Meet The New Press Secretary!

Posted on May 6, 2022 by jilldennison under Biden's Staff Picks, Free Press Issues, History, Political commentary, Social commentary

I will miss Jen Psaki. After the 4 years of the previous administration with such reprobates as the bumbling Sean Spicer, the nasty Sarah Huckabee Sanders, silent Stephanie Grisham, and the grand bimbo Kayleigh McEnany, Ms. Psaki has been as a breath of fresh air. I shall miss her compassion and her intelligence, as well as her uncanny ability to put an antagonist in his place without missing a beat. Would that we could make her position a lifelong appointment …

But Ms. Psaki said early in her tenure that she would not stay for the entire 4-year term of the Biden presidency, and in fact she expected to stay only a year or so, but a series of crises – the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the continuation of the pandemic, among other issues – convinced her to stay longer. However, she has other fish to fry, and we owe her a debt of gratitude for bringing intelligence, humour and dignity back into the White House pressroom.

And now, it’s time to move on. But my sadness over Psaki’s leaving is offset by my joy at her chosen replacement! Allow me to introduce Ms. Karine Jean-Pierre. Jean-Pierre has been White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary since 2021 and served as the chief of staff for vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris on the 2020 United States presidential campaign. Prior to that, she was the senior advisor and national spokeswoman for MoveOn.org and a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. She is also a former lecturer in international and public affairs at Columbia University.

Ms. Jean-Pierre’s educational background makes her a fine fit for the office of press secretary: She is a graduate of the New York Institute of Technology. She received her MPA from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University in 2003, where she served in student government and decided to pursue politics.

She brings a combination of education and experience that far exceeds any of the four from the previous administration. Oh yes, and she adds something else to the Biden administration: diversity. You see, Ms. Jean-Pierre is the first Black woman and the first openly gay person to serve in this position. Now, I’m thrilled about the diversity, happy to see that President Biden is keeping his promise to diversify the executive branch, but I don’t want that to be the sole focus, for Ms. Jean-Pierre is more than that. It would be unfair to assume that she only got the job because of her skin colour or gender identification. She is a well-qualified woman who will do an excellent job … and she has a big pair of shoes to fill!

In making the announcement, President Biden said …

“Karine not only brings the experience, talent and integrity needed for this difficult job, but she will continue to lead the way in communicating about the work of the Biden-Harris Administration on behalf of the American people. Jill and I have known and respected Karine a long time and she will be a strong voice speaking for me and this Administration.

Jen Psaki has set the standard for returning decency, respect and decorum to the White House Briefing Room. I want to say thank you to Jen for raising the bar, communicating directly and truthfully to the American people, and keeping her sense of humor while doing so. I thank Jen for her service to the country, and wish her the very best as she moves forward.”

Ms. Jean-Pierre and her partner, CNN correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, are the parents of one daughter. As she said of her work in the Obama White House …

“What’s been wonderful is that I was not the only; I was one of many. President Obama didn’t hire LGBT staffers, he hired experienced individuals who happen to be LGBT. Serving and working for President Obama where you can be openly gay has been an amazing honor. It felt incredible to be a part of an administration that prioritizes LGBT issues.”

Welcome aboard, Ms. Jean-Pierre … we look forward to seeing you in action! And Ms. Psaki – you will be missed, and yours will be a long-lived legacy, for you restored so much to the position. Thank you for all that you did.

Jen Psaki (right) getting ready to hand over the reins to Karina Jean-Pierre

Ranting … Again

Posted on April 8, 2021 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, education, Election 2020, Free Press Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Rants, Social commentary

I am disappointed and angry at a large portion of the people in this nation. I really thought we were better than this, but the number of people who simply have zero concern for others is … overwhelming. Those who still, five months after the election, have their heads stuck up their rears is astounding, but worse yet … compassion among those same people is dead. I hope … I sincerely hope … that this nation can mend its broken fences, that people can learn to live together without hatred and bigotry, but each and every day the news makes that hope seem less and less possible. I have three snarky snippets tonight … the first one is just for laughs, but the other two have sent me even deeper into the rabbit hole.

Still good for a few laughs

You just have to laugh when you read that former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says that liars should be held accountable. When McEnany took over the job of press secretary, the very first words out of her mouth were her first public lie … she said she would never lie to the press, and then she proceeded to tell lie after lie after lie. So … should she be held accountable? McEnany now works for … wait for it … Fox ‘News’, and as such she appeared on Sean Hannity’s show to discuss the controversy surrounding Florida Governor Ron DeSantis …

“It’s just really important to point out that the standard is so high to hold any of these news organizations accountable. You have to prove intentional malice. It is extremely hard to prove. It’s why 60 Minutes — It’s why the left, MSNBC, CNN, they get away with murder each and every day. They can say whatever they want because you can’t hold them accountable. It’s a travesty.”

