ARIZONA: Home of Insurrectionists

 

Here we go again. The January 6, 2021, insurrectionist rioting proved that a substantial portion of Americans--and I use the term "Americans" loosely--do not respect the U.S. Constitution. Leading Phoenix columnist E.J. Montini says it all in his headline, "Arizona's Jan. 6 insurrectionists should be barred from holding office." We have a gang of Republican lawmakers in this state that have taken it upon themselves to rewrite the laws of the state and the country.

They are U.S representatives Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar along with former state Rep. Mark Finchem, now running for Arizona secretary of state, and former state Rep. Anthony Kern, now running for the state Senate. Montini reports...

"Finchem and Kern were at the Capitol that day.

"Biggs and Gosar gave more aid and comfort to those attempting to overturn the election and stage a coup than just about anyone in the country."

There is also the case of the moron from North Carolina running for reelection to the U.S. House, Madison Cawthorne, who has been challenged by the state's Board of Electors saying he "fails to comply with an amendment." Here is Section 3 of the 14th Amendment...

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Naturally, Republicans are ignoring this, focusing rather on the justification of the insurrectionists reported in this New York Times piece, "G.O.P. Declares Jan. 6 Attack ‘Legitimate Political Discourse.’" There is no explanation for this kind of attitude other than the intention to abolish American democracy. The GOP wants an autocratic government with a despot to be named from its ranks since Donald Trump has fallen from favor.

Montini isn't finished with the Arizona radical right...

"And then there is every member of the fake slate of Republican electors who filed paperwork to try to overturn the will of the people. None of them should be permitted to hold office. Ever."

CNN confronts Karen Fann, the woman behind bogus Arizona election audit...

Don't forget, it was Arizona's premiere Republican idiot, State Sen. President, Karen Fann who led the fight for the infamous audit on 2020 election results that cost the state millions with the results that Joe Biden did, in fact, win the election. Then Montini concludes...

"If we believed in oaths – believed that those who swear to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” must be held to that promise – then none of the insurrectionists from Jan. 6, and none of those who gave them aid or comfort, would be permitted to hold elected office."

I'm sorry but I believe that Republicans worship only one thing...POWER. Moscow Mitch McConnell has paved the way for the thirst for political influence. Now look at Kevin McCarthy, who would likely take over as Speaker if the GOP wins back the house. It is frightening for those of us who believe in democracy, and the thought of living under another Republican rule in the future is not only disheartening but very, very daunting. 

News You Won't Believe

 

Czech singer Hanka Horká dies after intentionally getting infected by the coronavirus...Here's why...

"in an apparent move to skirt restrictions limiting access to some venues to people who have been immunized or recently recovered from infection, her family said."

 Add the fact that she was not vaccinated and exclaimed she had beaten the virus two days before she died. Go figure...

Why aren’t Americans more alarmed by white-supremacist violence?...

The feds have done their part in arresting, charging and taking to trial these insurrectionists who charged the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. More than 150 have pleaded guilty of this action. Here are the results of the study...

"Both Democratic and Republican participants were least concerned about random violence with no motive; respondents from both parties picked it less than 40 percent of the time. Democrats and Republicans were both most concerned about attacks motivated by the Islamic State, selecting these as more worrisome more than 60 percent of the time.

"But when it came to antifa and white supremacy, the two groups diverged. Democrats selected violence by antifa as more concerning 45 percent of the time, while Republicans selected it 55 percent of the time. Conversely, Democrats selected white-supremacist violence as more concerning 60 percent of the time, while Republicans selected it 50 percent of the time.

"In other words, Republicans found violence by antifa more troubling than white-supremacist violence."

Go figure... 

Utah Senate president appeared for a session unmasked after testing positive for COVID...How dumb can you get, or does this moron just not care how many people he gives coronavirus to? Here's the scenario...

According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Senate Chief of Staff Mark Thomas offered an update about the series of COVID tests Utah Senate President Stuart Adams (R) took in the days leading up to the session on Tuesday, January 18. Thomas indicated that Adams "tested negative on Monday, then tested positive Tuesday morning."

