America's Biggest Problem is Voters Don't Hold Politicians Accountable

I've always contended that the only profession worse than being a lawyer is a politician.

Especially a morally corrupt one (are there any other kinds left?) that divides the country and pushes outright lies that seek to destroy democracy and install an authoritarian regime.

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Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation." - Henry Kissinger

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Most politicians are (at the very least) creatures than can be bought at the right price. Look at the news on any given day and count the elected clowns being tried for corruption in courts across the land.

Once a politician is elected to an office, they seem to get collective memory lapses about what they promised the people who voted for them.

Politicians are herd animals that need to be led around by their nose by power hungry leaders with no legislative agendas to serve Americans.

When was the last time you feel like you got what you voted for at all levels of government?

On voting.

All Americans need to vote to protect our freedoms. Nearly half of them don't vote and therein lies the problem. A lack of true representation of our entire population in elections.

I cringe when I hear reasons like apathy and no trust in the functions of our democracy are leading reasons why so many don't vote. It's probably true. What a sad statement.

In order to turn this around voters need to start vetting candidates and not just blindly follow a party line. The fact that insurrectionists are now lawmakers in Congress shows that the system is broken.

The only way to hold a politician accountable is to not vote for them. Picking a complete asshole in a partisan vote (and not vetting them) results in electing lawmakers like George Santos. 

In all fairness, it's no easy task picking out a candidate who will actually serve their county, state, or nation.

People will have to be determined to make positive choices (like disqualifying candidates with a criminal background) to infuse some credibility into the electoral system.

As it stands, like William E. Simon once wrote, "Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote." 

Wow! GOP Congressman Proposes Making the AR-15 the 'National Gun of America'

Why do we need a National Gun?

We don't. But gun-crazed Alabama Representative, Barry Moore, thinks we do and unveiled a bill in the House Friday to put it alongside some of the nation's most coveted symbols, such as the US flag that was approved in Congress in 1777.

As of this post the House has not received the full text but I expect it to be warmly received by the MAGA extremists - a small group of crazies pulling the strings of their puppet House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The bill will go nowhere, but Moore will get extra credit for riding the NRA bandwagon that pays MAGA minions bigly money to subvert the will of a majority of Americans who want to ban AR-15s.

Even if the bill gets past the House, it will die a quick death in the Senate. The only thing achieved by this waste of taxpayers' money is gun manufacture's sales of AR-15s will skyrocket. 

The bill's intent to normalize semi-automatic weapons and make them a symbol of America is disgusting, demeaning, and destructive.  

America has more guns than people. Americans have more guns than any country in the world. The US lead the world in mass shootings using AR-15s (the choice of domestic terrorists).

Can you imagine the message it would send to other nations? Having a National Gun for a symbol of America is every MAGA morons fever dream. It's simply not a good look when talking about peaceful democracies.

Right-wing domestic terrorists and lawmakers wouldn't be satisfied even if the unthinkable happened and the bill passed. They'd want new national symbols like bazookas, grenade launchers, silencers, bump stocks, and automatic pistols.  

As it stands, the rest of the world would see a country worshipping a semi-automatic weapon responsible for the slaughter of thousands of Americans every year... and be convinced we're all crazy.

Disasters Once Brought Americans Together: Now Their Political Footballs

It's been almost three weeks since a train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, sparking an ecological disaster and a political firestorm for right-wingers.

Growing up I witnessed hundreds of manmade and natural disasters and in the majority of the cases all Americans came together in a unified effort to provide help to the state and local residents involved.

That changed in 2017 under the Trump regime. I began to notice that disasters became political footballs for the Republican party.

While East Palestine residents suffer from the effects of contaminated water, earth, and air Trump slithered into town a couple of days ago to make some political hay for his failing campaign for the presidency in 2024.

Meanwhile the US Environmental Protection Agency has ordered Norfolk Southern (the company responsible) to handle and pay all necessary cleanup after the derailment led to an intentional release of vinyl chloride to help avoid a more catastrophic blast.

The effects have been devastating as residents reported a number of ailments - from rashes to nausea to trouble breathing. The ground water is contaminated and people with wells are being advised to use bottled water.

Back to my point. Our divided nation meant that something so basically wrong - an accident threatening people's lives - makes good propaganda for MAGA minded morons like Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, who joined Trump in spreading lies to the stressed-out local residents.

The America I grew up in wasn't perfect, but Americans always seemed ready to help one another in times of crisis. 

