Hypocrisy Does Not Deserve Praise!

Posted on January 8, 2021 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary, Trump's Staff Picks

Two things from the aftermath of the Capitol riots by ignorant mobs, aka domestic terrorists on Wednesday bear reflection …

Hypocrisy does not earn praise, in my book

Over the past 36 hours, a number of members of Congress, White House staffers, and Cabinet members have either spoken out against what Trump did on Wednesday, or in some cases have resigned their positions in the Trump administration. There are people who think they deserve high praise for finally, after four years, finding their conscience. I beg to differ, for these same people threw their lot in with Trump and many have been enabling him and his crooked endeavours for four years now.

So no, one right does not erase four years’ worth of near-daily wrongs. Sorry, but these guys don’t get a pass, and in fact, part of the blame for Wednesday’s fiasco lies on their shoulders.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday urged members of Congress not to contest the electoral votes, as some planned to do. And at the end of the day, he denounced the violence that had been ongoing for much of the day, saying …

“They tried to disrupt our democracy. They failed. This failed insurrection only proves how crucial the task before us is for our republic. Now we’re going to finish exactly what we started. We’ll complete the process the right way, by the book, we’ll follow our precedents and our laws, and our constitution to the letter. And we will certify the winner of the 2020 presidential election.”

EXCUSE ME, but to praise or even forgive Mitch McConnell for his role in the lead-up to Wednesday’s attack is impossible. His is the ultimate hypocrisy, for on February 6, 2020, Mitch McConnell had the chance to ensure that the events of Wednesday would never have happened. Instead, he chose to lick Trump’s boots, held a sham of an impeachment trial, not even allowing lawmakers to review the evidence in the case, but merely insisted that the Republican-majority Senate vote to acquit Trump. Mitch McConnell must share in the blame for what has happened, for he is one of the few who could have almost single-handedly stopped it before it ever happened.

And Mike Pence … there is some sympathy for Mike Pence. He refused Trump’s request to basically install a dictatorship by shredding the Constitution and tossing out the legitimate votes for Joe Biden. Yes, I’m glad he for once found a pair of cojones and stood up to Trump, and yes, I realize he is paying a price now, but DAMMIT … it’s much too little, far too late. No, I have no praise for Mike Pence, for this is the first time since January 20, 2017 that Mike Pence has shown one bit of conscience or courage.

Then there’s William Barr who must surely share a portion of the blame, for it was he who in early 2019 essentially said that a sitting president is above the law, thus putting paid to any attempt to prosecute Trump for the many times he abused the power of his office and obstructed justice. IF he had not protected Trump for the 22 months he served as Attorney General, it is highly likely that Wednesday’s events would never have occurred. So yes, Bill Barr helped bring about the deadly fiasco from which we are still reeling.

And then there are the rats deserting a sinking ship, leaving their positions in Trump’s administration a full 13 days before they would have lost their job anyway …

Take, for example, Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation and wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who announced her resignation, effective next Monday, saying the terrorist attacks on the Capitol on Wednesday were …

“… a traumatic and entirely avoidable event as supporters of the president stormed the Capitol building following a rally he addressed. It has deeply troubled me in a way I simply cannot set aside.”

Where has her conscience been for the past four years, as he ordered small children to be taken from their parents and put in cages, as he attempted to take affordable healthcare from every low income family in the nation? No, sorry Elaine, a day late and a dollar short.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos who has spent four years diverting funds from public to religious schools, and made it harder for women who are sexually abused on college campuses to bring charges against their abusers, has also resigned her position, claiming in a letter to Trump …

“That behavior was unconscionable for our country. There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me.”

No, Betsy … you’ve licked his boots and enabled him for four years … you don’t get high fives now.

Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s former acting chief of staff, resigned as special envoy to Northern Ireland on Thursday, saying …

“I can’t stay here, not after yesterday. You can’t look at that yesterday and think I want to be a part of that in any way, shape or form.”

Gee, Mick … a conscience? Where was it in 2017 when you attempted to convince Trump to cut Social Security and Medicare? Where was it in 2015 when you allowed a government shutdown simply because the proposed spending bill included funding for women’s health? Oh no, you are not a good man, a man of conscience.

Keep in mind, also, that these people would be out on January 20^th anyway, so they are leaving less than two weeks early, and no doubt already have plans made for whatever comes next. Plus, none of them needs the paycheck, to put it mildly.

It is said that a leopard doesn’t change his spots …

Yesterday, Trump said, in a video which I will not watch …

“A new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. 20. My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation.”

Don’t believe it for a minute, folks, because just 24 hours prior to that, he incited the violence we saw on Wednesday with quite the opposite message …

“All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical left Democrats which is what they are doing and stolen by the fake news media. That’s what they’ve done and what they’re doing. We will never give up, we will never concede. You never concede when there is theft involved.”

