Another Mass Shooting: Slaughtered in the Name of Freedom

Innocent people are being murdered at record rates because Republicans reject gun safety laws.

Taking an extremist view of freedom where AR-15s are a symbol of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has doomed thousands of Americans to untimely deaths.

The latest example is in Allen, Texas, a state where the governor promotes gun sales and there's been several mass shootings this year.

Eight people died and at least seven others were wounded before a cop killed the shooter in an outlet Mall.

After every one of these senseless murders Republicans call for prayers and act all sanctimonious about the loss of human lives. But they refuse to do anything about it other than to blame the deaths on other factors.

The fact of the matter is Texas has loosened restrictions on gun ownership in recent years during Gov. Abbotts regime. You don't even need a permit to carry a concealed weapon in this Republican bastion. 

The total hypocrisy of Abbott going to the community of Allen today to begin the process of providing hope and healing is as thick as a brick.

Facts:

There have been at least 199 mass shootings (at least 4 or more killed) in the US this year.

There were 3 just on Saturday.

* Five people were murdered at a shooting in Chico, California.

* There was a shooting in Columbus, Ohio leaving three seriously wounded and one dead.

* The shooting at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas where 8 people were murdered and seven wounded.

It was just another day in America where Republicans call for prayers while clinging to their AR-15s (the new symbol for the NRA). 

As it stands, freedom shouldn't mean death but until safety gun laws with teeth are passed no one is safe.

Universal Analytics Sucks!

When Google Universal Analytics first announced they were replacing the current platform and updating to Google Analytics 4, I wasn't too concerned.

It was just an update, right? Google's announcement of their next-generation measurement solution claimed it would automatically update PCs using it and users didn't have to be concerned about the change.

If I was a web developer, there would be no concern. I'm not a computer geek, however. And the instructions to manually update are more confusing than Egyptian hieroglyphics. Despite their claim it's possible I absolutely reject it unless you're a computer wizard.

The roll out started earlier this year. That's about the time my blog stats started to take a dive. I went from 16,000 daily views to less than a hundred by May.

Quote:

"If you haven't already created a GA4 (Don't even ask. That's part of the chaos), we'll create one for you. The new property will be based on the settings in your Universal Analytics property."

In other words, "Don't worry about it."

But then this paragraph threw everything in the wind:

"Until July 1, 2023, you can continue to use (assuming you got a developer to do it) this new version. In the coming months, we'll provide a future date when Universal Analytics properties will no longer be available."

Say what?

After all the crap the damn Google Analytics required to update the data gatherer it's not even going to be functionable later this year!

Then what?

As it stands, I have no idea what I'll do now. My data is already sporadic and unreliable. All I can do is search for another data gathering source and that's not going to easy. Any helpful suggestions would be welcomed.

GOP House Members Hold Auditions for Conspiracy Nuts

This is how the process for investigations goes in Congress these days.

Conspiracy loons line up outside GOP members offices waiting to unveil their latest wacky claims. 

The chances of being interviewed improve if the candidate is enough of a fanatic and his conspiracy theory somehow involves the Biden family.

In the latest example of abusing their power, House Oversight Chair James Comer issued a subpoena to the FBI based upon a secret whistleblower's (no one knows who it is or if there's really one) vague accusations without a shred of evidence.

In reality it's another thinly failed attempt to discredit President Biden and his family.

Ancient MAGA member Chuck Grassley alleged there was a criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.

His accusation was obviously a ploy to distract the public from the fact Republicans are getting ready to financially destroy America at home and abroad.

It's like one of those "Oh Look!" It's a squirrel moments.

The first clue is the GOP has not provided any information on the whistleblower's background, or how the person would have knowledge of an alleged conversation with an FBI source. 

The subpoena is just a sham to go fishing for President Biden's conversations with officials by requesting any FD-1023 forms from June 2020 that contain the word "Biden."

Comer is demanding the FBI respond by May 10th. Comer and Grassley's excuse for the expedition was they weren't sure if the FBI had already investigated the matter internally. 

Anyone who follows politics knows the GOP's ultimate goal is to find a smoking gun that might link the president to the business deals of his son Hunter Biden, who is also under a federal investigation.

I would note that the forms themselves, regardless of content, do not independently amount to evidence of wrongdoing. But that's not really the point.

