associates who may have helped him, certainly carries the lion’s share of blame. Perhaps he got his ideas from radicals and white supremacists on the internet, but who put those ideas out there?

I propose that there is enough blame to go around for most all of us. Sure, Donald Trump opened a can of really nasty worms with his hate speech, his call for a Muslim ban, his denigration of all races other than Caucasian. But people did not have to fall in line behind him. They did, because they chose to, not because he forced them to.

But here’s the other thing, and it is, as I think about it, the main reason I write this blog: We have an obligation to speak out, nay … to SHOUT out … about the injustice of Islamophobia, of homophobia, of misogyny, of white supremacy. It is not enough for those of us who know it is wrong to just shake our collective heads and roll our collective eyes when these things happen! It is NOT enough to send “thoughts and prayers”! Unless we wish to keep seeing bastards like Brenton Tarrant shooting up mosques, shopping malls, movie theaters and schools, then we need to use our voices.

Remember that oft-quoted quotation by Martin Niemöller?

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

We need, more than anything, to have conversations, not screaming matches, not hateful speech on social media sites. We need to speak to and treat each other with respect. It is okay to disagree, but we are getting absolutely nowhere by demeaning others and shouting at the tops of our lungs. But speak we must, for to remain silent is to ensure that tragedies like those from this past week will be ever prevalent. Freedom of speech is not only a right, but also a responsibility. Will we sit quietly by and allow bigots to rule the world in which we live? Think about it.

Cory Booker: The 7 Issues Guide

Posted on March 15, 2019 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Today I am happy to bring you the next in TokyoSand’s series, The 7 Issues Guide, which is introducing us to the democratic candidates running in the 2020 presidential election. Today’s piece is about Cory Booker, the U.S. Senator from New Jersey. Now, I like Cory Booker, he has many times stood up for what he believes in, and he generally shares my beliefs. He does, however, have a bit of controversy in his background, but I suspect we won’t find a single candidate who doesn’t. Thank you, TokyoSand and your diligent volunteer helpers, for all your hard work in preparing this series.

Political⚡Charge

booker2 Let’s get to know Cory Booker!

The Democrats have a big field of candidates running for President in 2020. To briefly use a sports analogy, I see our candidates as the starting players on the Blue team, each bringing 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 enlisted the help of a team of terrific volunteers who have helped gather quotes and information about what the candidates have said or done in regards to the 7 issues that midterm voters identified as…

View original post 1,905 more words

DOA … Dead On Arrival

Posted on March 14, 2019 by jilldennison under education, Environmental Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Rants

Fortunately, since we have a caveman at the helm, the president does not write the budget – Congress does. The president can submit his proposal, his request or wish list, but at the end of the day, it is Congress who writes the budget. Thankfully.

This week, Trump gave his wish list to Congress, and as we all suspected, it is atrocious. In short, he wants to take as much as he can possibly take from We the People and give as much as he possibly can to his wealthy cronies, raising the already-staggering deficit in the process. Let’s take a look at some of the most egregious items, shall we?

First, there is “the wall”. Since he couldn’t bully Congress into giving him the $5.7 billion he asked for to start work on the wall, he is now asking for $8.6 billion! And this guy is supposed to be a master dealmaker? The art of compromise is entirely lost on him!
Then there is the environment. His proposal is to cut funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by 31%. It would cut the EPA’s Global Change Research office, which exists to provide scientific information to policymakers about the threats posed by climate change, as well as a number of other programs involving clean water and air.
Along similar lines, he proposes massive cuts to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) renewable energy and energy efficiency budget … some 70%!!! The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which falls under the DOE, provides hundreds of millions of dollars a year in grants and other financial assistance for clean energy, has financed research into technologies ranging from electric vehicles to energy projects powered by ocean waves. It has been credited with financing research to help make the cost of wind power competitive with coal, and cutting the costs of LED lighting.

Note that Trump has repeatedly vowed to zero out federal spending on clean energy research and development, while doing everything in his power to promote and even subsidize the fossil fuel industry. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that either he truly desires the destruction of the human race, or he is really that damn stupid.