Are those the words of a person who seeks healing and reconciliation? I think not. There is not a snowball’s chance in hell that he has done a 180° turnaround in just 24 hours. No, his declaration that he would ensure a smooth transition of power is a pure falsehood, he does not mean those words, but was likely coerced to say them by whatever staffers and advisors remain in his employ. They are intended to mollify those of us who would just as soon see Trump taken to a cliff and thrown off. He wants us to become complacent. Well don’t. Don’t turn your back on him, for he is even more dangerous than a rabid dog.

I understand that Twitter has restored Trump’s account after a 12-hour ban. They should not have. They should have decided as Facebook did, to keep his account closed until after he leaves office, at least, for this is his means of communication with the ignorant masses such as those who rioted and pillaged on Wednesday. Take away his tweety-machine, for Pete’s sake! Don’t let him air his grievances to thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people who aren’t intelligent enough to see his lies!

Essential??? I Think Not!!!

Posted on April 5, 2020 by jilldennison under Political commentary, Rants, Social commentary

Merriam-Webster defines the word “essential” as:

Of the utmost importance: BASIC, INDISPENSABLE, NECESSARY

When I think about things that qualify under that definition, I think first of air, food, water, and shelter. In truth, with only those we can survive. Our lifestyles have, by necessity, added certain other things to the list, such as clothing, soap, medications, electricity, etc. Now, I could expand the list even more, in light of 21^st century living, to include companionship, the internet, a certain level of income – enough to pay for the other ‘essentials’ only, and maybe I would even include pets.

However, under no circumstances can I consider guns to be essential … not by the broadest stretch of the imagination. And yet, that is exactly what the buffoon in the Oval Office, coerced by one of the nation’s largest lobbying groups, has decided. Guns are an essential part of everyday living. Hmmmm … makes me wonder just how I have survived all these 68 years without a gun?

In recent weeks, governors stepped up to the plate where the federal government dropped the ball, and ordered the closing of all non-essential businesses, including gun shops. Well, never let it be said that the National Rifle Association (NRA) took that lying down! They contacted former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, incoming Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and a former NRA employee who is now a White House staffer. At the end of the day, the Department of Homeland Security added the gun industry to its “critical infrastructure” list, prompting governors around the country to declare them “essential businesses” that can operate during the pandemic, just as critical as grocery stores, hospitals and pharmacies.

BULLSHIT!

The FBI conducted 3.7 million background checks in March, a new single-month record. More than 1% of the entire population of this country bought guns in a single month! What the hell? Do they think they can kill the coronavirus by shooting it?

There is so much wrong with this that I don’t know where to begin!

First off, consider this … people are confined to their homes more with their families. In some cases, this is probably a good thing – families will bond in new ways (although I dread the new ‘baby boom’ that is sure to emerge around Christmas time, for the world is already over-populated). But, in many cases, families will begin to get on one another’s nerves and I fully expect the incidence of domestic violence to increase significantly. Bad enough that papa is smacking mama and the kiddies around, but if papa has that brand-new gun in the drawer of his nightstand …Now think about this one … people are getting frustrated by the lack of such ‘essentials’ as toilet paper, disinfecting wipes, and often even an onion or an apple are in short supply at the grocery. What about that guy with a bit of a temper, who has a list of ten things and can only find one when he’s at the grocery, but he sees another customer with two carts overflowing with … yep, you got it … toilet paper. He doesn’t think, but reaches for that gun in his pocket …I’ve said more than once that the suicide rate in this country will double or more this year, due to the depression that is inevitable for some of us in this state of isolation. So, John Doe has lost his job, cannot pay his rent, his lousy $1,200 government subsidy is long gone, and his family refuses to visit or allow him to visit for … who knows how long? He might take an overdose and might survive that, but if he has a gun …If you had any doubts … if you had so much as a shred of doubt that the government of this country is bought and paid for by the NRA, those doubts should be erased by now. We the People, our lives, our well-being, do not matter one bit to the likes of Trump and his cronies. Yes, we need the grocery stores to stay open, for without food we die, and in this nation, few are self-sufficient in growing their own food. Yes, we need the hospitals, medical centers and pharmacies to remain open, for without them, some people will die. But, if the gun shops close, lives may actually be saved!

At the end of 2017, there were 393 million guns in civilian hands … in a nation of 330 million people! Think on that one … why do we even need gun shops, if there are already more guns than people in this country??? They for damn certain are NOT essential!

The average person in this country is already in fear of picking up some germ at the grocery store, and now … in addition … we better be looking for suspicious bulges in men’s pants pockets (no, not those). In recent years, I have been known to walk out of a store if I saw somebody carrying a gun, but in today’s mentality of fear, it’s likely that every Tom, Dick and Harry will be “packing heat”. And I’m willing to bet that the majority of those 3.7 million who bought guns last month don’t have a clue how to use them! Just last week in Michigan, a man accidentally shot himself in the leg with a gun he bought to defend himself against “pandemic-related chaos”.

