Study: Gun Nuts have AK-47 Penis envy

 

I cannot fathom an idiot laced family that would use religion and its scriptures to support the lunacy of a gang of gun nuts who represent the primary reason for the 42,781 gun violence deaths in 2021. What the hell is "Muscular Christianity" and where in the Bible does it say to, favor ‘stand your ground’ over ‘turn the other cheek?’ In Peter Manseau's perspective in the Washington Post, he offers this headline...

"Why so many guns on Christmas cards? Because Jesus was ‘manly and virile.’"

It would seem that we have a very large population of impotent males in this country since they require some 390 million guns to show their virility. The American Journal of Men's Health says...

Although there has been no direct empirical evidence linking sexual dysfunction (SD) with gun ownership, speculation has been widespread and persistent for decades.

What this Christmas card says about congressional dysfunction...

There's more science from the Journal...

"Our primary hypothesis, derived from the psychosexual theory of gun ownership, asserts that men experiencing SD are more likely to personally own guns than other men. To test this hypothesis, we used recently collected data from the 2021 Crime, Health, and Politics Survey (CHAPS), a national probability sample of 780 men, and binary logistic regression to model gun ownership as a function of SD. Our key finding is that men experiencing SD are no more likely to own guns than men without SD."

The Journal says findings are important for sexual dysfunction because, "they contribute to our understanding of factors associated with gun ownership by challenging the belief that phallic symbolism and masculinity somehow drive men with SD to purchase guns." I live in Arizona, where all that is necessary to own a gun, and carry it anywhere you want, is a warm body. But no matter what open gun law state you live in, you can now marvel over inadequate gun guts carrying.

Here's more research from the Journal...

"The psychosexual theory of gun ownership has three primary propositions. The first proposition is that guns are phallic symbols. In his Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis, [Freud] argued that “the penis is symbolized primarily by objects which resemble it in form, being long and upstanding, such as sticks, umbrellas, poles, trees, and the like; also by objects which, like the thing symbolized, have the property of penetrating, and consequently of injuring, the body,—that is to say, pointed weapons of all sorts: knives, daggers, lances, sabres; fire-arms are similarly used: guns, pistols and revolvers, these last being a very appropriate symbol on account of their shape.”

"The second proposition is that guns are symbols of masculinity. In U.S. culture, guns are associated with masculinity because they are primarily used by men.

"The final proposition is that some men acquire guns as a means of compensation when they perceive losses in virility and masculinity."

This study from The American Journal of Men's Health should be of top interest to gun control advocates explaining in so many ways why gun nuts do what they do. As far as spreading cheer with your AK-47, the recipients of these cards, assuming you are not a gun rights advocate, will be able to snicker at friends and relatives who may have a bedroom problem. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

Just How Unamerican is the Republican Party?

 

Juan Williams, who is an opinion contributor to The Hill believes it is pretty extensive. I did a post recently, "Are You Ready for America's Civil War II," which depicts a country in conflict, clearly defined by the fact that the radical right mounted an attack on the U.S. Capitol this last Jan. 6, in an act of insurrection. I think it is safe to say that this combination of sedition and treason was initiated and then choreographed by Donald Trump.

Williams is a fair-minded person, a Democrat, with two Republican sons, but still unable to "stomach" what has happened to the GOP. There are many out there with that opinion, but, unfortunately, many do not speak up like Williams. Here's a couple of his grievances...

"How can anyone dismiss a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol as just 'one day in January,' to quote former Vice President Mike Pence.

"Doesn’t it infuriate you to see so many Republicans make lying about the winner of the 2020 election a test of party loyalty?"

Well, the right certainly has its mentor to try and prove the 2020 Presidential election was a fraud. As of the first of this year there were well over 30,000 lies attributed to Donald Trump, leading his movement of misinformation. The poor souls who follow him have a cookie cutter image of how to spread his deception, and they have been very effective. But there is evidence Trump's popularity is waning with the failure of his History Tour to draw crowds.

Here's a take on Republicans from a Texas Democrat...

"another strong conservative member of the GOP, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (Texas), offers a similar assessment. Crenshaw, speaking at a public event this month, described unnamed far-right GOP members of Congress as “grifters” and 'performance artists.'”

My gut tells me he is talking about the five simpletons: Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorne and Paul Gosar. Combined, their IQs would be in the double digits. But what is most compelling about this gang is the morons who elected them in the states of California, Georgia, Colorado, No. Carolina and right here in Arizona. Lord knows, the people have the right to vote but do they have the right to deliver the country certifiable idiots.

It's hard to say when the GOP last made an attempt at governing. Mostly it's vision is to block anything the Democrats want to do, with some help from lowlife Dems like Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema. Williams mentions a host of books written about Donald Trump and I have read most of them. One of them by a close family member, his niece Mary Trump. Most of the others are written by acclaimed journalists like Bob Woodward. The books basically describe a monster.

 Mary Trump: Donald Trump Had The Power To Stop Jan. 6 Riot...

And here is a statement that should be chilling to all Americans who value our democracy...

In the last year, every congressional Republican voted against a bill to help the country recover from the economic damage caused by COVID-19.

In closing, there is still Covid-19 raging across the United States, in large part due to Donald Trump and his Republican cronies. As of this writing, there have been 51,075,976 coronavirus cases in the U.S. and 820,194 deaths. Think about that folks, over 800,000 people, many of which could still be alive...if not for Republicans, led by Donald Trump.

Are You Ready for America's Civil War II

 

Once again Charles M Blow is on top of the latest in the war on democracy. We could have a civil war, he says, which looks like it already started on January 6, at the U.S. Capitol insurrection. He references Texas' violation of the Constitution and federal laws by passing legislation forbidding abortions. 

Then, SCOTUS let the law stand, but with a slight compromise, allowing abortion providers to sue. Here's the scenario...

