Category: Other

From the Washington Post, Karen Attiah writes, “The death of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, is causing a global battle royale over a central question: How do we speak honestly about the loyal servants to Britain’s powerful and historically brutal empire? My answer? You speak the truth loudly, firmly and without hesitation. Use a microphone if you need to say it louder for those in the back. In the wake of the queen’s death, propaganda, fantasy and ignorance are being pitted against Britain’s historical record and the lived experience of Africans, Asians, Middle Easterners, the Irish and others.” Piss off!

Here we go! It was just a matter of time before The Queen bashing started. This is where the Woke Left deserves derision. In all relevant issues, I would like to find solidarity with the Woke Left, which really is the right’s polemic way of calling out others for being aware and enlightened. That’s what being “woke” means — you’re not just sleepwalking through life like RepubliKKKlans, MAGA morons, evil evangelicals, and QAnon kooks, who are unthinking zombies unwilling and unable to see beyond their own narrow worldview. That being said, can we keep our wokeness to internal politics, please? There is such a thing as being too woke and too hyper-vigilant. This is one such moment. I had to pause watching Ali Velshi on MSNBC because he was using The Queen’s death as an opportunity to remind the world of the British Empire’s historical transgressions.

I always find it funny that, on the one hand, everyone understands and accepts that The Queen is a figurehead of the State with virtually no real power — and it has been that way for hundreds of years, especially after the Glorious Revolution, which solidified the supremacy of Parliament. Yet, on the other hand, people like to blame Queen Elizabeth for the nation’s historical crimes. These are the crimes of Parliament if we must place blame rightfully. And these super woke types apparently hold The Queen responsible for the sins of the heredity into which she was born. This is very rich coming from citizens of America, which prides itself on not holding people responsible for the sins of their parents or ancestors.

And another thing, Attiah points out the “experiences” of “Africans, Asians, Middle Easterners, the Irish and others.” She fails to mention one obvious former colonial possession. Does anyone see it? Anyone at all? Why did she not say Americans? Why does she not call out America as a “tragic” consequence of The Queen and her lineage? It’s selective outrage, of course. Without the British Empire’s colonization of North America, no United States of America would exist. But whatever. Naturally, it’s left off the list because it’s impossible not to call out our own transgressions in doing so. We dare not be hypocrites. You don’t see us calling out the long, complicated historical crimes starting with George Washington every time an American president dies. These woke critics must stop criticizing The Queen and the now-defunct British Empire whenever it’s convenient timing. Perhaps Americans should look in the mirror first before rehashing British history, for there is absolutely one truth that these woke advocates cannot deny: For all of Britain’s historical shortcomings, it has done more to spread democracy (or the seeds of it) around the world than any other nation in history, including America. The road has not been straight, smooth, or perfect. But nothing ever is. In fact, ask yourself this: Is it a coincidence that as the British Empire collapsed, democracies worldwide have been receding while authoritarianism has been ascending?

And one final thought. I wonder how Hong Kong’s citizens feel about the British Empire’s demise. I wonder if they think Britain’s voluntarily relinquishing of that colonial outpost was worth it? Do you think Hong Kong citizens would rather live under self-rule with The King as the head of State or live under the authoritarian regime of China? But whatever! It’s always the Sovereign’s fault, naturally.

A hot-off-the-presses Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey reported in The Hill reports, “58 percent of respondents felt the appointment of a special master to review what the Justice Department took from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence was reasonable, compared to 42 percent who said that the FBI should be trusted to sort out documents with its own filter team. The poll also found 52 percent of respondents believed the Justice Department was using the warrant to carry out a fishing expedition to find other things they could use against the former president, compared to 48 percent who said that they believed officials were really seeking classified documents and presidential records.”

Look, f***tards! What more proof do you need? Does the nation need? No matter how dire the circumstances, no matter how criminal traitor trump’s actions are, and no matter the disaster he leaves in his wake, Americans always give him the benefit of the doubt. They always side with his storytelling. This is why the moron will talk his way right back into the White House as he sweet talks and gins up the crazies and morons of America in all the dark corners of this stupid nation. Welcome to stupid America!

How odd one may think, no doubt, that an American (America more generally — perhaps) should be so fascinated with a monarch such as Queen Elizabeth II. I know for me it is a fascination with the history that The Queen symbolizes. Undeniably, she represents both 1000 years of tradition (and its associated history) and the definition of the modern era (post World War II). If for no other reason, she deserves our respect and admiration for her leadership and service on the world stage — monarchists, non-monarchists, and foreigners alike. God save The King!

