Tag Archives: dereliction of duty

Asleep At The Wheel

Posted on by under Economic issues, Election 2024, Law and justice, Political commentary, Rants

What happens when a driver falls asleep at the wheel of the car he is driving?  Typically it results in an accident, possibly the loss of at least one life, maybe more.  Kevin McCarthy, hired to represent the 330 million people living in the United States, has fallen asleep at the proverbial wheel and is driving this train right toward a cliff – fiscal and otherwise.

Intentionally.

On purpose.

With malice aforethought.

Yesterday, the 100 members of the other chamber of Congress, the U.S. Senate, worked across the aisle, compromising and negotiating, to draft a bi-partisan Continuing Resolution to keep the government from a damaging shutdown in just three days.  They quickly sent it to the House … time is, after all, running out … in hopes that by Saturday evening the elected members of the House of Representatives would have set aside their own personal desires long enough to save the nation from certain economic troubles and more.

But alas … Mr. Kevin McCarthy, aka Speaker McCarthy, refused to even bring the measure to the House floor for a vote.  When the stock market plunges in the coming days and you see the balance in your 401(k) going down, down, down … blame Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans in the House!  When your Social Security check doesn’t arrive on the 3rd of the month as it should, don’t bother to call the Social Security Administration, for nobody will be there … blame Kevin and his hooded brothers.  And when the price of fuel and food rises astronomically in the coming weeks … blame Kevin McCarthy for having sold his cojones, for caring more about his own fortune than your life or mine.

If McCarthy had brought the bill to the floor for a vote, more than likely it would have passed, for there are, believe it or not, more members of the House who actually do take their responsibilities seriously than those who don’t.  There may be issues in it that some don’t like, but that’s always going to be the case … and it beats a government shutdown.  A number of things likely came into play in making the decision not to bring the bill to the floor for a vote, not the least of which is Donald Trump’s demands for a shutdown for his own selfish purposes.

Trump is a washed-up nobody, but he still commands the attention of the fools in the Republican Party who have essentially handed him the reins.  And the other thing is that those Republicans furthest to the right are hoping that the results of the shutdown – disrupted public services, higher prices, drops in the financial markets – will help turn the voting public against President Biden before next November.  Never mind that President Biden is NOT the one failing to do his job, NOT the one causing the shutdown … some people will believe what the likes of Kevin McCarthy, Lauren Boebert, Margie Greene, and Matt Gaetz tell them and will vote accordingly rather than turning on the switch to their own brains and thinking for themselves.

Every member of the House will be running for re-election next year.  Remember this, remember that they sold us downriver this week, and use your vote to show those who did so the door.

*Note:  As so often happens, our friend Keith and I were of like minds on this issue.  While I was writing this post yesterday evening, he was posting his.  I strongly urge you to check out his post for an additional take on the topic.

Open Letter To Every Republican Senator

Posted on by under Election 2022, Law and justice, Personal, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, voting rights

Dear Republican Senator …

YOU had the unique opportunity to pass legislation that would have protected mine and others’ right to vote for the foreseeable future, and you stupidly passed up that opportunity for reasons that are completely incomprehensible to me and my fellow citizens.

When you took that Oath of Office and swore to uphold the U.S. Constitution, did you think it was a joke?  Did you think you were just saying words that had no meaning, that carried no responsibility?  Why did you even run for office if you had no intention of acting in the best interests of the nation and the people who live here, who work their asses off to survive and pay their taxes so that you can be paid every month?  It appears to me that you did not run for office because you wanted to help this nation or the people, but only so you could take donations from wealthy corporations to feather your own nest.

You, Senator, do not deserve the position you hold, the office you occupy.  The people who you have caused grievous harm to are people like me … the elderly, college students, Black and Hispanic people, and single working mothers.

I sincerely hope that one way or another, you are forced out of the United States Senate and soon, for you have let the people of this country down, you have been derelict in your duties, and you are a greedy, racist person who I have lost any respect I once had for.  I do not respect you or any of your republican cohorts in the United States Congress.  You failed miserably today, and you have no excuse … not a single one of you even voted to debate the bill!  Do you really hate the people you represent that much such that you will not even spend a few hours considering protecting our rights?

I expect a reply to this letter … it is the very least that you can do, since you have robbed me of my constitutional rights and made me wish I lived anywhere but this ‘shithole country.’