Anyone who assists in providing an illegal abortion — from the provider down to the person who gives a woman a ride to the clinic — can still be sued. Roe v. Wade has essentially been overturned in the state, and soon that astonishing reality may not only become permanent there but may also spread to other states.

Ridiculous, but that is what we have come to expect from Texas' moron governor, Greg Abbott. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was furious in her dissent...

“This is a brazen challenge to our federal structure. It echoes the philosophy of John C. Calhoun, a virulent defender of the slaveholding South who insisted that States had the right to ‘veto’ or ‘nullif[y]’ any federal law with which they disagreed.”

And who is John C. Calhoun? The answer from Blow...

"I found the invocation of South Carolina’s Calhoun striking. Yes, he was a strong believer in nullification, the idea that states could nullify federal laws, but he was also a raging racist who went further than the slave owners who saw slavery as a 'necessary evil,' seeing it instead as a positive good."

THIS IS SCARY: Kim Iversen: Is CIVIL WAR Looming? Americans SUPPORT Red States, Blue States Seceding From US...

Having grown up in the South, and in the 40s and 50s when the Ku Klux Klan was running rampant, as a very young boy I once witnessed the lynching of a Black man. The experience was ghastly and tortuous as I knew the man had done nothing to deserve this. And I had no prejudice against Blacks since it just didn't make sense to me that I should hate somebody just because of their color. There were many incidents over the years where I disagreed with friends, even family.

That was then, but racism has once again reared its ugly head, somewhat due to Donald Trump's openness for white supremacy, strongly supported by advisers like Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller. This has not gone unnoticed by Charles Blow...

"I see too many uneasy parallels between what was happening nearly 200 years ago and what is happening now. I see this country on the verge of another civil war, as the Calhounian impulse is reborn."

As Blow surmises we won't see the number of deaths experienced in the Civil War starting in 1861, lasting to 1865, even though there has already been violence and some lives lost in the current turmoil. Contrary...

"this new war will be fought in courts, statehouses and ballot boxes, rather than in the fields."

And with this less people will die, but more of democracy will be lost...perhaps all of it forever. 

 

 

 

Anti-vaxxers will not be "coddled"

 

Charles M. Blow is a well-known columnist with the New York Times and he has finally had enough. With anti-vaxxers. Like many of us in the U.S., Blow says, "I am furious at the unvaccinated." The understatement of the year. A personal incident fueled his reaction against a friend who, unvaccinated, could have endangered himself and others around him...like his buddy, Charles Blow. What happened next was typical of a group well defined as anti-science...

"I recently found out that a friend of mine — a smart guy — was not vaccinated, and I confronted him about it.

"How could he have not gotten his vaccination? And how had he not seen fit to tell me and our other mutual friends? Wasn’t he worried about the risk he was posing not just to himself, but to the rest of us?

"He tried to laugh it off, offering up a bunch of concerns rooted in conspiracy theories. But I told him that he had to get vaccinated, period."

Blow also commented, "I will not coddle willful ignorance of the unvaccinated anymore." Well said! Don't you love the word, "coddle?" It means, "to treat tenderly; nurse or tend indulgently; pamper." Not that I think we have had an overabundance of coddling of the anti-science bunch, but there has been more than enough of mutual concession and compromise between those of us who believe that the scientific community knows what it is doing and "those" who don't.

The Story Behind The Anti-Vaxx Movement In America | Rise And Fall...

Charles Blow has more...

"The next time I saw him, he was worried about the omicron variant and asked if I would go with him to get the jab. I texted him a site where he could register and told him to let me know once he had. That was Saturday. He still hasn’t signed up.

"I am disappointed, and I am angry, not just with my friend but with all the people who are choosing not to get vaccinated."

And yes, most of us have tried our best to be "tolerant" with those who sometime challenge the IQ system to its limits. I remember when I was in school, all the way through college, not only in science classes, but any curriculum where you can arrive at a solution by establishing facts that substantiate your problem. The teacher decided we had solved the issue, and we accepted this, not just because the teacher said so, but because we had scientifically determined our results.

I don't like concluding a post by calling names, unfortunately anti-vaxxers have forced this ploy repeatedly in the last two-plus years, and once again I must say it with enthusiasm... the anti-science bunch are IDIOTS.

 

Is John Roberts a Quasi Liberal?

 

While Nancy Gertner and Laurence H. Tribe advocate expanding the Supreme Court, Chief Justice, John Roberts, definitely a conservative, believes the court made the wrong decision in supporting the Texas abortion law. Here's what he said...

"John Roberts, warned Friday that the Supreme Court risks losing its own authority if it allows states to circumvent the courts as Texas did with its near-total abortion ban."

SCOTUS' three liberal justices, of course, agreed. More from the Chief Justice...

"Roberts wrote that the 'clear purpose and actual effect' of the Texas law was 'to nullify this Court’s rulings.' That, he said, undermines the Constitution and the fundamental role of the Supreme Court and the court system as a whole."

It just shows the chasm between a justice who had been shown to be objective in the past, compared to the other conservative justices who can't see beyond radical Republican guidelines. NBC reports it...

"was a remarkable plea by the chief justice to his colleagues on the court to resist the efforts by right-wing lawmakers to get around court decisions they dislike, in this case Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that made abortion legal in the United States, within limits."

 Debate: We Should Expand the Supreme Court | Intelligence Squared U.S...

At the same time, Nancy Gertner and Laurence H. Tribe are strongly recommending an increase in the court's size to prevent future decisions like the one for Texas abortion rights. They said...

"We now believe that Congress must expand the size of the Supreme Court and do so as soon as possible. We did not come to this conclusion lightly."

If you want credibility for their determination...

"One of us is a constitutional law scholar and frequent advocate before the Supreme Court, the other a federal judge for 17 years. After serving on the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court over eight months, hearing multiple witnesses, reading draft upon draft of the final report issued this week, our views have evolved. We started out leaning toward term limits for Supreme Court justices but against court expansion and ended up doubtful about term limits but in favor of expanding the size of the court."

