Oregonian Resident Speaks Out About Never-Ending Protests in Portland

I love living in Oregon, but I wouldn't even consider moving to Portland.

Portland in recent years resembles a third world country with nightly protests over everything you can imagine.

My son and his girlfriend moved up to Portland last year. They're leaving the city in another week with no regrets. 

I'm sick of turning on the local and national news and seeing rioters looting and burning in the streets. All I see is anarchy. 

It's not that I don't think Americans should protest inequalities in the treatment of African-Americans.

But there's a big difference in the George Floyd protestors, and anarchists. Portland has become the home of anarchists and extremists on both sides of the political spectrum.

Sadly, the city hasn't been able to get a handle on the nightly attacks. I can't understand why. What other city in the nation has the bad reputation that Portland has for regular nightly riots?

I'm all for protesting against police brutality and human rights. As long as the protests are peaceful. 

Portland officials appear to have no answers to the problem so local residents have to deal with a never-ending series of protests.

Like I said, Oregon is a great state. Portland however is a text-book example of everything that can go wrong in our society.

New Oklahoma Law Makes Protestors Fair Targets For Motorists

In the aftermath of the George Floyd protests nationally, Republicans across the country are making it more difficult for Americans to assemble in protests.

After Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a controversial "anti-riot" bill which increases penalties for protestors two days ago, Oklahoma followed with their own bill to hinder protestors.

Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt signed (HB) 1674, designed to discourage protestors, yesterday.

The one thing that really stands out is the tacit okay for motorists to plow through crowds of protestors if they feel threatened in order to "protect themselves."

The new law says as long as the driver is exercising "due care" they can plow through a crowd of protestors without worry of being arrested and punished.

I wonder what the bill's definition of "due care" is? The devil lies in the details.

Democratic state officials believe the bills are designed to curb the right to protest, as well as an offset accountability for violence against protestors and people of color.

It's readily apparent that Republicans are bad losers. They made up a Big Lie about voter fraud when Trump lost the election, and now they're taking measures to curtail protestors rights. 

Republicans have become the "enemy within" with tactics like this. Denying reality and the will of the majority has become the GOP's 21st Century mission. 

Back In The Public Eye: Ben Carson Pushes Hydroxychloroquine

The man who once said the Pyramids were built to store grain is back in the limelight with another ridiculous claim: Hydroxychloroquine should be used to treat COVID-19 patients.

Ben Carson's hold on reality has always been tentative but when he took his clown show to Neil Cavuto the other night, his claim was bluntly rebuffed by the Fox News host.

That in itself was amazing. Truth seldom comes from the mouths of Fox hosts. It goes to show just how crazy the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is.

Carson, like his idol Trump, has trouble with telling the truth and believing in science.

His frail argument is the public should be allowed to choose if they want to shoot bleach into their veins. 

Carson doesn't seem to understand the CDC is about saving lives, not taking them.

Denying reality comes far too easy for the former neurosurgeon who caught Trump's attention and was put into a position to wreck havoc with his lies.

The bottom line is that vaccines are working. Period. End of argument. There's no need to committee suicide because of a conspiracy theorist who needs to brush up on his history.

Trump's Walk of Shame Exposed: DHS IG Blocked Probe on Lafayette Sq. Protest

When Trump decided to walk from the White House to stage a photo op at St. John's Episcopal church last June he set the stage for his own electoral defeat in November.

His walk of shame across Lafayette Square, accompanied by top cabinet members, fanned the flames of protestors nationwide.

And now we know Trump blocked an investigation into the role of the Secret Service in clearing Black Lives Matter from the square.

The coward who blocked the investigation, DHS IG Joseph Cuffari, refused to investigate the Secret Service's involvement because he didn't want to anger Trump.

Cuffari also blocked an investigation into whether the Secret Service had violated federal protocols aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus among employees.

House Homeland Security Chairman, Bennie Thompson, called on Cuffari to testify at a Congressional hearing today.

He has a lot to answer for, and not just the two investigations under way. Cuffari's reputation as a Trump enabler has been well documented.

Today's hearing will hopefully bring some accountability to the DHS IG office.

Memo To Republicans: Don't Assume Kissing Trump's Ring Will Get You Elected, or Re-Elected

It's a mystery to me how you Republicans still show fealty to a traitor and enemy of democracy.

Apparently most of you who are running for the first-time, or up for re-election in 2022, feel that by licking Trump's shoes you have a winning campaign strategy. 

