Two Americas: Which One Do You Live In?

In Red America people don't get vaccinated against COVID-19. 

They also refuse to wear face masks to stop the spread of the virus indoors. 

In Blue America the majority of the people get vaccinated and wear masks to protect themselves and others.

In Red America people are dying at a higher rate than last year.

In Blue America less people are dying of COVID-19 this year.

In Red America Trump is still the president.

In Blue America Biden is the president.

In Red America some states continue to try to overthrow the results of the 2020 election by holding bogus "forensic audits."

In Blue America people have moved on, accepting the results of one of the safest presidential elections ever held.

In Red America people don't think women have the right to make decisions about their own bodies.

In Blue America women have the right to decide what they want to do with their own body.

In Red America people weaponize their religious beliefs by getting involved in attack politics. Think Christian nationalists.

In Blue America all religions are welcome to practice their beliefs without fear of persecution.

In Red America climate change is a liberal hoax perpetuated by democrats.

In Blue America people are addressing climate change through education and legislation.

In Red America states are enacting laws to suppress voter turnout in advance of the 2022 midterms.

In Blue America people are fighting to protect everyone's right to vote in a fair election.

So...

which America do YOU live in?

There's No Defense For Trying To Destroy Democracy

Watching the evidence mount up weekly that Trump actually attempted a coup should concern every American. 

We almost lost our freedoms under what would have been an authoritarian regime if Trump's desperate scheme to steal the election worked. 

But it didn't.

However, there's still Senate Republicans defending Trump's attempt to overthrow our government with ridiculous reasons why he's innocent of such a dastardly deed.

The latest - and perhaps the stupidest - is Trump's efforts failed so let's just pack that accusation up and go home. Basically the equivalent of saying attempted murder isn't a real crime.

In case you've been out of country or in a cave, Trump is stilling trying to steal the 2020 election by encouraging his enablers in state positions to conduct sham audits, and to suppress voter turnout in the 2022 midterms with Jim Crow laws. 

The long game is the 2024 presidential election, where Trump runs again in the hope he's contaminated the whole electoral system in his favor.

Before getting too worried about Trump running again in 2024, it's important to understand he might not qualify to run again if he's convicted of committing any federal crimes. 

The multiple pending court cases against Trump are serious. The idea that he could end up behind bars is not as far-fetched as it was a year ago. A lot can happen in three years.

There's no excuse for trying to dismantle our democracy. 

Two hundred-and-fifty years ago we got rid of a king. 

The last thing we need now is another mad king.

Memo To MTG: Invoking Nazis and the Holocaust For Shock Value Is Sick

To: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

Constantly invoking Nazi atrocities by comparing them to liberals and democrats, just shows how stupid you are.

I suspect you skipped your history classes. I also suspect the only reason you cry Nazi (like the little boy who always cried Wolf) is to get attention.

There are better ways than that to get people to notice you. I should say, to get sane people's attention. I know. You could give a shit. It's the Trumplicans and other assorted right-wing lunatics that you want to keep happy.

If that means lighting fires, then so be it. Screw democracy in the name of Trump. Laws don't apply to you. You're golden in GOP insane asylums across the country. 

You're fever dream claims, like last May's accusation that House members who made you wear a mask on the chamber floor were comparable to Nazis sending Jews to death camps firmly established your brand as an extremist. And clueless.

Yeah...you backed off after that rant and even apologized when Republicans were calling you out for being an asshole. That moment of shame didn't last long.

Here you are again. 

Acting stupid to stir the White Supremacist's up with some more raw meat. It gets them hot. Especially when you're holding a semi-automatic AR-15 in videos. 

But you know that.

So, you pulled the Nazi card again in a recent interview on Real America's Voice (a right wing platform) when you said authorities arresting Jan. 6 rioters were like the Gestapo going after innocent patriots.

I get it. Your shameless and you'll continue to count on crying Nazi until the sheep go home, or you get arrested.

What you should do is obvious...

Resign immediately and check into a rehabilitation facility specializing in Nazi-loving addicts who don't think their sick.

Why AT&T Sucks: It Gave Conspiracy Theory Lunatics a Platform

The world's largest communications company created an alt-right platform - OAN - that is the main propaganda outlet for Republicans, surpassing Fox News.

