Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Spring Songs: Political Loons Are Tweeting Fresh Lies

As spring unfolds across the country making flowers bloom and right-wingers tweet gloom, we take the good with the bad.

A recent book release, "Waco Rising: David Koresh, the FBI, and the Birth of America's Militias" written by Kevin Cook describes how a new generation of Branch Davidians called The Branch, The Lord of Our Righteousness has emerged from the ashes of the Mt. Carmel compound.

The new church, sells pro-Donald Trump merchandise, including flags and t-shirts. Without David Koresh to rally around the new generation of loons has adopted Trump as their new savior.

This updated center for wanabee insurrectionists is blooming right now and expecting a visit from their new messiah this Saturday.

Trump purposely picked the 30th anniversary of the siege of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas to hold a rally there. What better place to gather with insurrections and trolls than Waco? 

The rally comes at a time Trump is reportedly facing criminal charges in New York, and multiple other criminal investigations this year.

The thing to take note of is that Trump has totally swung over to the most dangerous right-wing groups in America and is not even pretending to be moderate or mainstream.

In his desperation Trump has cast off his semi-civilized cloak of sanity and is going all out to get domestic terrorists votes. Whether it's Nazi's, Proud Boys, Three-Percenters, or the Klu Klux Klan, he's unrolled the welcoming mat.

By staging his hate rally at the site he's carrying on a tradition of anti-government activities there. Political pundits are saying this was on purpose. Of course, it was.

"Waco is hugely symbolic on the far right," said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, in a recent interview.

"That's not another place in the U.S. that you could pick that would tap into these deep veins of anti-government hatred - Christian nationalists' skepticism of the government - and I find it hard to believe that Trump doesn't know that" she concluded.

As it stands, the good news is Trump is totally outed as a supporter for domestic terrorists and that's not a good profile for someone seeking the presidency.

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

No Indictment Today: Trump's Fake Forecast Was a Test Run

For days now Trump has been feeding his minions fake news about Tuesday being the day he would be indicted by a New York grand jury.

He never had the knowledge of when the indictment would be handed down but that didn't bother the biggest liar on the planet. His announcement to the base was a warmup for when the criminal indictment actually happened.

Trump was testing his students in crime in Congress and on the streets to see if their responses were properly loyal. So far, his minions have been protesting as programed.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy immediately announced an investigation into the Manhattan attorney general's office and prosecutor AG Alvin Bragg. He learned his lesson well from Trump on how to misuse government offices in order to protect his supreme leader.

Trump's congressional cronies on the so-called Weaponization of Government Committee, led by Gym Jordan, are weaponizing the powers of government for partisan political ends - the very thing the committee is supposedly trying to stop.

By turning the whole atmosphere into a circus with his fake prediction Trump is following his own rule book on preemptive strikes when cornered by the courts.

The fact of the matter is there's no real assurance of when the indictment will be handed down as authorities say it may be this week, but more than likely next week. 

Meanwhile Trump's power play in calling for protests will simmer but will come to a boil when the announcement does come.

As it stands, what gets me is the general public knows what Trump is doing and wondering if he'll ever be held accountable for his criminal activities.

Monday, March 20, 2023

Spring Has Sprung - Enjoy!

 
When it comes to the spring season, it seems to only last for a short time as nature paints the world in a frenzy of color. 

Birds sing beautiful songs to welcome the season and the air is warm, not too hot, and not too cold.

It makes one feel as if the whole environment is covered with green sheets to see the greenery around you. All plants and trees experience new life and form fresh flowers and leaves. 

Also, the plants are fully mature in the garden, looking very much like real gold everywhere.

After a long silence in winter, the birds roam and begin to sing near the houses or in the sky. 

When spring approach's it often makes people feel more comfortable because they can go outside without warm clothes.

In addition, parents enjoy having picnics during their children's vacations.

Flower buds bloom fully, embracing nature with their smiles, and bloom to give romantic feelings by spreading the scent everywhere.

So, this measure of weather and cold spring weather makes people do a lot of work without getting tired. 