Right, Kayleigh, and can we now hold you accountable for the hundreds of lies you told in your relatively brief tenure as press secretary? How many lies did you attempt to feed the public, using the press as your bullhorn? What a hypocrite!

Where did they leave their brains?

Yes, I know that rage and fury are self-defeating, that they don’t help anything. But I made the mistake of looking at comments on one of President Biden’s tweets this afternoon and … I am furious at the ignorance, the stupidity, the blindness of some in this ‘country’.

The comments were on President Biden’s tweet reading …

Not one damn thing that should stir controversy there, right? Not like the tweets of the former guy who cursed, lied, denigrated others, incited violence, and ranted in nearly every one of the tens of thousands of tweets he posted. But yet, leave it to the fools and idiots to find a way to bitch …

And it went on and on and on. You’ll note that not a single one of these actually addresses the topic of Biden’s tweet, but rather go off on their own agenda. Yes, there were some positive comments, but at the time I saw the post, the negative outweighed the positive by about 2-to-1. Is this really the nation we’ve become??? If it is, I want out … NOW!

Do these freaks not understand that they drive over those unsafe bridges, they ride the unsafe railways, they drink the damn tap water that is contaminated with lead? Are they really so damned stupid? Yes, the answer is obvious … it was, after all, a rhetorical question.

As I see it, there is no longer a “United States”, only a conglomeration of states peopled with both intelligent people of good conscience, fools like those above, and the majority of us somewhere in between. I cannot be united with someone who, despite overwhelming proof and evidence, still claims last year’s election was “rigged”. I cannot be a citizen of the same country as a person who is so ignorant that they are shooting themselves and their children in the foot by fighting against policies that will help them, their families, and future generations. I cannot … I will not.

Naturally, I responded with my own snarky brand of vitriol … thus far, I haven’t been suspended from Twitter … yet. Don’t really care if I am, if they are given over to the fools who haven’t got brains in their heads!

They’re CHILDREN, for Pete’s sake!

A child is a child, whether it’s your child or mine, whether it’s a John or a Jill, whether it is dark-skinned or light, whether it wears its hair in braids or has a buzz cut. A child is a child and they are, each and every one, precious. They are the future of this world, if in fact the world as we know it has a future. And yet … the folks over at Fox ‘News’ seem to think otherwise.

Last month, the San Diego County Office of Education put out a completely voluntary call asking teachers in the region for their time. The reason: the city’s convention center will be holding as many as 1,450 unaccompanied children, all girls, as sponsors (usually a relative already here) are sought out for them. “We want to instill hope, instill joy, and show care for our students while they are with us, no matter if that’s for a few days or a few months,” San Diego County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paul Gothold said according to Border Report.

By the end of the month, about a dozen teachers had signed up to volunteer their time, some of it likely after day hours, for these children. A dozen??? That’s all? Only a dozen out of how many thousands in the area? But to the point … Fox ‘News’ seems to have a problem with this and decided to make it a target of their never-ending bigotry. Their headline read …

“San Diego public school teachers to give migrant kids in-person instruction before their own students.”

The article included a quote from a parent in San Diego, who said that “what is happening right now is immoral” and asked, “Why are taxpaying students put last?” The article also quoted Rep. Darrell Issa, a U.S. Representative from California, who said, “The decision to provide in-person instruction to illegal migrants is outrageous and parents have every right to be angry.”

Fox anchors Shannon Bream and Bill Hemmer both treated the story as if they had uncovered some mass criminal investigation … the education of children. Wow, way to show compassion, Fox! But it didn’t end there, and to date Fox has covered this story some 30 times! For additional details, check out the full story on Media Matters.

Our Lives, Or A Game Of Golf?

Posted on November 22, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Political commentary

On Friday, the U.S. recorded 204,179 new cases of the coronavirus, and 1,998 deaths in a 24-hour period. This is tragic, appalling, frightening. Well, to most of us, it is, though to Donald Trump, the ‘man’ who calls himself ‘president’, it’s just another statistic … ho-hum … where are my golf clubs?

This weekend, the G20 summit, attended by world leaders from across the globe, is being held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has now killed more than 260,000 Americans – by far the largest total in the world. Based on that, one might think that Donald Trump, the outgoing ‘president’, would be extremely interested in the proceedings, but yesterday morning, as the summit was starting at 8:00 a.m., Trump was too busy tweeting to be bothered logging on. He did, at some point, appear via video link, but not to discuss the pandemic. Instead, he tooted his own horn, boasting about the US economy and military, and repeated false claims that his government’s Operation Warp Speed was behind both the first two successful coronavirus vaccines, which was a blatant lie. Warp Speed provided funding for development of the vaccine produced by Moderna, but not the Pfizer vaccine, which was developed without US government help. And he also made a strange remark, given that his term of office will end in just 59 days …

“It’s been a great honour to work with you, and I look forward to working with you again for a long time.”