If it wasn't for OAN promoting conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and the 2020 presidential election we might not be in the position we are - fighting fiction with facts on a daily basis.

How complicit is AT&T?

Let's put it this way; 90 percent of OAN's revenue come from a contract with AT&T-owned television platforms, according to a report released by Reuters.

Court records reviewed by Reuters also cite an alleged promise to "cast a positive light" on AT&T during news programs at a time when AT&T was seeking federal approval to acquire DirectTV.

The deal was AT&T agreed to carry OAN on DirectTV as long as it promoted them too. It was a shady deal that effectively sanitized the disinformation OAN promoted.

The upshot of this deal made in hell, is we're stuck with one of the biggest conspiracy outlets in the nation thanks to AT&T.

OAN founder and chief executive Robert Herring Sr. has testified that the inspiration to launch OAN in 2013 came from AT&T executives.

OAN's influence rose in late 2015, when it began covering Trump rallies live, when most of the media discounted him as a celebrity longshot.

With Trump asking followers to watch OAN, the alt-right channel took off and grew with millions of new viewers. Even after Trump was run out of office by voters, OAN continues to promote his lies - especially the Big Lie.

Related: Giuliani Admits Trump Campaign Had Complete Editorial Control over OAN Reporter

Bleacher Brawls, Anti-Vaxxers Lying and Dying, and a Pissed Off Public

Yesterday's viral fight in the bleachers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia during the Chiefs and Eagles game is a reflection of the senseless anger sports fans have nowadays.

Wait! You say. This type of deplorable behavior is not unknown in ball parks. It's been happening for decades, just not as common as it is now.

Since the fans returned amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they have a lot less patience...with anything. The reality is increased violence is becoming common place in sports today.

Watching anti-vaxxers bully school board members, teachers, and parents has become a fulltime occurrence across the country. 

It's a far cry from Jeannie C. Riley's iconic Harper Valley PTA song that pointed out hypocrites in the school system. Now fistfights and raging parents are all the norm.

The public is pissed off. Doctors, nurses, teachers, school superintendents, firefighters, grocery store workers, restaurant workers, and politicians are melting down because the pandemic turned out to last much longer than anticipated.

Patience is no longer a virtue. People want things to return to "normal," but that's not going to happen as long as a segment of our society plays stupid and refuses to get vaccinated.

Because the virus still lingers in every state the prospect is poor for a nationwide recovery from the worst pandemic to ever hit this country.

People are pissed off at people who deny science and use quack cures like horse-de-wormer and bleach to fight the virus. There's a plague of misinformation on social media that doesn't look like it'll ever end.

The crazies are taking over by denying realities like Trump won the 2020 election, and by enacting voter suppression laws. 

The chance that you'll witness some form of violence has been greatly enhanced because of all these angry people, regardless if it's at a restaurant, store, or sports event.

A Few Words of Advise About Anger

As Daniel Webster once said, "Keep cool; anger is not an argument."

A witty Mark Twain wrote, "Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured."

Grace Kelly's take, "Getting angry doesn't solve anything."

Amen.

The Supreme Court's Grift Is Making It Easier For The GOP To Strike Down Fair Election Results

The Supreme Court is involved in a right-wing grift which aims to upset duly elected politicians, and to water down our voting rights to favor Republicans in upcoming elections.

Simply put, the ultra-conservative Federalist Society has stacked the court with Trump and McConnell's help. The Big Goal - spawned from the Big Lie -has been to undermine our electoral system, which in turn undermines democracy. 

The beginning of the end of justice in the highest court of the land can be traced to McConnell's obstruction of Merrick Garland while Obama was still in office.

But it was Trump who installed the partisan trio during his regime (Gorsuch, Barrett, and Kavanaugh), who paved the way towards this current corrupt court.

For example, Neil Gorsuch has launched direct attacks on the free press - an institution that is essential to any democracy. He, along with Clarence Thomas, have explicitly called on the court to strip away First Amendment rights from journalists.

I still remember when Gorsuch went on a "thank you tour" rewarding Republican officials and activists who gave him the lifetime job. 