In other words, they know what they are talking about and collectively have been persuaded that President Biden should add more members to SCOTUS. Yes, there are opponents, many Republicans, and Biden's Supreme Court committee decision is on the fence. However, when you look at the antics of the GOP, particularly in gerrymandering, you have to realize it won't be a level playing field for many years. This makes it advisable that Joe Biden makes the move.

Covid-19 Surges in Michigan - Rest of U.S Next

 

The worst we have seen so far, says Nurse Katie Sefton at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan. The state's hospitalizations jumped 88% in the past month, according to the Michigan Health & Hospital Association. Here's the scenario...

"We have more patients than we've ever had at any point, and we're seeing more people die at a rate we've never seen die before," said Jim Dover, president and CEO of Sparrow Health System.

 More from Dover...

"Since January, we've had about 289 deaths; 75% are unvaccinated people," Dover said. "And the very few (vaccinated people) who passed away all were more than 6 months out from their shot. So we've not had a single person who has had a booster shot die from Covid."

 Michigan hospitals sounding the alarm as COVID-19 surges...

Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said...

Case spikes have hit the Northeast -- where governors are calling in the National Guard to help -- and surges in the Upper Midwest have been "dire," he said.

But here is even worse from Osterholm...

"We expect to see other areas of the country also light up in the next several weeks."

The majority are not vaccinated, according to nurse Danielle Williams, who said the patients commented they "had no idea they could get pummeled so hard by the virus." Where the hell have these idiots been, living under a rock? One health care worker said recently, they were sick and tired of taking care of people who apparently have no regard for themselves or others. It's time for the gulag, where these dumbos can do their thing and kill each other.

UPDATE: The Agony of Stupidity...Did Donald Trump Reintroduce Fascism to America?

 

UPDATE: Fascism expert says Trump’s cult of personality is growing

This country thought it had left fascism behind when it defeated Germany and Italy in the 2nd World War. It took a raving maniac to open the door to its re-entry into to the United States. Donald Trump is the benefactor to a dictatorial form of government his pathetic supporters are willing to tolerate. Trump lost to Joe Biden but has never admitted his loss. Since then, the President has had to muster forces to combat Trump's continuing attacks on democracy.

Biden has also had to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, which, again, Donald Trump holds the responsibility for letting the virus get out of control, resulting in a major problem for the Biden administration. But one thing continues to mystify me in all that is transpiring: why the hell would Trump followers want to succumb to a dictator, especially one that is a lowlife like the ex-president. And why would the apathetics from the left who don't vote seem to endure this lunacy?

One of this country's major allies, Germany, seems to be headed to the radical right, according to AlterNet...

"Germany’s gift to the far right is the Desiderius Erasmus Foundation, the public-policy arm of the country’s most prominent extremist party, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). Erasmus, a Dutch humanist of the Renaissance best known for his ironic essay “In Praise of Folly,” would have been appalled at such a grotesque misappropriation of his name. The AfD, after all, has built its political base on a series of follies diametrically opposed to humanism, from its initial anti-immigration screeds to its current overtures to the anti-vaccination crowd."

 One must wonder, with a new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, just taking office, who is a

member of the Social Democratic Party, plus working closely with Angela Merkel in the past, is he on board with all this? I mean the AfD will be funded to establish outposts of hate throughout the world. The authors' comment...

The far right hasn’t had this kind of opportunity for global expansion since fascism’s heyday in the 1930s."

And it is clear that the Republican Party is regularly doing its part to kill democracy, raising autocracy to new heights. But although Donald Trump persecuted Hispanics and totally shut down Muslims from entering the United States, five fascism experts said the ex-president did not qualify as a fascist...

"Every one of them stated that to be a fascist, one must support the revolutionary, usually violent overthrow of the entire government/Constitution, and reject democracy entirely."

Trump was...

"too individualist for the inherently collectivist philosophy of fascism, and not sufficiently committed to the belief that violence is good for its own sake, as a vital cleansing force."

In other words, he was more into himself that he would embrace a movement like fascism. Steve Bannon, though, is another thing. The Daily Beast reports...

"Bannon may be the poster child for far-right “populism” and “economic nationalism”—euphemistic slogans for neo-fascism and neo-Nazism—but The Brink (in theaters March 29) is no puff piece on the founder of Breitbart News, whose role in the Trump campaign, and subsequent stint as White House Chief Strategist, helped make him an extremist celebrity power broker."

Steve Bannon is definitely an authoritarian who many thought was Donald Trump's brain. It is interesting to note that, as late as October of this year, Bannon was quoted as saying, "You need to kill this [Biden] administration in its crib." But there is still hope and it comes from the state of Georgia, and the far-left of the Democratic Party, a faction I recently criticized. The fact is I have been a Progressive for years but recently tired of the "Squad's" antics.

If You’re Not Scared About American Fascism, You’re Not Paying Attention...

AlterNet starts with quoting the recent low black turnout in Virginia then turns to South Fulton, Georgia, the state’s eighth most populous city, where Khalid Kamau, a “prominent Democratic Socialist… got 59 percent of the vote.” Here's the scenario...

On December 2, the paper noted that two city council members with a combined “four-and-a-half decades of experience” on the panel “were ousted Tuesday by younger, more progressive challengers.” (One victor, 34-year-old Antonio Lewis, is among the activists featured in “The Georgia Way.”)

This may very well point the way to more Progressive candidates from the left, but it does not open the door to stone-walling tactics. And turning back to the original question, "Did Donald Trump Reintroduce Fascism to America?', probably not, but not because he didn't want to. This maniac would have done anything to stay in office, denies losing, and continues to run for president in 2024. Trump has held several rallies since the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection but Iowa was the worst.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and Gov. Kim Reynolds, along with other state politicians joined Trump in October at a rally that CNN's Dean Obeidallah described as "the most alarming by far." Here is Obeidallah's take...