He proposes to cut safety net programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, and housing assistance, all programs that low-income families depend on for their very survival. In spite of inflation, he proposes to freeze the maximum Pell Grant for low-income college students.
He has also proposed to cut Medicare … that benefit that we all paid into every single paycheck of our lives … by $845 billion over the next ten years! And … he plans to cut $25 billion from Social Security … again, a program that we all paid 6.2% of our gross pay into every paycheck we ever earned in our entire lives!

Note that in 2016, when he was still a wanna-be, he said, “I’m not going to cut Social Security, like every other Republican, and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid.” More damn lies!

He also proposes to cut the Department of Housing and Urban Development by 16 percent and the Education Department by 12 percent.
He does, however, wish to increase the defense budget by $750 billion (that’s in addition to the $8.6 billion for his damn wall).

No part of the plan addresses increasing revenue, and in fact it extends the tax cuts for the wealthy that were passed in December 2017. It is by no means a balanced budget, and will absolutely, without question add to the national debt and deficit, both of which are already out of control, by trillions of dollars. What happened, I would ask, to those fiscal hawks that put Obama down for eight years for not balancing the budget, for deficit spending? Yo! Republicans! Can y’all hear me out there in la-la land??? This ‘man’ you all think so much of, that you’re willing to lose friends over, is going to cut Social Security … the money you have saved for your retirement since the first day of your first job. Are you going to continue to sit on those fat, white posteriors and not even raise a stink?

But, there is good news. And that is …

Trump’s budget proposal does not stand snowball’s chance in hell of passing Congress! Not even a slight chance. Even the republicans don’t like it! It is naught but his pie-in-the-sky wish list. However … what it does do is it speaks volumes about Mr. Trump’s priorities, and his lack of concern for the people who put him into office. A president is elected, in theory, by the majority of the voters. In Trump’s case, he was not elected by the majority at all, but was nearly three million votes short of it. One might think that would make him work a lot harder to win over those of us who did not vote for him, but instead, he devotes seemingly every waking moment to finding ways to stab us in the back.

We’re tired of it. Instead of working with Congress to attempt to develop a budget that benefits the nation and its people, he is submitting a proposal that his own advisors have told him will not fly. He is working against the very people he swore to represent. His priorities are a wall, his rich cronies, his Star Wars-type toy, a ‘Space Force’, and other useless crap, for lack of a better word. Meanwhile, the poor and middle class, the 99% of the nation, will suffer if he gets his way. Those are his priorities, folks. His budget proposal tells us exactly where we stand … out in the cold.

Sociologists Unravel The Mystery Of President Trump’s Supporters Who Continue To Back Him

Posted on March 13, 2019 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Global Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

It could be that this report that Gronda has written about is the answer to the question that has been keeping us awake at night: What does it take to shake Trump supporters awake? The report is disturbing if it is correct, but well worth the read and worth pondering, for it does answer a number of questions. Thank you, Gronda, for bringing us this information and allowing me to share.

Gronda Morin

Anyone who’s a ‘Never Trumper’ from the left to the right have been pondering the question, who are those peoples who continue to back the republican President Donald Trump despite his bullying, abusive character flaws, just for starters. The Washington Post has numbered his lies as exceeding 9,000 whoppers since he became president in November 2016.

At the start, I had excused away President Trump’s supporters allegiance to him based on my personal theory that many of them were suffering from economic anxiety especially in rural areas where good paying manufacturing/ plant jobs were more scarce. But over time, I did note that there had to be other reasons to explain those who continued to back President Trump, as many of his policies were counter to their economic well being.

Two sociologists have developed the profile of the type of individual who continues to back President Trump which could end…

View original post 2,385 more words

You Have Got To Be Kidding!!!

Posted on March 12, 2019 by jilldennison under Social commentary, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry

Ever have one of those days where you start scanning the news and find yourself saying, multiple times, “You have got to be kidding me!”? Have you noticed that they seem to come more often these days? There is just so much utter … nutsiness, for lack of a better word … that I shake my head until marbles begin to rattle around in there. Here are a couple of the latest ones …

Damn those subversive Girl Scouts, anyway …

I had never heard of Jane Chastain, but apparently she made history in 1974 when she became the first woman to call an NFL game. Now, I might have found that exciting, might even admire her and give her a high five for breaking that glass ceiling, were it not for what she has done since. Somewhere along the line, she lost her admirability, lost her good sense … lost her marbles it would seem.