Comer and Grassley were simply carrying on with another rightwing conspiracy theory to district attention from their own follies and to smear President Biden because they fear him.

As it stands, conspiracy auditions are always welcome in MAGA world.

It's All About Fantasy and Space: 'May the 4th Be with You'

Today is a great day to cosplay.

It's Star Wars Day, a celebration of the famous movie franchise and its many TV spinoffs.

Big news for Star Wars fans today.

Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is being honored posthumously with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Ways to celebrate this celestial collection of movies:

* Try listening to the memorable Star War sound film scores from John Williams on Spotify and Apple Music.

* Watch the films and shows. The franchise consists of a dozen movies (if you include "The Clone Wars'.)

*Take a Quiz: Which Star Wars movie should you watch on Star Wars Day?

* Follow the official "Star Wars" Twitter Account.

* Read this: The Star Wars timeline is confusing. Here's when The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and more take place.

As it stands, May the 4th be with You today.

It's Scary: Watching the News Brings the Blues

Every morning I watch the news while sipping coffee. 

A ritual that goes back to my newspaper days as an editor.

In recent years I've noticed a considerable increase in violence around the country. Since Trump slithered in office and then was defeated running for re-election, the country has split into a deep divide like no other time in our history, with the exception of the Civil War.

Every morning now starts off with gun violence somewhere in the nation. Mass shootings are off the charts. There're more guns than people in America.

This morning...

* Atlanta police are investigating an active shooter at a building in midtown.

* Texas massacre suspect, Francisco Oropesa, is captured.

* Family of bride killed on her wedding day in a car wreck involving a drunken driver.

* What we know about the 7 people found dead at an Oklahoma property.

These kinds of headlines happen daily. Sensational headlines have always been the goal of news outlets, but the balance of violent stories and other stories is out of wack.

The public's growing thirst for violence coupled with the revenue it brings in assures that it will continue. 

Frankly it's depressing seeing these violent stories dominate the national news without a balance of non-violent news. 

There's only one answer to cope with the avalanche of bad news... stop watching, or reading, the news. Sometimes ignorance is a blessing.

The way I see it people aren't being fairly informed anyway. They're being indoctrinated by lies and violence that's so prevalent these days. 

The only news I respect anymore comes from small community newspapers that give the locals stories about where they live. Yes, there's violence at times (bad things do happen), but it's not a daily subject grabbing headlines.

As it stands, if you want to reduce your stress levels consider cutting back on your exposure to bad news. Sounds simple right? It isn't easy to do because habits (good, bad, and the ugly) are hard to break.

Quotes in the News: They Said What?

Under Jobs:

Wanted - FinanceBuzz seeks Fast & Furious Claims Adjustor. The company spokesman said this about the chosen candidate, "They will be asked to estimate the insurance impact of the franchise's reckless driving. The winner will get $1,000 according to the press release.

Under jokes:

President Biden had the audience roaring in laughter during the recent White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. On age... "You can call me old, I call it being seasoned. You say I'm ancient, I say I'm wise. You say I'm over the hill, Don Lemon would say, that's a man in his prime. 

Foot Note, Biden was referring to the former CNN anchor's controversial comments suggesting that woman over 40 might have their better days behind them.

Under Politics:

During this year's CPAC.

Far-right Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, who was under federal investigation connected to sex trafficking probe, will not be charged.

His first words on the CPAC stage: "I think vindication looks pretty good on me."

Under Political Morons

Far-right Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene decided to attack New York City because she had nothing better to do. 

She said, "I compare New York City to what I call Gotham City," told Fox News. "The streets are filthy, they're covered with people basically dying on drugs. They can't even stand up. They're falling over. There's so much crime in the city. I can't even comprehend how people live there."

Under Political Liars

Jim, as in Gym, Jordan blatantly lied during a Congressional debate recently and claimed he never said, "This election is stolen."

Yet he told Fox last December that, "I don't know how you can ever convince me that President Trump didn't actually win this thing based on all the things you see."

He also said, "...that because some Americans believe the election was rigged, we should do everything we can to get to the bottom of their allegations."

The kicker is Jordan knew damn well there were plots by Trump and his minions (he was one of them) to overthrow a duly elected president of the United States. Talk about rigging.

Under Saying One Thing & Doing Another

Elon Musk is a master of saying one thing and then doing another.

