May You Have a Great Memorial Day Weekend

Thanks for stopping by on this Memorial Day weekend. 

May it be a day of peace.

A Brief History of this Holiday 

* The day was originally set aside to remember Union soldiers who died during the Civil War, but following World War I, its scope expanded to include those who died in any war or military action.

* The idea for a specific holiday came in 1868 from Illinois Senator John Alexander Logan, a former Union general and keynote speaker for the fraternal organization of Union soldiers. He called it "Decoration Day" to be observed on May 30. 

*The name "Memorial Day," started cropping up from time to time. The new name became more common after WW II, and in 1967 when it was declared the official name by Federal law.

Most people nowadays aren't familiar with the history of this holiday. Granted, there are still small parades in some cities and flag-plantings at veteran cemeteries.

The holiday is more well known for being a national three-day social event where bar-b-que enthusiasts proudly grill hamburgers and all-American hot dogs while beer flows like rivers through the heartland.   

My memories of fallen comrades in Vietnam still haunt me at times. But on this day, I celebrate their lives and share their stories with loved ones and friends.

As it stands, this is a day for all Americans to remember those who gave their lives in our military to preserve the freedoms we all enjoy today.

Today's Crap is Cancelled

To my regular readers and newcomers...

I'm canceling the day.

It's the thing to do now in America.

Everything is subject to being cancelled in our chaotic society. 

From brand names subject to political cancelling for sending out the wrong message, to Gov. Ron DeSantis's attack against Disneyland, America's theme park.

Dr. Martin Luther King's true messages have been cancelled by white supremist lawmakers and turned into a version of a fake history figure more pleasing to racists. Quotes without context are used to prove they're not really racist in an ironic twist that goes unappreciated by most.

Trump is cancelled.

MAGA is cancelled.

The House seditionist caucus is cancelled.

The gun lobby is cancelled. 

The Supreme Court is canceled.

Hate is cancelled.

Stupidity has been cancelled.

All conspiracies are cancelled.

Instead...

I'm declaring today is Peace of Mind Day, where we overcome our many worries and challenges by focusing on the positives in our lives. 

We all have something good in our lives even though it might not feel like it at times. 

As it stands, you deserve a break today!

How Did We End Up Having a Minority Rule in America?

It just doesn't make sense.

How have we allowed the majority of Americans to lose their voices in the cultural wars and laws?

How could Floridians allow one person the power to ban books in the state's education system? That happened this week in the latest attack on school agendas by its corrupt governor.

How did we come to the place where businesses and corporations are being pelted by political activists who are dictating what they can and can't sell.

Look at what happened with Target this week. The company is pulling its LGBTQ merchandise ahead of Pride month in June because they're facing "threats" and backlash from homophobic customers backing the MAGA hate cult agenda.

In a pathetic Mea Culpa, a company spokesperson admitted, "Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans (as in chickening out), including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior."

On Twitter, California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused Target chief executive Brian Cornell of "selling out the LGBTQ+ community to extremists."

Target is not alone in buckling to culture war extremists as we've witnessed MAGA's war against everything from M&Ms to Bud Light.

Florida Gov. DeSantis is currently waging war against Disney because they've stood up for the LGBTQ+ community.

All of the above incidents show how the majority of Americans are being canceled by conservatives and disenfranchised by Republican lawmakers in Congress.

School districts are bowing to minority views on education because key players in state governments are waging war against the so-called "Woke" parents who are trying to preserve real history in classrooms and not let authoritarian propaganda rewrite it.

In 1991, author James Davison wrote a book that summarized what was happening in America: "Cultural Wars." 

I highly recommend reading it for a comprehensive look on why we're in an era where minority/extremists are wielding so much power. 

The author explained how this came about in the latter half of the 20th century when cultural wars were just waged within the white middle class before spilling over to all Americans.

In summary Davison called our new reality a class-culture conflict that ends in justifications for violence.

As it stands, historically cultures evolve and devolve depending on the era.

What a Difference 20 Years Make: Life Before Social Media

Two decades ago, there was no Facebook. 

Twitter didn't exist.

Truth Social and Breitbart were parasites growing in extremists fevered minds.

There was actually a time before Trump spread the "birthism" conspiracy to millions of Americans thanks to social media making it go viral in the heartland.

It was a bad time for cowardly bullies because they weren't able to anonymously threaten millions of people from their basements and caves.

It was the time before racist militias, anarchists, and hate groups could gather on Facebook and threaten democracy with impunity.

The arrival of social media has divided this country like nothing else in our history. It's provided platforms for traitors and haters of every stripe.

Please don't tell me about the good things social media does because its chafe in the wind compared to the harm it inflicts.

A recent CDC Advisory warned that 60% of teenage girls become depressed and suicidal after following online sites that had body shaming and bullying. All of our youth are at risk, according to the research.