Throughout the short time he spent online with the summit, he was intermittently busily tweeting about the election. And then, after opening remarks, when it was time to begin the session on pandemic preparedness and response, Trump left and went to play golf. When questioned about the impropriety of his behaviour and obvious lack of concern, Press Secretary and resident bimbo Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement …

“During his remarks, President Trump highlighted how the United States marshaled every resource at its disposal to respond to the crisis, as well as the unprecedented economic recovery of the United States on a foundation of tax and regulatory cuts, energy independence, and fair trade deals. He spoke about the aggressive actions and safety measures the United States took to protect the vulnerable, pioneer groundbreaking treatments, and develop vaccines and therapies at record-setting speed, which will save millions of lives. President Trump also reaffirmed the importance of the G20 working together for future economic growth and prosperity.”

He may have said all that, but it’s a pack of lies … not one bit of it is true! Had he actually done any of that, perhaps the U.S. wouldn’t have the highest number of infections and the highest death toll of any nation on the planet.

Worse yet … Trump said that he wants U.S. citizens to be the first to receive vaccinations against coronavirus — a position that is in keeping with his crappy ‘America First’ ideology but contradicts the position of public health experts and other world leaders, who have urged giving priority to front-line health workers and vulnerable populations such as the elderly. Trump’s is an unconscionably selfish viewpoint and one that I, as a citizen, voter and taxpayer do not support! I’m sure his rabid base, however, will love him for being willing to allow people to die in other countries.

A lot of good can come from international summits such as this … it is an opportunity to work cooperatively to solve problems such as the pandemic and climate change. The U.S. needs to be a part of these groups, we need to participate in the international community! Yet, Donald Trump would sooner isolate us, make us the pariah. The other nations will move forward with or without us, and the other nations will be more prepared, more organized, and better able to deal with what comes next. The U.S. will continue to have the highest number of infections and the highest death rate. It is my hope that once Joe Biden assumes office in 59 days, he will be able to mend some of the fences that Donald Trump has destroyed.

It speaks volumes, my friends, when as our friends and family members are becoming ill, some even dying, the ‘man’ who could help is out on the golf course playing a game. This is how much our lives mean to him … less than a game of golf.

Just Two Tidbits

Posted on November 10, 2020 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, Free Press Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

Just a couple of tidbits I wanted to weigh in on today sans snark … well, okay, maybe there’s just a tiny bit of snark …

Has Fox found a conscience?

I’m not sure what is going on over at Fox ‘News’, but it almost seems as if they are trying to become a legitimate news network! First, they were the first of all the major networks to call Arizona in Joe Biden’s favour at 11:20 p.m. on Tuesday – election night. Needless to say, Trump was not happy, and Jared Kushner actually called Rupert Murdoch to complain.

And yesterday evening, Fox actually cut away from a news conference with White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany because she claimed without evidence that Democrats were inviting fraud and illegal voting. WHOA! This sounds like the work of an actual news station! Has Fox fallen off the Trump bandwagon?

Fox’ anchor Neil Cavuto said, as the network cut away …

“Whoa, whoa, whoa … I just think we have to be very clear that she’s charging the other side as welcoming fraud and welcoming illegal voting. Unless she has more details to back that up, I can’t in good countenance continue showing you this.”

Cavuto is the same one who earlier this year found a backbone and said …

“Mr. President, we don’t work for you. I don’t work for you. My job is to cover you, not fawn over you or rip you — just report on you.”

Another Fox anchor, Bret Baier, has also declined to fall in line with Trump’s claims of massive voter fraud, saying …

“Listen, we are not seeing any evidence of widespread fraud. We want to look into everything as well. But we just haven’t seen it. You know, it hasn’t been presented. There’s all kinds of stuff flying on the Internet. But when we look into it, it doesn’t pan out.”

Of course, Cavuto and Baier are on the news side of Fox. The opinion people still play the game, with Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson, Jeanine Pirro, and Sean Hannity claiming, without a shred of evidence, that Trump is right about massive voter fraud, and continuing to fawn over him. If Rupert Murdoch intends to improve the credibility of Fox, then he needs to shut down the opinion side, or at least hire people who are not witless pawns.

It disappoints and disturbs me that some of the Fox staff have been receiving threatening calls and emails from people because they aren’t falling in with the Trump line of false rhetoric. I always thought that the people of this nation were better than that, but over the past decade I’ve come to realize that a significant portion are not.

ACA – on the chopping block?

Maybe not. I am pleased and somewhat surprised today to read that both Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts might not be so eager to strike down the Affordable Healthcare Act, aka Obamacare.

