You have to hand it to Rick Santorum and Brandon Prichard.Too Many Voters and Spilling the Beans .  Like a slippery bout of amebic dysentery, sometimes the truth just can’t be contained.  If the Republican Party continues down the straight and narrow  MAGA path, voter suppression, judicial tampering and flat out obstruction of laws and election outcomes are what we should expect from it.  Santorum and Prichard are speaking the quiet part out loud.  Democracy is just not compatible with the Republican Party as it currently exists.

As appalled as I am about the lack of courage of Republican legislators, no doubt being primaried and even physically threatened for any criticism of Donald Trump is a reality.  But what we heard from Santorum and Prichard is also a reality within the Republican Party.  It is apparent hanging on to party political power, no matter what the cost to the country, is as compelling as individual political and physical survival.   All this voting stuff just isn’t working out for them.  Logically then Republicans aren’t about to criticize Trump for blatantly declaring if he is elected he will lock up his political opponents and shut down any news media company that is critical of him. Putin’s Pupil

Just what does the Republican Party stand for now anyway?  To eliminate the confusion, maybe change the name to the White Christian Nationalist Party.  The Christian part will be a problem for Trump though.  It will be interesting to view the vacillation when he is confronnted with the abortion issue during a direct debate.  The Flat Out Facsist Party might make more sense.

If you’re like me you dial up your state representatives on occasion, tell them  to get their shit together for a change and actually do something.  And as is normally the case, all the complaining never seems to get the job done.  To protect this democracy that the majoriy of us want to hang on to, maybe we should make a concerted effort to initiate more state ballot measures.  Seems like you get somewhere doing that. Let our political representatives clearly understand what the general public really prefers.  And we should get going before Republican state legislators start mucking up the referendum and initiative procedures.  Banning assault weapons, demanding electoral districts be drawn by independent supervisors, even replacing the electoral college with popular vote, are all issues that have a good chance of majority approval at state level.  More on that last one later.

In response to the recent mass shooting in Lewiston Maine, newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson stated he will introduce legislation making it mandatory for all United States bowling alleys to install appressed armories on their premises.

Johnson made his proposal during a morning press conference.  Noting that the nation  has come a long way in making certain its citizens have easy access to firearms, he appologised for letting bowling alleys slip through the cracks of congressional supervision.  “It is imperative that we make it clear that any bad man with a gun entering a bowling alley will regretfully encounter  an army of good men with lots of guns.”  Johnson went on to explain how simple it would be to implement his plan.  “Now when a bowler walks up to the rental counter, he can simply be sized for a semi automatic of his choice as well as his shoes.”

The Speaker went on to assure Americans that they could count on more innovative measures like this one from a rejuvinated congress and they will all continue to work hard to ensure public saftey with thoughts and prayers.

SHUT UP!

I am not sure how they did it, but the Republican party somehow plumbed the depths of their scum covered pond of Maga wing-nuts and yanked Jim Jordan to the surface to serve as their next man up for the House Speakership position.  You gotta admit their selection is quite possibly the perfect man to champion  what the present Republican party represents.  Jimmy Gym is a promoter of the Big Lie, was alledgedly involved in plotting an insurrection, covered up a sexual abuse scandal when he was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State, defied a congressional subpoena, and has never, in his decade and one half of serving in congress, had any bill enacted.

He is Trump’s guy and the Republican party is Trump’s party.  Jordan has apparently learned from the best.  Like Trump, he has Fox “news” henchman Sean Hannity at his side, sending out intimidating emails to Republican congressmen who dared not to vote for Jimmy Gym on first balloting.  Trump seems willing to donate the sevices of his lunatic fringe also.  The wife of Nebraska congressman Don Bacon received anonymous, menacing texts from someone pressureing her to push her husband to vote for Jordan.

Jordan’s pressure campaign will either backfire on him, or, as has been the malaise infected history of the disjointed House Republicans, enough of them will roll over and Jimmy Gym will be second in the line of succession for President of the United States. Of course the first scenario will require a meager amount of courage on the part of  recalcitrant Republican holdouts. Holy smokes!  Look out Joe and Kamala.  Better increase your security detail.