I think you're all wrong.

Consider. 

By next year Trump could be behind bars. With serious court cases pending in New York and Georgia, Trump may find himself wearing his favorite color - orange. (It does match his face. Give him that.)

I just can't see your candidates holding virtual rallies from a prison. It defies the imagination. Trust me. It's a bad look.

What if he doesn't go to prison?

In the first place, he's going to be busy trying to stay out of jail well past 2022. It might be 2023-24 before Trump begins his tour of duty in the federal penal system.

In the second place, there's going to be a shit storm and you're going to panic as Trump is drug through the courts like a bad habit. His endorsement will be MORE TOXIC than every before.

Think how the press is going to play up the drama of a sociopath finally facing justice? It might not look good holding his tiny hands. 

What You Republicans need to do is to gather together your warring factions and count how many of your collogues - and other conservatives - have been tossed under the bus by the mercurial Trump in the last four years?

Once you evaluate the facts you might feel foolish enough to continue worshiping his Orangeness, or you may have an epiphany and deny his deity. In which case, you could turn to taking care of your constituents, and not a hate monger.

This gentle warning comes with the hope that there is still some sanity in what use to be the Party of Lincoln. 

Mystery Solved: Republican Book-Buying Scheme Boosts Bestseller Lists

When I read that Ted Cruz's latest book was a on the way to becoming a bestseller, I knew something wasn't right.

How many times have we heard Cruz say anything that makes sense or is noteworthy in his infamous career?

A government watchdog organization, the Campaign Legal Center, filed complaints last week with the Federal Election Commission and the Senate Ethics Committee about the manner in which Cruz's campaign aides went about bulk buying and promoting his book, "One Vote Away: How a Single Supreme Court Can Change History."

The group said Cruz's campaign committee effectively converted campaign contributions to Cruz's personal enrichment, an illegal practice.

It turns out that Republican lawmakers have made a habit of bulk buying their own books as a way to earn outside income. This has been going on for years.

Apparently these lawmakers believe they aren't being paid enough and need to make more money by abusing their positions.

Members of Congress are forbidden from earning more than $29,595 in income beyond their federal salaries.

How are they getting away with this abuse?

Simple. Book advances and royalties are specifically exempted from these limits.

Obviously, this deceitful practice needs to change.

My Sunday Epiphany Revealed

Today I'm sharing a conclusion I came to after 70-years of rambling around this planet like a junkyard dog seeking deliverance.

No matter what all of the great religions claim there is one irrefutable fact - there is no evidence we go to heaven or hell. Or anywhere for that matter after the lights go out permanently.

I know. I know. Every religion claims there is a heaven and hell, but - and this is a big but - you have to have faith and believe. 

Our mortal lifespan is spent seeking heaven and other delights even as we live in hells of our own making. This is it folks.

The here and now is either a miserable life or a glorious one depending upon our environments. 

There are gray areas, but when it comes right down to it there is no proof of life after we exit this one.

It's a one-time ride that all passengers don't always take advantage of. Live, and let live. This tour is too short to waste time hating each other.

BREAKING NEWS - Crazy Caucus Cancelled By GOP

            Marjorie Taylor Green poses beside alleged Jewish Space Laser

NEWS UPDATE on this story 

The crazies in the House of Representatives are forming a hate caucus under the leadership of Marjorie Taylor Green.

Marjorie Taylor Green's goal was to unite the far-right wing and to promote "common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions."

PLANS FOR NEW CRAZY CAUCUS SCRAPPED AFTER BLOWBACK FROM GOP

Fliers were floating around Washington DC like omens of bad fortune outlining a nativist argument warning that "mass immigration" poses a threat to the "long-term existential future as a unique country with a unique culture and a unique identity."

The motley crew joining the group consists of the far-right fringes of the GOP. Their rhetoric is designed to grab headlines.

The core policy of the proposed caucus is a message of protecting the American identity and "uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions."

That hateful rhetoric ties into a toxic argument with a racist legacy that immigrants are "replacing" Americans who were born in the United States.

The plan to form the hate caucus will be announced soon by one of the goons who will tour far-right media platforms touting it.

Ironically Green is calling it the #AmericaFirst Caucus. In other words, The Trump Re-Do Caucus.

On the bright side, not all Republicans are buying into joining Green's crazy caucus.