As you will remember, the penalty for the individual mandate requiring every individual to have at least a basic healthcare insurance plan, was reduced to zero in December 2017, when Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which eliminated the individual mandate penalty, effective January 1, 2019. The mandate itself has remained but is not enforceable without the penalty. At issue is whether the mandate is constitutional or not, and if not, then does that render the entirety of the Act unconstitutional. Some, such as the newbie Justice Amy Barrett, have been hyper-critical of the previous Court rulings that upheld the ACA, but today, as the Supreme Court is reviewing the case, it seems possible that ACA may weather yet another storm.

“It does seem fairly clear that the proper remedy would be to sever the mandate provision and leave the rest of the law in place.” – Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh

“I think it’s hard for you to argue that Congress intended the entire act to fall if the mandate were struck down when the same Congress that lowered the penalty to zero did not even try to repeal the rest of the act.” – Chief Justice John Roberts

Along with the three-remaining liberal-leaning justices – Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Elena Kagan, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor – it appears likely that ACA will remain, saving tens of thousands of people from suddenly finding themselves left without health insurance.

That there is such a deep partisan divide in the Court goes against what the Founding Fathers intended when they wrote the Constitution in 1787. The goal was to have a non-partisan Court with moderate, fair justices who decided cases based on constitutional law, not their own ideologies. Today, we are about as far from that as imaginable, and yet sometimes it still works properly.

The Week’s Best Cartoons 8/1

Posted on August 2, 2020 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

As usual these days, the cartoonists have been kept on their toes. Our friend TokyoSand has been busy scouting out the best of the bunch for us. Thank you, TS, for our weekly dose of humour!

Political⚡Charge

Did this seem like a long week to you? It sure did to me. Looking at all of the many topics editorial cartoonists covered this week, I think I better understand why. As always, I hope you enjoy this collection of my favorite cartoons from the week. If you have a favorite, do let me know by commenting!

Election 2020

ByMike Luckovich, *Atlanta Journal-Constitution*

BySteve Breen, *San Diego Union Tribune*

Trump’s Goons

ByClay Bennett, *Chattanooga Times Free Press*

View original post 125 more words

A Few WTF Moments Of Snark …

Posted on July 17, 2020 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, education, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary

Okay, folks, I’ve held my snark for a while, but it’s brimming over now and it’s time for me to share a few bits of it before I begin to self-destruct, so I suggest you put on your hard hats and maybe a bit of cotton in your ears to muffle the sound …

Head-scratching moments in Georgia …

Governor Brian Kemp … remember him? Here, let this picture from one of his campaign ads refresh your memory …

Yeah, that’s the one … the grade A Asshole who thought it would look cool to be holding a gun pointed at his daughter’s boyfriend. Well, you’re gonna love what he’s done now!

While many states are closing businesses again, and 28 states have imposed a mask mandate, Kemp refused to do so. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms imposed a city-wide mask mandate in light of a rising number of cases in and around Atlanta. Then on Wednesday, Governor Kemp signed an executive order that prohibits cities and localities from imposing their own mask mandates, among other things. But he didn’t stop there! He is … wait for it … suing Mayor Bottoms! Yep, you heard right … the governor of the state is suing the mayor of the state’s largest city and capital because she is trying to save lives!

Kemp’s rationale, if it can be called such, is …

“This lawsuit is on behalf of the Atlanta business owners and their hardworking employees who are struggling to survive during these difficult times. These men and women are doing their very best to put food on the table for their families while local elected officials shutter businesses and undermine economic growth.”

WTF??? It matters not if they have a job if they’re dead, for Pete’s Sake!!!

The mayor, for the record, did not shutter businesses, but merely said everyone who is in a public venue must wear a mask, or be subject to fines and a possible jail sentence. She’s serious about maintaining the safety of the people in her city, whereas obviously the governor is not! The requirement to wear a mask damn sure doesn’t stop these “hardworking employees” from going to work and earning a living – it only means they and their families might more safely do so!

As I related this story to daughter Chris, she asked a very good question: When did safety become a political issue? Answer that one, Mr. Kemp!

A governor of a different sort …

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, who has worked tirelessly to provide his state with much needed PPE and test kits, wrote an article for The Washington Post, titled Fighting Alone, where he details some of Trump’s failures during this coronavirus pandemic, how Trump let the states and the people of this nation down. A few snippets …

“Eventually, it was clear that waiting around for the president to run the nation’s response was hopeless; if we delayed any longer, we’d be condemning more of our citizens to suffering and death. So every governor went their own way, which is how the United States ended up with such a patchwork response.

So many nationwide actions could have been taken in those early days but weren’t. While other countries were racing ahead with well-coordinated testing regimes, the Trump administration bungled the effort.

Meanwhile, instead of listening to his own public health experts, the president was talking and tweeting like a man more concerned about boosting the stock market or his reelection plans.”