Incensed that people other than immediate family members are profiting from images of the former president’s recent mug shot, Donald Trump Junior issued a stern warning that he might take legal action should he deem it necessary.  “Everyone knows grifting is ingrained as a family trademark of ours,” Junior stated.  “No one does it better.  But Dad get’s a mug shot and all of a sudden everyone is cashing in.  You want a cheap imitation? Go ahead.  Take your chances.  But without our approval you might end up in court.”

Junior went on to point out that the genuine article was only available at his web site.  He also reeled off  a list of merchandise shoppers can exclusivley purchase from him.  As a final enticement, he declared that with every purchase of merchandise imprinted with the infamous mug shot, he is  giving away a Trump Gold Card for free with every donation of $50.00 or more.

Donation Righteousne$$

I know Trump’s power is his shamlessness, but this is a new level of anti-social behavior. You Can’t Spin This    Someone who posts veiled threats on social media, let alone immediatly after he has been warned by a judge in crimal court about bribing or influencing witnesses, has no business running as a legitimate candidate for President of the United States.  This is intimidation and witness tampering plain and simple.  Anyone else would  likely be facing a prison sentence.

In what is emerging as an apparent twist to Fox News support of White Supremacy ,Replacement Parts Are On the Way   Laura Ingraham, once a devoted advocate of Restricting Muslim Immigration  Lock Them Out, now publicly acknowledged their usefullness. Laura Likes the Look

Obviously impressed with the Muslim youths included in this episode of her program, Ms. Ingrham was later asked if she might not be afraid some of them would be radicalized and blow her up some day. Scary Brown People   Ms. Ingraham said she was confident if any such radicalization did occur, it was now obvious to her that if there will be any blowing up going on by these youngsters, it would be in a gay night club so there really should be nothing to worry about.

When asked if she had any concerns about Sharia Law usurping US constitutional law, Ms. Ingraham replied absolutley not.  “Like all cultures and countries, laws change.  Look at Roe-Wade and affirmative action.  Its obvious Muslims have a lot of good laws that are in common with our laws that support good Christian values.  It’s very comforting to realize Muslims and Christians share this common bond of viceral hatred of the LGBTQ community.”

Fox News viewers likely heaved a collective sigh of relief with the recent revelation  by the weekend crew of Fox and Friends that racism in the United States  has officially been extinguished.

During a recent program Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy assured her audience  that America is the least racist country in the world, and called President Biden a liar by suggesting racism is still problematic. Fox News Drives Stake Into Heart of Racism Co-hosts Pete Hegseth and Will Cain were in total agreement.

With visions of the Confederate flag being waved in the U.S. Capitol Building during the insurrection still etched into many American minds, not to mention the recent hate crimes committed  just since January of this year, like 150 members of the Patriot Front marching down the streets of DC, the  murder indictment dismissal by a Mississippi grand jury  of the woman responsibel for the torture and death of Emmett Till, torchings of synagogues in Austin TX and Bloomfiield NJ, and a mosque in Minneapolis, multiple attacks on poeple of Chinese decent in various cities, a white supremacist sentenced for shooting into two different conveniance stores because in one he saw a Black man and in another he thought he saw a Muslim, a Florida man attacking a group of Black men who were surveying along a public road, a prison sentence for a man who set a cross on fire in a Black neighbor’s yard, as well as books about  Black life being banned from school libraries and whitewashing Black history in textbooks,  all of which had one nosey reporter wondering how Fox News personnel get their own news.

As luck would have it, he chanced upon all three as they were leaving Fox News headqurters, so he pointedly asked them the question: “How do you guys get your own news?”

“Well, Fox News, of course,” answered Ms. Campos-Duffy.

“Same here'” replied Mr. Hegseth

“I get all my information from Fox News” said Mr. Cain

“Oh.  I see,” said the reporter.