Will history have a long memory or a short one?

This post by The Guardian is well worth a read. I truly wish I could be alive a hundred or two hundred years from now and see how this era will be perceived. I know that there were many periods in our history that were awful for one reason or another. It also seems that we don't really pay attention to those scandals and ineptitudes of the past. I keep reading that Andrew Jackson was one of worst Presidents ever (until now, of course). Yet nobody thinks twice about a bigot who murdered Native Americans. We even have him on the twenty dollar bill!

The difference, however, is that we are in a "Global Village" age where communication is instantaneous, every move is parsed to the finest detail and recorded for posterity. I have a feeling that if the internet was available in the past, we would be much more knowledgeable and aware of eras and their foibles. Then again, maybe not. Populations tend to have a very short memory.

I've said this before, and I'll keep saying it over and over. I really hope that in the future the villains of this era will be the Republicans in both the House and Senate (starring Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan) being vilified for their behavior in these trying times. They had the power to stop this and didn't. They put money and power before country. A pox on them all!

Priebus out, McCain being clever?

Reince Priebus is out and a military man John Kelly is in. Very interesting. I've heard around the web that this is part of FvC* distancing himself from the Republican Party. I'm not sure this is very wise.

Since the Republicans in Congress obviously have the power to impeach the idiot, I would hazard a guess that one might want to stay in their good graces. I'm all for it, however. Anything that will get this cretin out of office sooner rather than later is fine by me!

On another note, I read on Twitter that Sen. McCain voted "Yes" on the Memo to Proceed (MTP)  in order to get the "skinny" repeal bill on the floor so he could vote against it. The reason is that McConnell was pushing the bill via reconciliation. He could avoid the 60-vote hurdle and just utilize a simple majority.

The rule as I understand it is that the reconciliation vote can only be voted on once a fiscal year. Had the MTP been defeated, McConnell could have continued to tweak the bill until he got enough votes to pass the damn thing. Now he has to wait until next fiscal year for this particular bill to deal with this piece of legislation.

I'm not sure if this line of thinking is true, but, boy, it's a very clever move on McCain's part if it is.

*Fuckface von Clownstick, courtesy Jon Stewart

Congressional Republicans are smelly pieces of shit

I've just got to throw in my two cents about last night's horrible attempt to pass a "skinny repeal" of Obamacare, otherwise known as the American Care Act.

That was one of the most reprehensible, ugly and villainous acts I've ever seen. It would have gone down in history as one of the darkest days in American politics.

Here you have Republican Senators going on camera talking about how bad this bill was, yet they were going to vote for it anyway. A bill so bad that they needed a guarantee from the House that the bill would not be enacted into law before the senators would concede to vote yea. A bill so bad that they didn't let the Democrats see it until an hour before the vote, which was going to be held in the middle of the night (2:00AM!) in order to avoid Americans paying attention to it. And that golden hour was filibustered by repugnant Republican Senator Mike Enzi (May he rot in hell) so as to keep the Democrats from discussing the piece of thrash. WTF??? One more time. WTF???

These are egregious, despicable human beings. They were willing to throw 16 million people off health insurance for the almighty dollar. God knows how many would have died. As far as I'm concerned they are and always will be potential murderers. I pray to whomever that these sorry-ass sons of bitches get thrown out at their next elections. Good God!

To think that we're only into the first six months of this deplorable administration. I fully expect things to get extremely worse.

One more thing: Fuck 'em.

The Race Is On

So here we are. One of two things will occur in the future of the United States.

Our country is being severely damaged by FvC*. The questions are will our country be so severely damaged that there is no recovery or will the country be able to outlast the tenure of FvC, whether he is ousted prematurely or serves the full eight years. That is the race.

I admit that we were going to hell in a handbasket before FvC got into office, but he is just speeding up and exacerbating the dysfunction.

Amy Siskind, bless her heart, has been compiling a weekly list of events occurring which are leading our country down the path to our becoming an authoritarian state. As she puts it, "Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you'll remember." It's great that she's starting to get national attention.

Who will win? The Powers That Be, who wish to dismantle this great country and make it the permanent play toy of the powerful and wealthy, or we, the people, saving ourselves from irreparable harm. As the cliché goes, "Time will tell."

*Fuckface von Clownstick, courtesy Jon Stewart

FvC obstructed, period.