His piece is worth the read, if you are so inclined, and he is spot-on. Needless to say, Trump took umbrage – not that he actually read it, but I’m sure somebody must have told him about it – and his mouthpiece, Kayleigh McEnany, took on Governor Hogan, accusing him of ‘revisionist history’. Ho-hum, Kayleigh … you bore the socks off of me. The governor’s article was far more interesting and honest.

And speaking of McEnany …

I wrote a few days ago about how Trump is demanding that schools open on time this fall and threatening to withhold federal funding from districts that fail to open on time. Never mind that 70% of parents say they do not think it’s safe to send the kids back to school yet.

Two of the Fox News commentators, Brian Kilmeade and Steve Doocy, claim that the reason parents and school officials want to keep the schools closed or switch to online learning is … you guessed it … to hurt their buddy Donnie Trump! Oh, but of course … we all live our lives only to hurt Donnie. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Trump himself pushed that theory born of ignorance when he said last week …

“We have to get our schools open and stop this political nonsense. And it’s only political nonsense; it’s politics. They don’t want to open because they think it will help them on November 3rd.”

Have we really sunk so low in this ‘them’ vs ‘us’ mentality that the schools and our children are caught in the crossfire? What a sorry state of affairs the people of this nation have created!

But Kayleigh McEnany took the prize for utter stupidity when she said in support of re-opening schools …

“The science should not stand in the way of this.”

WTF??? Is she really that bloody stupid? That is like … like if NASA was getting ready to launch a manned spacecraft and scientists found a fatal flaw on the day before launch, saying, “Let’s not let the science stand in the way.” Our government is populated by some of the stupidest, most self-serving people on the entire planet!

The Snarky Snippets Just Keep Coming!

Posted on June 7, 2020 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary, Trump's Staff Picks

Whew … these days I’m never at a loss for things and people to write about!

Like father, like daughter …

Just like her father, Ivanka Trump cannot take criticism, but lashes out when she discovers that there are people who don’t love her simply because her last name is Trump.

Turns out, Ivanka was supposed to give a ‘virtual commencement speech’ to students at Wichita State University Tech yesterday, but her speech was canceled. Why? Faculty, students and alumni all objected and requested that the administration cancel her speech. Why? Think about it … this year’s graduates are entering the workforce at the most difficult time in modern U.S. history. The unemployment rate is sky high, there is a raging pandemic that is NOT under control in this nation, and the foreseeable future is grim, to say the least. What could a spoiled, privileged daughter of a New York real estate billionaire say to them that would be relevant to their circumstances? Not a damn thing.

True to the family habits, she responded angrily on Twitter …

“Our nation’s campuses should be bastions of free speech. Cancel culture and viewpoint discrimination are antithetical to academia. Listening to one another is important now more than ever!”

Listening to one another … when do you suppose was the last time Ivanka, or any Trump for that matter, listened to the concerns of those of us who don’t have at least six figures in our bank balances? When do you think she last listened to that single mother who is struggling to pay the rent and put food on the table? Never, that’s when. Ivanka Trump is a spoiled little rich bitch and her words are the last thing today’s graduates care to hear.

But, not to be stopped, she posted a video of her speech online, apparently assuming the world is simply dying to hear from yet another ignorant Trump.

One line stands out …

“In my own life, I have found that my greatest personal growth has arisen from times of discomfort and uncertainty.”

WHEN has she ever known either discomfort or uncertainty??? 🙄

I told you so …

Remember on Friday when I wrote about the Department of Labour unemployment numbers for May, and how Trump was patting himself on the back? And remember I told you that I didn’t for one minute believe the numbers, for I no longer believe anything that comes out of the federal government? Well, I was right. The latest is that due to a “misclassification”, the numbers were underreported. In fact, the unemployment rate for May was not 13.3% as Trump claimed, but rather 16.3%, and frankly I’m not convinced that this is an accurate representation, either.

The reason for my skepticism is this … the unemployment rate comes from a survey where Census workers ask about 60,000 households questions about whether they are working or looking for a job the week of May 10 to 16. There are 128.58 million households in the U.S., so a sample of 60,000 is .047%, not even one half of one percent of all the households in the nation. I strongly suspect the true number lies around 20%, though I have no way of proving it.

Bottom line is that there are a heck of a lot of people still unemployed in this nation, and Trump’s little celebratory speech, in addition to being disgusting and offensive, was all a lie. Surprise.

The national bimbo speaks …

Now, I know that name-calling isn’t particularly mature and as a rule, I don’t like it, but sometimes you just must call a spade, a spade. Or, in this case, a bimbo. The new White House Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, is on the radar today. This person has likely never in her life actually read a history book (I’m not sure she can even read big words), and yet she opens her mouth and speaks of those things of which she knows naught.

The following is from a June 3^rd White House press briefing …

Reporter: Kayleigh, why did the president feel it was important to go walk over there through the park and to the church?

