Tag Archives: Arizona

A Tale Of Two Evil People — Part I

Posted on by under Election 2018, Political commentary, Rants

Let me start off by saying that this is a rant.  I am beyond infuriated as I write this post, and while I generally believe it is better to be well-modulated and rise above the throng, there is a time when white-hot rage needs an outlet.  This is one such time.  I initially intended this to be a single post, but it went past the limits of what I consider optimal length, so I broke it into two parts.  This is Part I, and Part II will follow later this afternoon.

Two stories came to my attention last night, as I was trying to find fun things for my Jolly Monday post (at which I failed miserably).  Both stories concern the late John McCain, and I think you will agree that he deserved much better than this.

An ugly person, inside and out …

Conservatives Rally Together At Annual CPAC Gathering

The Face of Evil — Kelli Ward

Take a look at that face, folks, for that is the face of ugly.  That is the face of evil.  That is a face I hope never to see sitting in the U.S. Senate.  Allow me to introduce Ms. Kelli Ward of Arizona, a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jeff Flake.  This is not the first time Ms. Ward has tripped across my radar, but it is the first time that prodded my mind with a hot poker. In July 2017, when John McCain first announced that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer, Ms. Ward made the following public statement:

“I hope that Senator McCain is going to look long and hard at this, that his family and his advisers are going to look at this, and they’re going to advise him to step away as quickly as possible. So that the business of the country and the business of Arizona being represented at the federal level can move forward… We can’t have until the 2018 election, waiting around to accomplish the Trump agenda, to secure the border and stop illegal immigration and repeal Obamacare and fix the economy and fix the veterans administration, all those things need to be done and we can’t be at a standstill while we wait for John McCain to determine what he’s going to do.” [Emphasis added]

She said she hoped that Arizona’s governor would consider appointing her to fill McCain’s seat. But on Friday, it got even better …

Last Friday, Senator John McCain’s family announced that he would stop treatment for his brain cancer, due to the aggressive nature of the cancer and McCain’s advanced age, 81.  He would, as we now know, die the very next day.  However, Ms. Kelli Ward took McCain’s announcement on Friday as an attempt on McCain’s part to undermine her senatorial campaign!  His timing was inconvenient for her!  A staffer, apparently with Ward’s knowledge and consent, tweeted the following …

“I wonder if it were just a coincidence that Sen McCain released his statement on the kickoff day of Kelli Ward’s bus tour or if it was a plan to take media attention off her campaign. I’m not saying it was on purpose but it’s quite interesting.”

And Ward herself chimed in with …

“I think they wanted to have a particular narrative that they hope is negative to me.”

Yo, bitch … life does not revolve around you!!!  This man has been suffering from this devastating illness for more than a year, and you expected him to coordinate his death with you, so that it would not interfere with your campaign???  What rock did you crawl out from under???

I hope that Arizonans have a heart, a conscience, and respect for the man who has represented the State of Arizona in Congress since 1983 and will cast their votes anywhere but for Ms. Ward.  Her words are unconscionable and show a lack of empathy on a par with that of Donald Trump.

How can people be so unkind, so uncaring, so self-centered?  Stay tuned for the next installment …

Happy Dancin’ and Mud Fightin’

Posted on by under Election 2018, Humour, Political commentary

Arizona … home to Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake – both republicans, but of the lovable sort, if there is such a thing.  And I just discovered another Arizonian to love, based on a single sentence.   His name is Ruben Gallego (think of it as ‘guy-eggo’ for pronunciation) and he is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona.  The sentence that won me over?

“I will gladly work with the president when his ideas aren’t stupid and detrimental to the United States. Unfortunately this is what this plan is.”

I was just trolling various news outlets, half asleep in the warm afternoon sunshine when I saw that and immediately felt Snoopy doing a bit of a happy dance in my heart!We all know the backstory … Trump has signed an order to send the National Guard to ‘guard the Mexican border’ until such time as his wall can be built.  We also all know that, despite Trump’s rants, there is no immediate threat on the border, there are no ‘caravans of evil’ threatening to cross the border with the intent of raping and pillaging, and it is all a big hoax on the part of Trump.  A potentially costly hoax for a number of reasons.