That American is gone. In its place is a fractured nation trying to cling to democracy in the face of advancing fascism by domestic terrorists.

Some of those same domestic terrorists are lawmakers in Congress who are looking to tear down our current government and to reinstate a former president who is a traitor to the country.

Disasters are not the only thing MAGA minions are politicizing. Everything from children's books and toys to our history is under assault from MAGA nation. 

As it stands, the only hope for turning this hateful cycle into a path for healing is to vote against the MAGA minded domestic terrorists running for local, state, and federal offices. 

In the Ongoing War Against 'Woke' Fox is Attacking New Lego Characters

When Fox News can feed into cultural wars like a shark in a swarm of tuna, they don't hesitate.

After a year-long campaign attacking M&M spokescandies for being woke Fox News hosts have found something new to hate on lately. A child's toy.

Legos are bad now in Fox world. How could a children's toy with lineage dating back to 1915 in Denmark suddenly be so bad?

The answer lies with Fox News hosts with nothing better to do than hate on anything they deem liberal or as they say woke.

So, what's their problem with Legos?

The toy manufacturer is coming out with a new line of Legos to appeal to a wider variety of children. The diverse roster includes children with Downs Syndrome and missing limbs.

That set off bells ringing in the Fox News swamp and its hosts slithered out with a new line of propaganda appealing to the MAGA audience. 

Horrors! Diversity and inclusion meant woke in the crazy world of morons who gather in front of the conservative TV channel where truth goes to die, to be brainwashed.

These same snowflake hosts were soiling their diapers last month over Xbox being woke.

The problem? They claimed the gaming console was trying to recruit kids into climate politics by introducing ... don't laugh yet. Wait for it... a new power-saving feature!

As it stands, I have to admit those Fox News hosts continue to amaze me with their lunacy. Even more amazing (and scary) is they have a big audience. 

Short Lists and Long Cons in America

A grand jury forewoman for the Georgia election probe sparked even more interest in the upcoming announcement regarding Trump and other Republicans part in trying to overthrow Georgia's election in 2020 today.

Asked how many indictments are coming down she replied, "It's not a short list." To me that sounds like Trump is taking down a list of election deniers with him to a trip to the big house.

               Look out for the Long Con

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (abusing his Congressional position) forced the Capitol Police into turning over 41,000 thousand hours of insurrection footage accumulated by the Jan/6 Committee so that he could give it to - of all people - Tucker Carlson!

I kid you not. Democrats are furious because there's a lot of footage, they purposely didn't use that could expose national security information not meant for public consummation.

The million-dollar question is what does that traitorous liar Tucker plan on doing with the films? To what purpose?

Based upon the texts and emails that exposed Carlson and other Fox hosts in the lawsuit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems it's going to be used inappropriately (cherry picking) to create a new Big Lie. Or, as a continuance of the Big Lie with carefully selected footage.

There's already reports that Fox producers are busy snipping at away at the films in an effort to give Tucker more ammunition to gaslight the trials against Trump and themselves in an effort to thwart justice. 

In the days and weeks ahead, Carlson is going to continue lying about what happened during the Capital riot. 

This is nuts.

The Speaker of the House is blatantly handing over raw footage of the insurrection that contains confidential information to an election denying host at a right-wing news outlet.

This is also the world we're living in right now. A world where democracy is at stake and our republic's foundations are being chipped away by seditionist in Congress.

As it stands, right-wing extremists are celebrating the news that Carlson is going to give them more lies to advertise an alternate universe where their winning every day.

Sky High Egg Prices and Another Balloon in the News

Did you know that a large white balloon was spotted floating at 50,000 feet and 600 miles northeast of Hawaii on Sunday?

To my utter surprise there's hasn't been a word from the Biden administration. No plans to shoot it down. No air space warnings. No news conference denying that it's a UFO. Nada.

So, what's up?

A week ago, any mention of another balloon in the skies by an American state would have set off a public panic and the Pentagon would have shot it down in an abundance of caution.

(Photo above taken inside cockpit by pilot who reported a large white balloon in vicinity of 2639N15021W.)

I'm only guessing now but I have a hunch the administration was embarrassed with how badly they handled the last three balloon incidents and are content to study floating objects as long as they don't present a verified security challenge. The shoot first strategy didn't go over too well.

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Get Use to Sky High Egg Prices

America is entering the second year of the deadly bird flu that is driving up egg prices nationally. The current outbreak is worse than the bird flu outbreak in 2015.

