Hawley needs to go… I still cannot believe that Missouri elected him over Claire McCaskill.
J. D. Vance Owes Me 10 Minutes
J. D. Vance owes me ten minutes of my life back. Well, actually, whoever started the rumor about this troglodyte having an amorous, physical relationship with a couch owes me the ten minutes.
One of the late night TV hosts was running on with many jokes about the alleged “romance” between Mr. Vance and the couch. Señora was totally perplexed. I told her it has been rumored that Continue reading “J. D. Vance Owes Me 10 Minutes”
Season Liberally
Señora has a bit of an addiction problem with Penzeys Spices. Well, the truth is that I have a bit of a problem with her Penzeys habit. I collect lint balls, she collects spices. Whenever they have a sale she is down there. I frequently feel that we are drowning in spices.
I did find the back of her most recently purchase interesting, however. Even though I agree with the sentiments expressed on the label, I am generally of the opinion that businesses should keep their politics and religion to themselves. There are several business that I try to avoid due to their politics or religious sentiments, e.g., I never, ever eat at Chick-fil-A.
Her current purchase is labeled Outrage whose ingredients are: Salt, black pepper, red pepper, citric acid, shallots, lemon peel, white pepper, garlic, green onion..
In case you cannot read the back of the jar in the photo:
The ongoing Republican effort to end our democracy is Outrageous. The party’s purge of those disloyal to the January 6 plotters is even worse. When does a party end and fascism begin? When good people give up on being Outraged. Your love is strong; use it to keep Outrage alive.
Outrageously good on avocados, eggs, fish, vegetables, salads, chicken, hummus, sandwiches, and cheeseburgers.
Season Liberally
Just another day in the extremely divided USA.
School House Rock – 2024 Edition Redux
I originally posted this”meme” on July 5th. Afterwards I remembered a song that might just go with our current political situation. See video below.
Theme song for politics in the USA circa the MAGA era.
School House Rock – 2024 Edition
You might need to be of a certain age to appreciate this. See video below image for a refresher.
From back in the day… when Saturday morning cartoons were still a thing and there was a little education thrown in.
Quote of the Day – Frank Zappa: On Politics
Quote of the Day… not actually daily, but whenever I encounter one I think worth sharing and there are not too many in sequence. I like quotes as they frequently distill a piece of wisdom into a brief passage, or make other points very succinctly – such as the witticisms of Oscar Wilde.
“I think politics is a valid concept, but what we have today is not really politics. It’s the equivalent of the high school election. It’s a popularity contest. It’s got nothing to do with politics – what it is, is mass merchandising.” ~~ Frank Zappa
“Pop is the new politics. There is more truth in pop music than in most political statements rendered by our leaders, even when you get down to the level of really simple pop records. What I’m saying is that is how bad politics is.” ~~ Frank Zappa
To see more Quotes for Day, visit this link: Quotes for the Day
My Anti-Trump Shirt
Below you will find my anti-Trump shirt. If you look closely you will observe that the motif is mostly sharks. I have been thinking about hand drawing some batteries onto my pool shirt to make it a double parody of Trump’s wonderful political rally speech in Las Vegas.
Just in case you do not get the reference, watch this video of the “highly articulate” felon going on about how he would rather be eaten by a shark or electrocuted.
Heaven forbid we should be talking about issues in this election cycle. What has our country come to that any sane person would think this man should be president one time, let alone a second time. My beloved country would cease to exist as anything I would acknowledge as my country.
John Oliver on a Trump 2nd Term… Be scared, very scared
John Oliver on a Trump 2nd Term… Be scared, very scared.
If you have 30 minutes it is well worth your time. There are groups gearing up to enable Trump’s anti-democratic, racist, classist agenda to be more effective on a second go-around. No matter how hard I try, I cannot come up with a single positive reason why anyone would support Donald Trump. I really wonder when they stopped teaching Civics, American History and critical thinking in the schools. Although I do not think critical thinking has ever been high on the American educational agenda.
Disheartening is the only word I can come up with…
Don’t wear them short socks…
I was in Columbia, Illinois at the first convenience store you encounter when you cross the Mississippi River into Illinois. I stop there as it is cheaper to buy a soft drink for my round of golf there instead of at the golf course.
As I was standing in line a fellow came up behind me toting a 12 pack of Busch Light and talking on his cell phone a little loud, which is what caused me to notice him, although there was nothing unusual these days in this.
As I stood in line I heard him say, “I don’t wear those short socks.”
“Well,” I thought, “that is a bit of a strange conversation.”
Then he went on, “They don’t hide my ankle holster.”
My new best friend…not.
The rest of the conversation was about preferred grips on pistols.
In Missouri it is a free-for-all on concealed carried, and you do not even need a permit. Illinois takes a totally different approach. So either he was a Missouri resident and/or an Illinois scofflaw.
My personal opinion is that this country has a terminal illness when it comes to guns. Hunting is one thing, but I have a hard time imagining why anyone would need a pistol, and especially why they would need to carry one concealed.
Missouri GOP Looking to Criminalize State Teachers
The following article appeared in the local alternative newspaper RiverFront Times: Missouri Bill Makes Teachers Sex Offenders If They Accept Trans Kids’ Pronouns
1st Objection
Personally, I am not a big fan of this whole pronoun phenomenon, BUT as it says in the Book of David 1:1
“Within the bounds of the Golden Rule, people being who they are, and loving who they love are not immoral acts.”
I once worked with a fellow named Walter. He was very insistent on being called Walter and not the diminutive of Walt. I understand as I prefer the formal David to any of the diminutives of that name, but most of the time I just let it slide. I am just generally glad someone has acknowledged my existence by calling me by name.
I see selecting a personal pronoun, more of less, in this same category. And yeah, I realize there is a serious qualitative difference, but isn’t it the GOP that spouts all these libertarian ideals… like getting rid of helmet laws and allowing folks to carry firearms wherever they want.
The kicker for me is from the article:
“We showed that the more contexts or settings where they were able to use their preferred name, the stronger their mental health was,” the author of the study, Stephen T. Russell, University of Texas at Austin professor and chair of human development and family science, said.
Transgender youth already face a heightened risk of suicidal ideation. Another recent study, this one by the Trevor Project, showed that in 2022 nearly half (45 percent) of LGBTQ youth surveyed seriously contemplated suicide. One in five attempted it.
Sadly the article went on to say:
Missouri remains at the forefront of anti-trans legislation efforts and is one of the most prolific in the nation for bills targeting trans youth.
2nd Objection
My wife, Señora, was a special education teacher, retiring after more than 30 years in the profession. It had changed from a job she dearly loved to one she had a very hard time with. The last three or four years she taught, at the beginning of the school year she cried for a couple weeks from having to go back. It is, without a doubt, a very hard profession, one that does not pay particularly well when you consider the level of education and expertise required. I could write several blog articles on why the profession has become so difficult, but the burnout rate speaks for itself. If you are interested here is an article on the subject: K-12 Workers Have Highest Burnout Rate in U.S.
And now the Missouri GOP wants to criminalize teachers for doing their jobs and supporting students that who in all likelihood are already having a very hard time adjusting. I just cannot get my head around the fact that there are individuals out there that want to force teachers to register as sex offenders for saying he or she when this person’s rigid beliefs insists it should have been she or he.
Some things are more than a little wrong.
A Little Lagniappe
Interestingly enough the British newspaper, The Guardian, picked up this story: Missouri: home to child marriage, corporal punishment and sick ‘child welfare’ ideas
Sometimes I do not know if I am more embarrassed by living in Missouri or being from Oklahoma.