Shortly after he acquired Twitter Musk said, "I'm going to establish a content moderation program to advise me on controversial decisions."

However, to no one's surprise Musk never established the committee despite what he tweeted he was going to do.

As it stands, "Life itself is a quotation." - Jorge Luis Borges

What is Wrong with People? Victims are Being Re-Victimized

They called the police five times in ten minutes because a madman with a loaded AR-15 was coming after them.

By the time the police arrived five family members were slain by the next-door neighbor who is still on the run today.

The madman, Francisco Oropeza, entered the family's house and unloaded his Ar-15 into the room filled with a dozen people. Four adults and a nine-year old boy were ruthlessly cut down.

Two of the murdered adults died protecting babies with their bodies. 

What happened to cause this senseless slaughter?

Wilson Garcia the father of the slain boy and one of the adults (who was his wife) told authorities what happened in a chilling recital.

He asked his neighbor to quit firing his AR-15 from the front porch because the noise was going to wake his one-year-old baby. The neighbor ignored him. He called the police five times.

Prior to the mass shooting Garcia told his wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, to "get inside the house. This man has a loaded weapon. My wife told me to go inside because 'he won't fire at me' I'm a woman."

This tragedy only gets worse because the victims were re-victimized by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott who tried to make the story about the fact the victims were illegal immigrants from Honduras. Like it was their fault for even being here.

This is another example of Abbott's hateful mind-set when he sent a public message to his constituents who are already flooded with deceiving, dehumanizing anti-immigrant rhetoric about the mass shooting.

Hard-core Republicans in Texas support Abbott's war on immigrants by enacting draconian measures against them whenever they can.

As it stands, what is wrong with people who treat others like they're not human?

Fear Has Been a Great Motivator Since the Dawn of Civilization

Fear this.

Across the country this month, at least five men have opened fire on someone who's stumbled upon their space.

It seems like there's no longer safe spots in America anymore. Churches were once considered a safe place for all, but now they've been turned into shooting galleries.

Going to walk-in movies used to be a safe place but not anymore after a madman in Aurora, Colorado. slaughtered 12 people and wounded 70.

All of this fear induced carnage is nothing new under the sun. Ancient religions relied on fear to control the masses by telling them they wouldn't go to heaven unless they obeyed the church.

Crusades were launched out of fear of Muslims taking over the Western world. People have been demonizing others that don't think like they do, or who look different, for ages.

Today in America we're divided down the middle between blue states and red states with both creating fear of what the other is doing.

Fear makes people crazy if they carry it around for too long. This past decade has seen a resurgence of fear being spread by extremists who favor having a dictator instead of a constitutional government.

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "There is nothing to fear but fear itself."

Here's 10 things that happen to people who are constantly afraid of something.

1. Inability to sleep. You rarely feel rested or comfortable.

2. Anxiety and panic lead to anxiety disorder and nausea.  

3. It weakens your immune system because the fear response includes an upsurge of adrenaline and long-term exposure weakens your immune system.

4. It sharpens survival instincts. You either run or stay and fight. There's no in-between.

5. Depression. In a nation where depression is an epidemic people are succumbing to the constant fear on a daily basis (thanks to toxic social media).

6. Phobias. If you worry about something long enough, you can develop phobias that morph into conspiracies.

7. Heart damage is one of the most detrimental body effects heighten by years of fear. The organ becomes overworked and stressed from constant bombardment of stress hormones.

8. Lack of confidence. If you're afraid all of the time your self-confidence shrinks to minuscule levels.

9. Fear can make people miss out on things that may be good for them. Among them medical checkups. They often avoid family and friends.

10. Worsens memory. The brain is so busy getting ready to fight or flee that it doesn't record memories as effectively. 

Now that you know the ill-effects of constant fear it may help you resolve your fears knowing the adverse effects it has on your body. 

In a country where fear dominates more facts and truth can combat its ill-effects. But because fear is an ancestral reflex, we'll never be without it. We just have to learn not to let it take over our lives.

As it stands, "Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom." - Bertrand Russell

Gun Deaths in America and How We Learned Nothing Can Be Done About Them

 
As one Republican senator said recently, "There's nothing we can do about the rising gun deaths in this country," and that seems to be the sentiment of most GOP lawmakers.

That frank admission of reality shocked Democrats and the majority of Americans. Sadly, it's true.