The later test was iffy but wouldn't a thoughtful person quarantine in the best interest of his colleagues? Oh, that's right, he is a Republican. Go figure...

Stressed hospitals are asking workers with covid to return — even if they may

be infectious...Okay, this happened in the state of Florida, and with a surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, appointed by the demented Gov. Ron DeSantis, you would probably expect it. The Washington Post reports...

Candice Cordero still had a fever and a cough late last month when, she says, her hospital told her it was time to come back to work.

The Bradenton, Fla. nurse was stunned — and worried she could still be contagious seven days into her breakthrough covid-19 infection. When an employee health representative said she could come back anyway, citing updated federal health guidance, Cordero said she refused. She viewed it as too risky.

Well, the CDC hasn't been too clear recently with their guidelines and here is what a hospital spokesperson said...

[What had happened] "was inconsistent with hospital guidelines, including that health care workers should stay home if they have a fever. 'People want to go into the hospital and know that they’re going to be safe — not get infected by a virus they could get sick and die from.'”

My thoughts are that anyone would agree with that except a dull-witted anti-science person. Go Figure... 

Debunking a wild Covid-19 conspiracy theory pushed by a GOP House candidate...To start, he is from Arizona so one might expect the dumbest possible idea from one of our stupid Republicans. And you would be right. Here's what Jeff Zink said from the New York Times...

"Mr. Zink, a onetime church deacon, referenced the biblical Book of Proverbs as he outlined why he believed Covid-19 was a bioweapon meant to convert the United States to socialism, and lamented that the United States 'was no longer a Christian nation.'"

Folks, this is what we must deal with in the state of Arizona, and it exists from the governor's office down to the legislature. And the voters love it. CNN's Chris Cillizza checked out the biblical connection. There is a book by Dr. Richard M. Fleming called "Is COVID-19 a Bioweapon?: A Scientific and Forensic investigation." There's more...

The book's blurb reads this way: "Clearly, the US government isn't decided on what really happened at the start of the pandemic. Was it truly a (sic) animal to human transmission to be blamed on a bat in a Wuhan, China wet market? Or was a much more sinister plan at work?"

Cillizza says the book is a waste of time. Will this madness ever end? Go figure... 

The Insane Republicans of Arizona

 

Remember the Florida recount of 2000, the hanging chads thing? It was Democrat Al Gore against Geo. W. Bush with the latter's lead so small Gore took it all the way to the Supreme Court which ruled the recount was over. Katherine Harris, then Florida's Republican Sec. of State ruled the election in favor of Bush. Harris was assailed by the left for her decision, but, evidently it was legal. Neither Gore nor a host of Democrats believed they had lost but had the brains to realize defeat.

If you are interested in that outcome, here is the 2018 article, "The Florida Recount Of 2000: A Nightmare That Goes On Haunting."

Fast-forward twenty years to the 2020 presidential election between Democrat Joe Biden and something or another Donald Trump. It was a reelection for the ex-White House maniac at a time when much of the public still didn't know how he won in 2016. And being the idiot Trump proved himself to be in his four years in office, he refused to believe he lost. He immediately started denying the results of state elections, enlisting governors and legislators to support him.

And that's when the mentally challenged gang of Arizona Republicans took up his mantle and ran with it, and I do mean ran. Head moron and Senate President, Karen Fann, brought in a mutually incompetent gang from Florida known as the Cyber Ninjas who cost the taxpayers of Arizona millions and came up with the fact that

Joe Biden did in fact win the 2020 election. Even then Fann and others from the GOP wouldn't give it up, likely because Trump wouldn't concede, still hasn't.

Here's how local Columnist Laurie Roberts puts it...

"You thought the audit of the 2020 election was over, that it ended in September when the Senate’s own Trump supporting auditors could find no evidence of widespread fraud.

"O ye, of far too much faith that, at some point, sanity will sink in.

"That the state Senate’s Trump contingent will accept the fact that their guy lost, freeing us poor taxpayers from having to continue shelling out money to chase a conspiracy that doesn’t – and didn’t – exist.