While many republicans were busy licking the Donald’s boots, praising his ‘strength’ in this matter, most democrats were less over-joyed, but perhaps none so outspoken as Mr. Gallego.  Of course, the mouthpiece, Ms. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, had to speak:

“If that congressman’s so concerned, maybe he ought to show up and actually support legislation that would fix these problems instead of blaming the president that’s actually doing something about it.”

To which Gallego responded with a tweet:

“Hey @PressSec – Unlike your boss, I did show up and served my country in the Marines. Now, I show up in Congress to serve my country again and act as a check to some of your boss’s worst plans.”

Okay, okay … it’s mud-slinging at its finest, accomplishes little if anything and is beneath us.  But …

 

I’m the kid who got kicked out of kindergarten for fighting … I can get down & dirty with the best of them sometimes!

But now, let me just wipe some of this mud off and let us take a closer look at Ruben Gallego.

Gallego has been in office since 2014, when he won 74% of the vote in Arizona’s 7th district, a district that is heavily democratic and majority Latino.  In his first year, he earned a B+ rating from the NRA, but ever since has an ‘F’ rating … a plus, in my book.  He has the endorsement of Mayday PAC, a super PAC that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics.  Another score, in my book. On February 28, 2013 Gallego voted against an amendment that sought to raise campaign finance limits for federal candidates and abolish all limits for state candidates.

Gallego is a relative newbie, but so far, I like what I see.  I see no barriers to him winning re-election in his district in November, so no real need to highlight him, other than that he ‘walked the walk’ in standing firm against Trump’s ludicrous waste of our resources to combat his fairy-tale threat on our southern border.

Arizona seems to turn out people with good sense, on both sides of the political aisle.  I wonder … is it something in the water?

‘Tis Better To Ignore (sometimes)

Posted on by under Political commentary, Social commentary

Enough is enough is enough!  Many of us are, or were once, parents of toddlers.  Remember how your toddler screamed and threw a fit, knowing he was either going to get whacked, get put in a corner for 10 minutes, or at the very least get yelled at, but still, he threw his tantrum?  It has to do with the notion that any attention, even negative attention, is better than no attention.  It is like the popular saying the “the squeaky wheel gets the oil”.  I fully intended to write a blog post tonight that did not even so much as mention the t-word, which is hard enough, but then I saw the story about what happened today in Arizona and … well, here I am again.

For any who may not have seen the news today:

Protesters in Arizona blocked a major road leading to a Donald J. Trump rally on Saturday outside Phoenix, while anti-Trump demonstrators in New York clashed with the police on a march toward Trump Tower.  (Rosenberg, New York Times, 19 March 2016)

In Arizona, about 50 to 75 protesters and three parked cars blocked Shea Boulevard, an artery leading into Fountain Hills, the suburb where Mr. Trump spoke on Saturday afternoon, which led to traffic delays in the area.

Some protesters chained themselves to the cars, according to a spokesman from the Maricopa County sheriff’s office. Others stood in the street, holding signs and chanting as the temperature climbed into the 80s and anxious drivers sat stuck in their cars.

After multiple requests that the protesters clear the road, sheriff’s deputies began towing cars, and three people were arrested.

“They tried to get us to move,” said one of the protesters, Tomás Robles Jr. “We told them we were not going to move.”

Eventually many of them began marching to the rally, but did not make it close to the stage. Instead they marched single file across a nearby lawn, then found themselves surrounded by sheriff’s deputies on horseback and all-terrain vehicles on one side, and Trump supporters on the other, chanting “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”

When the rally began, the Maricopa County sheriff, Joe Arpaio — who like Mr. Trump has a hard-line stance on immigration, many fans and many critics — introduced the candidate and spoke briefly about the demonstrators.

“Because of them, we had to get a little more sunshine, but we made it,” Sheriff Arpaio said. “Three of them are in jail,” he added, to cheers.