There's been more mass shootings than days this year and the outlook is bleak. Between the NRA and gun manufactures they have a stranglehold on greedy Republicans willing to allow the situation to get worse every year.

For every state like Colorado, who just passed four new gun safety laws last week, there's ten giving unfettered access to AR 15s (the mass murder's choice of weapon) and no permits for carrying concealed guns. 

Being anywhere in public these days may mean getting shot at or witnessing gun events in grocery stores or movie theaters. Foreign countries warn their tourists that gun violence in the states is an epidemic and may cost them their lives.

Yesterday on the first day of New Orleans annual Jazz Festival someone was shot dead in front of a restaurant.

And...

Five people were brutally murdered in San Jacinto, Texas. The suspect is still at large.

Here's what the rest of the world sees:

1. The USA is the slaughter capitol of the civilized world far surpassing any other countries.

2. US authorities are being out gunned by criminal elements and lone lunatics.

3. Lawmakers are helpless against the powerful gun lobby and crooked Republicans. 

4. America has more purchased guns than people.

As it stands, historians say Rome fell from within. America is on the same path as we kill each other in the name of money.

Are There Any Trump Lawyers Who Haven't Been Rebuked or Sanctioned by the Courts?

According to at least one political pundit Trump lawyers need to get lawyers for themselves when representing the most corrupt president in American history.

Good advice. Let's see why...

Here's a list of 40 Trump lawyers that have already been singled out for ethics violations. It's peppered with MAGA stars like Rudy Giuliana, John Eastman, and Christine Bobb.

Recently ex-Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis has been censured by the Colorado Supreme Court for violating rules that attorneys must not "knowingly {engage] in any {noncriminal] conduct that involves dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentations." 

She admitted to knowingly making false claims about the election being stolen.

More updates:

Notorious "Kraken" lady Sidney Powell faces defamation lawsuits from Dominion and Smartmatic, a reported federal investigation into her organization's fundraising arm, and sanctions in a case she and her co-counsel brought in Michigan alleging election fraud.

Attorney Alina Habba, who's been representing Trump in most of his post-presidency legal battles was sanctioned multiple times in Trump's failed lawsuit against Hillary Clinton.

She was ordered to pay $50,000 in sanctions and then sanctioned again in January for nearly $1 million payable to Clinton, her campaign and other Democratic operatives - the same punishment Trump faced.

Pending Complaints:

Jeffrey Clark who aided Trump's Big Lie is facing charges from the D.C. Bar that could result in him being disbarred.

Cleta Mitchel, who participated in Trump's "perfect phone call" in which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to overturn the state's election results is in legal jeopardy in AG Fanni Willis's case against Trump and his cronies.

Ethics complaints urging state bars and disciplinary boards to investigate attorneys have been filed and remain pending against multiple lawyers (including Boris Epshteyn) who worked for Trump.

Trump's latest edition to his legal team, Joe Tacopina, has already received warnings from a judge in the E. Jean Carroll case. It's just a matter of time before he gets caught lying in Trump's defense. 

When that happens, he'll be tossed under the bus like the other unfortunate lawyers who risked their careers for a con man.

As it stands, it appears that there will always be lawyers seeking fame and money by defending a traitor and accepting the risk to their careers.

What Would Happen if Trump Suddenly Died?

Trump is no spring chicken.

He's 76-years old, overweight, and doesn't do any form of exercise.

That isn't accounting for the medical conditions he wouldn't share.

His golf game eliminates exercise, especially since he rides his little cart right up to the tee. So...

What would happen if Trump suddenly died of a heart attack?

1. Would all the criminal investigations on him come to a screeching halt? 

2. Would the Republican Party finally grow a spine and go back to being just conservatives and not extremists and cult members?

3. What would happen with the loyal lawmakers and activists who are still MAGA morons? Would they go back to their caves, basements, and other hidey holes?

Post Trump:

The temperature in this country would cool off considerably without the master grifter. Imagine not having Trump's hateful rhetoric blasted on media platforms every day. The nation would collectively exhale.

Russia, China, Iran and North Korea's disinformation outlets would lose their MAGA enablers in the United States.

The war against the LGBTQ community would lose its leader if Trump were out of the picture.

American allies would take a deep breath of relief knowing we're not going to turn into a fascist regime.