The ongoing bird flu outbreak has cost the government roughly $661 million and consumer prices for eggs, chicken and turkey have gone sky high.

And it gets worse.

With the outbreak entering its second year and the spring migratory season looming, there is no end in sight. There is very little farmers can do beyond the steps that they've already taken.

The key problem with the bird flu is that the highly contagious virus is spread easily by wild birds through their droppings and nasal discharges.

It might be time to start thinking about what you can replace eggs in your diet with. The option of course is you pay top dollar and be glad you can still get them.

As it stands, what goes up eventually comes down... hopefully!

Right-Wing Conservatives Agenda Includes Misinterpreting and Abusing the Constitution

A few months ago, the former grifter in chief and Florida retiree Trump announced that he wants to get rid of the Constitution.

Full stop. He publicly made known what people only suspected. He wants to throw away the greatest democratic achievement that our founders penned. The Constitution of the United States.

Of course, that suggestion immediately caught on with the MAGA crowd who were already busy subverting the government in every way possible.

Rural communities are the hotbeds for the MAGA minded who have been infiltrating city and county boards for years.

I have a good friend who lives in one of those traitorous breeding grounds, Shasta County, California. He's been following what going on in local government for years and his concern has grown stronger in the last couple of years.

MAGA elements have crept into town like snakes with the backing of conservative groups like the California Rifle and Pistol Association who are proposing a 2nd Amendment resolution at a meeting on Feb. 21st.

The group is backing MAGA moron Supervisor Jones's attempt to give power to County officials and employees to decide for themselves whether state and federal laws meet constitutional requirements.

What a blatant power grab. They want their own rules in a state that separates power among three branches of government - the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch.

The meeting could well end up as a circus as MAGA lovers like to cosplay in public meetings. It's one of their favorite tactics.

To show them the futility of their wayward effort a Shasta County legal counsel pointed out that a 2004 California Supreme Court ruling confirmed that public officials may not decide for themselves whether or not laws are constitutional.

Where I live in Oregon a group of local sheriffs said they don't have to enforce the new Gun safety ballot measure 114 that was passed last year because they decided it was unconstitutional.

Again, the courts ruled against them and now they have to enforce the new law or lose their jobs. It's this kind of rural MAGA opposition to our elected local and state governments that make these 2nd Amendment groups stand out like poison mushrooms.

As it stands, like it or not we're fully engaged in a domestic war for the soul of America.

It Was About Boosting Ratings: Fox News Exposed as Lying Network in Court Case

Lies are us should be Fox New's motto.

The right-wing extremist channel has been dragged into court by Dominion Voting Systems for telling lies about the 2020 election results - aka promoting the Big Lie - and defamation of their products.  

The largest manufacturer of U.S. voting equipment filed a lawsuit seeking $1.6 Billion for damages and defamation against Fox News. 

In a blistering news cycle that began Friday some of the court findings were released to the press, much to the embarrassment of Fox News hosts and owner Rupert Murdock.

The truth about Murdock's propaganda channel rocked millions of Americans as Fox lawyers desperately tried to muddy the waters with debunked election fraud claims without any evidence.

The evidence supporting the fact that Fox News hosts knew they were lying to keep readers who might want to go to another far-right channel, Newsmax, was documented on emails between Fox staffers and other right-wing activists. They knew it was all bullshit.

One of my favorite quotes by a Fox host

Tucker Carlson - Sidney Powell is lying by the way. I caught her. It's insane, he told Laura Ingraham.

While defamation lawsuits often fail because of the difficulty of meeting the actual malice standard Dominion's case against Fox looks strong.

A law professor, RonNell Anderson Jones, at the University of Utah told the press that, "This case gives a powerful preview of one of the best-supported claims of actual malice we have seen in any major-media case."

As it stands, I'm reminded of a dark room full of cockroaches suddenly scattering when someone turned a light on.

Recent Winners and Losers in America's Chaos Derby

We're experiencing the mother of all chaos in societies today. 

There's winners and losers in these crazy days where a former president failed at a coup attempt and is now running for re-election.

Current Winners and Losers in America's Chaos Derby

Under winners

-Environmental news that's good for the nation; The Biden administration restores Obama-era mercury rules for power plants, eyes more regulations in coming months.

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-Finally, some good news on the sports scene; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says referees are being held accountable for missed calls - they just don't publish it on media sources.

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-Good to see election-denier Kari Lake lose another court battle - Appeals court rejects Kari Lake's challenge of election loss to Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs.