The United States is the only country on the entire globe with such a gun culture that guns are considered more important than books, education, clothing, or even dentists. This nation needs to do some serious thinking about its priorities. Personally, if I have to have a gun to feel safe, then this is not a life worth living, and I feel more threatened by a gun than I do any virus.

Another One Bites The Dust …

Posted on March 8, 2020 by jilldennison under Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Political commentary, Trump's Staff Picks

So, another one bites the dust. On Friday evening it was announced that Trump fired … well, ‘re-assigned’ … White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. Mulvaney will be a “special envoy to Northern Ireland”, another term for another useless person on the payroll doing nothing. Given some of Mulvaney’s actions, such as when he was attempting to defend the indefensible Ukraine phone call that led to Trump’s impeachment and he told us to “get over it”, I don’t have much empathy for ol’ Mick. But the person replacing him is none other than the extremely ignoble Mark Meadows, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina. I will tell you a bit about Mr. Meadows in a minute.

This is the fourth chief of staff that Trump has had in just three years … a turnover rate that says more about Trump than it does about the lackeys who held the position. If there is one word that best defines this administration, it is ‘chaos’. You cannot have stability in any organization with the turnover ratio Trump has. It’s not only the chief of staff, but I can name a dozen positions that have been revolving doors since day one.

Now, let me tell you just a bit about Mr. Mark Meadows.

Meadows is one of the founders, along with Jim Jordan and other such characters, of the House Freedom Caucus. The group was founded in 2015 as a part of the Tea Party movement, and have largely done nothing but cause disruption, obstruction and obfuscation.

While running for office in June 2012, Meadows said, “2012 is the time we are going to send Mr. Obama home to Kenya or wherever it is,” implying that President Obama was not born in the United States. He made a similar comment later that month.
In February 2013 Meadows voted against renewing the Violence Against Women Act. Meadows has said he casts his votes based not on his personal feelings but on what the majority of his constituents in “God’s Country” tell him to do.
In December 2016 Meadows gave Trump a wish list of regulations to be repealed. It included a demand to get rid of federal funding to study climate change. He also requested Trump repeal several environmental regulations, including the Renewable Fuel Standard, end the prohibition of drilling oil on federal lands, and pull the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
He is against LGBT rights, against any form of gun regulation, against net neutrality.
Last December he blatantly lied about Trump’s phone call to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, even though the transcript of the call put paid to the lie.
Meadows presented a letter to Donald Trump in 2016 that demanded the repeal of certain laws that exist to ensure fair pay for public works employees, and also demanded the repeal of the federal overtime rule.
Meadows is staunchly against the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and was largely responsible for pushing then-Speaker of the House John Boehner to shut down the government in 2013 unless the ACA was defunded.

Last December, Meadows announced that he would not seek re-election this year. Our friend Keith, who lives in Meadows’ district in North Carolina, explained that the previously gerrymandered district maps had been re-drawn and that Meadows’ chances of winning re-election would be slim-to-none. He is apparently hoping to run for the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by Senator Richard Burr in 2022. Meanwhile, I guess he plans to bide his time creating more chaos and havoc as Trump’s chief of staff until next January 20^thwhen Trump will officially be escorted off the premises, and Meadows and all the others along with him.

And in other news …

Last night, amid the growing coronavirus pandemic, after visiting the CDC and making a complete fool out of himself, Trump entertained the torcher of the Amazon Rain Forest, Jair Bolsonaro at Mar-a-Lago. Not a care in the world for those two destroyers of Planet Earth …

Oh look … Ivanka and Jared are there, too. I can’t help wondering how much this is costing We the Taxpayer???

One last thought …

If you live in the U.S. and didn’t switch your clocks ahead one hour last night … stop reading this and go do so now, else you won’t know the right time and you’ll be late all day today! And speaking of Daylight Saving’s Time …

Open Letter To The Three Stooges

Posted on February 29, 2020 by jilldennison under Free Press Issues, Global Issues, Political commentary, Rants, Social commentary

Dear Messrs. Donald Trump, John Michael (Mick) Mulvaney, and Michael Huckabee,

There is a time for having fun, a time for jokes and humour. However, there is also a time to be serious. I read with horror this morning Mr. Mulvaney’s comments, obviously intended to be funny, claiming that the reason the media was reporting extensively on the spread of the coronavirus was to try to “take down” Donald Trump.

If I took your comments seriously, Mr. Mulvaney, I would have asked you if, then, the entire world was attempting to “take down” Trump, since media outlets worldwide are providing continual coverage and updates on the spread of this illness. But I realized that nobody with any sense would make such a statement except in jest, so while it annoyed me, I let it ride.