Dictators and authoritarians worldwide would declare his passing a dark day.

Conspiracies would be reduced without Trump's constant lies, rants, and grievances. The alternative realities Trump so carefully nurtured would fade away without his toxic input.

America would be free from the biggest threat ever against democracy.

As it Stands, I wouldn't be surprised if there was no state funeral and instead it was declared a national holiday.

Take a Deep Breath... Now Tell Me What Worries You the Most?

Are you worried about the debt ceiling collapsing and the country going into an economic depression like we've never seen before?

Does it keep you up at night? Your concern is certainly justified because the House of Representatives is run by a minority of MAGA morons willing to burn down the country.

But there's a lot of other things in our lives that we worry about. Let's see what you think about the following questions.

1. Are you concerned about climate change?

a. Yes

b. No

c. Who cares?

2.  Are you worried that we're going to have a second Civil War?

a. Yes

b. No

c. Who cares?

3. Which disease worries you the most?

a. Cancer

b. MAGAism

c. Dementia

4. Which GOP lawmaker do you worry about the most?

a. Marjorie Taylor Greene

b. Kevin McCarthy

c. Matt Gaetz

d. Ted Cruz

e. Mitch McConnell

f. Lauren Boebert

g. Andy Biggs

h. All of them equally

5.  Are you concerned people think you're a clown?

a. Yes

b. No

c. I don't care one way or another.

6. Does growing old worry you?

a. Yes

b. No

c. It's better than the alternative.

As it stands, there's a Pandora's Box of reasons why people worry about things in our chaotic culture. This was a tiny sampling.

Is it Time to Ban Viagra?

The rightwing conservatives war on women has gone into overdrive since the Supreme Court took away women's right to their own bodies.

The latest attack has been against using the abortion pill Mifepristone. After 20 years of safe use MAGA nuts are suddenly claiming it's not safe and should be taken off the market.

Okay.

If these extremists want to take a women's right's away, then it's only fair that men should be denied the right to a pill that gives them a hard-on and can also kill them.

Taking Viagra has serious side effects including:

* Cardiovascular events such as: chest pain (angina), heart attacks, and irregular heartbeats (Arrhythmias).

* Severe bleeding (hemorrhage) in the brain, lungs, or eye

* Vision loss

* Hearing loss

* Painful or prolonged erections

* Seizures

*Low blood pressure

* Low blood counts

* Severe allergic reactions

* Sudden death.

When you compare the two pills it's obvious which is the most dangerous pill to the user. Viagra. Despite these facts right-wingers are ignoring the health threats of Viagra and trying to demonize Mifepristone for political reasons.

Notably old white men lawmakers think Viagra is the best thing since sliced bread. Why would they do anything about it?

As it stands, it's time to ban this deadly drug designed to give men woodies because it's dangerous, unlike Mifepristone.

Tucker Carlson and Fox News Part Ways

After the Dominion lawsuit against Fox News and lying hosts cost Rupert Murdock nearly 800 million dollars Tucker Carlson is history.

In a stunning announcement today the network and extremist talking head severed ties. Why? No one knows for sure at this point.

Media experts believe the sudden separation of a top host and the network has come about because of the upcoming Smartmatic lawsuit.

Murdock is trying to cut his losses with Dominion by toning down the lies in anticipation of Smartmatic picking up where Dominion left off.

That parting will not slow down Carlson's lies, racism, and homophobia because right-wing outlets will be chomping on the bit to hire him. Nothing like a flamethrower for the rabid base to get viewership.

I predict he'll go with OAN, Newsmax, or a personal podcast. Maybe more than one of these outlets. He has loyal MAGA nuts willing to follow him into the jaws of hell if necessary.

Whatever Carlson does you can bet he'll continue to double down on misinformation and outright lies. Murdock knows this. So, their parting is no shock to close observers.

As it stands, sadly right-wing outlets are profitable because there's a segment of America that believes their lies and conspiracy theories. 

Way To Go Delaware! 'The First State' Becomes 22nd State to Legalize Recreational Marijuana

Welcome to the 21st century citizens of Delaware.

Lawmakers passed two pieces of legislation last month and sent them to Gov. John Carney, a rare Democrat who has opposed marijuana legalization.

While maintaining a personal opposition to legal marijuana Carney didn't sign or veto the bills. He had a 10-day window to sign, or let the bills pass into law. He chose the latter.

