Live And Let Live

Posted on March 13, 2023 by jilldennison under Election 2024, Free Press Issues, Global Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, religion, Social commentary

Hungary’s “president”/dictator, Viktor Orbán has shared his ideology with Republicans in this nation and they have gobbled it up like dogs will gobble up the last of your steak, given half a chance. Orbán has explicitly rejected the liberal democracy that his country used to enjoy, saying that its emphasis on multiculturalism weakens national cultures while its insistence on human equality undermines traditional society by recognizing that women and LGBTQ people have the same rights as straight white men. The age of liberal democracy is over, he says, and a new age has begun. And far too many on the far right here admire Orbán, wish to instill the same ‘values’ here in the U.S. that he has forced on the people of Hungary.

In place of “Liberal Democracy”, Orbán advocates what he calls “illiberal democracy” or “Christian democracy.” In July 2018, Orbán said …

“Liberal democracy is in favor of multiculturalism, while Christian democracy gives priority to Christian culture; this is an illiberal concept. Liberal democracy is pro-immigration, while Christian democracy is anti-immigration; this is again a genuinely illiberal concept. And liberal democracy sides with adaptable family models, while Christian democracy rests on the foundations of the Christian family model; once more, this is an illiberal concept.”

In other words, he calls for a very undemocratic ‘democracy’, one in which you are free only as long as you live by a prescribed set of religious rules that excludes anyone who looks, thinks, or believes differently than dictated by the state. The United States is NOT Hungary and frankly I find Orbán’s ideas to be highly offensive. To say that women, people of colour, or LGBTQ people are somehow not as worthy as straight, white Christians is a slap in the face to more than half of the people in this nation. Our foundation calls for a wall of separation between church and state, and for good reason. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution calls for ‘freedom of religion.’ It does not say, “freedom of Christianity”, but of ‘religion’ … and that means any, all, or none. If you are to have freedom of religion, then you must also have freedom from religion. Hence, that wall of separation.

The United States is a secular nation, not … I repeat, NOT a Christian one. There are many religions practiced in this nation, and a growing number of people who claim no ties to any religion. Catholics, Jews, Protestants, Muslims, Hindus and the like all pay taxes, all vote, and all exercise their 1^st Amendment rights. Orbán’s ideas may be workable for Hungarians, though that is up for debate, but they do NOT work for the people of this nation!

Look, folks … it is nobody else’s business what religion, if any, a person chooses to follow or what their beliefs are, but on the same side of that coin, it’s not their place to dictate to others, to tell an entire nation how it must believe, what religious views it must honour. It’s a really simple premise – I call it ‘Live and Let Live.’

Beware the politician who praises Viktor Orbán and others like him, for they are out to change this nation — not for the better, but in terrible ways.

A Path We Must Not Travel

Posted on July 12, 2022 by jilldennison under education, Election 2022, Election 2024, Free Press Issues, History, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Rants, Social commentary, voting rights

I don’t think it is overreacting or hyperbole to tell you, my friends, that this nation is in grave danger of losing most, if not all of the democratic principles on which the nation was founded. No, I’m not just talking about the former guy and his rambling ego, or the fledgling fools like Boebert, Gaetz and Greene who follow him faithfully with their wagging tongues just waiting to lick his boots on command. They are a circus act. But behind the curtain, I truly believe, there are people working to turn this nation away from democracy, away from freedom of such things as religion, press, and speech.

Remember back in May when the CPAC conference was held in Hungary and Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán was the keynote speaker? That threw up red flags for me, especially in light of Orbán’s words …

Viktor Orbán

“We have to take back the institutions in Washington and Brussels. We must find allies in one another and coordinate the movements of our troops.

Have your own media. It’s the only way to point out the insanity of the progressive left. The problem is that the western media is adjusted to the leftist viewpoint. Those who taught reporters in universities already had progressive leftist principles.

Of course, the GOP has its media allies but they can’t compete with the mainstream liberal media. My friend, Tucker Carlson is the only one who puts himself out there. His show is the most popular. What does it mean? It means programs like his should be broadcasted day and night. Or as you say 24/7.”

Now fast forward … the next CPAC will take place in Dallas, Texas, on August 4-7. I don’t know how the hell many of these conventions the ‘Conservatives’ need, but this will be the third one this year. And guess who’s coming to dinner? None other than Viktor Orbán. According to Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and a nasty piece of work …

“CPAC is proud to host Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The fight against socialism is a global one.”