Then later in the day you, Mr. Trump, came along and made the same claim, only embellishing on the story with more jokes … jokes that were, under the circumstances, in very poor taste. You took it even further and joked that you thought the democrats were behind the media coverage. Again, if I took you seriously I would ask if you think the democrats control the media (hint: they don’t), and if their reach extends to such media outlets as der Spiegel in Germany and the BBC in the UK, for those outlets are also providing widespread coverage. But again, surely you are jesting.

And then, you, Mr. Mike Huckabee, had to try to top the Mulvaney/Trump acts with your own attempt at humour, saying that Trump …

“Could personally suck the virus out of every one of the 60,000 people in the world, suck it out of their lungs, swim to the bottom of the ocean and spit it out, and he would be accused of pollution for messing up the ocean.”

Do you guys all share the same comedy writer? If so, he really needs to retire. First of all, there are far more than 60,000 people in the world … at last count, it was up to about 7.8 billion, I believe. Secondly, there are very few people who would allow Mr. Trump to touch us, let alone “suck the virus … out of our lungs”. And thirdly, of course, this is a ridiculous, ignorant thing to even say, and far beneath the dignity of a former governor and presidential candidate.

Now that you’ve had your little jokes, let me tell you gentlemen a few things here.

Part of the job of the media, whether in this country, Spain, Germany, or Brazil, is to inform the public of things they need to know. The coronavirus, or Covid-19 as I believe it has been named, is a very serious threat to people all around the globe. It is not unique to the United States but has become a serious threat to a number of countries, including Italy, China, Iran, Japan, and others. It is NOT, gentlemen, something to joke about. It is NOT something to use as a political tool, nor to use as an excuse to taunt the media.

Your attempts to downplay this widespread threat to human health and safety is a disservice to the people of this nation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), it is spreading rapidly and is particularly likely to be lethal to people like myself who have chronic health problems and compromised immune systems. There are already 60 confirmed cases in the U.S. and while there hasn’t been a fatality here yet, it is only a matter of time.

Your mockery and accusations are most inappropriate at this time and in these circumstances. Your words would be unthinkable in any other administration, but the entire theme of this administration seems to be spouting ignorance, nonsense, vitriol, and blaming someone else for everything that goes wrong. Yes, the stock market is plunging, not only in the U.S. but also the European markets, and it is NOT the fault of the media, NOT the fault of the Democrats. And no, gentlemen, contrary to what you’ve tried to tell us, the United States is NOT well prepared to combat this pandemic. Since January 2017, funding has been cut to health organizations such as CDC, and millions have lost their health insurance due to the hatchet job that has been done to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We are every bit as vulnerable as any nation on earth.

In short, those who are not part of the solution, are part of the problem. You, gentlemen, are definitely NOT doing anything to be a part of the solution, so please step aside and let the adults attempt to safeguard the people of this nation.

Sincerely,

Mad As Hell! (Part II)

Posted on January 22, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Global Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Rants

Last week I wrote a post titled “Mad as Hell!”, and then after some thought, I had a sneaking suspicion that there would be more to come, so I added “(Part I)” to the title. Lo and behold, I was right. I can only wonder how many parts I will end up with.

The word of the day is … well, actually there are several words of the day: stonewall, injustice, dishonesty, and I could think of more, but why bother? Yes, I am talking about the Mitch McConnell Dog-and-Pony show happening as we speak in the Capitol building in Washington D.C. McConnell and his cronies seem to be programmed to say one word only: NO. No, you can’t subpoena documents from the White House. No, you can’t call John Bolton or Mick Mulvaney or Robert Blair or Michael Duffy or virtually any other witness. No, you cannot subpoena documents from either the Department of Defense or the Office of Management and Budget. What a SHAM this trial has already, after only one day, turned into.

My question … at least my first one … is this: If McConnell and the other 52 republican fools in the Senate truly believe that Donald Trump is NOT guilty of any wrongdoing, then why the hell are they so afraid of any witness testimony or document review? It seems to me that if they believe he is innocent, they would welcome such witnesses and evidence, to show the American public once and for all that Trump did nothing wrong. So … all this subterfuge, all the games that McConnell is engaging in … they point heavily to the fact that McConnell and the entire rest of the right side of the aisle in the Senate are altogether too well aware that the defendant, Donald Trump, is guilty as charged … and then some.

And if you thought that Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts presiding over the trial would bring even an element of fairness, then think again, for he is proving himself to be naught more than just another of Trump’s hired goons. History will not be kind to him, nor to any of the actors in this dog-and-pony show, but they don’t seem to think past the nose on their faces.

Granted, we all knew that at the end of the day, Trump will be acquitted because … for some reason that as yet eludes me, they seem scared shitless of Trump and will throw their very careers in the trash to bow to his wishes. However, one would think they would at least … at the very least … give the appearance of a fair trial. But nooooooo … they might as well stand up and say, “Trump is guilty as hell and we therefore find him innocent.”