The measures take effect at midnight tonight.

The legislation also provides for amounts of concentrated cannabis and products containing 750 milligrams or less of delta-9-THC. 

This apparently was an act of staying on the fence with independent voters and Republican's thinking of flipping parties while not attacking Democrats.

Personally, I think it's an interesting political ploy that more governors should employ.

As it stands, as an old hippie I can't tell you how good this feels every time another state legalizes marijuana.

Covering Up the Big Cow Kill in Texas

No one knows what started the fire at South Fork Dairy Farm in Dimmitt, Texas on the 16th. It was the deadliest fire involving cows in over a decade.

More than 18,000 cows became crispy critters because they couldn't escape the burning pens. One person was rescued by responders and flown to a Lubbock Hospital.

While authorities say they are still investigating the cause of the fire it obviously involved the mountain of manure on the property that went off like a bomb. Residents in nearby counties could hear the massive explosion. 

It's interesting to note that authorities had recently allowed the dairy to increase its manure production by 50%. They went from producing 11,500 tons to 32,000 tons, and it required doubling their livestock.

Another footnote to the big cow kill, wastewater from the farm drains into the Brazos River Basin. The owners have assured authorities (here's some money) that they aren't aware of any environmental impacts because of it. 

The owners also claimed the explosion didn't cause environmental problems and that they will clean up the mess properly.

I would love to see what the state fire marshal's office concludes caused the fire. There are 13 million cows in the state and 59, 361 cows in Castro County alone where the Fork Dairy Farm is.

Just a hunch, but I suspect no one will get into trouble for what happened. There will be no new environmental regulations passed.

As it stands, after all, we're talking about the Republic of Texas protecting their cash cows while thumbing their noses at the environmental disasters their creating.

Elon Musk Knows All About 'Space Stuff'

Once upon a time there was a wacky billionaire who claimed to know "Space Stuff" despite the fact that he never had any schooling on the subject.

Elon Musk (SpaceX founder) who apparently considers himself an expert on space stuff launched a giant rocket yesterday and it blew up after three minutes in the stratosphere. 

The now defunct rocket set Musk back three billion dollars, but he still claimed it was a success and that he knew it would blow up. That can of logic epitomizes the craziest billionaire in the world.

Musk has been busy causing chaos on the internet after he purchased Twitter. It's become a landing place for extremists again. 

But I digress.

Back to space stuff. Musk has been bragging that he would be the first to learn about Aliens lately. An odd thing to do after your spaceship turned into celestial junk and you're trying to make a point about how savvy you are about all things in space.

The crazy claim was made on Tucker Carlson's show where crazy knows where to go. Musk bragged that if there were Aliens, he would've tweeted it. Thus, there can be no aliens because... well because Musk said so.

I wonder how NASA feels about that since they've been working with Musk's SpaceX company. A NASA spokesman did say while there's been no Alien sightings confirmed there's been a lot of unexplained flying objects spotted recently.

Well, be at ease knowing that if there's ever a confirmed contact with an extraterrestrial alien Musk will tell us all about it in a quasi-documentary praising his skills at space stuff. Personally, I'd be hesitant to believe the lunatic without confirmed evidence.

As it stands, Musk is making the personal appearance tour on right-wing platforms talking about space while his platform -Twitter - is a breeding ground for domestic terrorists.

Deceit of the Highest Order: Getting Elected by a Political Party Then Flipping To the Other Party While in Office

Call them moles.

Call them blue or red dogs. 

Call them for what they are, sneaky power-hungry politicians with no conscience or morals.

A disturbing trend has popped up in the poppy fields of poison politics in the last few years. People running as Democrats are switching parties after getting elected and throwing their constituents to the wind.

One species of Cuckoo birds is known to be "blood parasites" that lay eggs in the nests of other species. When they hatch alongside the other babies, they feed on them.

Like the Cuckoo bird, these secret Republicans running in the other parties' races transform shortly after getting elected under false pretenses.

Recently northern Carolina Democrats called for one of their own to resign, Rep. Tricia Cotham, after she announced she was going to switch her party affiliation on April 5.

On Wednesday April 19 Cotham peeled off her blue disguise and officially joined the ranks of red MAGA followers.

The Mecklenburg Democrat was elected to represent House District 112 after she campaigned as a supporter of abortion rights, health care, gun safety, public education and civil rights.