It's a problem that can't be resolved overnight, or even in the near future for that matter. Parents strive to protect their children from the social media culture, but it's been a losing effort.

No one seems to have a coordinated national plan to stop the spread of misinformation that threatens our children and adults. Our society has been scorched by something that didn't exist a mere 20-years ago.

The rise of social media coincides with the advancement of hate groups and anarchists giving them the biggest platforms they've ever experienced in our history.

As it stands, as we all know there would have been no Trump without social media and right-wing platforms bolstered by online lies.

She's Back! Republicans Look at Restoring Hillary Clinton to #1 Boogeyman Status

Things aren't going too well for MAGA Republicans and they're getting desperate.

Despite their best efforts to make President Biden the main boogeyman he still beats Trump in polls for the 2024 presidential election.

After Special Counsel John Durham released his report one week ago MAGA world went wild with excitement...over a nothing burger.

The conclusion was the FBI should not have investigated the Trump campaign. Period. That was it. Without citing any real evidence MAGA world still took it as a victory and have praised the Durham report on right-wing media.

Then, in an unreal moment MAGA moron Gym Jordan went on Fox and told extremist Maria Bartiromo his committee is considering investigating Hillary Clinton.

Why bring back the GOP's biggest Congressional circus back after all these years?

The answer lies in MAGA's inability to produce any dirt on President Biden and desire to hold up a shining new object for the rabid MAGA base. They need fresh meat right now.

We're talking about 300 emails (none of them classified) that Clinton had on her computer. Compare that with hundreds of classified and top-secret files that Trump stole and kept at his beach resort in Florida.

Gym Jordan became a MAGA star when he conducted numerous "Benghazi" investigations against Clinton, wasting millions of taxpayer's dollars.  

Nothing came of the bogus investigations other than to give right-wing media fodder for years to come.

Now she's back!

This pitiful attempt to besmirch democrats is just another last-ditch effort to demonize their opponents and charge up their loathsome base.

As it stands, meanwhile real investigations against Trump are blooming like flowers in the spring.

Something Wicked This Way Comes: MAGA House Members Take a Dark Path

The three witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth were having a conversation about Macbeth when one of them saw him approaching. 

She turned to her two evil sisters and said, "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."

Now that MAGA cult members are in charge of the House they are busy doing the bidding of a former president and convicted sex abuser who wants to be king.

Some non-MAGA Republicans in the House can see what will happen if the country defaults on its debts, but they are too afraid of Trump's hold over their party to do anything about it.

Like the witches in Macbeth who created a monster and were cackling in glee when Macbeth murdered the King and many others in a ruthless power grab, Trump's minions slavishly follow the monster they helped create.

Shakespeare gets it just right with the line "Something wicked this way comes." He invented a special kind of language to set the witches apart from the human characters in the text. The witches spoke with a hypnotic rhythm that enticed cooperation.

Much like Trump's special kind of language (boorish, hateful, and full of lies) his minions follow his rants in a hypnotic state that suspends their brains from reality.

That's why we're facing a debt crisis today. It's a deadly reality play that has descended into pure evil. 

As it stands, we can only hope that this whole debt crisis thing doesn't turn into a Shakespearean tragedy, and enough people with sense are able to solve the stalemate prevails. 

Editor's note. Ray Bradbury wrote a dark fantasy called 'Something Evil This Way Come's.' Reader's today are probably more familiar with his story of evil. For the record Bradbury borrowed the term from the bard.

The Sky was Falling in MAGA World! Then the Real Story Surfaced and Exposed the Fraud

A week ago, the sky was falling in conservative circles and Republicans blamed Biden for it.

Right-wing media responded to a story about "20 struggling homeless veterans" being displaced by migrants.

MAGA world exploded at the news and everyone from Fox News to Newsmax went into a frenzy expressing their outrage at the treatment of the poor 20 veterans by the hotel that kicked them out.

The story was sensational and MAGA morons nationally ate it up for days. 

They used it as justification to demonize migrants for political reasons. 

In reality the explosive story was bull puckey. A lie. A fraud. Fake news.

The perpetrator was a woman named Sharon Toney-Finch, the CEO of a veteran's advocacy organization. She went full out in concocting the stunt by paying homeless men in shelters to pose as the alleged "displaced veterans."

While Republican lawmakers (like New York state assemblyman, Brian Mather, who seized on the story as proof liberals were mistreating veterans) were expressing their patriotic outrage the truth surfaced like a Stinger missile in the New York Times Friday.

Give credit for initially exposing the lie to local reporters in Newburgh, New York. They were unable to find evidence at the Crossroads Hotel where the incident was said to have happened. The hotel said there were no records of veterans' staying there or anyone being kicked out.

In an article yesterday that appeared in the Hudson News the reporter quoted a group of homeless men who said they had been recruited by the YIT Foundation and its CEO Toney-Finch who asked them to pose as the ousted veterans.