The thing that disturbs me most about this is not that Trump will remain in office until he is (hopefully, fingers crossed) voted out in November … I already had that one pegged from the first time the word “impeachment” was mentioned. No, what is most disturbing and should scare the hell out of us all is the precedent this sets.

At just over 8,000 words, the U.S. Constitution does not cover all bases, but merely lays the foundation for a government based on democratic principles. Specifics are left to two things: laws and precedent. Both, once set, are difficult to reverse. If a fair trial, at least on the surface, is conducted and Trump is yet acquitted, it would be no different than when Bill Clinton was impeached but acquitted at trial. However, if this trial continues to be a sham, a circus according to the wishes of Mitch McConnell, the precedent it sets is that no president is ever likely to be impeached again. But … even that is not the worst of it.

The very worst is that in using his office, his power, for personal gain and political purposes, Trump effectively tore down any constraints or barriers to unlimited power. Checks and balances? Where??? Congress is tasked with overseeing the executive branch, and yet they have handed him the keys to the kingdom and said, “Do whatever you wish … we won’t stop you.” The judiciary has largely said the same. Where, my friends, do you suppose that leaves us … the 330 million people of this nation whose voices have been stifled by the very people we voted into office and whose salaries we pay?

We have laws in this country … laws that are not being enforced today, laws that are being laughed at by the very people we have entrusted to enforce those laws. Imagine if you vandalized your neighbor’s car and ten people were standing on the street and saw you. One of them finally calls the police while you continue to use your baseball bat to break every window in the car. Now imagine that at your trial, not a single one of those ten people are called to testify. A neighbor’s home security camera caught the whole incident on video, but that is not allowed at your trial, either. That is exactly what this impeachment trial is. There is no doubt that what Trump did was wrong, nor is there doubt that he did attempt to use the leverage of assistance to the Ukraine in order to force them to publicly announce an investigation into Trump’s political opponent, Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. There’s not a shred of reasonable doubt. But … if no evidence is allowed to be presented, if no witnesses are allowed to tell what they know … where’s the damn justice???

Too many times already in the past three years, Trump has gotten by with abusing the power of his office, with obstruction of justice, with endangering the nation and its people. If he is not held accountable now, then folks, we have an autocrat, an “Imperial President” who has no bounds, no conscience, and no reason to honour his oath of office. The republicans in Congress are in the process of creating a monster, one that will destroy this nation.

I have emailed the republican senator for my state, Rob Portman, twice within the past ten days and have not received a single response, which leads me to believe that as a citizen and taxpayer, I have no voice in my government. And that leaves me mad as hell!

‘Toons To Brighten Your Day … Or Not

Posted on October 30, 2019 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Humour, Political commentary, Social commentary

It is a dreary, dark, rainy day here today, and I thought a few cartoons might brighten the day, lighten the mood.

The big story of the day … every day for the past month or so, and for the foreseeable future … is that of the impeachment inquiries taking place in the House of Representatives, and the response by Trump and the republicans …

Ol’ Mick Mulvaney has been in the news a lot lately, since he did that “open mouth, insert foot” trick, and then tried unsuccessfully to remove his foot from his mouth …

Corruption runs rampant in Washington these days, from the “president” down through his rank of minions, and among some in Congress who feel compelled to defend Trump’s speech and actions, though for the most part there is no defense.

You all remember last week when Trump was giving a speech and he claimed that he’s building a wall … in Colorado!

Trump’s treatment of our Kurdish allies will not be forgotten any time soon. Pulling our troops out of Syria, leaving the Kurds vulnerable to Erdoğan’s brutal attacks, was beyond unconscionable, and has shown our allies around the globe that the U.S. can no longer be trusted.

The GOP once stood for “Grand Old Party”. Those days are long gone, and for the past ten years or so, it has stood for only the wealthiest in the nation, willing to abandon the rest of us. Still, I think they bit off more than they could chew when they nominated and later elected Donald Trump to the presidency, and they are now struggling to figure out how to support him, how to defend the indefensible.

And last, but not least, since tomorrow is Hallowe’en …

Have a safe and fun Hallowe’en!

There’s A Plan??? Who knew???

Posted on September 2, 2019 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Humour, Political commentary, Social commentary

Alexandra Petri is a columnist for The Washington Post who only recently came onto my radar. I love her style … subtle yet unmistakable snarky! In 2010 she became the youngest person to have a column in The Washington Post; she also runs the ComPost blog on the paper’s website, on which she formerly worked with Dana Milbank. Her column yesterday was, I thought, brilliantly spot-on, and I decided you guys would get a bit of humour from it, too.

Trump has a plan! His plan is for nothing to go wrong.

By Alexandra Petri
Columnist
August 30

First off, do not worry about the economy. There is nothing to worry about. Who’s worried? If you were to worry, that would make the economy second-guess itself and grow agitated. Don’t worry about the economy. It’s fine. Worry about the Space Command.