Matt Schlapp

Mr. Schlapp wouldn’t know socialism from communism from neopolitan ice cream if it schlapped him upside the head!!! It was he who, during the protests against the murder of George Floyd, claimed that Black Lives Matter was “…hostile to families, capitalism, cops, unborn life and gender.” I have no idea where he came up with such mumbo-jumbo, but suffice it to show that he is not a nice person, nor is his wife Meredith, both of whom are close allies to the former guy.

But back to Orbán and his invitation to August’s CPAC. Since coming to power in 2010, Orbán has effectively silenced Hungarian independent media and now controls virtually all of the country’s television, newspaper, and online media outlets. Within months of becoming prime minister, Orbán had taken control of the judiciary and attacked the few financial institutions not under the control of his far-right Fidesz Party.

So-called conservatives in the U.S. have increasingly fawned over Orbán’s achievements, which in recent years have included an attack on LGBTQ and gender equality—with some measures related to the teaching of gender and sexuality in schools that closely echo the “Don’t Say Gay” bill recently passed in Florida.

In my view, having the May CPAC in Hungary with Orbán as the main speaker, and now having him cross the pond to speak yet again at the August CPAC is chilling. It tells me that the Republican Party is seeking to install an autocratic government here in the U.S. It tells me that they will stop at nothing to end the democratic principles that have been the foundation in this nation since 1787. Stopping them is going to require the Democratic Party to find their backbone, to stop whining, get off their asses, and DO SOMETHING to help ensure voting rights and to make people aware of just what is at stake in November.

Today I see very little unity within the Democratic Party … too much critique and back-stabbing, a lack of unity, is demoralizing for voters at this, the most crucial time in our lifetime. Yesterday morning I read that the majority of Democrats are not happy with President Biden. Frankly, their critiques are largely unfair, for he is receiving blame even within his own party for things that are and always have been outside of his control. But frankly, I don’t give a damn if you like him or not … we need to support him at all costs! Now, let me put it this way … would you like to have someone just like Viktor Orbán in the Oval Office on January 20^th, 2025? Because if the Democrats don’t get their shit together, that is exactly what we’re going to have.

Orbán Is Teaching, Republicans Are All Ears

Posted on May 21, 2022 by jilldennison under Election 2022, Election 2024, Free Press Issues, Global Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, religion, voting rights

On Thursday, the Republicans began their annual CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) meeting … in the nation of Hungary, not here in the U.S. Not even in a democratic nation, but in one ruled by an authoritarian, Viktor Orbán. One might ask why they would go to the extra trouble, extra expense, and spend the extra time holding their meetings more than 4,000 miles away. And I might answer that it is their goal to model the United States on Orbán’s example, to establish the same sort of country that Hungary is today. Need proof?

The unconscionable Matt Schlapp, the head of the American Conservative Union and organizer of CPAC, told NPR this week that he was bringing his event to Hungary because it “represents Christian conservative values” and American conservatives want to replicate this in the U.S. by learning from the country’s ultra-right-wing authoritarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán.

The conference’s program shows exactly what topics are important to the Trump wing of the Republican Party, with sessions entitled: “Western civilization under attack,” “In God we trust,” “The father is a man, the mother is a woman,” and “Culture wars in the media.” Joining Schlapp and the rest of the KKK Republicans will be the truly nasty Candace Owens and her current hubby, Parler CEO George Farmer. Oh, and guess who else will be making an appearance via video message? The ignoble Tucker Carlson of Fox ‘News’ and Mark Meadows, former chief of staff for the twice-impeached former guy. What a lineup, eh? So much filth all in one place! They may have to burn the building just to get rid of the stench.

But the ‘star’ of the show is Orbán himself, the main reason the convention is being held in Hungary to begin with. In his opening remarks on Thursday, he said …

“We need to take back the institutions in Washington and Brussels. We need to find friends, and we need to find allies. We need to coordinate the movement of our troops, because we have a big challenge ahead of us.”
“Have your own media. It’s the only way to point out the insanity of the progressive left. The problem is that the western media is adjusted to the leftist viewpoint. Those who taught reporters in universities already had progressive leftist principles. Of course, the GOP has its media allies, but they can’t compete with the mainstream liberal media. My friend, Tucker Carlson is the only one who puts himself out there. His show is the most popular. What does it mean? It means programs like his should be broadcasted day and night. Or as you say 24/7.”

The press at CPAC is mostly home-grown, from state-run Hungarian media. Independent European and U.S. outlets were largely denied access, and CBS News was one of a small number allowed access to the conference. Journalists from international media outlets, including the New Yorker, Vox Media, Vice News, Rolling Stone, and the Associated Press, were denied access to the event despite months of requests.