The immediate effect of Cotham's desertion served as a blow to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, essentially stripping him of his veto power by giving both chambers a narrow supermajority.

Cotham's bait and switch on her constituents reminds me of Kyrsten Sinema's move of flipping to the Independent Party disenfranchising the thousands of Democratic voters who thought she'd serve them well.

In the last few years there's been a migration of Democrats getting elected under false pretenses.

A Short List

Andrew Yang (2021), Malinda White (Louisiana State Representative), Betsy Johnson (Oregon State Senator), Tulsi Gabbard, (former U.S. Representative from Hawaii), "Bulldog" Ben Robinson (former Oklahoma State Senator).

When it comes to flipping parties it's not just Democrats that flip to Republicans.

Republicans switch to Democrats.

Independents switch to Democrats and Republicans. 

Democrats switch to the Independent Party.

Republicans switch to Independents.

And so on.

The common denominator is politicians with no morals, sense of duty to the voters who elected them, and no conscience.

As it stands, there's a reason politics are referred to as a dirty game in search of fame.

Accountability is a Fantasy in America's Judicial System

Accountability in this country is a hit-and-miss (usually a miss) exercise that's left the majority of Americans skeptical about true justice.

After hearing that the Fox/Dominion case was settled out of court the first thing that struck me was that Fox doesn't have to admit it lied on air to its viewers for years.

Fox owner Rupert Murdock shelled out a tiny portion of his wealth to appease Dominion, who were more interested in getting millions than in making a statement about media corruption.

The end result? No accountability.

The ultimate case of no accountability in our judicial system is the Supreme Court's justices. Regardless of what they do there's no recourse.

Clarence Thomas is the alpha dog of no accountability on the bench. His wife Ginni supported a coup attempt against democratically elected Joe Biden, but Clarence has not recused himself from one case about the insurrection.

On top of that he's been exposed as a lapdog for a Republican billionaire who idolizes Adolf Hitler and wants an authoritarian government.

For two decades Clarence and Ginni went on lavish - all paid for - vacations on billionaire Harlan Crow's personal jet and super yacht. The largess didn't end there, however.

Crow purchased three parcels of property that belong to the Thomas family - a house and two empty lots - for $163,000 and Thomas didn't declare the sale on his taxes. His mother - who doesn't pay rent - still lives in the house which is maintained by Crow and has been steadily upgraded over the years at no cost to her.

All of the above are perfect examples of corruption staring at the faces of millions of Americans and making a mockery of the highest court in the land.

Will Clarence Thomas be held accountable? The answer is NO. You can't count on Congress doing anything because they've known how corrupt Thomas is for a long time and fear the consequences of going after him. He's that powerful.

We no longer just have judges. They're all now either a Trump judge, Obama judge, or Biden judge. The concept of neutrality and equal justice is trampled on by political influences.

People talk about no one being above the law but reality disputes that fine notion. Exhibit A - Donald J. Trump.

As it stands, polls will back up the distrust most Americans feel towards our judicial system and especially the Supreme Court. Lady Justice weeps.

Trump Announces Trading Card Grift II is Coming: Here's a Preview

Big news from Trump world!

After the former, twice impeached president who was recently charged with felonies in Manhattan saw how successful his trading card grift went the first time,

(Above- Card #1 features Trump Mug Shot for his passport in prison.)

he doubled down on the con and announced a new set was on the way.

Card #2 is expected to sell out quickly as a limited-edition example of just how proud Trump is of being stupid.

The Trump Library card is another hot card as his MAGA followers look forward to looking at his 3rd grade primer picture books full of racial profiling and homophobic stories.   

The Trump for Life card features his orangeness keeping up the fight to get elected somewhere - anywhere - where he convinces his cell mates to vote for him for President for Life in the cell block.

Owning the Libs card is sure to be a best-seller as Trump shows off his golden throne in his new prison cell.

He further showed his defiance by wearing a suit over his orange jump suit.

The Two-Term President card shows Trump smiling as he brags about serving two terms in prison.

He's already made advance preparations for his cell and hired a contractor to paint it orange and gold.

The entire set consists of 10 cards (that's how high Trump can count).

As it stands, I'll never understand how a so-called billionaire needs money from some of the poorest people in the country to defend himself in court.