The season brings new crops to farmers as a reward for long months of hard work. 

Benefits of the Spring 

1. Heaps of Sunshine

After a dark and cold winter, the sunlight in the spring comes bringing smiles. 

2. Better Temperature

Spring is in the middle of the two worst seasons: hot summer and heavy winter. 

This is the reason why this great time brings people an excellent opportunity to look for new outdoor businesses.

3. Projects and Hobbies

It's the time to enjoy long days and short nights. This is why spring is an excellent season to start a project or a hobby. You can also think about farming and take this time as the last season of opportunity.

4. The Cutest Baby Animals

Like ducks, chicks, piglets, and rabbits, baby animals are cute beyond comparison. You can search for photos or videos of these little ones.

5. Flowers, Flowers everywhere

After a harsh and long winter, the reward of spring awaits with glorious flowers. Their colors painting fantasy landscapes across the land.

Plants and trees get a new green look with their blossoms. Everything looks so good at this time of the year.

6. Fresh air

The spring season brings refreshing and strong winds, which illuminates the emotions for a few milliseconds.

You can leave your window open to allow warm air circulation into your home rejuvenating it.

As it stands, Spring has sprung. Enjoy it!

Sunday, March 19, 2023

My Great Uncle Was Rescued in The Famous Los Banos Raid

               A change of pace today. 

Here's a snippet from the history books. The Los Banos Prison Raid by Philippine guerrillas and American paratroopers.

My Great-Uncle Leo Stancliff from Bakersfield, California was a civilian POW during WW II. This account mentions someone from Hydesville in Humboldt County, California.

His name was Herman Beaber and he (with foot notes from his son John) wrote a book about his experiences titled: "Deliverance! It Has Come!" 

In late 1941 war broke out in the Philippines with the Japanese. Many endured imprisonment, including some ministers who were interned at the Los Baños Internment Camp located about 40 miles south of Manila in the Philippines.

They were Willie Jamieson from Chirnside, Scotland; Ernest Stanley from England (internment at Santo Tomás); Leo Stancliff of Bakersfield, California; Cecil Barrett of New Zealand; and Herman Beaber of Hydesville, California, who kept a diary during their time as prisoners of war (1942-1945).

On January 6, 1942, Herman and his fellow ministers were picked up by the Japanese and were taken first to the Rizal Memorial Stadium where they were registered. Then they were bundled back into the car and taken to Santo Tomás University grounds.

They later were released and allowed to continue their church work. (With the exception of Ernest Stanley who chose to remain in Santo Tomás as an official interpreter for the Internee Government). 

They were allowed to have religious services on Sundays only, from January 15, 1942, until they were taken to prison at Los Baños on July 8, 1944, along with all the other American missionaries in the area.

Los Baños was the former University of the Philippines. The Agricultural School at Los Baños was located in a town on the island of Luzon.

It had been converted into an internment camp. It was a plot of about 55 or 60 acres with a barbed wire fence around it, for more than 2,000 civilians who had the misfortune of falling into Japanese hands at the beginning of the war.

As time passed and as the Japanese began to lose the war, things became very desperate at the Los Baños prison camp. While Herman Beaber's diary does not record that they were tortured, they nearly starved, and many in the camp died from disease and slow starvation.

Herman wrote in his diary... "Naturally there is theft of food in camp. It is considered a major crime. We see people (respectable people) looking into garbage cans for banana skins, etc. (If you want a real delicacy... Fry some banana skins in rancid coconut oil.) People going to points in camp several blocks away will have to sit down to rest. Fights occur in the food lines. Some have eaten bugs and beetles - so they say."

Herman left from the United States for the Philippi in 1940 weighing 202 lbs. at 6'3" and he weighed 140 lbs. when he was finally rescued on February 23, 1945. 

On that day American soldiers freed over 2000 prisoners at Los Baños in a daring guerrilla and paratrooper rescue, just one day before they were all to be executed by the Japanese.