"Some of these very same people, who just nine months ago were slamming Trump for his role in the Capitol riots, were now only too happy to be seen supporting him. This is politics at its worst -- and at its most dangerous for our democracy."

The most hypocritical of the bunch is Sen. Grassley...

who on January 6 was escorted by his security detail to a secure location to protect him from the pro-Trump mob that had laid siege on the Capitol. Grassley, who voted to certify the 2020 election, made a veiled reference to Trump in his statement, noting that the lawsuits filed after the election had failed and that "politicians in Washington should not second guess the courts once they have ruled."

Iowa can do without Chuck Grassley. The U.S. Senate can do without Chuck Grassley. This country can do without Chuck Grassley, just like an abundance of other Republicans in Congress. If we don't stop the GOP's attack on democracy, the U.S. doors will swing open, eventually welcoming a government promulgated by nutcases like the freaked out five, Matt Gaetz, M.T. Greene, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorne and Paul Gosar. Any one of these could lead us to fascism.

 

The Agony of Stupidity...Should we Make Gerrymandering Illegal?

Republicans know that if voting district lines were drawn as they should be, based on Census population data, results would favor Democrats. That is why years ago, when then DNC head, Debbie Wasserman Schultz was asleep at the switch, the GOP started to make its move taking over state legislatures allowing them to gerrymander at will. That's where we are today the most recent action..."Justice Dept. sues Texas over redistricting, citing discrimination against Latinos."

This is the first challenge for Pres. Biden in legal action for redistricting; hopefully not the last. Here's the scenario...

"While the Supreme Court has declined to put limits on partisan gerrymandering, it is illegal to draw lines that are unfair to racial and ethnic minorities."

It, apparently, is clear in Texas that the lines have been drawn to put Hispanics at a

disadvantage in voting, which has been taken by A.G. Garland as a move to prevent a particular race from going to the polls. And from all indications, that would be right. This act is just a continuation of Republican moves on the Latino vote...

“This is not the first time Texas has acted to minimize the voting rights of its minority citizens. Decade after decade, Texas has enacted redistricting plans that violate the Voting Rights Act,” the Justice Department said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western Division of Texas. “In enacting its 2021 Congressional and House plans, the State has again diluted the voting strength of minority Texans.”

Eric Holder is getting involved as the left tires of GOP constant blocking of voting rights legislation, the reason for pressure on Merrick Garland to take action against cases like the move in Texas. Earlier it was required that DOJ had to approve redistricting maps to prevent discrimination. No longer the case, Texas is free to draw the line within the above parameters. Clearly, no one in the Democratic Party trusts Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, rightfully so considering his record.

And here is where we are today...

"But when the Supreme Court eliminated pre-clearance in Shelby, it effectively said that instead of the Justice Department judging whether states are passing discriminatory laws, it will be the courts that decide. Which means it will be the Supreme Court that decides."

Ari Berman: With Extreme Gerrymandering, the Republicans Are Rigging the Next Decade of Elections...

And with a solid conservative majority at SCOTUS, it's pretty obvious the decision we can expect. Joe Biden's commission on expanding the Supreme Court cannot decide currently if this is appropriate. One more decision like voting rights in favor of the GOP should certainly change their minds. Mother Jones says, "Republicans Are Rigging Elections for the Next Decade," covering activity in four states, including Texas...

• In Georgia, Republicans passed a new congressional map on Monday giving their party 64 percent of US House seats in the state...
• In Ohio, Republicans passed a new congressional map on November 18 giving their party at least 80 percent of seats in the state...
• In North Carolina, Republicans passed a new congressional map on November 4 giving their party between 71 to 78 percent of seats in the state...
• In Texas, Republicans passed a new congressional map on October 18 giving their party 65 percent of seats in the state...

Mother Jones adds...

"You get the idea. In state after state under GOP control, Republicans are passing extreme gerrymandered maps that will allow them to pick up enough seats to retake the US House in 2022 and lock-in dominance of state legislatures for the next decade.

This is clearly not democracy when a political party can rig elections, and so far into the future, to be able to insure they win majorities. This is a fight Democrats are losing, and I still say the reason is the left has not been aggressive enough in the past several years. It may be too late, which means simply, democracy will go up in flames in America. 

The Agony of Stupidity: Is our Democracy Finally going Up in Flames?

 

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) based in Stockholm thinks so. According to The Daily Beast they have warned about...

a “visible deterioration” in US democracy that it says began in 2019 and rapidly accelerated after Trump refused to concede the 2020 election.

And democracy loses out for the fifth straight year to authoritarianism with "only 98 democracies around the world—the lowest number in years." So what the hell is going on? Well, to start with...Donald Trump. Then you compound that with a slew of wingnut Republicans riding on T-rump's coattails and you have the perfect formula for disaster. On top of all this there is conservative media like Fox News and maniac news hosts like Tucker Carlson spreading misinformation.

With all this you have to wonder if there is any hope for a return to democratic normalcy and, personally, I don't see that happening any time soon. And based on a recent poll from Harvard University's Kennedy School, we may be losing the younger generation. NBC News reports "There was not a lot of youthful optimism in the data...

"Only a quarter of those who were polled believe democracy in the U.S. is working as well as it should, and only one-third believe democracy is 'healthy' or 'somewhat functioning.' Considering that this group of people includes the country's next set of leaders, those are somewhat concerning findings."

There's more...

"Yes, younger people tend to see flaws in the status quo and are often the 

spark behind change, but when more than half of 18- to 29-year-olds believe U.S. democracy is 'failed' or 'in trouble,' it raises questions about how the next generation sees the future."

The obvious question here is 'don't they see what is going on?' And the answer is,

yes, they do, but there are mixed feelings. This could come from the fact that the left has not asserted much clout over the last few years, allowing the GOP to make strides that currently put them in a position of power in state legislatures, which may lead to taking back Congress in 2022, perhaps the White House in 2024. if you are a lefty, it is frightening.

The idiot Kyle Rittenhouse talks to fellow idiot Tucker Carlson...