McEnany: It was extremely important. Look, the president wanted to send a very powerful message: That we will not be overcome by looting, by rioting, by burning. This is not what defines America. And going and standing by St. John’s church was a very important moment.

And I would note that throughout all of time, we’ve seen presidents and leaders across the world who’ve had leadership moments and very powerful symbols that were important for a nation to see at any given time to show a message of resilience and determination like Churchill, we saw him inspecting the bombing damage.

It sent a powerful message of leadership to the British people. And George W. Bush throwing out the ceremonial first pitch after 9/11, and Jimmy Carter, putting on a sweater to encourage energy savings, and George H.W. Bush signing the Americans with Disabilities Act flanked by two disabled Americans.

And for this president, it was powerful and important to send a message that the rioters, the looters, the anarchists, they will not prevail. That burning churches are not what America’s about, and that moment, holding the Bible up, is something that has been widely hailed by Franklin Graham and others, and it was a very important symbol for the American people to see that we will get through this through unity and through faith.

For the record, let me note that Trump is in no way, shape or form comparable to Winston Churchill, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, or George H.W. Bush. Further let me note that the Franklin Graham she refers to is one of the most unconscionable idiots the nation has ever seen. Sigh. Idiots, the whole lot of ‘em.

Keep The Bloomin’ Churches Closed!

Posted on May 24, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, religion, Social commentary

Libraries aren’t open, schools aren’t open, and for good reason. We are still in the midst of a raging pandemic that is taking more than one thousand lives each day, there is more that is not known about the ways in which the coronavirus is transmitted than is known, there has been no slowdown of new cases, there is no cure as yet … so why should we rush to re-open non-essential services? However, in light of the fact that polls show Trump is losing favourability among religious groups, he has decided to appease them by demanding that all churches open immediately … today!

Now, a wise man might have looked inward to determine just why his support is waning and try to make some adjustments in his actions, but nobody ever accused Trump of being a wise man, and his ego is such that he can never admit anything might actually be his own fault. So, his statement on the churches opening was …

“Today I am identifying houses of worship — churches, synagogue and mosques — as essential places that provide essential services. Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential but have left out churches and other houses of worship. It’s not right. I call upon governors to allow our churches and places of worship to open right now. If there’s any question, they’re going to have to call me, but they’re not going to be successful in that call. The governors need to do the right thing and allow these very important, essential places of faith to open right now. For this weekend. If they do not do it, I will override the governors.”

Well good luck with that, Donnie. You cannot force the governors to call for opening the churches, and you cannot force the churches to open, nor can you force people to attend. The sensible in this nation are not yet ready to get back to “business as usual”, and I think that while some evangelical churches may be packed to the rafters, most more moderate churches will either remain closed or have a small turnout. Either way … churches are not essential. If churches are essential, then so are libraries and book stores, music stores and shoe stores.

According to the latest polls, Trump has lost 11% favourability among white evangelicals, 12% among white Catholics, and 18% among white protestants. Let’s be brave and ask the question Trump refuses to ask: Why? Could it be because these people have lost loved ones due to Trump’s mishandling and bungling response to the initial cases of the coronavirus? Could it be that these families have suffered losses of loved ones, as well as financial losses that could have been avoided if we had a president in charge? Could it be that perhaps they have finally tired of hearing Trump point fingers, lay blame, and concoct crazy conspiracy theories when they are looking to him for leadership, and finding none?

So, Trump thinks to throw the religious factions a bone by loudly “demanding” that all churches open immediately. It would be laughable, if it didn’t pose such a danger to so many. And then, there’s his hired mouthpiece, Kayleigh McEnany, by any definition a piece of work. Low on IQ, but high on the things Trump values, such as an anorexic physique, an empty head, and blind loyalty. It wasn’t bad enough that Trump is so stupid he ‘demanded’ that all churches open this weekend, declaring them “essential”. But then, McEnany comes along and accuses the media of having some ‘hidden agenda’ in ‘desperately wanting’ churches to remain closed.

“The president will strongly encourage every governor to allow their churches to reopen, and boy, it is interesting to be in a room that desperately wants to seem to see these churches and houses of worship stay closed.”

No mystery there, Ms. McEnany … those of us who want to see churches remain closed do so because we want to see people remain alive. No hidden agenda, no attempt to steal people’s right to freedom of religion … just a desire to protect them from themselves. Churches are a perfect breeding ground for germs to spread like wildfire. People sitting practically atop one another, singing, clasping hands, giving hugs. For example, one person in California who, not knowing he had the virus, attended a Mother’s Day church service and exposed 180 other people in that short one-hour service.

I must admit that my jaw dropped to the floor when I read that, coming under fire for her support of Trump in this issue, McEnany said …

“I know the person I am. I know what I stand for. And I stand as a Christian woman, someone who believes in equality and truth and loyalty and honesty. It’s the values I’ve lived by my whole life. It’s the values I’ll continue to live by.”