Former Army Chief of Staff General Collin Powell proclaimed, "I doubt that any airborne unit in the world will ever be able to rival the Los Baños prison raid. It is the textbook airborne operation for all ages and all armies." 

Former Army Chief of Staff General Colin Powell proclaimed- "I doubt that any airborne unit in the world will ever be able to rival the Los Baños prison raid. It is the textbook airborne operation for all ages and all armies."

Herman Beaber wrote..."Let me say that you who have never been deprived of seeing Old Glory and all she stands for, for three long years, cannot understand what that sight would mean. We feel heavily indebted to our rescuers. (No greater love has a man, than to lay down his life for another) We are mighty proud to be citizens of a great country like the United States. On the other hand, we are grateful to God for His care and protection, and now that He has spared our lives... we feel more inclined than ever to give Him our best."

As it stands, my Great Uncle Leo passed away on Oct.29th, 2005. Herman Beaber passed away on Feb. 5th, 2001. This article first ran on June 12, 2009, in this blog.

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Regardless of Trump's Threats There Will Be Accountability

Huddled in a corner in a faux Oval Office in Mar-a-Largo a desperate criminal is crying out.

Coup Coup Trump is sending out the call to his minions that it's time for a "regime change" today after posting on his ironically named Truth Social that he will be arrested next Tuesday.

He knows he's going to be criminally indicted for his handling of a hush-money payment during his 2016 presidential campaign.

What prompted Trump's prediction of a Tuesday indictment is questionable. 

Was there a leak from the Manhattan Attorney's office? 

Were Trump's lawyers informed that Tuesday would be Donny's Big Adventure and they told their client?

Or is this just Trump's preemptive attempt to rally his minions and make sure their frothing properly by next week?

One thing is for sure. Trump is ready to attack America, democracy, and the rule of law. Right now.

Local authorities are preparing for the worst when Trump has to come to a federal building to get fingerprinted and his mug shot taken for posterity. I hear there's already bids going out to get the first copy of that photo session.

The response from McCarthy's merry band of morons in the House has been predictable. "The justice system is politically motivated," the MAGA lawmakers whined to their mindless base.

One of the most hypocritical cowards among Republicans (he's right there with McCarthy), Mike Pence told the extreme right media outlet Breitbart that, "It (the upcoming indictment) reeks of the kind of political prosecution that we endured back in the day of the Russian hoax and the whole impeachment over a phone call."

But as we all know now it wasn't a hoax. Mueller's investigation was strangled by Trump's corrupt AG Bill Barr.

No one put the current situation better than Rep. Eric Swalwell when he tweeted (in response to McCarthy promising to investigate Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg), "The guy who created a committee to look into 'weaponization of government' is using his powers in government to stop an independent prosecution of his boss."

With those seditionist lawmakers and the mindless minions of his cult Trump is declaring war on democracy and the rule of law in a desperate attempt to avoid justice and accountability.

Anyone with an IQ over 100 knows that. 

When the dam bursts with this first criminal indictment of the former president others will be following in the months ahead. 

As it stands, somehow in all of the chaos caused by the most corrupt president in US history there will be accountability. Regardless of Trump's threats.

Friday, March 17, 2023

The Time Fox News Was 'Out Foxed' By a Veteran Group

Fox News has been polluting military bases for years with lies and hard-right propaganda. 

The rise of military personnel going MAGA is alarming. There were even active-duty military veterans storming the Capitol on Jan.6.

Now a group of military veterans are doing something about the poison being spread by Fox hosts to the country's military personnel and their families.

At first the group, VoteVets, tried to run an ad on Fox but were roundly rejected. That didn't deter them however as they went around Fox and talked directly to the military about running the ad.

VoteVets went to the military's Morale, Welfare, and Recreation department which is responsible for providing services and activities to support the well-being of military personnel and their families.

Many military bases have their own cable TV systems, typically run by the military. The ad is going to run on those bases. It calls for Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham to be removed from military installation TVs. The ad will run during those three hosts broadcasts.

In other words, Fox was out foxed by a group of veterans.