In New York, several hundred protesters gathered at Columbus Circle outside the Trump International Hotel there. One brandished a sign that read, “No Wall Around the Land of the Free.” Another sign suggested a wall be built around Mr. Trump.

Gina Rodriguez, 28, of Harlem, said, “When Trump talks, I feel like he is targeting my community.”

The first conflicts took place just after 1:30 p.m. as the crowd sought to cross 59th Street and head south at the Avenue of the Americas. They chanted, “Dump Trump” and “Don’t give into racist fear.” A line of police officers, scooters and barricades blocked their way as some protesters shouted that they had the light. Then, after a countdown, a mass of protesters surged forward, with those behind digging their heels into the sidewalk and pushing with their shoulders against the demonstrators in front of them.

The police pushed back, and for about 10 minutes, the two sides formed a heaving scrum with metal barricades being used as fulcrums and both police officers and protesters losing their footing and tumbling to the ground. At one point, a stream of pepper spray came from the ranks of the police officers, sending protesters reeling back and rubbing their eyes.

A few moments later, the march toward Trump Tower resumed, with protesters chanting, waving signs and beating drums and occasionally darting into the roadway. They were followed by police officers in cars and on foot, including one carrying an acoustic device that issued recorded warnings that blocking vehicles could lead to arrest.

At least two protesters were grabbed by police officers and placed into handcuffs. When the crowd made it to Trump Tower, the police tried to herd them into a protest zone, but instead the protesters quickly moved on, with many of them heading back to Columbus Circle, where they resumed their chants.

While I dislike Trump more than I can ever remember disliking another living human being, and while I further support the right of all to peacefully protest, this behaviour is exactly what Trump wants.  It is feeding his narcissistic ego and it is giving him the media exposure that he thrives on.  He has made statement after statement to indicate this, and we are all feeding the frenzy, feeding the ego.

  • “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of ’em, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell — I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise. I promise.” – Feb 1, Cedar Rapids, IA
  • “Get him out. Try not to hurt him. If you do I’ll defend you in court.” “Are Trump rallies the most fun?” “We’re having a good time.” He then recalled an incident at a New Hampshire rally where a protester started “swinging and punching.” Trump said some people in the audience “took him out.” “It was really amazing to watch,” he said. – Mar 4, Warren, MI
  • “See, in the good old days this didn’t use to happen, because they used to treat them very rough. We’ve become very weak.” – Mar 9, Fayetteville, NC

Trump has claimed that the protestors are being organized by Bernie Sanders.  He later claimed that they were organized and paid for by Hillary Clinton.  There is no evidence to support either of these suppositions, and it is just as likely that Trump, himself, is the force behind the protests.  While he claims that he “does not condone” the violence at his rallies, the reality is that he not only condones it, but encourages it, as evidenced by the above quotes.

People have both a constitutional right (read 1st Amendment) and plenty of good reasons for protesting at Trump’s rallies.  A week ago, I considered doing so myself, so I certainly understand.  That said, it is not helping bring Trump down, it is not, as we think it should, proving to his supporters that he is, indeed, a maniacal fascist.  Instead, it is having the opposite effect.  It feeds his ego, but even worse, it gives him even wider media coverage, which, like the child I mentioned in the beginning, is attention.  This candidate thrives on attention, whether positive or negative.  How far can this madness go?  I am not sure, but at the rate the violence surrounding his public appearances is escalating, I genuinely fear that it will eventually lead to serious injury and even death of innocent people.  And I do not think that either Trump or his supporters would feel a moment’s regret.  Sad, but true.

I call on people to use good judgment and stay away from Trump’s feeding frenzies.  Do not lower yourself to the level of Trump and his supporters, but stand above them. Protest by writing letters to his campaign headquarters, protest by supporting other candidates, protest by some other means than showing up at his rallies.  And I call on the media, especially the mainstream press, to significantly reduce the amount of coverage they give Trump and his “events”.  I firmly believe that for a narcissistic personality like Trump, being ignored is a far worse punishment than any other.

Women Should Not Be Allowed To Vote??? Says WHO???