Second, if there are any problems with the economy (there aren’t, but if there were), they would have nothing to do with the president. The last thing that would possibly impact the economy are his trade policies. It is “badly run and weak companies,” as he wisely clarified on Twitter.

Third, if there were to be any kind of downturn (not necessarily a bad thing, at hotels, people pay for such a service!), there is a plan. The plan is for it to be, as Mick Mulvaney told a gathering of donors last week, “moderate and short.”

This plan is without flaw, and, indeed, is the approach the administration is taking to all forms of crisis. That is, I am pleased to report, why there are currently no crises whatsoever.

Consider, for instance, the new rollback of methane regulations — even over the objections of people in the affected industries. A similar, ingenious philosophy is being applied here. To try to limit the amount of methane released into the earth’s atmosphere would send the earth a message that we thought it might be getting to the point where additional methane and CO2 could be dangerous to the planet, and that realization might cause the earth to panic, hyperventilate and destroy all human life.

Nothing depresses a planet so much as the suggestion that its continued health is hanging by a very fragile thread. The last thing we would want the earth to do is think there was a problem. If we were to take any steps that made it look as though we were aware of a problem and were addressing it, well, that would be the end, for all of us. No, we must keep it in a state of blissful ignorance.

Indeed, we have taken this attitude broadly in all areas of our lives. Take health care, for instance. If you do not have a plan that allows for bad things to happen, you will be amazed, for instance, how many fewer times you will visit the doctor and how much less prescription medicine you will obtain! Probably this is because you are healthier.

Similarly, imagine what might happen if we were to make any effort to regulate guns. If guns knew we were thinking of regulating them, why, something terrible might happen in America, on a regular basis, even.

This is why we are not even contemplating a plan for removing bedbugs should they ever come to the Doral resort. If you devised a plan to remove them, then for that plan to work bedbugs would have to show up in the first place — simply unthinkable!

We must stand firm in our refusal to plan for anything but good outcomes.

The second you make a plan for something bad to happen, you may as well be sending it an engraved invitation. If we make any plans that will invite people to see us as not confident, and then the bears of the economy will fall upon us and destroy us. Oh no, I have mentioned them! Now they will hear us.

No. Our plan for if the economy is ʙᴀᴅ (shh, not so loud, you must not frighten the economy) is for it not to be ʙᴀᴅ. If we have a ʀᴇᴄᴇssɪᴏɴ (hush), our plan is for it not to be the bad kind, and for it to leave quickly.

Umbrellas invite rain. Safety harnesses inspire people to drop from great heights. Do not get me started on what helmets do.

This is why the Titanic brought so few lifeboats on board. To bring too many is to imply that a disaster might happen, in which case such lifeboats might be needed and might lead the ship to lose confidence in itself and capsize. This would have been disastrous!

The last thing we need is to invite disaster.

Deconstructing government in Trump’s America

Posted on August 9, 2019 by jilldennison under Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs

The important things, as I have said before, are slipping under the radar. Jeff, from On the Fence Voters, has shone a spotlight on one such thing. This administration is working so hard to destroy not only the nation, but the entire globe. Please take a minute to read Jeff’s assessment. Thanks, Jeff, for keeping us informed!

Snarky Snippets … Again … and Again … and Again 😱

Posted on April 25, 2019 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Global Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Trump's Staff Picks

Good morning, friends, and welcome to the rabbit hole … er … Filosofa’s Word. Perhaps I should rename this blog “The Rabbit Hole”, what do you think? Anyway, what better way to partly relieve the angst than just a few snarky snippets?

Outrageous!

It seems that politicians no longer care what they say, to whom or about whom they say it. Do they really think that it’s impressive or funny when they thoughtlessly denigrate others? And I’m not just talking about Trump, although he certainly is chief among them for horribly disgusting behaviour and language.A few weeks ago, I wrote about Stephen Moore, one of Trump’s picks for the Federal Reserve Board. What I did not know when I wrote that piece is some of Mr. Moore’s past misogynistic comments that have recently surfaced after an investigation by CNN. Here are just a few (the comments in blue are Filosofa’s own snark) …