According to VoteVets, "Fox host's lies and disinformation splits the ranks, hurts cohesion, and weakens American's national defense. They must be removed from all TVs on military installations NOW."

Kudos to my fellow veterans!

As it stands, it's great to see pushback against the Republican propaganda machine. It takes these kinds of efforts to combat the enemy within and protect democracy.

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Here's a Novel Idea: States Banning Political Parties

In another episode of Romper Room politics from Florida a GOP legislator wants to ban the Democratic Party from the state.

Really.

Right-wing state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia filed a bill to cancel the Democratic party recently. This comes after proposing fining bloggers for speaking bad about DeSantis and his minions.

Both of the bills are nothing more than a publicity stunt. Ingoglia admitted the bill was designed to get back at Democrats and "leftist activists" who he claimed have been trying to cancel people and companies for things they said or did in the past.

Fittingly the bill - SB 1248 - is called The Ultimate Cancel Act.

If passed the bill would require Florida officials to notify all registered voters who are Democrats that their party no longer exists in the state. 

Any sane person knows that disenfranchising five million voters is lunacy and unconstitutional. But it's red meat (pun intended) for MAGA maggots across the country.

Don't be surprised if you see other states with a Republican majority legislature introduce the same ridiculous attempt to own the libs.

Remember... it's all about theatrics in the hard right-wing cult that claims to be the Republican party.

As it stands, Florida has turned into a training ground for fascists under DeSantis.

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Take Your Pick: 'Patriots Row' or 'Seditionist Square?'

          There goes the neighborhood.

According to US House member Jaime Raskin, ...there's a massive real-estate coming-out party for the extreme right going on in Washington DC."

A conservative nonprofit led by Mark (Spineless) Meadows - The Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI) - has been quietly going on a shopping spree that added up to 41 million for four commercial properties along a single Pennsylvania Avenue block.

CPI said the goal is to be a "platform" for the "conservative movement." 

A quick note about CPI; the organization has promoted MAGA stars like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert. It's stocked with election deniers and seditionists.

True to form CPI remained unknown to most of the sellers. I suspect they knew if they were associated with the radical nonprofit front, they might have a hard time acquiring the properties.

So, they did what most corrupt organizations (think Trump Crime Family) do, they set up shell companies with names like Clear Plains Holding, Brunswick Partners, Houston Group, Newpoint and Pennsylvania Avenue Holdings.

Do you love irony? I do.

Here's a dose for you.

This troll driven organization's transformation of prime real estate into a campus is being called Patriots' Row.

I like Rep. Raskin's suggestion of Seditionist Square. It certainly seems more fitting.

Just look at one of the numerous grants CPI has doled out. It went to former Trump advisor and Nazi, Stephen Miller, who leads America First Legal which got $1.3 million from CPI in 2021.

Ready for some more irony?

America First Legal bills itself as a check on "lawless" executive actions and the "Radical Left." 

Election denier attorney Cleta Mitchell runs the organization's "Election Integrity Network," which has cast doubt on the validity of President Biden's 2020 victory.

One more ironic thing and I'll stop.

For decades Republicans have referred to Washington DC as the "swamp" and a liberal stronghold for snowflakes.

Yet here we are, watching the extreme hard-right MAGA morons set up camp in the middle of the swamp

As it stands, I like Rep. Raskins suggestion, "Maybe Marjorie Taylor Greene can be their advisory neighborhood commissioner!"

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

A Look at Real World Reality Shows

      Since reality shows became popular

50 years ago, their format has had few changes. The interesting part of this form of TV entertainment is that it operates on the fake premise of real unscripted dialogue and scenes.

The fact of the matter is all reality shows are scripted, regardless of what the producers would have us believe. 

What happens is viewers suspend their disbelief and pour themselves into other people's dramatic lives because it's more fun than reality. Viewers become personally involved with the cast's challenges.

In the Real World

We have a political party that stages reality shows daily. MAGA supporters thrive on the lies and misinformation coming from hard right GOP forums put on by insurrectionist lawmakers and activists.