Are you starting to feel the chills going up your spine yet? I do.

Let me tell you just a bit about Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He is a white supremacist authoritarian. He’s restricted Muslim immigration and LGBTQ rights while building a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The former guy was a big fan of Orbán, saying …

“Viktor Orbán has done a tremendous job in so many different ways — highly respected, respected all over Europe — probably, like me, a little bit controversial, but that’s OK.”

I rarely repeat the words of the former guy, for in my book he is completely irrelevant, but I do so this time to give you an idea of the sort of person Orbán is … and believe me, he is not a good person and he is definitely NOT highly respected throughout Europe.

All of the international democracy rating agencies agree that Hungary is no longer a democracy. During his 12 years in power, Orbán has chipped away at the foundations of Hungarian democracy. It has been replaced with an authoritarian regime that wields a cynical interpretation of the law as a weapon; the country is governed by rules like the border journalism permits, regulations that can seem reasonable on their face but actually serve to undermine essential democratic freedoms.

Elections there are free, in the sense that the vote counts aren’t nakedly rigged. But they are unfair: The government controls the airwaves and media companies to such a degree that the opposition can’t get their message out.

Viktor Orbán is an autocrat, he does not govern but he rules … and yes there is a difference, a BIG difference. Orbán is, by any reasonable definition, a fascist, although some would argue he is merely a ‘soft fascist’. Fascism … it’s a scary word, isn’t it? The former guy made no attempt to hide the fact that he wanted to rule rather than govern, and he chipped away at the restraints that kept him, to an extent at least, from doing so. He plotted not one, but three attempts to overthrow the will of the people in the 2020 election, to install himself as an unelected autocrat for … how long? 4 years? 6 years? A lifetime?

The fact that CPAC chose to hold their annual convention in Hungary and more to the point to have Orbán as their main speaker should tell you all you need to know about the course being plotted by Republicans aka conservatives for the United States. It’s an ugly picture my friends. I’m not a scaremonger or a conspiracy theorist, but the Republican Party has been overtaken by a wanna-be dictator and they are falling all over themselves trying to lick his boots, to please him. What does that say for the future of this nation?

Mid-Terms 2022 — Vote Him OUT!!!

Posted on January 11, 2022 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Election 2022, guns, Law and justice, Political commentary

Madison Cawthorn is one of the sleaziest Republicans in the House of Representatives, though he does have a lot of competition for that title. At only 26 years of age, he is the youngest member of Congress, and also among the cockiest. I have an ever-growing list of those members of Congress who deserve to be ousted, who are not interested in the success of the nation and its people, but only their own quest for power and money, and Mr. Cawthorn is near the top of the list.

Cawthorn is known for indulging in conspiracy theories and for his incendiary rhetoric, but not noted for hard work or seriousness of purpose when it comes to legislating. He has said he intends to use his position to be a messenger rather than a legislator, writing to his colleagues, “I have built my staff around comms rather than legislation.” Funny, I thought his job as a member of the House of Representatives was to legislate.

It is his rhetoric that may keep him from returning to Congress next year, however, for he had a documented role in the events of January 6^th, 2021 and many North Carolina voters are petitioning to bar him from seeking re-election. In a complaint filed with the North Carolina State Board of Elections, a group of North Carolina voters—represented by a team of legal experts that includes attorneys from the advocacy group Free Speech For People and former justices of the state Supreme Court—argue that Cawthorn is ineligible for public office under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, known as the Disqualification Clause.

“The coordinated and violent January 6 attack on the United States Capitol in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying the presidential vote was an insurrection against the United States,” Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech For People, said in a statement. “The Constitution disqualifies from public office any elected officials who aided that insurrection.”

“As set forth in our complaint, the publicly available evidence, including Rep. Cawthorn’s own statements and reports that he or his office coordinated with the January 6 organizers, establish reasonable suspicion that Rep. Cawthorn aided the insurrection, thereby disqualifying him from federal office,” Fein added. “We look forward to asking him about his involvement under oath.”

