In 2 Podcasts (with transcript) from Robert Reich, a national treasure:
Robert Reich – The roots of Trumpism – Part 1
Robert Reich – The roots of Trumpism – Part 2
God, Guns & Trump: A Jeremiad
I was in Memphis, TN this weekend and saw this bumper sticker – God, Guns & Trump – on the back of a small, older pickup truck with Mississippi tags. 
The sad reality is that I could have seen this sticker many places; they are just more common in that part of the country. I live in St. Louis which is not what I would call a particularly liberal or progressive area, but it is an island of sanity in the red cesspool of MAGA Republicans of rural Missouri and southern Illinois. I see many bumper stickers of a similar ilk around here too.
God, Guns & Trump…To me this encapsulated the sickness that is currently inflicting our country.
God: While I understand people’s need for religion, I am not a big fan. My personal opinion Continue reading “God, Guns & Trump: A Jeremiad”
Cynical Corporate Courage
I cannot begin to tell how glad I am that they are finally banning Trump from all these social media platforms. However, the cynical part of me is not applauding these corporations. They waited until it was obvious to even a blind, deaf and dumb Dungeons & Dragons wizard that Trump was not going to be able to steal the election. That is not my definition of courage. It is not my definition of being socially responsible. 
And so it goes…
Keep well.
How They Stormed Congress
If you got 30 minutes or so here is a very well done report and analysis of the mobbing of our Capitol Building from a New York Times podcast, The Daily. Spoiler alert it was not spontaneous. They warn you and I will too, there is strong language in the podcast.
The other mind blowing thing I came across today was a poll by YouGov as reported in Newsweek.
45 Percent of Republican Voters Support Storming of Capitol Building: Poll
I have almost never agreed with Republicans, but I used to respect them even with their differing opinions. That is not so anymore. We need to get back to teaching Civics and History. Hell we need to get back to teaching manners.
Just as aside, surely it is just not me? When I look at the Proud Boys and other MAGA mobsters in their paramilitary (and worse) grab with their phallic symbols dangling over their shoulders, I am reminded of a bunch of 12 year old boys playing army in an empty lot. Time for the Lost Boys to grow up.
And so it goes.
Keep well.
Presidential Monkey Poop
First, let me confess that sometimes my mind makes strange connections…
Señora has not been feeling well the last few days. This morning she was staying in bed and passing time with her smart phone. She had leaned over the precipice and fallen, careening wildly, into the YouTube rabbit hole. She was watching a video of the Jimmy Kimmel Live show from 2017. This particular segment was Clip of the Year, showing various short videos that went viral . As I came in with fresh coffee, the venturi effect took hold and I was sucked down with Alice. Unable to fight the maelstrom I just entered, I watched this one video with her.
My favorite was of a sports star from Europe or Africa that was receiving an award. He was remarking on how glad he was to receive it and was thanking various folks. He then went on to thank his wife and girlfriend. Realizing what he had just said, he gave the classic double take. He then worked diligently to backtrack that comment and only thank his wife!
The winner was a clip of a monkey who threw his poop and nailed a zoo goer right in the nose where the poop stuck. Ouch!
There were also a couple clips of Trump. In one he tried 2 or 3 times to 
pronounce Puerto Rico correctly, never succeeding. And then… was the much seen clip of him throwing paper towels to people when he visited Puerto Rico after the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. For some reason it struck me as much the same as the monkey nailing the tourist with poop.
If you want to see the video here is the link: Jimmy Kimmel Declares Viral Clip of the Year 2017
Keep well.
Democracy in Danger
DEMOCRACY IN DANGER: ‘Don’t assume that democracy can survive this’ — Watch Sen. Chris Murphy slam congressional Republicans for standing by Trump’s frantic attempts to delegitimize the election pic.twitter.com/AoWfN0Ksmd
— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) November 15, 2020
Going, Going, Gone
On Jan. 20, 2017 I put the “Not My President” bumper sticker on my truck. I also put the American flag in the distress configuration on it. For the first few months afterwards I was getting flipped off regularly. Then it more or less stopped. The flipping off restarted the couple months leading up to the election. I got where I did not flip them off in return, but held up my thumb and forefinger about one inch apart to represent my estimation of their manhood. I don’t recall a woman ever giving me the finger.
With Joe Biden set to become the 46th President I feel I can take the bumper stickers off. I feel like I am waking up from one the worst nightmares of my life. A nightmare that has gone on for 4 years. I know we have a couple more months of the Orange Monster, and that he can do much damage in the that time period. But I can see daylight. I can see a time when I might start feeling some pride for my country again.
I cannot express the relief that I felt with the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. And at the same time the disappointment I felt in so many of my fellow citizens. In my life time of presidential elections there has never been a clearer choice between good and evil. Yet almost half the country chose to vote for Darth Vader over Yoda. I do not really understand why anyone would have voted for Trump in 2016, but I more or less excused them as buying into to his bull. This time around it is incomprehensible for me. They have had 4 years of watching his incompetence and malevolence, and they did it again. Oh well.
Going, going, and soon to be gone.
Keep well.
Michael Steele, former Chairman of RNC is voting for Biden
Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #3,171
yeah I know you did not ask!
Here is something I thought I would never have to do. I was speaking to a young woman via Skype to practice my Spanish. She lives Coca, Ecuador, a city of 40,000 in Amazonian jungle whose primary business in oil. We had a long, rambling conversation about politics and the upcoming election in the United States. She apparently has another student who is younger than her (she is late 20s) and a big supporter of the Orange Monster. He is absolutely convinced that Putin’s Bitch is a man of the people and will win the election. He had told her that all his young friends are of the same opinion. I did my best to dissuade Micaela that this is not the common position.
At the end of the conversation I did something I never would have thought I would do… I asked a person living in a small South American country to pray for my country.
Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #2,901
yeah I know you did not ask!
It occurred to me that the Republican Party and Trump’s Cabinet are very similar to a group of friends partying at a bar. One of their number is so drunk he can barely walk. He decides to leave, stumbling to the door with his car keys in hand, and no one bothers to stop him. No one offers to give him a ride home. No one offers to call him a taxi. No one takes his keys away.
That head on collision was bound to happen since the people who could have taken action, did not.
Keep well.