I just want this on the record.

FvC* said today that he is 100% willing to testify under oath that what James Comey said regarding their conversation is false. I guarantee he will pull his "taxes are being audited" routine. If he is ever summoned to testify under oath, he will either claim executive privilege or he will say he would love to testify, but his lawyers are insisting he doesn't. I guarantee it.

I've said this before, but he is absolutely playing a game with this "are their tapes or not." Just like he did with the birth certificate and his belief in climate change bits, he's stringing this along to maximize the press coverage. He loves it, and the stupid Fourth Estate plays right into his hands. I heard CNN's Dana Bash say that maybe he can't say there are tapes because his attorneys are preventing him. What nonsense! She should know better.

One other thing. I am convinced that FvC obstructed justice regarding Comey. I've said to my family and friends that if the law doesn't cover this bullshit, it needs to be rewritten. I have also said to my family and friends that I am very naïve and simplistic when it comes to politics. There are basics that should have no nuance.

If a President of the United States asks the Director of the FBI to drop the investigation of Flynn, goes to the DNI and CIA Director and asks them to go to the FBI and get them to drop the Flynn matter; asks for the "loyalty" of the FBI Director, doesn't get either so the President fires the Director, then goes on national television and admits that the firing was to alleviate the "Russia thing," THAT is Obstruction of Justice. End of story. Pretty piss poor world if any President gets away with this bullshit.

*Fuckface von Clownstick (Courtesy Jon Stewart)

FvC believes Climate Change is a hoax created by China. End of story.

This really chaps my ass. For days the press has been asking anyone in the administration if FvC* believes in climate change. The administration refuses to answer, usually stating ignorance of his position.

LISTEN, PEOPLE! He flatly stated in tweets that climate change was a hoax perpetrated by China. There! That's it! Done deal! Run with it. Who cares if he "still believes"? Let him stand by what he has said in the past until he personally revises it ON HIS OWN, without any prodding.

Because it's on record that he doesn't believe, why don't the reporters, when discussing things such as his withdrawal from the Paris Accord, say something like, "The President, who believes climate change is a hoax created by China, ..."

It's that simple. Once everyone starts saying that, maybe, just maybe, FvC will issue a correction. If not, fuck him.

Let it forever be on the record until otherwise changed that FvC does not believe in climate change. How hard is that, oh people of the Fourth Estate?

You know, the press is fumbling all over themselves with this subject just like they did with FvC's birth certificate nonsense. And FvC is eating it up! We do have a dumb Fourth Estate.


*Fuckface von Clownstick, (Courtesy Jon Stewart)

Thoughts on this 'n' that

So FvC is going to announce his decision re the Paris Climate Agreement today at 12 PDT. He's still playing the Reality TV show. Blech! I won't watch. There are two schools of thought floating around. The most prevalent is that he has decided to pull out. for the past 24 hours, I've seen a lot of moaning about how devastating that would be. The other idea is that he will stay in and spin the tail that Ivanka and Jared talked him into staying, thus giving them a modicum of influence and credibility.

Being who he is, there is absolutely no way to foretell which direction he will take. If he decides to stay, I hope no one will take seriously that Ivanka and Jared are that much more respectable.

I am really getting sick of CNN bringing on the clowns who defend this administration. The Jeffrey Lords and Jason Millers have GOT to go!

This is a terrible time for our country. I can't believe the actions that are being taken by the people. A noose found in an African American History Museum? Two men killed and another seriously injured in the defense of Muslims (Meanwhile the perpetrator is screaming in court that it was a patriotic act)? A reporter physically assaulted by a candidate and the candidate gets elected anyway (To top it off, when he finally got around to apologizing, a woman in the audience yelled, "We forgive you!")? WTF, over?

Putin now says the Kremlin didn't perpetrate the cyberattacks; however, "patriotically minded" hackers could have done it. According to chess great Garry Kasparov, "Putin's typical pattern of angry denial followed by winking denial, usually followed by tacit admission & then domestic boasting. eg Crimea"

It seems to me that all these ethics waivers to White House staff is highly unethical.

I never want to see "covfefe" again! Way overblown!

Good for Martina Navratilova calling out Margaret Court's bigotry and homophobia.

And finally, today is the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper. It was 50 years ago today... Happy birthday!