In the short year that Cawthorn has held a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, he has been controversial and has come under fire more than a few times …

Before Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol on January 6^th, 2021, Cawthorn addressed the crowd and said, “this crowd has some fight.” He voted not to certify the Electoral College results in Congress and called Republicans who voted to certify the results “spineless cowards”. He later attempted to blame the attempted coup on a “Democratic machine of agitators strategically placed inside of this group”, amid intensifying calls for his resignation for his part in stoking the riots.
On February 13, 2021, Transportation Security Administration agents at the Asheville Regional Airport discovered an unloaded Glock 9mm handgun and loaded magazine in Cawthorn’s carry-on bag. The gun and ammunition were confiscated and stored by airport police.
In late February 2021, Cawthorn and a dozen other Republican House members skipped votes and enlisted others to vote for them, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But he and the other members were actually attending the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which was held at the same time as their absences. In response, the Campaign for Accountability, an ethics watchdog group, filed a complaint with the House Committee on Ethics and requested an investigation into Cawthorn and the other lawmakers.
At an August 2021 Macon County, North Carolina Republican Party event, Cawthorn said: “if our election systems continue to be rigged and continue to be stolen, then it’s going to lead to one place—and it’s bloodshed.”
In October 2021, Cawthorn said, “our culture today is trying to completely de-masculate [sic] all of the young men”, because “they don’t want people who are going to stand up”. He issued a call to mothers, who he said are the “most vicious” conservatives: “If you are raising a young man, please raise them to be a monster”. In November 2021, Cawthorn accused politicians of “trying to make everyone genderless, sexless, and just absolutely Godless”, and declared that Americans “want our culture back, and if you want to stand in the way that, we will run you over.”
Cawthorn reacted to the ‘not guilty’ verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse by offering Rittenhouse an internship, saying, “You have a right to defend yourself, so be armed, be dangerous and be moral”.
Over the past two years, at least 20 women have come forward and accused Cawthorn of sexual misconduct and sexual assault … where there is so much smoke, there’s bound to be a fire somewhere.

Seriously, is this the sort of person you want making the laws under which we must all live? Is this the person whose salary you will spend your hard-earned tax dollars to support? I think not. Let us hope that the voters of North Carolina are successful in their case to bar Cawthorn from running for re-election this year, or failing that, that the people in his North Carolina district have enough sense not to return him to the halls of Congress!

Note to Readers: Between now and the November mid-term elections, I will be occasionally writing a post about various members of Congress who, for one reason or another, I believe should be voted out or voted in, depending on their qualifications for the office. This is the first of many!

Just Two Snarky Snippets

Posted on July 11, 2021 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Environmental Issues, Political commentary

I could write at least 50 snarky snippets tonight, for my mood is dark, but in the interest of not steaming up my glasses any more than they already are, I’ll settle for two …

Bye-Bye Mr. Saul

Sometimes you have to look at things and just laugh. Take, for example, the case of this man …

Andrew Saul was the Trump-appointed Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, fired on Friday by President Joe Biden. First, Saul was asked to resign … a request which he refused. Then, left with no other choice, the President terminated his employment. You’re still waiting for the funny part, right? The funny part is that Saul refuses to leave! He claims his term lasts until January 2025, that he is “term-protected”, and he plans to be at work on Monday morning. In the words of the late, great Forest Gump … “Stupid is as stupid does.”

Typically, the position of head of an independent agency such as the U.S. Postal Service or the Social Security Administration is protected from a change in administration, but in this case, both a recent Supreme Court ruling, followed by a Justice Department memo affirmed the President’s authority to terminate Mr. Saul’s employment. According to a statement issued by the White House …

“Since taking office, Commissioner Saul has undermined and politicized Social Security disability benefits, terminated the agency’s telework policy that was utilized by up to 25 percent of the agency’s workforce, not repaired SSA’s relationships with relevant Federal employee unions including in the context of COVID-19 workplace safety planning, reduced due process protections for benefits appeals hearings, and taken other actions that run contrary to the mission of the agency and the President’s policy agenda.”

A wealthy former women’s apparel executive and prominent Republican donor, Saul, 74 — who served on the board of a conservative think tank that has called for cuts to Social Security benefits — had overseen one of the biggest operations in the federal government since his 2019 Senate confirmation. The Social Security Administration pays out more than $1 trillion a year to about 64 million beneficiaries (yours truly is one of those), who include seniors, the disabled and low-income Americans.

Now what in this man’s past qualified him to head the Social Security Administration … selling clothes to women somehow doesn’t get it in my mind! And to add insult to injury, he was known for calling for cuts in Social Security! I spent a lifetime paying into Social Security so that now, in my post-employment days, I could have a bit of income — not enough to live on, but it helps. I’ll be damned if I want some bozo who sold panties and bras for a living controlling my hard-earned retirement income!

Much like the aforementioned DeJoy, Saul was not initially hired to promote and enhance the work of the agency he was charged with overseeing, but rather was tasked with that agency’s destruction. I hope that on Monday Mr. Saul finds his computer access cut off, Metro Police waiting to escort him off the property, and his paycheck stopped. Oh … Saul’s response to his firing?