After a couple of speeches at Trump's hotel in DC and another one at the University of Louisville's McConnell Center, he took a victory lap at the Federalist Society's annual convention.

Brett Kavanaugh shouldn't have been appointed, but Trump and cronies hid the salacious episodes in his past during a hurried confirmation.

In addition, evidence has just surfaced that Kavanaugh lied repeatedly under oath to the US Senate Judiciary Committee in his 2004 and 2006 confirmation hearings to serve on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit and in his 2018 confirmation hearing to serve on the Supreme Court.

I find it amusing and disgusting that these same judicial grifters are complaining about the media that's been discovering how corrupt they are.

As for the American public, the Supreme Court is being viewed as a partisan GOP flunky willing to overturn long-established laws to please Trump and his crooked cohorts. It's never polled lower than it does today.

Disapproval of the high court just hit a new high of 53 percent. The recent plunging approval for the court comes on the heels of controversial "shadow docket" emergency rulings - without hearings or significant internal argument.

The plain fact is not since Bush v. Gore has the public perception of the court's legitimacy seemed so seriously threatened.

As The Stomach Turns: Republican Rhetorical Games Keep Setting New Lows

There's no middle ground anymore.

Either you make apologies for the Big Lie and minimize the insurrection, or you recognize the fact that Trump almost pulled off a coup and is still trying to derail democracy.

This latest game of seeing how low the Republican party can go has reached a fever pitch.

By trying to claim the assault on the Capitol was nothing more than patriots protesting, the GOP has descended into another reality benefiting a faded reality star who won't admit he lost the 2020 election.

When you hear Republicans use words like "integrity," it simply means the opposite of the commonly held definition in American English.

Make no mistake, those rhetorical games are precursors to try and steal the next election.

The sniveling cowards in the party think Trump will steal the next election, opening the door to plundering the government if they stay loyal. 

Trump's minions will continue to gaslight, deflect, and outright lie about what happened on Jan. 6 because they don't have a problem with having a dictator in charge of the nation.

Fascism has grown like malignant mushrooms during Trump's regime. 

The GOP's embrace of authoritarian leadership should be enough to turn any real American's stomach that believe in freedom and democracy.

The only way to defeat Trump (again) and the lowlifes that crawl behind him, is with the truth and hard facts. We'll be seeing both in the days ahead as the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 exposes the scheme to overthrow our government.

The Good News and the Bad News About Everything

Let' start with some good news:

Scientists found a new species of lizard (left) in Peru, and promptly named it a tongue-twister; the Lioaemus warjantay. Anytime there's a new species discovered its a plus for researchers.

On the flip side:

Say goodbye to the ivory-billed woodpecker, along with 22 other species of birds, fish, mussels and other wildlife that have been officially declared extinct. 

Under Good News:

The Pope set a good example for millions of Catholics by getting vaccinated and encouraging others to do the same.

The Bad News:

Unvaccinated healthcare worker called the Pope a "hypocrite" for getting the shot.

Some Good News:

No one in America has died of rabies in over 70 years.

On The Flip Side:

An Illinois man was bitten by a rabid bat last month...and died.

Under Good News:

YouTube is cracking down on the numerous anti-vaccine videos on it's platform by banning major accounts. #1 internet anti-vaxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is among the most egregious accounts banned.

The Bad News:

It won't make Kennedy, and the other anti-vaxxers, stop spreading their deadly misinformation on other internet platforms.

More Tech Good News

Twitch announced that it's rolling out phone-verified chats, a new safety feature designed to get harassment, malicious users and "hate raids" under control.

The Flip Side:

Although live user attacks are a problem on Twitch, bot attacks are a ferocious problem on the platform without a simple solution.

That's all for today folks. Thanks for stopping by.

Two Americas: A Divide That Kills Facts and People With Impunity

As the country faces a plague of unvaccinated people it's apparent the deaths aren't going to stop soon.

We may never get over the coronavirus that has already taken nearly 700,000 American lives. 

The odds are against it when the nation is divided along political lines so toxic that dying from the virus is almost a badge of honor among Republicans who worship Trump.