Toney-Finch wined and dined the homeless men recruited from a shelter in Poughkeepsie and propped them up for the news media. The men were especially angry afterwards because Toney-Finch stiffed them and didn't give them the $200 she promised for cooperating.

I've always been partial to hometown newspapers like the Mid-Hudson News that hold their own in investigative reporting.

I especially like their motto: "We're the news source where other reporters get their news."

As it stands, this was a much-needed reality slap in the grill to MAGA morons who are shameless liars who follow the biggest liar in the world Donald J. Trump.

The Devil's Share: Fauz Republicans Pay Their Dues to Subvert Democracy

The devil always gets his share when dealing with humans.

In the case of MAGA morons the price is selling their souls to defeat democracy. 

It brings to mind the classic fantasy about a simple New England farmer (Jabez Stone) who made a deal with the devil in exchange for wealth and power for seven years. At the end of that period the devil would get his soul. 

For those who have read the book, The Devil and Danield Webster, it was a warning about the consequences of consorting with the devil.

Farmer Stone came to regret his deal and turned to the greatest legal and oratorical mind of his day. Daniel Webster. 

Webster challenged the devil to put his contract with Stone away and to the test in a fair trial. In case you never read the book I won't give the ending away.

In the 21st century version of the story Trump is the devil and his minions have signed contracts selling their souls to the former twice impeached and convicted sexual abuser.

Unlike farmer Stone who regretted his decision to sell his soul MAGA cult members (aka faux Republicans) are enjoying their newfound clout in our society. 

But a time of reckoning is coming. The signs are in the news every day as criminal investigations against Trump continue to bloom and come to fruition. 

As for Trump's cult members they have been getting steadily kicked under the bus to protect him in the numerous investigations, scandals and conspiracies he's involved with.

As it stands, the last seven years with Trump polluting politics and promoting conspiracies has tested the souls of all Americans.

Chimpanzee Study Reveals Why Republicans Speak in a Different Language Than Most Americans

A fascinating study published by the journal Nature Communications has opened the door to understanding why Republicans speak a different language than the rest of Americans.

They apparently have something in common with chimps. Researchers report that the chimps can communicate using specific nouns or verbs to refer to present dangers.

This breakthrough research led to diagnosing Republican's motivated by fear using key words (usually out of context) like woke.

The scientists in the study pranked some wild chimps by throwing fake snakes into the middle of their territory. Then they recorded the sounds the monkeys made and concluded they were using a crude form of communication.

In the same way social scientists in America have discovered that Republican rants have key words that only means something to them.

Another key finding is that the chimps responded to a specific combination of calls that motivated them. Likewise, Republicans are motivated by a specific word salad that keeps them in a constant state of fear and anger.

As it stands, I encourage studies that help me understand the threat within: Republicans.

Seditionist GOP Lawmakers Are Shredding American's Rights

They're embedded in Congress and states like parasites draining away American's rights.

Republicans, or more accurately the MAGA cult, have been busy suppressing voters, taking away women's rights to their own bodies, and promoting AR-15s with little badges on the suits.

We live in two Americas, where in one truth matters and the other where domestic terrorists spread misinformation, lies and conspiracies. 

It's our own fault. Those seditionists have broken into mainstream media and school boards by being voted in. They're sucking the life out of our education system by banning books and rewriting history.

Fact. The majority of Americans don't vote. We trail many of our peers in the developed world in voting-age population turnout. 

The country with the best voter turnout is surprisingly Uruguay with a 94% turnout in their last election for a president.

We have a silent majority that seems content to accept their fate and not participate in our electoral system.

This is how democracy diminishes when a majority of our republic doesn't participate in exercising their right to vote for change.

As it stands, are you a participant or an observer when it comes to voting?

Game #1 in Western Conference Finals Today: Lakers Looking to Upset the Nuggets

The Lakers looked so bad the first half of this season I seriously doubted they were going anywhere but to the cellar.

Let alone to the NBA Finals.

You want an underdog? 

The Purple and Gold would have been your best pick to fail this season. They started out with a miserable 2-10 record and very little mojo.

The fact that they parlayed that start into contending for the Western Conference Championship is amazing.

Today the Lakers play the #1 seed Denver whose been the highest scoring team in the playoffs thus far.

Once again, the Lakers are an underdog and rightly so. They're playing a highly disciplined team coached by Mike Malone, arguably one of the best coaches in the league.

While the Nuggets are #1 in offense in the post season, the Lakers are #1 in defense making for a classic clash.

Did I mention that I love underdogs?

The combo of being a Laker fan for over 60 years and my love for underdogs have come together to form my prediction that the Lakers will win the series in 6 games.

As it stands, whatever happens we can be assured this is going to be a great series for basketball fans.