“I quite frankly feel I’m doing an excellent job there.” 🤣🤣🤣

I hope Louis DeJoy is next.

CPAC Again???

There is yet another Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) taking place in Dallas this weekend. No wonder the Republican Party hasn’t got the time to actually do their jobs, for they are always busy preparing for and attending these ‘conferences’ where nothing is ever accomplished except tooting their own horns and airing their grievances.

The ‘star’ of the show on Friday seems to have been Representative Madison Cawthorn, a genuine nutcase from the word ‘go’. He has a theory about President Biden’s plan to have volunteers go door-to-door offering information and assistance to people about the COVID vaccine. Says ol’ Madison …

“Think about the mechanisms they would have to build to be able to actually execute that massive of a thing. And then think about what those mechanisms could be used for. They could then go door to door and take your guns. They could go door to door and take your Bibles.”

If only. I honestly don’t know where the Republican Party finds these nuts … they must be shaking the trees really hard.

CPAC: The Mysticism Makeover

Posted on March 1, 2021 by jilldennison under Election 2020, History, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Earlier today, I shared Keith’s post regarding the future of the Republican Party, aka GOP. Keith was once a Republican, but left the party some years ago to become an Independent. Another friend, Jerry (aka Grumpy of Grumpy’s Grumblings) was also a Republican, and he left the party during the reign of the former guy to become a Democrat. Grumpy has written a very enlightening post about his vision of the Republican Party today vs what it once was, that Jeff has re-blogged. Thanks to both you guys, Jeff & Jerry, for this post and for allowing me to share it!

On The Fence Voters

Our friend Jerry at Grumpy’s Grumblings has another excellent post out today. Here is an excerpt, with a link at the end to continue reading. Thanks Jerry!

There was a time—not too long ago, I’m now ashamed to admit—when I frequently chanted this cheeky, “conservative” mantra: “If you’re a Republican before age 18, you have no heart. If you’re a Democrat past age 18, you have no brain.” I switched from Democrat to Republican shortly before my 20th birthday, so I suppose my brain was a bit late to develop. I switched back to Democrat at age 66, so I suppose I have no loyalties. I don’t; that is, not to a political party.

Anyway, back to the above adage. The point was, of course, that Democrats, being less mature in their reasoning, lead with their heart, their emotions. Democrats, Republicans often allege, fail to outgrow their empathetic side and…

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The Week’s Best Cartoons 2/27

Posted on February 28, 2021 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Humour, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

This week the cartoonists certainly had plenty of material to work with, from Ted Cruz’ trip to Cancún, to the bigotry of Marjorie Greene to states’ renewed attempts at voter suppression to CPAC and more. They didn’t let us down, and as she does every week, our friend TokyoSand managed to find the best of the lot! Thanks, TS … you’re the best!

See All The ‘Toons!

Snarky Snippets From A Grump

Posted on March 10, 2020 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Global Issues, Political commentary, Social commentary

Have you ever noticed that when you are a bit under the weather, little things annoy you more than they otherwise might? I’m easily annoyed anyway these days, but being tired and grumpy, it takes very little to set me off. I yelled at Miss Goose this evening because she was looking for the salad dressing in the fridge! To put on the salad that was all I served for dinner tonight. How dare she want dressing to go on it, right? Long story short, if I am grumpy, you know what this means, right? Snarkier than usual Snippets! (I did apologize to Miss Goose and gave her a big hug, so all is well here)

Republicans in quarantine … what a brilliant idea!

Mark Meadows has been White House chief of staff for exactly three days, and now he is in quarantine … or, as the popular term seems to be … self-quarantined. Yep, all these republicans attended the Conservative Political Action Convention (CPAC) two weeks ago, where an attendee was later confirmed to have a case of coronavirus. Republican Representatives Matt Gaetz and Doug Collins also came into contact with that person at CPAC. I understand that Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Paul Gosar may also have been exposed. Wow … five republicans out of commission for the next 14 days! It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving bunch of people. Not, mind you, that I am wishing illness on any of them … I’m just enjoying the humour of them being decommissioned and unable to destroy anything for the next two weeks!

And speaking of quarantines …

Yesterday, it was reported that Trump is afraid journalists will try to purposefully contract coronavirus to give it to him on Air Force One. Is such paranoia the sign of a healthy mind? No, it isn’t.

The best thing Trump’s staff could do for this nation would be to convince him that he has been exposed to the coronavirus and quarantine him in his suite at Mar-a-Lago with no phone and no computer. Two weeks without having to see his ugly mug, hear his raspy, whiny voice, and we would all feel much better! Not to mention that the nation would save a bundle of money if he were confined to quarters rather than flitting all about for his silly rallies and golf games.

