Ahhhhh … nothing like a peaceful, lazy Sunday afternoon, right?  Curl up with a good book, maybe have a little bit of a kip, take a look at the news and BOOM … the peace is shattered, the nerves are jangled, and the snark finds its way into a blog post!

Sorry, no books today!

In the small town of Jamestown, Michigan, population 9,630 as of the 2020 census, the library may soon close.  Lack of interest?  No way!  The people in this town love their library, but the taxpayers voted against funding the library earlier.  Why?  A handful of residents – less than 50 – complained about books in the library written by or about LGBTQ people, saying their intent was to ‘groom’ children.  The library director was harrassed to the point that she finally resigned, as did the next in line for her job.

Larry Walton, the library board’s president, said “We, the board, will not ban the books.”  And thus, the voters voted 62% to 37% against a measure that would have raised property taxes by roughly $24 in order to fund the library.  This is, as I see it, yet another step toward the dummying down of American youth … making it harder for them to learn the truth about the culture of the nation they live in, as well as its history.

And along those same lines, in Florida, Collier County Public Schools added warning labels to more than 100 books, many of which touch on issues related to race or the LGBTQ community.  WTF???

The books carrying this ‘warning’ include ones by Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Ibram X. Kendi, and John Updike.  If this trend continues … I don’t hold out much hope for the humanity of future generations.  This, my friends, is what we are up against … if your skin isn’t white, if you don’t attend the right church, if you love someone who ‘society’ deems inappropriate … you don’t belong.  Not only that, but your story will never be told.  Our history … our true history which includes our horrid treatment of the Indigenous People who lived her long before European settlers arrived, Africans who were brought here in chains and sold into slavery, and many more atrocities based on race, will never be told to the next generation.  What a sad … nay, tragic … ending for what was once a nation filled with hope for a brighter future.

There may not be books in schools, but there will damned well be guns!

In Ohio, the state legislature passed and governor Mike DeWine signed into law a bill that allows teachers to carry a gun into their classrooms with only 24 total hours of firearms training.  In North Carolina, one school system is putting AR-15 rifles in every school. Nationwide, at least 29 states allow individuals other than police or security officials to carry guns on school grounds.  This, my friends, is the Republican’s response to the Uvalde school shooting in May that killed 19 students and two teachers.  They don’t respond with a ban on assault weapons such as the one that was used in Uvalde, and they don’t respond by calling for stricter gun measures.  Nooooooo … their answer, just as it has always been, is to put more guns in the hands of unqualified people!

What could possibly go wrong with AR-15s in the classrooms?  Surely there would never come a time when a teacher might step out of the classroom for just a moment and a student might get the gun and … well, use your imagination.  Surely that would never happen, right?  Right?

The strategy is fiercely opposed by Democrats, police groups, teachers’ unions and gun control advocates, who say that concealed carry programs in schools — far from solving the problem — will only create more risk. Past polling has shown that the vast majority of teachers do not want to be armed.  But … the Republican Party is so entwined with the gun manufacturers and the NRA that they are bought … lock, stock, and barrel.  Uvalde just gave them the excuse they had been waiting for.  Ban the books but bring on the guns!  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr …

Just a couple of decent guys … NOT!

I think ol’ Roger Stone just likes attention, so he’s back in the news.  This time, he’s seeking assistance for his buddy, Alex Jones, who has been ordered thus far by the courts to pay a total of $49.3 million for the lies he told about the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre.  Now, Alex Jones doesn’t appear to actually have $49.3 million, as his net worth is only an estimated $40 million, so … enter Roger Stone, he of many crimes who would be in prison today, were it not for the pardon he received from the former guy.

Stone has called for contributions to support Jones, saying that …

“Alex Jones is a good and decent man.  He is a God-fearing Christian…and right now he needs our support.” 

Excuse me a moment while I go throw up my breakfast …

There is not one shred of human decency in either Roger Stone or Alex Jones!  Both are the definition of evil and belong in a prison cell for the duration of their nasty lives!

And on that note, I now return you to your peaceful, lazy Sunday afternoon …