And nothing illustrates better how fragile out democracy is than the Kyle Rittenhouse incident...

"The acquittal and subsequent adulation of shooter Kyle Rittenhouse—who says he supports the BLM movement and showed it by bringing an AR-15 to a protest and killing two of its supporters—surely isn’t an auspicious sign for the future of our democracy. It is springtime, however, for violent vigilantes and gun enthusiasts who no longer have to wear their hoods in public or abide by laws and election results they don’t like. Republicans in the House are publicly competing to make Rittenhouse their Congressional intern, while Marjorie Taylor Greene has a bill to give him a gold medal."

There is so much more in these posts from The Daily Beast and NBC that you should read. Maybe this kind of coverage will shock us into the reality that the Republican Party is hell-bent on destroying the democratic system this country has taken so many years to build.

The Epitome of The Agony of Stupidity

 

Jim Jordan is the embodiment of where stupidity has come from, where stupidity is today, and where stupidity might go in the future. Google 'Jim Jordan stupid remarks' and you will get over 9 million hits. Just Security calls him "A Systematic Disinformation  Campaign" with the following comment...

"Over the course of the past year, congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, has engaged in a systematic effort to cast doubt on the integrity of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. He also led efforts to create an image in the minds of Trump supporters of Jan. 6 as the “ultimate date of significance” (his words, repeated several times). He helped spearhead the effort to oppose certification of the election in Congress. He has continued to promote the “Big Lie” even after the events on Jan. 6 and subsequent FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warnings that this conspiracy is propelling domestic violent extremists."

Go to the Just Security site and you will see "15 Highlights" from this moron's...

Timeline of public statements (in Congress, in public, on social media, and in media interviews) and his known activities related to the presidential election and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Jordan also accused of overlooking sexual abuse at Ohio State Univ... 

Folks, it is incomprehensible that the Republican Party would let this wacko get away with it. But, then, that's the new GOP trend with congressional members like Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz, M.T. Greene, Lauren Boebert and Madison Cawthorne, to name a few. The information on Just Security is endless in documenting the antics of Jim Jordan and is well worth the read. And Jordan is mocked in Salon for being so dumb in his defense of Trump in the Jan. 6 insurrection of the U.S. Capitol...

"On Thursday, Jordan argued that Trump could not have been responsible for inciting the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol because it was pre-planned before Trump's "Save America" rally. He went on to highlight details about the disturbing evidence that suggests the riots were premeditated,"

There's more...

"How do you incite a riot that was already going to happen?" Jordan asked. "Pipe bombs were placed near the Capitol before President Trump's speech. -The FBI knew about potential violence before the speech. -Capitol Police requested help from the National Guard days before the speech."

Stupidity reins these days throughout the Republican Party, but it is misfits like Jordan and the others mentioned above who are bringing this country down, And, unfortunately the GOP doesn't give a damn. 

More idiocy from Jim Jordan...

The Agony of Stupidity Ensemble...Donald Trump, Teenage Gun Maker in Georgia, Norway Dumb

 

Unfortunately, things are occurring way too fast to report on only one stupid event. The stupids population around the world is escalating and proliferating to the point that a measurement is needed to track the activity. Here's today's menu...

Donald Trump, in his usual act of defiance, failed to reveal he has contracted Covid three days before his 2020 debate with Joe Biden. Here's the take from The Washington Post's Editorial Board...

"President Donald Trump willfully deceived the American people about the pandemic, the gravest public health catastrophe in a century. He knew the coronavirus was highly transmissible early on, but concealed it. He wrongly claimed that rising case numbers resulted from more diagnostic testing. He made a false assertion that doctors were inflating the death toll from covid-19 to “get more money.” There were so many other deceptions."

And then they go on to say...

"Three days before a presidential debate, Mr. Trump knew but did not say he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Instead, he carried on his campaign and presidential schedule, endangering all those with whom he came in contact."

Read the opinion. 

Then, in the somewhat backward state of Georgia--has to be half crazy to elect M.T. Greene to Congress--a 13-year-old brother is attempting to sell a homemade gun, when the gun was snatched by the buyer who ran. The brother shot at the fleeing thief, hitting and killing his 14-year-old sister. Weird, true and tragic.

Read the whole story.

And now around the world to Norway where you have to question the judgment of 120 people to gather at an event in Oslo, knowing full well of the potential consequences. Only vaccinated people were admitted but, unfortunately, one had recently returned from South Africa and later was found to carry the new Omicron variant. Now this is downright dumb. They're not yet sure of the 60 positive Covid cases, how many are Omicron.

Dr. Tine Ravlo, a local chief physician said...

“We are expecting more of them to likely be Omicron infections,” she said.

 Read the article.

Florida Gov. Ron Desantis...a Totalitarian, Fascist Dictator?

 

That is the implication from David Badash's piece in AlterNet and it is compelling just after the sunshine lunatic's latest move. Ron DeSantis is forming his own army with the justification it is needed to protect his state. What the state of Florida needs is protection from Ron DeSantis. It will cost millions in taxpayer funds, and one must wonder at this point where the hell the state's residents are in allowing this moron free rein over all their rights.

Badash says this move is...

"also being seen as one more potential attack on science during the coronavirus pandemic era. All National Guard members must be vaccinated. DeSantis opposes all vaccine and mask mandates and has invited unvaccinated, fired police officers from others states to move to Florida – and offering them a $5000 payment."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on his private army...

Here's another take from the media...

Perhaps one of the strongest warnings [against DeSantis] comes from SiriusXM Progress host Dean Obeidallah, who calls it "the beginning of a 'Red Army' as the GOP prepares for war."

And another...

MSNBC's Joy Reid likened the move to fascism, asking: "So… y’all know this is fascisty bananas, right…?"

Does anyone else smell a full-fledged Donald Trump in the making? 

 

The Agony of Stupidity...How many people did Marcus Lamb Mislead?