Bye-bye, Mikey … Hello … Nikki?

CNN political analyst Paul Begala has a theory, and it is one that I’ve pondered before. Nikki Haley has been a puzzle since Trump took office. Begala’s theory is that Trump put Pence in charge of the no-win situation overseeing the administration’s response to the coronavirus, which Trump had already royally screwed up by that time, in order to throw Pence under the bus. Why? So he has an excuse to choose a new running mate for November’s election. Who? Begala thinks Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina.

Begala takes it a step further and says that Trump will make the announcement on July 16^th, immediately following the acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention by either Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders. Says Begala …

“This is not a prediction. It’s a certainty. On Thursday, July 16 — that’s the date the Democrat gives his or her acceptance address — on that day, to interrupt that narrative, Donald Trump will call a press conference at Mar-a-Lago. He’s going to dump Mike Pence and put Nikki Haley on the ticket to try to get those suburban moms.”

I can’t speak to his prediction of the timing, though it makes sense, for Trump always must be the center of attention, and when he isn’t, he finds away to hone in. But I have long thought that Trump had some plan for Nikki, and one group with whom he’s largely unpopular is women with brains, so putting a woman on his ticket makes some sense. Personally, I think Haley, who once did some decent things as governor, is a sell-out and I wouldn’t vote for her for dog-catcher, but then, I wouldn’t vote for Trump even if he made Stevie Wonder his running mate.

Tennis anyone?

Oh, by the way … did you folks know that we’re paying to build Ms. Melania a “tennis pavilion” on the South Lawn of the White House? According to a press release back in October, the project was “fueled by Mrs. Trump’s … passion to provide a functional recreational area for all first families to enjoy.” Now wait just a minute … so … if I want to take my family there to play tennis, I can do so? Bwah ha ha … yeah, right. It will be for Melania and her ‘friends’, maybe a few White House staffers. Make no mistake … this is of absolutely zero benefit to ‘We the People’.

Last spring, Melania “revamped” the White House bowling alley, but I guess she got tired of bowling and now wants to play tennis. Yes, by all means, let’s waste our money to keep all the Trumps happy. What’s next … a baseball field for young Barron?

People took to Twitter to critique the project, in light of the seriousness of the global outbreak of the coronavirus, Trump’s heinous immigration policies, the tanking economy, and other valid concerns that her husband is bungling. Not to be deterred (or suddenly possessed of a shred of human decency), Melania responded with her usual arrogance …

“I encourage everyone who chooses to be negative & question my work at the @WhiteHouse to take time and contribute something good & productive in their own communities.”

WHAT WORK??? She doesn’t even have a serious project … her “Be Best” initiative is a joke that never got off the ground, she doesn’t cook or do laundry … she’s a bloomin’ decoration, at best. And what, precisely, has she contributed to any community? Oh, remember … she did go down to the southern border and stare for a few minutes at the kids in cages, while wearing her jacket that said, “I really don’t care. Do U?”

So, friends, dig a little deeper in your pockets … no, not to feed the poor or shelter the homeless … but to entertain Melania.

Da Snippets Dey Be Snarky …

Posted on February 11, 2020 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, education, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

I remember the last day I was able to read the news without having to either take ibuprofen or check my blood pressure … it was June 15^th, 2015. The day before Donald Trump pompously rode down the elevator and announced that he was running for president of the United States. The next day, I laughed. I’m not laughing now.

A budget written by Abbot & Costello?

Trump’s latest budget was “unveiled” yesterday. If Congress passes this one, then I shall recommend psychiatric evaluations for every one of them! Surely, he doesn’t honestly believe he can get this one through! It must have been written by a team of comedians. A few of the key points:

Expands the 2017 tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations
Cuts Medicaid by $700 billion over the next 10 years
Cuts food stamps
Cuts farm subsidies
Cuts student loan programs
Cuts EPA funding by 27%
Cuts Social Security disability benefits and Medicare provider payments
Cuts foreign aid by 21%
Increases military spending
Increases NASA funding for ridiculous “space force” program by 12%
Allocates $2 billion for his wasteful, useless, hateful “border wall”

Notice a pattern here? If it helps the 1% at the top of the wealth scale, he increases it, if it helps the 99% of us who don’t live in mansions and jet set all over the world, he cuts ‘n guts it. Plain and simple. Nancy Pelosi should do to this budget exactly what she did to his State of the Union speech.