Chastain writes a column for the right-wing media outlet, WorldNetDaily, commonly known as WND. But her latest … well, you be the judge …

“It is no small coincidence that the Girl Scouts are out in force this month selling cookies on street corners, in front of grocery stores and other places of business. For many years, I would buy at least one box from every girl I met, even if I had a dozen or more boxes at home.

The Girl Scouts were an important part of my formative years, and I sold hundreds of boxes of these cookies myself, so I considered it payback, paying it forward so to speak. Not anymore.

In fact, the Girl Scouts are celebrating the victory won by their alums in the 2018 midterms on its website, beginning with their star, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, who attributes much of her success to what she learned as part of this organization.

Now Girl Scout alums make up 72 percent of female senators and 60 percent of the women in the 116th Congress. Although the website tries to strike a bipartisan tone, it is no accident that, among this year’s freshmen, Carol Miller is the only Republican, and she is much older, 68, than the rest. Her training in scouting was well before the feminist takeover that occurred in 1970.

So before you decide to embrace an International Women’s Day celebration or buy the cookies, ask yourself, ‘Will the country be better off with more representatives like the young socialist Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez?’”

Faces of Evil?

You’ve got to be kidding! I’m not sure what offends her more … that the girl scouts are celebrating the election of one of their alumni, or that most of the members of Congress who are former girl scouts are democrats! This woman has lost her marbles!

Get paid extra for carrying a gun?

You likely remember that after the tragic school shooting in Parkland Florida last year, Trump and the NRA bluntly suggested that the way to end school shootings was to arm teachers. The rest of us held our heads, rolled our eyes, and groaned a deep, anguished “nooooooooooooo …”. Well, it seems there are some who still think this is just a peachy idea.

Three North Carolina republican legislators filed a bill last Wednesday to give up to 3,000 teachers a 5% salary raise if they become teacher resource officers who receive specialized police training to carry firearms at work. One of the three, North Carolina State Senator Jerry Tillman, says this bill, which is a copy of one that failed to pass last year, will succeed.

“This is an idea whose time has come. With the heightened awareness of the legislature, I believe this bill will see success. It’s a big deterrent to somebody going to shoot up a school. You need to stop them any way you can.”

You’ve got to be kidding!

Mark Jewell, President of the North Carolina Association of Educators, on the other hand, is not thrilled.

“It is a disaster waiting to happen. We continue to be opposed to arming our teachers with firearms. Arm us with the resources we need to teach our kids to be safe.”

I agree 110% with Mr. Jewell. Want your kids to be safe in school? Then vote for legislation that takes guns off the streets and out of the hands of people not qualified to use them. Let us hope the North Carolina legislature has better sense than Mr. Tillman.

How she dresses means she is … what???

I would love to know how people with a law degree can be so utterly stupid? Think about Kellyanne Conway and Ann Coulter … bimbos, they are, yet they hold law degrees. Add to that list Jeanine Pirro, who not only holds a law degree, but is a former judge, prosecutor, and politician from New York. Currently Pirro is host of Fox News Channel’s Justice with Judge Jeanine, where she spouts right-wing conspiracy theories and other lunacy.Her latest is a claim that Muslim women who wear a hijab are against the U.S. Constitution. More specifically, freshman congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who wears a hijab, is against the Constitution.

“Omar wears a hijab, which, according to the Quran 33:59, tells women to cover so they won’t get molested. Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?”

You’ve got to be kidding! This woman needs to go back to school and study the history of this nation, how religious freedom was one of the tenets of the founding of this country. Interestingly, and surprisingly, Fox News apologized for Pirro’s abhorrent comments, saying …

“We strongly condemn Jeanine Pirro’s comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar. They do not reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly.”

For once, Fox did the right thing and I applaud them for it. But wait … along comes former Trump associate Sebastian Gorka …

“She’s absolutely right. The hijab is a requirement of the religion of Islam. It is part of Sharia law. Sharia law does not comport with the U.S. Constitution. Judge Jeanine, we have your back. Hold the line. You are speaking the truth.”

Where are all these fools coming from? Would somebody please shut the damn gate?

Until next time, dear friends …

Filosofa's Word

Cogito Ergo Sum

Category Archives: Racism & Bigotry

Still More Snarky Snippets …