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-Woman fights off man who attacked her in a gym. She proceeded to fight like a honey badger and the man ran away but was caught 24 hours later and charged with kidnapping and sexual battery. The guy picked the wrong woman who turned out to be a dedicated bodybuilder with an attitude!

Under Losers

Faux News is in big trouble. A trove of newly released text messages and emails have laid bare how the right-wing media giant operated with little regard for fact in the weeks and months following the 2020 presidential election. 

The messages were made public yesterday as part of the ongoing Dominion Voting Systems $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox for knowingly spreading lies about the company.

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-A nationwide arrest warrant has been issued for a former MTV star Connor N. Smith who was on a dating show called, Are You the One?

In a twisted case of irony, Connor's wanted a date with a15-year old girl in Lake County, Illinois! He's now wanted for three felony charges, including grooming, disseminating harmful material (his dick flics) and traveling to meet a minor for sex.

I wonder if MTV vets their cast members for past offenses. It sure doesn't look like it. Connor was arrested in 2021 and charged with rape, sexual battery and two counts of criminal confinement. Not the perfect date by any means.

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-Big Spender! An Orange County, California, attorney for a lending company in the British Islands allegedly blew through $10 million of the company's funds as she gambled and partied in Las Vegas.

The attorney, Sara Jacqueline King gambled 24 hours a day, seven days a week for six months while she lived at the Wynn. Upon learning of her theft of funds the company filed a petition on Feb.11 and King has to respond in two weeks.

As it stands...as Sonny and Cher once sung, The Beat Goes On.

Oregon Judge Hands Second Amendment Sanctuary Movement its First Legal Defeat

Oregon's Ballot Measure 114 has been upheld.

Conservative sheriffs in Oregon are going to have to follow state laws and regulations after their attempt to create separate laws for gunowners in their counties.

An Oregon judge ruled yesterday that local governments cannot declare themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries.

Chief Judge Jim Egan of the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that the sheriffs did not have the authority to create sanctuaries that "create a patchwork quilt" of firearms laws in Oregon.

In the first of its kind case challenging conservative sheriffs for making their own local gun laws Judge Egan said they were embracing "racist and white nationalist ideologies."

In his ruling Judge Egan wrote, "The arguments propounding unfettered access to guns, ammunitions, and implements of destruction give rise to waging of war on government because the proponents believe that our government is infected by those they hate."

It was a rare defeat for the Second Amendment sanctuary movement's cult groups like Gun Owners of America and the Oregon Firearms Federation.

The thing I find most fascinating is that with Oregon's racist history it's the first state to stand up to the extreme conservative's sanctuary movement. Who would have guessed?

As it stands, it's always good to see gun safety laws upheld in the endless battle with the NRA.

The Whole World Has Gone Crazy: It's the Only Explanation

Here's what happened.

The pandemic drove everyone on the planet bonkers. 

The last two years have been so crazy it's hard to make sense of anything anymore.

Did we just shoot down alien spacecrafts?

Are we seeing the last days of democracy in America?

How could someone as toxic as Republican George Santos become a member of Congress with his history of crimes and lying about himself?

It's weird... everyone knows Trump tried to overthrow the government and throw out the Constitution but he's running for president in 2024 instead of being behind bars.

Mass shootings have doubled in the last couple of years as mentally ill people attack soft targets like school and movie theatres with impunity. There have been 71 mass shootings already this year. We're on track for a record year of slaughter.

Our political system is under siege from domestic terrorists that have become lawmakers in Congress. The House of Representatives has truly become a three-ring circus with the new slim majority of Republicans.

Politicians trying to take away people's rights aren't tared and feathered like the old days. Instead, they get elected in states and at the federal levels of government.

Cults have become mainstreamed. The MAGA cult is only one example. QAnon is another. Christian Nationalists are another. And so on.

Most of the above examples are reflected in countries worldwide. Right-wing extremism is spreading throughout the Western civilization at an alarming rate.

The whole world shuddered when COVID-19 swept through countries killing millions of people and forcing others to stay shuttered inside for long periods of time. Combined with face-masking mandates to prevent spreading of the virus Americans (and people worldwide) descended into cultural wars.

As a result, truth and reality need to be defended every day because of the abundance of lies and misinformation in the mainstream news and social media platforms. Ignorance is bliss for far too many people these days.

As it stands, if a majority of people worldwide weren't already crazy before the pandemic they probably are now!