Punishment for doing the right thing? Only in the GOP …

More and more these days, I’m concluding that there is an intrinsic cruelty in some republicans. I offer up as evidence the fact that Mitt Romney, the one lone republican who found the guts to vote to convict Trump of the impeachment charge of abuse of power that was more than proven, has been subjected to terrible treatment by those in his own party. He has received condemnation, that there have even been calls for him to be expelled from the republican party! WHOA, republicans!!! The man did his job, he followed his conscience, he acted in the best interest of this nation, and you want his head on a pike???The latest, though, is just beyond ridiculous. Matt Schlapp, chairman of the Conservative Political Action Conference, has “formally uninvited” Mitt to the Conservative Political Action Conference to be held the last four days of this month.

“We won’t credential him as a conservative. I suppose if he wants to come as a nonconservative and debate an issue with us, maybe in the future we would have him come. This year, I would actually be afraid for his physical safety, people are so mad at him.”

Wow … the man is being punished and threatened by his own party for doing his job, for being the only one with even half a conscience, for believing he actually owes something to the people of this nation in exchange for his salary. See what I mean about some republicans? They are just not very nice people.

And continuing along the theme that some republicans are not very nice …

Montana State Representative Rodney Garcia has a rather unique interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.

“So actually in the Constitution of the United States [if] they are found guilty of being a socialist member you either go to prison or are shot. They’re enemies of the free state. What do we do with our enemies in war? In Vietnam, Afghanistan, all those. What did we do? I agree with my Constitution. That’s what makes us free. We’re not a democracy, we’re a Republic Constitution.”

So, where did this guy get his education? It’s true that the U.S. is not a pure democracy, but until recently was a democratic republic, not a “republic constitution”. And as for his premise that the Constitution gives people like himself the right to shoot a person who is a socialist … well, I won’t even dignify that with a response.

I did some digging, because I really wanted to know where he went to school … Podunk University? I didn’t find that out, but I did dig up something interesting. He admits to having been convicted “years ago” on a domestic violence charge. And … last year he attacked Children’s Protective Services (CPS) …

“CPS was a ruse…they violate the law. I think that they harm children. Child Protective Services do not protect the children. They kidnap them.”

He went on to say that caseworkers should be fined $1,000 per day for every child they “steal” and should be put in jail. Then he continued, admitting that CPS had visited his own home when his children were young, investigating a complaint. And, he further accused Planned Parenthood of “chopping up babies and selling their body parts.”

Now … needless to say, this man’s mental capacity is severely diminished, but what is equally disturbing is that … the people of his district elected this dolt! The Montana Republican Party has called for his resignation, to which he replied …

“They can ask me to step down, but, no, I don’t think so. I’m going to run for the Senate and I’m going to win. People are going to have to eat their words. I’m getting my head so big from people saying, ‘Thank you, Rodney, for bringing this up.’ If people don’t want me in the Senate they can say: ‘Well, I’m not going to vote for ya.’ That’s their prerogative. The only way I would give my resignation is if God asked me to.”

People of Montana … please, vote this joker out, and then see if you can’t have him committed for psychiatric evaluation!

Under The Big Top …

Posted on March 3, 2019 by jilldennison under Global Issues, Political commentary, Social commentary

I just love it when all the clowns congregate in one place at one time and spout endless, mindless inanities, for it makes my job so much easier … one website has it all! I’m speaking, of course, about CPAC, the annual Conservative Political Action Conference that is organized by the American Conservative Union and features a star-studded array of many of the most radical right-wingers in the Republican Party. Take a look at this year’s cast of characters …

These are just some of the strange characters that can be seen, but they are joined by the likes of Glenn Beck, Kellyanne Conway, Ted Cruz, Mike Pence, Jerry Falwell and others too numerous to name – the worst of the worst. Welcome to … THE CIRCUS!Yesterday morning at 11:30, the ringmaster, Donald J. Trump, spoke at this circus of horrors. His speech was long. When I say long, I mean loooooooooooooonnnnnnnngggg. How long was it, you may ask? It was two hours, two minutes and seventeen seconds. Yes, that’s 2:02:17. One hundred, twenty-two minutes and 17 seconds. The speech was nasty, even by his standards. He couldn’t seem to utter more than three sentences before cussing and using foul language. And lies??? Holy guacamole, Batman! I’ve never heard so many lies in one lousy speech! For the record … I tried to listen to a 2-minute clip of his speech, and right around the 1-minute mark, I jerked my headphones off and threw them on the table in disgust. Daughter Chris looked at me and said, “Trump?”. Ayuh … who else?