Seriously??? She’s working for the wrong person if that were the truth, but in my book, she is a bit confused about what constitutes “truth and honesty”.

We are living through a pandemic, a disaster on a large scale where some people don’t even have food to eat, some people are losing their homes for they cannot pay their mortgage, and some people are near suicidal because they are old and no longer recognize the world as the one they once knew. By the end of this holiday weekend, the total deaths in the U.S. from the coronavirus will number over 100,000. Think about that one … it’s not just a statistic, not just a number … those were real people, mothers, fathers, children, grandparents, spouses … they died alone, and now their families are left with an empty place at the dinner table and an empty hole in their hearts. We are living in a country where the number of human lives lost each day to the coronavirus number over a thousand. Every day! Yet, Donald Trump and Kayleigh McEnany are so worried about Trump’s polls that they are willing to double or even triple the number of people who have died.

Saturday’s Snarky Snippets

Posted on May 2, 2020 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Political commentary, Social commentary, Trump's Staff Picks

The weekend is here and one of my readers told me I should ‘relax’. Relax??? What the heck is that? I’ve got laundry to do, need to get out and get some Mother’s Day cards, and just because it’s a weekend, the news cycle doesn’t stop … there is still much out there to stir my ire and make me snarky (or perhaps snarky is just my natural personality?). So, here are a couple of snippets for you to ponder upon …

Last year, various committees of the House of Representatives sought witness testimony from people in the know about Trump’s gross negligence and abuse of power. They asked people to please come and testify, under oath. Few did. They issued subpoenas. Few were honoured. Why? Because Donald Trump ordered them not to testify. A few found their cojones and testified anyway, but very few. First, this was an abuse of power, but since he has surrounded himself with ‘yes-men’, he got by with it. But more to the point, if you have nothing to hide, then why on earth would you stop people from testifying honestly and clearing your name? Thus, the only conclusion was that Donald Trump was a corrupt, likely criminal person who holds the highest office in the land, despite having lost the election by nearly 3 million votes.

Why, you ask, am I re-hashing old territory? Because it’s happening again. The House Appropriations Committee, looking into the government’s bungled response to the coronavirus, requested testimony by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Fauci has been a prominent figure, until recently, at Trump’s daily ‘press briefings’ and has been the only one willing to correct Trump’s erroneous statements, the only one willing to tell the public the truth. But … Trump will not allow Dr. Fauci to testify. The committee is looking into the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, the chaos that followed Trump’s obfuscation and lies, the resulting excessive deaths that might not have happened, if the leader of the nation had used halfway good judgment. For Trump to forbid Dr. Fauci from testifying is yet another example of obstruction of justice and abuse of power, but … that is the norm for this administration. Are we really willing to, as Mick Mulvaney suggested we should, just “get over it”? I’m not.

From what I’ve seen, Dr. Fauci seems to be a straight shooter who isn’t afraid to tell the truth, who isn’t afraid to correct or contradict Trump. I would like to think that he will do the right thing and voluntarily testify, despite Trump’s orders. Will he? Does he have cojones, or is he just another coward like Don McGahn, Wilbur Ross, and others whose loyalties lie directly to Donald Trump, and not the people of this nation?

White House press secretaries … ho-hum

In past administrations, there have been some very reputable people in the position of White House Press Secretary. Not so in the Trump administration. It began with Sean Spicer who was the first in the administration, on inauguration day, to utter an ‘alternative fact’, to be defined as such the next day by the ignominious Kellyanne Conway. Sean said the crowds for Trump’s inauguration were the biggest ever, or bigger than Obama’s in 2009, or some such nonsense which was so far from the truth as to be laughable.

Then came the hateful Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who defended the indefensible for nearly two years. If Trump said “Jump!”, she asked, “How high, sir?” Presumably it took a toll on her and she left in July of 2019.

Next up was Melania’s personal servant, Stephanie Grisham who held the title and received the pay for nine months, but never held the first press briefing, and in fact turned her nose up at reporters and screeched at them like a banshee. She really doesn’t even count, except that We the People paid her out of our own hard-earned tax dollars.

And now, we have a new one … rather an idiot, if you ask me. Her name is Kayleigh McEnany and she held her first press briefing yesterday. Now, she started out by promising that there would be more press briefings than there have been for the past year. Um … there have been none for the past 13 months, so she already beat that average. She also made another ‘promise’ …

“I will never lie to you. You have my word on that.”

And then she proceeded to tell a lie, that the Mueller investigation had amounted to “the complete and total exoneration of … Trump.” And then she told another lie, referring to “salacious, awful and verifiably false allegations that were made against Justice Kavanaugh.” And another that “not a single American has died for lack of a ventilator.” After a few more lies and misquotes, she ended with …

“Everyone should watch the Fox News town hall with the president from 7 to 9 p.m. [on Sunday]. It will be can’t-miss television, much like the highly rated President Trump coronavirus task force briefings have been.”