Wow! The D.O.J. filed a motion for a partial stay pending appeal on Cannon’s order, and holysh*t it is a total rebuke of the dingbat traitor trump-loving judge’s ruling. I don’t know how many other ways the D.O.J. could have expressed how f***ed up her order was. They spent a good part of the motion explaining, demonstrating, reiterating, and reiterating again that under no circumstances does traitor trump have a personal or executive privilege to classified documents. Full stop! Of course, the government made that same argument in their original briefing, but the idiot judge basically made sh*t up to explain why executive privilege could still apply to traitor trump. She heavily relied on the optics that traitor trump’s reputation would be harmed. Boo-hoo. Of course, all conservatives are snowflakes.

They also questioned her order for the D.O.J. to halt investigating traitor trump for crimes which is implied if they are unable to review the documents. This is my favorite part of the motion: “In United States v. Nixon, the Supreme Court emphasized that privilege claims ‘must be considered in light of our historic commitment to the rule of law’ and ‘[t]he need to develop all relevant facts in the adversary system,’ 418 U.S. at 708-09, and the Court thus held that executive privilege ‘must yield to the demonstrated, specific need for evidence in a pending criminal trial,’ id. at 713. This case does not involve a pending trial, but the need for the classified records is even more clearly demonstrated and specific here: The government is investigating potential violations of 18 U.S.C. § 793(e), which prohibits unauthorized retention of national defense information. The classified records are not merely relevant evidence; they are the very objects of the relevant criminal statute.” In other words, barring review of these documents is not merely a roadblock to investigating a criminal case that can be overcome by relying on other evidence; it is the heart of the case. It’s like asking the F.B.I to investigate a murder, but they can’t use the dead body with a knife in the back in the process. The dead body is evidence of a murder; a murder happened because we see the dead body! To say investigators are blocked from using the dead body is asinine, to say the least. Yet, that’s what Judge Cannon order nonetheless.

The government’s motion just eviscerates the judge’s entire opinion and clearly lays bare her ulterior motive is to help traitor trump delay criminal proceedings. What else are we to glean from her legal “reasoning?” I would hate to think she actually believed her legal logic was sound because that makes dingbat Cannon look even more incompetent. If she genuinely thought what she wrote was a convincing argument, then God help all her future rulings. But I guess this is what America gets (and deserves) when RepubliKKKlans are allowed to install their sycophants on the federal bench — judges who are f***ing clueless. We’ll be living with this disaster called Judge Cannon for 20 years. Oh, well. Welcome to stupid America!

OMG! This is it, isn’t it? I am not ready for this! I was not old enough nor much of an Anglophile or royal watcher at the time of Princess Diana’s death to appreciate its significance. However, being a history lover, the death of Queen Elizabeth II would be a monumental event as she marks the end of a genuinely glorious era. Just think, she is old enough to have aided in the World War II effort to defeat fascism in Europe. Although she was not Queen, she helped the allies defeat Hitler. Think about that! How many veterans of the world’s greatest fight — the fight that defines everything we are living today — remain? How ironic that we are about to lose an icon who fought fascism and reigned during the Cold War as the West fought authoritarianism only to witness fascism rise in America and the West struggling to fight ascending authoritarianism in Europe once again. Queen Elizabeth’s life is an uncanny bookend of an era of history we are about to repeat. God save the Queen for as long as He may.

They want to erase the LGBTQ community from society, and they’re starting with Florida! Full! F***ing! Stop! As Axios reports, “The Miami-Dade School Board late Wednesday rejected a measure recognizing October as LGBTQ History Month, fearing that doing so would violate the state’s Parental Rights in Education Bill, dubbed by critics as ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ Politico reports. … The meeting lasted hours and drew protests from parents, teachers and students. It’s the latest example of how school boards have emerged as ground zero for culture wars, particularly in the Sunshine State. … The 8-1 vote also blocked a proposal that would’ve taught 12th graders about two landmark civil rights cases, including Obergefell v. Hodges, which recognized same-sex marriage.”

It is time for another Stonewall uprising, people! Rise up and arm up, LGBTQ community, before it’s too late. How galling is it that one of the largest school systems in the country cannot teach historical facts (e.g., Obergefell v. Hodges) to high school seniors — some of whom are legal adults, and I’m sure are mature enough to be confronted with the fact that there are gay people in the world. The state has succeeded in suppressing the discussion of LGBTQ issues because snowflake RepubliKKKlans, MAGA morons, evil evangelicals, and QAnon kooks are offended by the gays. This is beyond dangerous. The point is to eventually force all the gays back into the closet and live in the shadows. At worst, Americans want to establish a theocracy, and at best, they are indifferent to it. All this sh*t starts somewhere. They are micro-steps, so few people notice until all of a sudden it’s too late. And don’t rely on the courts to save minorities’ rights, for they have become almost wholly captured by Christo-fascists. Remember: WWSD?