Posted on by under Rants, Social commentary

Something was brought to my attention today and at first glance I blew it off with a “yeah, right, as if anybody is that stupid in the 21st century in the U.S..  But it apparently took up residence somewhere in the back of my mind, and I finally decided to “give it a google”.  WHOA!  Apparently there are a few people that stupid in this, the 21st century!

One such person is a so-called “pastor”, Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, who believes that “women should be banned from voting and confined to their home”.  Mad yet?  Just wait.  I am woman … hear me ROAR … ! Anderson (I refuse to dignify him by referring to him as “pastor” Anderson) follows with this:

“You know what they mean [by women’s rights]? The right to divorce your husband is what they mean. You know what they mean? The right to rebel and disobey your husband, the right to divorce him, the right to go out and get a job and make your own money, the right to tell him what to do, the right to go vote for our leaders as if women should have any say in how our country is run when the Bible says that ‘I suffer not a woman to teach, not to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence’?”

He once went on a rant about how women shouldn’t be allowed to read, talk, or leave the house without permission from a man. He has even demanded that women keep their mouths shut in church.  (Filosofa says:  Hello … knock, knock, knock … anybody home in there?  Welcome to the 21st century and you have just royally pissed me off, so watch your step, BUCKO!!!)

Deep breaths now … 1 … 2 … 3 …

In 2009, Anderson gave a sermon titled “Why I hate Barack Obama”, in which he said he “had been praying for the death of the president.”  Not surprisingly, he was contacted by the Secret Service.  In an interview with CBS News he said he would like Obama to die of natural causes, as he does not “want him to be a martyr” and “we don’t need another holiday.” (presumably in reference to Martin Luther King Day)   In an interview with another reporter, he said he “would not judge or condemn” anyone who killed the president.

His message of hate is not confined to women and President Obama.  This may surprise you, but he also hates gay people.  According to USA Today (12/04/2014), Anderson declares that no “queers” or “homos” are allowed in the church, and never will be as long as he’s pastor. He goes on to say killing gays is the way to an AIDS-free world by Christmas.  In one sermon, he stated: “All homos are pedophiles. There, I said it, they’re all pedophiles.”  His message is that killing gays is a divinely sanctioned way to rid the world of AIDS. “Because if you executed the homos, like God recommends, you wouldn’t have all this AIDS running rampant,” Anderson said.

Coexist

And the kicker … Steven Anderson brands all the still-living Holocaust survivors as “paid liars” who are simply lying when they talk about their experiences in Hitler’s death camps. He claims to “know” that Hitler’s Holocaust didn’t really happen, and that the current residents of Israel are not really Jews but a “Satanic counterfeit” placed there by the Rothschild’s family of Europe.  (Where in the heck did this guy lose his marbles, or … what rock did he slither out from under???)

Many adjectives come to mind regarding this man.  In the interest of professionalism, I will use none of them.  I do not claim to be of the Christian faith, nor to understand it in full, but many of my friends are Christians and I have been given to believe that they are a peace-loving people, people who believe in love, not hate … tolerance, not persecution.  I have written before about the Westboro group, and the evil that they perpetuate, but this Anderson character is the very definition of evil, even worse than the Westboro clan.  What is truly frightening is not that one man (idiot?) believes this rhetoric, but that he has followers!  If you look him up on Google, you will find 17.5 million hits!  I do not know how many gullible souls have succumbed to his rhetoric and are a part of his cult, as that data is not readily available. I have left messages on the church’s website asking for membership data, but have received no reply as yet.  On the website, you will find that his hate-mongering sermons have been translated into 115 languages.  He claims that, while he holds no college degree, he has memorized over 140 bible chapters “word for word”.  Apparently none of those chapters were the ones that talk about peace, love and tolerance.

A New York Times article from May, 2015 claims that “seventy-one percent of American adults were Christian in 2014, the lowest estimate from any sizable survey to date, and a decline of 5 million adults and 8 percentage points since a similar Pew survey in 2007.”  With churches like Faithful Word and Westboro, is it really any wonder?  Think about it.