But the thing is about this speech, is that it was all old material … material he has been using in his campaign rallies since he threw his hat in the ring in mid-2015. For instance …

He joked about Hillary Clinton’s emails and soon had the crowd chanting that tired old phrase, “Lock her up”. Why the Sam Heck aren’t they chanting ‘lock him up’?
He railed against former FBI Director James Comey who he fired two years ago.
He mocked Representative Adam Schiff, referring to him as “Little Shifty Schiff”, which is an improvement over what he has called him in the past.
He criticized Robert Mueller, naturally, and also Jeff Sessions, mocking Sessions’ southern accent … watch …

He defended … sigh … his ignominious “declaration of a national emergency”, which is indefensible as the majority of the people in this nation know.
He spent, I am told, a great deal of his time mocking the Green New Deal proposed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a means to prevent the extinction of the human race and other valuable species.
He also made false claims about everything from the unemployment rate to the crowd size at his inauguration. Yes, he’s still babbling on … and on … about his inauguration more than two years later.

See what I mean? Nothing new, just the same old sixes and sevens he began with two, three years ago. And the same tired people are applauding the same tired lines. It would be humorous if it weren’t so … old, tiresome, sickening and ridiculous.Now, how can anybody spend two solid hours simply mocking and criticizing others? Is this, then, Trump’s platform, his ideology? To mock others? Has he no actual ideas for how to make America ‘better’, but rather only to denigrate others? Is this the basis on which our government is now founded, the foundation upon which it rests? And what of those who salaciously applauded his every word? Are they off their bloomin’ rockers?

“You know I’m totally off script right now and this is how I got elected, by being off script. And if we don’t go off script, our country’s in big trouble, folks, because we have to get it back.”

Being ‘off script’ was how he got elected. Yep. Remember those chants? Trump saying, “Who’s gonna pay for the wall?”, and the crowd responding as if by rote, “Mexico!” Well, guess what, folks? Those of you who bought that line of horse hockey must be feeling pretty foolish right about now, eh?

“Right now we have people in Congress that hate our country and you know that. And we can name every one of ’em if they want. They hate our country. Sad. It’s very sad. When I see some of the things being made, the statements being made, it’s very, very sad.

And find out, how did they do in their country? Just ask ’em, how did they do? Did they do well, were they succeeding? Just ask that question. Somebody would say, ‘Oh, that’s terrible that he brings that up.’ But that’s OK, I don’t mind, I’ll bring it up. How did they do in their country? Not so good, not so good.”

What the heck is he even talking about?

Between Cohen’s credible testimony that Trump has lied, cheated and stolen from the American taxpayer, the evidence that he forced John Kelly to push through top security clearance for his son-in-law Jared Kushner despite concerns by high-ranking officials, and his utter failure in his summit with Kim Jong-un, he has no bragging rights, but brag he did, and lie he did. A few of the most egregious, nonsensical ramblings from the ‘man’ who some call president, and just a bit of my snarkiness in blue …

“I see senators that are there for 20 years, white hair. See, I don’t have white hair. I don’t have white hair. I see these white hairs, longtime senators, standing behind this young woman, and she’s ranting and raving like a lunatic, and these senators: ‘Yes, I agree with this. Yes I agree.’ The crazy female senator from the state of Ohio.” Um, excuse me, but both of Ohio’s senators are men. And about that ‘hair’ … it changes colour almost daily, apparently according to which toupee you are wearing, so who knows, if you have real hair, what the colour?

“Robert Mueller put 13 of the angriest Democrats in the history of our country on the commission. How do you do that? These are angry, angry people. You take a look at them. One of them was involved with the Hillary Clinton Foundation, running it. Another one has perhaps the worst reputation of any human being I’ve ever seen. All killers.” Not a single one of Mueller’s team have run the Clinton Foundation, nor are any of them killers. Excuse me, but … isn’t this slander? Is this not illegal?

“I just returned from Vietnam, where I had very productive meetings with Chairman Kim Jong Un. We get along. We’ve developed a good relationship, very good, and made great historic progress. … One administration gave billions of dollars to him and got nothing. We haven’t given him anything yet. I look forward to maybe doing something at some point.” Huh? Say WHAT??? Trump failed completely, then lied about it. How is that ‘great historic progress’?

And there you have it, folks. Proof positive, in case you needed more, that there is an incompetent megalomaniac in the White House who surely must be removed before he destroys us all. I may have more about CPAC, about some of the other clowns who attended, a bit later. Then again, I may decide I’m so disgusted by the whole thing that I cannot take any more of it.

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