CNN's Chris Cillizza recently reported just how bad the situation is in an article titled, "We've Reached the 'Red Covid' Phase of the Pandemic' 

In it he said, "The result of all of this misinformation and politicization of Covid-19 is stark. The 12 states with the highest case rate for every 100,000 people are all run by Republican governors. 

The 13 states with the highest hospitalization rate per 100,000 residents are all run by Republican governors. The 15 states with the highest percentage of deaths per 100,000 are all run by Republican governors."

David Leonhardt of the New York Times dubbed the vaccination rate disparity "Red Covid" for obvious reasons. It's the red states that are fighting CDC guidelines to staying safe.

Leonhardt succinctly summed up the current situation;

"The political divide over vaccinations is so large that almost every reliably blue state now has a higher vaccination rate than almost every reliably red state. 

Because the vaccines are so effective at preventing serious illness, Covid deaths are also showing a partisan pattern. Covid is still a national crisis, but the worst forms of it are increasingly concentrated in red America."

That troubling statement is backed up with the latest data from Gallup.

Thanks to Trump and the right-wing media like Fox and Newsmax, pandemic misinformation continues to be spread like toxic mold with no end in sight.

It's stunning to think that Republicans who are getting sick - and dying - are doing it for political reasons. Facts are discarded like trash in a heap of lies. 

As Chris Cillizza summed it up;

"This isn't complicated. We are not just divided along political lines now. Our political divisions have created two entirely different Americas:

One in which the vast majority of people are vaccinated and hospitalizations are low, and the other where the coronavirus continues to ravage the population."

Was Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito a Key Player in The Jan. 6 Insurrection?

I'm looking forward to Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito's reply to Sidney Powell's claim that he was going to help decertify the 2020 election.

Powell's latest batshit crazy assertion would normally defy belief, but in these chaotic times anything is possible.

She claimed that as a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 her team was seeking an emergency injunction to prevent the certification of Biden's win.

Powell said that "We were filing a 12th Amendment constitutional challenge to the process that the Congress was about to use under the Electoral Act provisions that simply don't jive with the 12th Amendment to the United States Constitution. And Justice Alito was our circuit justice for that."

Was Alito even aware Powell was throwing out his name as a co-conspirator in the coup attempt? If he was, then we have a real constitutional crisis on our hands that dwarves anything we've seen yet.

It's unthinkable. The idea that Trumpism has infected the Supreme Court is horrifying, if true. Maybe he'll speak up today as his name is trending on Twitter.

According to Powell's feverish ranting the idea was to DELAY the electoral college certification to give time for Alito to intervene on the legal challenge brought by Rep. Louis Gohmert.

So what happened?

Powell alleged that Nancy Pelosi learned about her plot and reconvened Congress to get the vote before Alito could issue an injunction.

Because nearly every word out of Powell's gaping trap is a lie, it may take a while to get to the bottom of this latest bogus attempt at undermining our democracy.

Georgia Is On Trump's Mind: Think Tank Says He Could Be Charged With Multiple Crimes

Trump can't let go of Georgia.

He was in the Peach Tree state yesterday holding a rally and repeating the Big Lie when a report was released by the Brookings Institution, a leading think tank in Washington DC, that suggested he could be tried for multiple crimes there.

Another blow to his Big Lie was delivered with the results of the bogus Arizona audit which showed Biden had won with more votes than initially reported.

Just last week Trump was still pushing for a re-certification of votes in Georgia by openly imploring Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn Biden's win.

Trump faces numerous lawsuits but the investigation into his actions in Georgia may be the one that hurts him the most.

According to the report the charges include criminal solicitation to commit election fraud; intentional interference with performance duties; conspiracy to commit election fraud; criminal solicitation; and state RICO violations.

The report also noted that criminal liability could extend to some Trump allies, including Rudy Giuliani.

The probe into Trump's actions began in February when Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, launched a criminal investigation into Trump's conduct relating to the election.

One of the most dangerous parts for Trump in this investigation is he's NOT going to be able to use executive privilege to claim immunity.

That's because Trump's actions were "well outside the scope of his official duties" according to the analyses.

At this point in time there's good reason for Trump to have his mind on Georgia; going to prison is a real possibility.