When he found his wife had voted for a democrat in 2000, he said “Women are sooo malleable! No wonder there’s a gender gap.” (If we’re so ‘malleable’, jerkface, then how come you couldn’t convince her to vote your way? Maybe she actually … has a brain and knows how to use it???)
“How outrageous is this? This year they allowed a woman ref a men’s NCAA game. Liberals celebrate this breakthrough as a triumph for gender equity. The NCAA has been touting this as example of how progressive they are. I see it as an obscenity. Is there no area in life where men can take vacation from women?” (Oh yeah, Buster, you can go jump in that bloomin’ lake over there!)
“Here’s the rule change I propose: No more women refs, no women announcers, no women beer venders, no women anything.” (Fine by me … try making your own coffee, your own bed, or your own kids, A$$hole!)
“What are the implications of a society in which women earn more than men? We don’t really know, but it could be disruptive to family stability. If men aren’t the breadwinners, will women regard them as economically expendable?” (Your sort are certainly expendable, Bucko!)
“Well, we’ve probably gone too far in providing the safety net for the elderly. To a large extent, we’ve started a system in this country where we are taxing struggling middle-class families that are young to provide lavish government benefits for people over 65.” (Now wait just a minute here … did he say ‘lavish’? I can barely afford my insulin! And why tax the ‘struggling young middle-class? Why not try taxing that fat cat 1% rich bastards?)

As I noted in my other post about Mr. Moore, his wife finally and wisely divorced him, and then he failed to pay child support. What a guy, eh? And Trump wants him to sit on the Federal Reserve Board. Go figure. If the Senate confirms this one …

Steve King can relate?

Another Steve … you know what? Trump seems to attract people with that name and they are all jerks! Stephen Moore, Steve Mnuchin, Steven Miller …

Congressman Steve King … remember him? He’s been on my radar numerous times, but back in March 2017 he earned Filosofa’s Idiot of the Week award. Since then, he has been called on the carpet more than once for bigoted, hate-filled remarks made in public, and was removed from his committee assignments by members of the House. Well, somehow he’s gotten it into his head that it makes him rather like the biblical Jesus Christ …

“For all that I’ve been through and it seems even strange for me to say it but I’m at a certain peace. And it’s because of a lot of prayers for me. And when I had to step I have to step down to the floor of the House of Representatives and look up at those 400-and-some accusers — you know we just passed through Easter and Christ’s passion — and I have better insight into what He went through for us, partly because of that experience.”

Oh spare me. The interesting thing here is that even the unconscionable Mitch McConnell called Steve King out for his bigotry. One of the best comments on the Idiot of the Week post two years ago came from my good friend Emily ..

“When they send people to Congress, they aren’t sending their best. They’re idiots, and numb-nuts, and some, I assume, are good people…”

Why?

We, the United States, no longer have a representative on the United Nations’ committee on racism. Why? We did have a representative on the committee, Gay McDougall. But, she had at some point said things about Trump that he didn’t like, so when the State Department planned to re-nominate her, Trump nixed the idea. And did he replace her with someone else? No, he did not. Why? Because, as we have all heard, he has little or no respect for such international cooperatives, which is why he stupidly pulled us out of the Paris Accord, the Iran deal, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and is gradually pulling away from the United Nations. According to one official …

“… it cements the narrative that the Americans just don’t care about these kinds of things anymore.”

Surprise.

I’m certainly no fan of Kirstjen Nielsen, former Director of Homeland Security, but it appears she was at least trying to do one thing right, and that was assure election integrity, or at least an election free of Russian interference, next year. Ms. Nielsen had become increasingly concerned about Russia’s continued activity in the United States during and after the 2018 midterm elections — ranging from its search for new techniques to divide Americans using social media, to experiments by hackers, to rerouting internet traffic and infiltrating power grids.

Concerned, Ms. Nielsen was trying to arrange a meeting with administration cabinet officials to coordinate a strategy to protect next year’s elections, but she was warned off by White House Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney. Why? Because it might upset Donald Trump who does not wish to hear about the Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections since it calls into question whether he would have been able to win on his own.

A) He did not win, for Hillary Clinton had almost 3 million more votes than he, and B) No, he couldn’t win a contest for dogcatcher on his own.

And so, Ms. Nielsen eventually gave up. According to a document prepared by government intelligence agencies …

“Russia’s social media efforts will continue to focus on aggravating social and racial tensions, undermining trust in authorities and criticizing perceived anti-Russia politicians. Moscow may employ additional influence tool kits — such as spreading disinformation, conducting hack-and-leak operations or manipulating data — in a more targeted fashion to influence U.S. policy, actions and elections.”

Yet, we are to do nothing because it might make Little Donnie feel bad? Bull!

I could go on … and on … and on. In this era of Trump, the b.s. just keeps coming at warp speed. I’ve been knocked off my feet a few times in the past week or two, and I’m sure it’s going to get worse before it gets better. My means of surviving is to write about it and share it with you guys! Isn’t that kind of me? I believe it is only right to share everything!

Just Two Snarky Snippets …

Posted on March 29, 2019 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, Political commentary, Rants, Social commentary

Wouldn’t you think we could have just one day where I am not stomping my feet and growling like an angry leopard? Noooooo … that’s too much to ask, isn’t it? Sigh. Hold onto your hats, folks, for I’m on a tear tonight!