Rise up, my gays! Rise up, for they will not stop at denying you life-saving medication and marriage equality and rejecting your mere existence. No, they will only stop when the killing is complete. Arise! Arise to fight. It is kill or be killed. What side of that equation do you plan to be on?

From The Hill, “President Biden is leading former President Trump by 6 points in a hypothetical 2024 presidential match-up, new polling shows. In a Yahoo News-YouGov poll released Wednesday, 48 percent of registered voters said they’d cast their ballot for Biden’ if the 2024 election were held today,’ while 42 percent said they’d vote for Trump. Biden held a 3-point lead in the hypothetical 2020 rematch in a similar August poll. Trump’s support was steady across both surveys.” This is not bad news, and it’s another poll evincing that Biden continues to trend in the right direction when just six months ago, I could find more polls putting traitor trump even or ahead of Biden. So, I won’t complain (much), but six points are not enough.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but national polls are not national elections. This is where I remind people not to become sanguine when they see Biden on the ascendency; this is not the time for voters, especially dumbass Democrats, to feel relieved and wash their hands of the obligation to vote because Biden’s “got this” after all. No, no! This is where I must also remind readers about the 2020 election. I have stated this many, many times in previous posts, but I will save you the trouble of searching by restating my admonitions here. Biden won the three closest states that put him over the top of 270 electoral votes by fewer popular votes than the three closest (different) states traitor trump won to beat Hillary. Specifically, in 2016, a roughly 70,000 vote difference put traitor trump in the White House. By comparison, in 2020, Biden won by approximately a 30,000 vote difference. Mind you, I am not referring to the national popular vote — Biden and Hillary bested traitor trump by several million in both elections. I’m only talking about the popular votes in the three closest states that determined who won the required 270 Electoral College votes. In short, given everything traitor trump put the country through in his four years, more people wanted four more years of that mess.

To be sure, 2024 will be even closer just because it is, and America is a f***ing mess of stupidity. Moreover, RepubliKKKlans have worked very hard over the last two years to make cheating and stealing the next election easier. It is very possible that at least one state that Biden needed to win in 2020 could be headed by election deniers who refuse to certify a Biden win in 2024, in which case there would be a full-on Constitutional crisis. Who would prevail in such turmoil? One might think it is the incumbent political party in power, but we all know democrats are weak, and I think Biden would defer to a corrupt election loss to “save America” from further turmoil a la Al Gore. The consequence, though, would be the final days of America’s Democracy. So, in the end, I don’t trust any polls, and I am not confident in any margin Biden may have over traitor trump. The only poll that matters is the next presidential election, and even then, the margin of victory must be a blowout lest RepubliKKKlans steal that election and crown king traitor trump. What could possibly go wrong? Welcome to stupid America!

According to CNN, “A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday declared unconstitutional an Affordable Care Act requirement that insurers and employers offer plans that cover HIV-prevention drugs for free, saying it violates the religious freedom of a Christian-owned company.” This is one aspect that I comment on in another post. But this ruling goes further: “As part of the ruling, O’Connor declared unconstitutional part of the broader preventive services mandate, which requires insurers and employers to cover at no charge screenings for cancer and heart disease, as well as programs for smoking cessation, among many others. However, the judge upheld certain free preventive services for children, such as autism and vision screenings and well-baby visits, and for women, such as mammograms, well-woman visits and breastfeeding support programs. O’Connor also upheld the mandate that provides immunizations at no charge for the flu, hepatitis, measles, shingles and chickenpox. At issue is whether the United States Preventive Services Task Force, an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in disease prevention and evidence-based medicine, could determine what general preventive services would be covered for adults under the mandate.”

These conservative judges! I hate them all. But animosity aside, let’s recognize the real aim of this legislation: To kill the ACA. Full stop! Once again, ACA-haters have brought suit to complain and b*tch about some aspect of the law that forces them to care for people. This is just one more back-door attempt to get SCOTUS to rule the law unconstitutional. This will be the fourth attempt. Indeed, I think this time could work. Unlike most previous attempts, SCOTUS is now a 6-3 conservative supermajority. Even though SCOTUS voted in favor of upholding the ACA with a ruling last year, plaintiffs learn something with every case they lose to kill the ACA. At some point, they’ll find the right lawsuit to get before SCOTUS to kill it outright or by a thousand cuts. Sound familiar? Can you say Roe? Mark my words, morons. As with Roe, they are coming to end the ACA because that’s precisely what most Americans don’t want, but this is America where the actual majority of Americas live by minority rule. Whatever. Welcome to stupid America! We never learn.