 

Marcus Lamb's Christian Daystar Television Network dedicated hours of broadcasts to anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination activists and groups. They persisted in giving their viewers deceptive information...

In July 2020, the Lamb family devoted an hour of their broadcast to "censorship" around the Covid pandemic, featuring the misinformation group America's Frontline Doctors.

This group is...

"quietly backed by dark money political organizations, evangelizing treatments for or opinions about the coronavirus that most doctors, public health officials and epidemiologists have roundly decried as dangerous misinformation.

There's more...

"In May, Daystar broadcast an hourlong program with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose famous family denounced his anti-vaccination views in May 2019. Kennedy was recently banned by Instagram for posting Covid vaccination misinformation."

Here's my question again...How many people did Marcus Lamb Mislead? 

UPDATE: If Austria can do it, why can't America?

 

 

Germany just joined Austria in a lockdown on the unvaccinated, initiating mandatory vaccines.

As CNN puts it, Austria took an extraordinary step by ordering Covid vaccinations for the entire population. No one thought it could be done, throughout the entire world. Various absurd enticements have been used, especially in the United States, to coerce citizens to do what they should do without any urging. Austria first...

"introduced a lockdown for the unvaccinated — a restriction that went farther than other European nations in singling out the people who have been driving a worrying surge in hospitalizations."

The virus is soaring across Europe; "The continent is once again ground zero for the global pandemic, despite the widespread availability of vaccines." So far, the U.S. isn't in dire straits, but we are again experiencing a surge in both cases and deaths from coronavirus, and the new, more powerful variant, Omicron, hasn't even taken hold yet. So far, the U.S, has experienced 49,677,021cases, 806,194 deaths. We are well ahead in the world on most of the vital statistics...

#1 Total Cases; New Cases; Total Deaths; and #2 in New Deaths... 

Austria protests vaccine mandate...

 As the world leader in all the above, doesn't that indicate some kind of preventive strategy is called for? The biggest obstacles are Republican governors like Texas' Greg Abbott, Florida's Ron DeSantis and So. Dakota's Kristi Noem. There are others, all Republicans, but these are the most vocal. Abbott and DeSantis are known as the leading Covid-19 killing machines. With no regard for their residents and constituents, Texas has 74,429 total deaths, Florida, 61,630.

And now Republicans, headed up by the moron Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)...

seized on a fast-approaching fiscal deadline to mount fresh opposition to President Biden’s coronavirus vaccine and testing mandates.

Even Moscow Mitch is against a government shutdown, and has made this known to other Republicans. But this idiot, Ron Johnson, is doing his best to use an attack against coronavirus vaccine mandates combined with a potential shutdown to put mandates in a negative light. Okay, it may not be the time, yet, for a lockdown for the unvaccinated in the U.S., but the current trend of cases is up with 82,360 daily, unfortunately probably headed for another 100,000 per day again.

We hope we don't have another Austria, but we must be ready. However, it is, sadly, the unvaccinated in this country who are causing the spikes in cases and deaths. It is this bunch of imbeciles that was targeted by Austria, and maybe we should be thinking about it here.

Republican Lauren Boebert prompts death threats for Ilhan Omar

 

But the bogus Boebert isn't alone; she is backed by Matt Gaetz, M.T. Greene, Madison Cawthorne and most lately, Arizona's Paul Gosar. The Daily Beast calls them, "Stupid Sycophants and Sickos." I see them as the Republican Party's latest descent into an extremism that is threatening to bring this country down. Until now it has been extreme rhetoric. With Boebert's latest diatribe of anti-muslim discourse, she brought out the worst...death threats against a colleague in Congress.

DB continues its characterization of these lunatics...

"Even though their latest publicity and fundraising spectacle is another sad reflection of their party’s dangerous descent into extremism, it nonetheless presents the Democrats with a prime political opportunity to expose the Hate Squad as the modern face and beating heart of the GOP."

There is no doubt this venom emanates from the gang's connection and loyalty to Donald Trump. There is absolutely no inclination in any one of the frightful five to turn their efforts into helping their constituents or doing anything to better the country they represent. As a matter of fact, just the opposite. Paul Gosar "tweeted an anime video showing him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and then attacking President Biden with swords."

Watch the perpetual sneer on Boebert's face as she attacks AOC and Pres. Biden...

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy thought it was OK, resulting in only two Republicans, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, voting to censure Gosar for what he had done. With this display of ignorance of what is right, there is no wonder GOP supporters go off on maniacal tangents that lead them to threaten someone's life. At the same time, Donald Trump continues to spread lies and incite violence like he did in the January 6, Capitol insurrection.

And here's what M.T. Greene has been up to...

"Greene was stripped of her committee assignments last year for her utterly outrageous social media posts suggesting that Jews control space lasers that start wildfires, questioning whether the 9/11 attacks were real, suggesting that school shootings were “false flag” operations, and amplifying Q-Anon conspiracy theories. A day after 61 Republican

lawmakers voted to remove Liz Cheney from the party’s leadership, just eleven Republicans joined the united Democratic majority in voting to punish Greene in February."

Next is Matt Gaetz... 

He is "currently under federal investigation as to whether he paid women, including a minor, for sex. His “wingman” Joel Greenberg, a former Florida official, pleaded guilty earlier this year to sex trafficking and is working with investigators. None of this has inspired fellow Republicans to condemn Gaetz, even as their base increasingly believes the QAnon conspiracy—a domestic terror threat—that liberals are Satan-worshipping child molesters who must be violently removed from office."

Finally, No. Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorne...

"seemingly proposed another “Stop the Steal”-type rally in D.C. this week while sympathizing with the “political hostages” that were arrested and charged for participating in the violent Jan. 6 Capitol riots."

Cawthorne is new to the game of Republican annihilation of our democracy, but, no doubt he will get better at it. 

I give thanks to the Daily Beast for the many quotes I have used in this post, and I urge you to read all of the above links. There is so much additional information that I didn't cover, but which is all pertinent to how the Republican Party is attempting to bring down our democracy.