Sincerely,

Jill Dennison – citizen, taxpayer, VOTER

A Slap In The Face

Posted on by under cartoons, Election 2022, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Well, it’s done.  We all expected it, but it’s still a slap in the face, a gut punch.  The mindless, conscienceless Republicans in the Senate struck down the proposal for a commission to investigate the events of January 6th.  Once again, We the People have been denied our rights, told by the likes of Moscow Mitch McConnell to sit down and shut up.  Since we are not important to the members of Congress, perhaps it’s time we stop paying their salaries, eh?  A nice widescale tax revolution ought to get their attention.  Why, after all, should we pay for services that we are not getting?  I’m too angry at the moment to write anything coherent, so I share with you yesterday’s Claytoonz on this topic …

Republicans Heart Terrorists

Republicans do not want to investigate the January 6 terrorist attack on the Capitol. Why? Because it’ll anger Donald Trump. They serve Trump, not you, silly Billy.

The attack was by white nationalists. That’s the GOP base. They tried to overturn an election. If this crowd was black or antifa, the GOP would be all about a commission to investigate the attack.

House Minority Leader once said the quiet part out loud about a commission. It was into the investigation of Benghazi that Republicans held for several years, spending millions of dollars. There were ten investigations into Benghazi, six by the Republican-led House. Kevin McCarthy explicitly stated they were held only to hurt Hillary Clinton and he boasted they had lowered her approval ratings. Other than that, the investigations didn’t uncover anything. Now, they’re afraid a commission into the January 6 attack will hurt Republicans in the upcoming midterms. They’re also afraid it’ll piss off Trump and he won’t help them campaign or raise money.

McCarthy had several demands for there to be a commission. He demanded that Republicans have as many appointments as Democrats to the commission. He demanded that Republicans have subpoena power. He demanded that the investigation be over by the end of 2021.

In opposing a commission, McCarthy said, “For months, the Speaker of the House refused to negotiate in good faith on basic parameters that would govern a commission to examine the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.” Except, each of his demands were met. He got exactly what he demanded and still opposed the investigation.

Senate Minority Leader Moscow Mitch McFucknuts also opposes it and said we shouldn’t keep “litigating” the past. This was five months ago. Meanwhile, Republicans in Arizona are litigating the past by recounting ballots seven months after the election.

The House passed a bill to create the commission. It needs ten Republicans to join Democrats for it pass in the Senate. Thursday, Gladys Sicknick, the mother of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, along with the slain officer’s girlfriend, met with Republican senators to try to convince them to vote for the commission.

Thirteen Republican senators refused to attend the meeting out of cowardice.

Gladys Sicknick issued a statement saying, “My son, Capitol Police Officer, Brian Sicknick, died on January 7, 2021. He died because of the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol Building on January 6.”

“He and his fellow officers fought for hours and hours against those animals who were trying to take over the Capitol Building and our Democracy, as we know it. While they were fighting, congressmen and senators were locking themselves inside their offices. According to some who were barricaded in their offices said it looked like tourists walking through the Capitol. Really?”

Republican congressmen and senators also lock themselves in their offices out of fear of having to meet the mother of a cop killed by MAGA terrorists.

Ms. Sicknick only received three commitments out of the 50 Republicans in the Senate. She has Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins. As to the rest, she asked, “How can they not be doing the right thing?”

Sicknick said, “Not having a January 6 Commission to look into exactly what occurred is a slap in the faces of all the officers who did their jobs that day.” Reportedly, many of the officers of the Capitol Police Department feel as though Republicans regard them as their servants.

McConnell claims a commission, evenly split between Democratic and Republican appointees, will be “openly partisan.” What’s non-partisan is that some Republicans will vote for it with Democrats…and what’s partisan is that only Republicans will be voting against it. Who would have guessed years ago that supporting terrorists would be a partisan thing for Republicans to do.

The Homeland Security Committee was created from the 9/11 commission’s recommendations. It was created to protect this nation from terrorists. Now, that committee is being ignored so Republicans can protect terrorists.

Gladys Sicknick may have asked the question rhetorically, but I’m not.

How can they not be doing the right thing?

Open Letter To Republican Members Of Congress

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, Election 2022, guns, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, voting rights

Dear Sir or Madam …

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of a few things that you have obviously forgotten.  You were not elected to the United States Congress to force your own will or vote for your own wishes, but rather you were elected to represent We the People, to vote in accordance with our wishes, not your own.

When you block legislation that would ensure we are all able to vote in elections, then you are not representing us, for nearly everybody in this country supports allowing everyone the opportunity to vote, to have a voice in our government.  You may remember that we pay taxes in order to have representation.  When you refuse to legislate gun laws that would make this a safer nation for us all, then you are not representing us, for the majority of people across the political divide have expressed a desire for stricter gun laws.

When you put the desires of a former president, whose whims should by all rights be irrelevant, ahead of the needs of the people you are hired to represent, then you do us all a disservice.  In the business world, when you do not do your job well, your boss will fire you.  We the People are your bosses, although you seem to have largely forgotten that, but we are forced to allow you to continue harming us until November 2022, which is the next date we can fire you.  And, of course, you are trying to ensure that those of us who are dissatisfied with your performance will not be given a voice on that day.