(SEE LINK ABOVE)

GOP conference chair Liz Cheney, the No.3 House Republican, responded to the reporting about the new caucus in a tweet.

"Republicans believe in equal opportunity, freedom, and justice for all. We teach our children the values of tolerance, decency and moral courage," she wrote. 

"Racism, nativism, and anti-Semitism are evil. History teaches we all have an obligation to confront and reject such malicious hate."

Enough said.

Another Mass Shooting: 8 People Murdered - Don't Expect Them to Stop Either

Eight innocent people were murdered by a shooter who killed himself after the slaughter in a FedEx Facility in Indianapolis last night.

Ho hum. Mass shootings are commonplace - 46 in 30-days - since COVID restrictions began lifting. Cries for gun safety laws fall on the deaf ears of Republicans who value weapons more than human lives.

President Biden signed some executive orders for gun safety, but they have no teeth and the next administration could dissolve them in a heartbeat.

Every poll I've seen about the need for gun safety regulations shows massive support among the public - up to 80 per cent wanting changes.

But here we sit. Watching another life drama unfold. Listening to grieving families. Listening to authorities who are helpless to do anything about the senseless mass murders.

We can expect conservatives to call for prayers for the victims, and that's it. Nothing actionable because they're in the thralls of the NRA and the money it gives Republican lawmakers.

I'm sick and tired of listening to people using the 2nd Amendment as an excuse to stop any gun safety laws. It's been misused and abused by gun-toting extremists for decades.

I wish I could say lawmakers will do something about this latest mass slaying, but they won't. They can't. That's not the way our broken system is dealing with this scourge.

So. Ho hum. Another mass murder. Another day in America.

Scathing IG Report on Jan.6 Insurrection Describes Lack of Police Preparation, Response

It's crystal clear that the Capitol Hill police knew a whirlwind was coming at them on Jan. 6th.

Michael Bolton, internal inspector general for the Capitol Police, didn't mince words in his report to Congress, which was released yesterday.

Today there's a Congressional hearing on what went wrong that fateful day when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to disrupt democracy.

Lawmakers were given the scathing 104-page report prior to it's release to prepare their questions.

Bolton boldly stated that the Capitol Police failed to prepare properly even though they had intelligence warnings that Trump supporters who believed his claims about the election being stolen posed a threat.

The report revealed that the Police were told to refrain from using their most aggressive crowd control tools such as stun grenades three days before the riot.

Here's the Heart of the Matter

Who ordered the Capitol Police not to use some of their most powerful tools and techniques against an expected crowd of protestors?

There were a multitude of missteps that left the force unprepared, according to the report, which also cited riot shields shattering upon impact (not properly stored), expired weapons that couldn't be used and an intelligence division that had few set standards.

A clue to why the police response was so slow lies with Pentagon officials who were concerned about the optics of sending out the National Guard.

That stunning viewpoint came from Army Staff Secretary Walter Piatt who said "we don't like the optics" when responding to pleas for help."

Hopefully, everyone will learn from the mistakes made and we'll find out who was really behind the ;ack of response in the nation's first coup attempt.

3 Republican Stooges Seeking Revenge Introduce Bill To Penalize MLB

Three of the biggest stooges in the Republican Party - Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, and Josh Hawley - introduced an anti-trust law against Major League Baseball yesterday.

It was an act of revenge for MLB moving the All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver because the league took a stand against disenfranchising voters recently in Georgia.

New laws were enacted because the Republicans lost the state and two senate seats in 2020. So they embraced the "Big Lie" to demand change in voting laws under the guise of protecting voters.

What's really funny is the three stooges sudden interest in anti-trust laws. Since when do they give a shit about that?

How long has baseball been around? And now suddenly there's a problem?

Corporations and Republicans have been bedfellows for over 100 years. This little spat may go further, or it may just fade away. 

By the way, I doubt they'll get their wish list in Congress where the idea will fall flatter than Hawley's head.

Over 100 CEOs of the country's biggest businesses met last weekend to discuss how to handle the misinformation Republicans have been spreading to disenfranchise Democratic voters in 48 states.

When Mitch McConnell threatened CEOs last week he opened up a door that may lead to financial grief for the RNC. 

I'm talking about the millions of dollars in donations those CEO's have been pouring into Republican coffers for decades. You'd think McConnell knows this...

and now the three stooges have stepped up to fire the opening salvo of a war Republicans can't win.