Still more evidence that …

The only people who matter in the current administration are those who love Trump … a distinct minority, yet a loud, obnoxious one. The evidence of this lies in the debate in the Oval Office on Monday whereby Trump’s staff convinced him to support a decision to eliminate healthcare for no less than 20 million people in this nation. As most of you know, a lawsuit filed by 18 state’s attorney-generals and 2 governors came before Texas District Court Judge Reed O’Connor last year. The judge was tasked with determining whether the ACA individual mandate that requires everyone to have health insurance was lawful. However, Judge O’Connor took it a step further and declared the entire Affordable Care Act to be unconstitutional. Appeals, of course were immediately filed. At that time, the Department of Justice, while supporting overturning the individual mandate, did not support overturning ACA in its entirety. Then came Monday.

On Monday, acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and Domestic Chief of Policy (whatever the heck that is) Joe Grogan convinced Trump that if he, via the Department of Justice, supported the complete repeal of the act through the courts, his base (a minority) would “love it”. They told him that the move would be seen as ‘fulfilling a campaign promise’ and that it would help secure his re-election next year. Thus, even though Attorney General William Barr expressed concerns about the move, it was announced later that day that the U.S. Department of Justice will support the move to have ACA declared unconstitutional and thereby sign death warrants for some 20 million people or more.Although Trump has claimed he would make republicans “the party of health care”, there is no plan on the republican side of the aisle with which to replace ACA. Just … do away with it … let poor people die … who needs ‘em anyway?

Even Mike Pence argued against the move, not because he cares a whit about we common people, but because he felt it might have political ramifications down the line. You think? Under ordinary circumstances, I would say that in making this move, Trump just signed away his re-election, but we have not had normal circumstances in this nation since 20 January 2017. This is just one more in the growing pile of signs that We the People really do not matter. The only ones who count are the bloomin’ fools who wear red caps and chant “Lock ‘er up!”

A step too far … way too far!

Last night, a friend posted this to my Facebook page …

Now, this particular friend sometimes gets a kick out of ruffling my feathers, in a good-natured way, so I thought this might be a … joke? But no, I looked into it, and steam began coming from my ears, my teeth gnashing, and lightning bolts emitted from my eyes.

The so-called constitutional carry bill would permit anyone age 21 or over, who is not disqualified by federal law due to a felony conviction or other offense from obtaining a weapon, to carry a hidden gun — without obtaining a concealed-carry permit. Currently, Ohioans can only carry a concealed weapon after obtaining a $67 permit from a county sheriff upon passing a criminal background check and completing eight hours of training by a certified instructor, including two hours of range time and live-fire training. The legislation would not be restricted to handguns — it also would allow Ohioans to conceal and carry long guns, such as rifles and shotguns (though I’m not sure how one conceals a long gun … seems it would be a might noticeable sticking out of their waistband). Ohioans already are allowed to openly carry firearms without a permit. The bill also would repeal a current requirement that concealed-carry owners notify police officers they are carrying a gun when stopped. The police are going to love this one, yes?

Do any of these fools remember Parkland in February 2018? Do they remember Las Vegas? Do they remember their own damn names? Fools. Idiots. Then, while I was still frothing at the mouth, the same friend informs me that Kentucky just passed a similar law. Back to searching … yep …

Bright looking bunch, eh?

From the March 28^th Cincinnati Enquirer …

“Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin just signed a law allowing residents to carry a concealed gun without a permit and the prerequisite training.”

And then … I find out that this is not a new thing, not an anomaly, but that there are sixteen … yes, SIXTEEN states where residents can carry guns with no permit, no training, and in some cases, no background checks.

Those states are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

More ‘Einsteins’

The law is called “Constitutional Carry” because it reflects the view that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not abide restrictions on gun rights, including the right to carry or “bear” arms. This is utterly ludicrous. This is the absolute stupidest thing I have heard of!

But back to the proposed Ohio law …

At least one Ohio legislator, David Leland, had a bit of sense (hint: he’s a democrat) …

“It’s going the exact opposite direction of what most people want. If more guns make more people safer, we would be the safest country in the world. Yet, our gun violence exceeds most every other country on this planet.”

Correction, Mr. Leland … not ‘most’ every other country on the planet … EVERY other country on the planet!

Chris Dorr, director of Ohio Gun Owners, sent an email to supporters …

“We already know there will be efforts by anti-gun Democrats and Rino-Republicans to block, stop and KILL Constitutional Carry. And as we saw last General Assembly, there’s always a lily-white coward willing to cut a deal and water down these pro-gun bills.”

Scumbucket.

It appears that the only thing that is going to wake these people up is if next time it’s their own child who is killed in a school shooting, or a drive-by.

And that’s it for tonight, folks … I must stop the steam coming from my ears, brush what I haven’t gnashed away of my teeth and go to bed for another fun night of night terrors. Gee, I can’t imagine what’s causing them, can you?

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Snarky Snippets … Again … and Again … and Again 😱