The leading clown for these real-world shows is our former twice impeached president and traitor Donald Trump.

He just put on a performance in Iowa where he sliced and diced what was really happening in the world and served up blatant lies and racist tropes to his eager audience.

It helps to understand that the far-right followers who enjoy these real-world shows aren't interesting in facts... they're just looking to be titillated and infuriated by performers.

Unlike the reality shows on TV where viewers step away after each episode and go on with their lives, the MAGA community lives in a perpetual state of foul fantasies. The show never ends for them.

If I were to use three words describing our society today, they would be Denial of Reality.

Americans are still shell-shocked by the pandemic and years of Trump's corrupt regime where fake news was a mantra for domestic terrorists and MAGA morons. It still is.

It's understandable that millions of people want to escape the reality around them, it's pretty grim at times.

The difference between the reality shows on TV and the MAGA shows in everyday life is you can turn off the TV if you don't like an episode, but there's no way you can turn off the daily performances by right-wingers attacking democracy.

As it stands, it's okay to watch a TV show and suspend reality for the sake of entertainment, but when you suspend reality in the real-world bad things can happen.

Monday, March 13, 2023

Banks Collapse: Trump's Garden of Poison Seeds Showing Results

Malicious farmer Don the Con has been planting seditious seeds in America's garden since he slithered into office in 2017.

One of those seeds recently bore fruit when two banks collapsed last week. During a span of 48 hours the Silicon Vally Bank foundations crumbled sending shock waves through the United States and Europe.

The reason was clear. When Trump tore up the regulations for the banking industry, he opened pandora's box unleashing financial chaos in the country.

It was the largest failure of a US bank since Washington Mutual in 2008.

Once again President Biden is forced to deal with one of Trump's poison legacies. From mishandling COVID 19 to widespread government corruption, his administration has been putting out fires since day one.

One of the deadliest seeds was the Big Lie that continues to have violent consequences in our country today.   

Trump has cultivated the crazies that have sprung up in his garden since he first claimed an election was rigged (prior to the election) if he didn't win.

As the poison seeds sprout into grown plants the results are all challenges against democracy and our republic.

The Biden administration is doing its best to deal with the contents of Trump's MAGA garden, but it looks like there's a long road to hoe.

As it stands, even as Trump faces several criminal indictments, he's busy planting more poisons seeds that he hopes will sprout up before the 2024 presidential election.

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Their Own Language: Republicans Employ Coded Words to Titillate Right-Wing Traitors

I recently read a fascinating article about how chimpanzees have their own language with almost 400 words.

Wow!

It immediately brought to mind how MAGA minions have their own language, however it consists of less than 400 words.

One of the astonishing things about chimpanzee's vocal repertoire, when compared to other non-human animals, is the extreme flexibility in which they can combine their limited amount of signals/language into meaningful sentences.

The MAGA dictionary is a foul swamp of words that relies on one-word insults and lies. Stringing together sentences beyond four words is nearly impossible for right-wing lunatics. (Lock Her Up is a prime example)

Researchers report that human language evolved from a limited use of words much like the chimpanzees use. It's obvious that MAGA morons aren't able to advance in their discourse because they are living in a toxic bubble.

Right-wingers need to keep things simple.

Less words. Ignore reality. Project. Deny. Lie. Deep State. Wokeism. Rino. Snowflake. Misinformation. Groomers. Rumors. Brandon. Libtards... and a host of other coded words to stir up the sociopaths in our society.

Some may say, "Gee Dave, I don't know if I'm okay with comparing chimpanzees to right-wing Republicans... it's an insult to the monkeys!"

I apologize to those chimpanzees and humans who were offended by the comparison between MAGA minions and monkeys. 

As it stands, the country fast forwarded the clocks today, but right-wingers turned their clocks backwards.

Trump's Lowest Grift Ever Saved for Holy Week

This is a story about how the devil's puppet, aka Donald Trump, mocked Christianity by selling a book combining the Bible, the Constitu...