The Agony of Stupidity...Covid-19...2 Stories...2 Deniers...2 Deaths

 

Stephen A. Lawrence died in Tennessee in October. He was 59, recently relocated to Nashville from Garner, NC. He loved helping others but failed to help himself. To a Covid jab. He refused to believe the virus was real; the man must have been unable to assimilate numbers with a raging pandemic going on plastered over all the media of the world. In the end Lawrence even refused to go to the hospital when he couldn't breathe.

He left behind a family...

"Lawrence leaves behind his 92-year-old mother, his brother, a son and many others who loved him, according to the obituary. After the tragedy, David [his brother] said the family is trying to illustrate how important the battle against COVID is, showing people how Stephen's choice is affecting them today." 

One can only wonder the reasoning of a person like Lawrence.

And then there is the appalling story of a man in Maine who as a county lawmaker repeatedly flaunted the coronavirus protocols. But it was his wife who caught the virus, subsequently dying; no word whether she was vaccinated but considering her husband's ideology, probably not. State Rep. Chris Johansen, R-Monticello, resigned from the legislature for the reason that, with his wife gone, he had to take care of the farm.

In a rather cold statement, Johansen said...

“Her dedication to the farm allowed me to dedicate the time I needed to the people of Aroostook County,” Johansen wrote. “With her passing I am no longer afforded that time.”

What's appalling? Johansen wouldn't even admit his wife died of the virus. And obviously impassive...

"A few weeks after Cindy Johansen died, Chris Johansen attended an Augusta rally against the state’s vaccination mandate for health care workers."

The man must be a Covid zombie. 

GOP 'Do Nothings' now "cult of know-nothings"

 

It is a known fact for several years now the Republicans are known as the 'do nothing' party. They would rather block or sabotage Democrats' issues than come up with meaningful legislation of their own. Moscow Mitch, even in his Senate secondary roll today, has still done damage to the Biden agenda. But it the party's allegiance to Donald Trump that has recently defined Republicans, and it doesn't look like this will change any time soon.

In a Hill opinion piece, Bill Schneider led with...

"The Republican Party is becoming a cult. Its leaders are in thrall to Donald Trump, a defeated former president who refuses to acknowledge defeat. Its ideology is MAGA, Trump’s deeply divisive take on what Republicans assume to be unifying American values."

But it has been clear of late that the GOP doesn't really want to unify anything but lies, corruption, deception and violence. Their support of Donald Trump's state after state attempts to invalidate the 2020 election to determine he is a winner is evidence of this. And Trump is the focus, which can be seen here...

"The party is now in the process of carrying out purges of heretics who do not worship Trump or accept all the tenets of MAGA. Conformity is enforced by social media, a relatively new institution with the power to marshal populist energy against critics and opponents."

GOP Green Lights Right-Wing Extremism Within Halls Of Congress...

How does the former White House maniac hold on to this loyalty? The answer is we have to accept the fact that there are more double-digit morons out there than we thought. Trump supporters. Poor souls who have blindly, and still are, completely ignoring what this lunatic did during four years in the White House, and since. Hard to believe...but true. Schneider has more insight...

"What’s happening on the right in American politics is not exactly new. To understand it, you need to read a book published 50 years ago by Seymour Martin Lipset and Earl Raab, "The Politics of Unreason: Right-Wing Extremism in America, 1790-1970." Right-wing extremism, now embodied in Trump’s MAGA movement, dates back to the earliest days of the country."

 In the Lipset and Raab book, the authors conclude, "Right-wing extremism is not about the rational calculation of interests. It’s about irrational impulses, which the authors identify as “status frustrations.” The key words here are "rational" and "irrational," and the Republicans are only guilty of one, obviously the latter. Lipset and Raab also talk about attacking "scapegoats," mostly minority ethnic or religious groups.

Obviously they know nothing about humanity, but there is no better definition of the current thrust of the Republican Party than “the politics of unreason.”

 

What is Wrong with a Federal Firearms Registry? Got Something to Hide?

 

Are gun owners afraid to admit or reveal they own firearms? Maybe it's because they have an arsenal at home and don't want the government to know. The idea the Feds will take your guns way should only concern those who are doing something illegal or unethical in their gun ownership. In a country where there are more guns than people, there are 393 million civilian-owned firearms in a population of 333,728,343. To say the above is absurd is the understatement of the year.

So far in 2021, there have been 40,704 gun violence deaths broken down by 18,792 homicides, 21,912 suicides. There have been 646 mass shooting, in most cases involving an assault weapon, and tragically 1,374 children have died from gun violence and hundreds injured. If you can argue that there should be more guns on the street after seeing those numbers, and deny the fact we need more gun control, then you are a thoughtless, heartless gun nut.

A gun registry could help improve those numbers simply by the fact that a gun used in the killing or wounding of an individual can be quickly traced back to its owner. If you are a law-abiding firearms owner, you have nothing to worry about. However, here is the opposition to the registry,,,

"Republican Rep. Michael Cloud of Texas led 51 of his colleagues in a letter to acting ATF Director Marvin Richardson on Monday, expressing their concern over a proposed rule by the agency that Republicans fear could eventually lead to a backdoor gun registry around Congress’ prohibition."

What the hell is a "backdoor gun registry?" The term implies the fact that it would be wrong to legislate something that could save lives, particularly those of innocent children. Involved is a "20-year burn date that the federal firearms licensees must abide by, requiring them to preserve firearm purchase records older than two decades." Records eventually end up in the hands of the ATF. And what's wrong with the leading gun agency knowing who owns guns?

Gun Violence Today Explained...

This is all ludicrous, but there is even more. This same group of Republicans says...

"The Biden administration is yet again ignoring the real threats against America and instead using political leverage to encroach on the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens."

And finally, these gun nuts in Congress make the case for gun control advocacy. They say the new rules...