You are letting us down in every possible way, but the worst part is that you lie to us.  You tell us, as if we are children too ignorant to understand, that you are acting in our best interests, but you ARE NOT.  The 2020 election was a fair and honest election, as you are well aware, yet you keep lying to us, telling us that there was so much cheating that the former guy actually won.  Do you really think we are so stupid as to believe your lies?  Where’s the proof?  Show us the evidence.

You forget that it is We the People who pay your salaries, pay for your frequent trips home, and more.  It is not the NRA or corporate executives, though they may donate more to your re-election campaign.  You owe us, you do not own us.  I, for one, am so disgusted with your behaviour, your inattention to the people of this nation, and your lust for power, your greed, that I am just about ready to renounce my citizenship and leave this country forever.  But wait … I have done nothing wrong, it is you who are guilty of criminal neglect, of dereliction of duty, of lying, cheating, and stealing.

I have no illusions that you will find your conscience as you read this letter, for I think you sold it long ago, but I have had my say, and I will continue to speak loudly to fellow voters, to newspapers, wherever and however I can.  And I will help ensure that my fellow citizens are able to vote on November 8th, 2022, so that your efforts at voter suppression will be for naught.  I don’t know … I genuinely do not know how you sleep at night, how you live with yourself, for you are liars and cheaters … lying and cheating the very people who hired you and who support you.

Sincerely

Jill Dennison, voter & taxpayer

Note to readers:  This is the letter I have sent to my own Senator Rob Portman and Representative Warren Davidson.  I hope to also publish it as a ‘Letter to the Editor’ in my local newspaper.  Feel free to edit and use it if you wish.

We Will NOT Forget!

Posted on by under Election 2020, Law and justice, Political commentary, Rants

In case you didn’t notice, there is a trial of some importance taking place this week in Washington, D.C.  Now, I used to watch Perry Mason, and a number of other courtroom dramas, the names of which elude me at the moment, so I have an idea how a trial is supposed to be conducted, how lawyers, defendants, and jurors are supposed to act, but this trial is like nothing I have ever seen before.

First, the defendant is nowhere to be seen.  He decided that it was too cold up north to leave his Florida resort, and besides, he had a golf game scheduled for yesterday.  But what really blows my mind is the jurors!  Have you ever seen a trial where the jurors, rather than being bothered with listening to the evidence being presented by the prosecution, got up and walked around, texted on their phones … about breast milk, for some strange reason?

Worse yet, can you imagine a murder trial where three of the jurors have a closed-door session with the defense attorneys???  NO, just NO … this is illegal, immoral, unconscionable, and a number of other adjectives I can think of once the steam stops coming out of my ears!

House impeachment managers, the prosecution, were presenting compelling evidence of the attack on Congress and the Capitol and the defendant’s involvement in said attack on Wednesday afternoon, but Ted Cruz and several other Republican senators were apparently bored watching themselves narrowly escape the violence on January 6th and instead sought other distractions, such as shuffling papers, or playing on their cell phones like Teddy was doing.

Under absolutely no circumstances, in a trial, are the lawyers on either side allowed to meet in private with jurors.  That is called tampering with the jury, it is illegal.  Period.  No ifs, ands, or buts.  Trump’s legal team and the three Republican senators, Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, and Mike Lee are all in violation of the law for their little tête-à-tête .  They are attempting to turn this trial into a sham, but all they are doing is further destroying their reputations and that of the Republican Party, for they are proving with every passing minute that there is no collective conscience.  The Republican Party has decided that they don’t need to represent the will of the people, but instead will do whatever they damn well please, and force us to continue to pay their salaries.

“We were discussing their legal strategy and sharing our thoughts,” said Cruz.  No, jackass … you are not a member of the legal team … you are the jury!  Your job is to listen to both sides and decide which has merit, not collude with one side against the other.  You are the damn jurors in this case!  In a normal trial, the judge would at this point likely declare a mistrial and schedule a new trial, else dismiss the jurors and call for a new selection.  But this is an impeachment trial and apparently the Republicans in Congress are allowed to make and break the rules with impunity. Imagine if the Democrats tried that!

The public has heard the evidence, and while the corruption is so rampant in the Republican Party that the senators will allow a conman, a man guilty of plotting murder free to incite further violence, to kill again, We the People know that he is guilty.  We weren’t playing on our cell phones while the evidence was being presented, and we did not collude with the lawyers for the defense.  We saw the evidence, we know Donald Trump is guilty, and we will never again trust him or those senators who refused to perform their duty, to uphold their oaths.  We Will Not Forget. Ever.