I would rather take a bath in a puddle of pig manure than waste two hours of my life watching that crap! And “highly rated … briefings”????? They have been the brunt of jokes and criticisms, for they have not been briefings, but campaign rallies, ego trips for the Oaf in the Oval Office! Ms. McEnany fits right in with the concept of Trump staff … no concept of the difference between fact and fiction, and a blind loyalty to a ‘man’ who deserves none. My prediction is that she will be even more obnoxious and disgusting than Sarah Huckabee Sanders was, and that’s a pretty tough act to beat.

Well, folks, it’s Saturday, so I will stop at only two snippets today and leave you with a ‘toon. Have a happy weekend!

Will I Ever Run Out Of Snark???

Posted on April 7, 2020 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, Free Press Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary, Trump's Staff Picks

As usual, I have plenty of snark built up and as always, I like to share with my friends …

Another useless bimbo in the White House …

Does the name Stephanie Grisham ring a bell? You’d be forgiven for not remembering that she has been, for the past nine months, the White House Press Secretary, for she has never held so much as a single press briefing, and for those of us who don’t watch Fox ‘News’, she has been largely invisible. The only times I’ve heard anything from her was when she was telling reporters from legitimate news agencies to “Shut up!” or “Get OUT!” Well, she’s been relieved of her duties as press secretary and will now become Melania Trump’s “chief of staff”. Would somebody please tell me why Melania Trump needs a ‘chief of staff’, when she doesn’t do a damn thing???

Grisham has been replaced by Kayleigh McEnany, a former CNN commentator and Trump 2020 campaign spokesperson who has a long history of defending anything Trump says, no matter how brazen the lie may be. In other words, another useless bimbo in Trump’s circle whose words will be hollow and 99% untrue. Remember, we are paying for all this … we are paying for Melania to have a ‘chief of staff’ to accompany her while she sits around doing her nails. We are paying for a mindless sycophant to have the title of ‘press secretary’ and lie, lie, lie … if she even bothers to speak to the press. Does anybody begin to get the impression that there is absolutely NO oversight of this administration, that they can throw away our money however they please and stab us in the back while they’re doing it?

And if you needed further proof …

A panel of inspectors general had named Glenn Fine — the acting Pentagon watchdog — to lead the group charged with monitoring the distribution of that $2.2 trillion that was passed by Congress last week. But yesterday, Trump removed Fine from his post, instead naming the EPA inspector general to serve as the temporary Pentagon watchdog in addition to his other responsibilities. There is widespread concern within both the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, and I’ll no doubt have more to say on this in a future post. But meanwhile …

Trump has also begun sharply attacking Health and Human Services Inspector General Christi Grimm, following a report from her office that described widespread testing delays and supply issues at the nation’s hospitals.

“Another Fake Dossier!” Trump tweeted, mentioning Grimm’s tenure as inspector general during the Obama administration. He didn’t mention, though, that Grimm has been serving as a federal watchdog since 1999, spanning administrations of both parties. Care to make any bets as to how much longer Ms. Grimm will hold her position?

Michael Horowitz, the inspector general of the Justice Department who also oversees a council of inspectors general, defended Michael Atkinson, the inspector general fired by Trump on Friday night for doing his job in taking seriously the complaint by the whistleblower who exposed Trump’s illegal and immoral actions that led to his impeachment. Mr. Horowitz said …

“Inspector General Atkinson is known throughout the Inspector General community for his integrity, professionalism, and commitment to the rule of law and independent oversight. That includes his actions in handling the Ukraine whistleblower complaint, which the then Acting Director of National Intelligence stated in congressional testimony was done ‘by the book’ and consistent with the law.”

Care to make any bets as to how much longer Mr. Horowitz will be an inspector general?

Meanwhile, the head-nodding bootlickers like Kellyanne Conway, Mike Pompeo, Mike Pence and others will find their jobs are safe, just so long as they keep selling their souls downriver and defending the megalomaniac in the Oval Office.

Today, I read two excellent posts by long-time blogging family members Keith & Hugh, and I wanted to re-blog them both, but I try never to put out more than 3-4 posts a day, for I realize people don’t want to be bombarded and overwhelmed. So, instead, I am adding links here to Keith’s and Hugh’s posts, and I hope that if you haven’t already read them, you’ll take a moment to do so, for both speak to what is important to us as citizens of the world, why we should care about people, about our government, about truth, integrity, values, equality. Thanks to both Keith Wilson and Hugh Curtler …

Keith’s post: What I care about – a note received

Hugh’s post: Head In The Sand

Filosofa's Word

Cogito Ergo Sum

Tag Archives: Kayleigh McEnany

Our Lives, Or A Game Of Golf?

A Few WTF Moments Of Snark …