"will enable the Biden administration to collect more information on law-abiding gun owners, all with the purpose of eventually having a registry of every gun owner in the United States."

Of course it will. And what is wrong with that? 

The Agony of Stupidity...Another senseless Republican

 

This wingnut, William Hartmann, not only an anti-vaxxer and anti-masker, but also a purveyor "the Big Lie — the false, totally debunked conspiracy theory that Donald Trump really won the 2020 presidential election but was robbed of a victory because of widespread voter fraud." Hartmann is a former vice-chairman of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers in Michigan. He's also a crackpot that thinks 'it's just a virus.' This idiot is now in intensive care, condition unknown.

Hartmann is taking up space in a Michigan hospital ICU that someone with a legitimate health problem might need. Yes, I do believe this moron's case is not legitimate in the eyes of the health community, as has been voiced by a number of doctors and other health care professionals. Here's an example of Hartmann's lunacy, he...

has "criticized the vaccine and compared government COVID-19 efforts to Nazi Germany."

I have advocated repeatedly that these medical maniacs should be corralled in a gulag somewhere and let them kill each other. Well, now, I have another idea...the U.S. should buy an island that is for sale off either Florida or Texas (reference the two senseless governors, Greg Abbott, Texas, Ron DeSantis, Florida) where resistance to pandemic protocol is maximum. Put the anti-vaxxers, maskers on the island and quarantine them for life.

The latest Covid-19 figures for the U.S. are 49,022,858 cases, 798,894 deaths. Pretty big numbers, wouldn't you say, for 'just a virus?' Something has to be done about these people who have no consideration for themselves and others. Okay, I've got it, call it Cuckoo Island.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

 

Don't we all wish it could be happier, and...more thanks and giving...

The Agony of Stupidity...7 Brainless Doctors Who Never Learned

 

One, a Dr Bruce Boros was dumb enough to think Ivermectin would help, he said... “I have never felt healthier in my life.” Then the idiot cardiologist and staunch anti-vaccine advocate caught Covid-19 two days later. Head event organizer, Dr John Littell told the Daily Beast...

six other doctors among 800 to 900 participants at the event also tested positive or developed Covid-19 symptoms “within days of the conference”.

You have to wonder what part Florida Gov., the demented DeSantis, had to do with all this, if not directly, most certainly indirectly. But apparently these docs flew in from other states, so, obviously Littel would say they brought the virus in with them. Littel said...

“Everybody so far has responded to treatment with ivermectin … Bruce is doing well.”

However...

"The Beast said sources close to Boros said he was gravely ill at his Key West home."

This incident just proves, once more, that you cannot believe anti-vaxxers, and here you have a supposedly educated group of physicians. In a Facebook post Boros...

"condemned Dr Anthony Fauci, Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, as “a fraud” and said 'big pharma is playing us for suckers.'” 

 Dr. Peter Hotez On Vaccine Disinformation...

There's more, Boros even "criticized his 97-year-old father" for getting the coronavirus vaccine, saying...

“He had been brainwashed … He got it. He didn’t tell me. I was very upset. I wanted to give him a spanking. He got both jabs.”

This kind of talk coming from a medical professional is unconscionable since it becomes authoritative to those susceptible to the anti-science movement that has killed. It would be nice to know how many have died from irresponsible pariahs like Boros. The doc should know that Ivermectin was discredited earlier this year "after data was found to have been falsified and patients nonexistent." It would seem to me Boros' actions border on mal-practice.

Finally, a warning from the FDA...

people should “never use medications intended for animals on yourself or other people. Animal ivermectin products are very different from those approved for humans. Use of animal ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19 in humans is dangerous.”

And this is why you should never believe an anti-science advocate. 

MUST READ QUOTES...from...Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis...the killing machine

 

The science is clear from experts that tell us, yes, having the Covid-19 virus can establish a certain level of immunity, but one that needs the follow-up of vaccination to insure more solid protection. Here's the reasoning from the scientific community...

"how much immunity COVID-19 survivors have depends on how long ago they were infected, how sick they were, and if the virus variant they had is different from mutants circulating now. For example, a person who had a minor case one year ago is much different than a person who had a severe case over the summer when the delta variant was raging through the country. It’s also difficult to reliably test whether someone is protected from future infections."

Enter the demented DeSantis, Florida's governor who has to-date killed 61,081 of

his constituents by opposing coronavirus masks, vaccines and any other Covid protocol that the Biden administration calls for. Here's the quote...

“We recognize, unlike what you see going on with the federal proposed mandates and other states, we’re actually doing a science-based approach. For example, we recognize people that have natural immunity,”

His "science-based approach" apparently evolves from the twisted mind of DeSantis along with the moron he appointed State Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, who entirely supports the governor's policies. You would think Floridians would have the brains to simply look at the numbers: 3,726,720 coronavirus cases that represent 173,515 per 1000 population. The U.S. average is 146,761. What is even worse is the new Florida law this lunatic passed...

"The new Florida law forces private businesses to let workers opt out of COVID-19 mandates if they can prove immunity through a prior infection, as well as exemptions based on medical reasons, religious beliefs, regular testing or an agreement to wear protective gear."

By the way, it is Ladapo that "will have authority to define exemption standards." So far, Joe Biden has chosen not to interfere in Florida politics, although with the constant flow of DeSantis' deranged criticisms, he has certainly had the openings. The sunshine state twit back in July fundraised off t-shirts, "Don't Fauci my Florida." Now, 2 golf balls with the inscription, "Florida's Governor has a Pair." Now this is the kind of thing one would expect from a high school sophomore.

Just as it was with another maniac, Donald Trump, it is the supporters that are just as much at fault as the clown on parade. If you can look at those numbers, above, and not agree that he should be removed from office, well, you deserve what you get. After a number of protests from individuals and lawmakers over vaccine mandates, no one has come up with credible scientific facts that refute the fact there is anything better than a jab in the arm as the surest Covid-19 prevention.