"They won’t and so we will. Open our wallets wide once again, that is."

This time the less than adequate Republicans think we had a hacker from either "China (or maybe Venezuelan?)" that compromised the voting machines and, "as the conspiracy theory goes, switched thousands of Donald Trump votes to Joe Biden?" Meanwhile the county has confirmed there was no hacking. Two sets of election experts confirmed this. What the hell do we need? And then they wanted computer routers from the county which was refused. 

So, here's where that led...

"Former Rep. John Shadegg, a former Republican congressman who is serving as a $500-an-hour special master, contracted by the county to answer the senators’ detailed questions about the routers."

There's more...

"To do that, Shadegg on Friday hired three IT experts, each of whom will travel to Arizona to examine the county’s routers and the Splunk logs that are used to analyze computerized data."

Shadegg has already billed the state $16,800 and no one knows yet how much the three experts will charge. Laurie Roberts goes on to question the reasoning of all this, what she calls, "a colossal waste of our money." The Republican legislature apparently doesn't care and the voters out there who put them in office don't have the brains to know what's going on. I recommend that you check this commentary out for a hilarious look into Arizona politics.

More on the Destroying of American Democracy

 

Tucker Carlson, who admits to being a liar on the air, appears to have taken up the mantle of Donald Trump whose social media accounts have been canceled. Without a mouth, the number two misinformation mouth has taken over. Here's the scenario...

"The power balance was on vivid display just last week on the night of Jan. 6, when Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who finished second to Trump in the 2016 GOP presidential primary, essentially apologized to Carlson as he tried to explain why he had described the attack on the Capitol a year earlier as “terrorism,” a description Carlson and his audience didn’t like."

READ MORE... 

And here is an issue we all would like some conclusion for. When is Donald

Trump going to be indicted? Charlie Sykes, conservative Bulwark founder, has concluded...

"there is more than enough proof that Donald Trump and his inner circle made a provable attempt to steal the 2020 presidential election through fraud."

And folks, this is an ultra-conservative. But there's more...

"Sykes pointed to a CNN report that stated, "...then-President Donald Trump's allies sent fake certificates to the National Archives declaring that Trump won seven states that he actually lost," which have also been labeled forgeries."

READ EVEN MORE... 

Carl Bernstein says we were losing our democracy before Trump went to the White House. I would say its exodus started around the period when Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the House (1995-1999) and when Karl Rove was Geo. W. Bush's top adviser (2001-2009). The damage incurred during these years was enough to rattle the foundations of democracy, leading to open warfare on American justice. Bernstein says...

"the United States had not been functioning smoothly for several decades. He said it would take an extraordinary event in the coming years to unify the country."

The author also says...

"Our democracy, before Trump, had ceased to be working well and for 25, 30, 35 years we were in what I've called 'a cold civil war' in this country," he told the news outlet. "Trump ignited it and we're not going to go back from this place unless there's some great event that somehow unites this country."

READ MORE... 

One of the leading threats to our nation today is the anti-science gang; against

social distancing, wearing masks, and the most dangerous, against vaccines. They walk around spewing garbage about their freedom while at the same time infecting friends and family with the coronavirus. They call the pandemic a hoax, something created by the left that is a falsehood. False to the fact we have 75,715,662 cases of the virus in the United States, 907,956 deaths.

These non-believers in true science have put rogue governors like Florida's Ron DeSantis and Texas' Greg Abbott in motion to deny federal laws and regulations, acting as dictators on a state level. Other Republican state heads have followed their lead nationwide. We are at the mercy of a conservative gang of despots who are urged on by a constituency of double-digits who voted them into office. The latter is very scary when you consider we are coming up on a midterm election.

The following is frightening...

"Lee Haywood got the COVID-19 vaccine. He’s seen friends lose their lives to the virus, and watched others struggle to recover. A smoker for 37 years, he believes the medical evidence showing that the vaccine sharply reduces his chances of a severe infection.

"Yet on the frigid afternoon of Jan. 23, Haywood, a 61-year-old Republican running for a North Carolina congressional seat, was near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, standing among signs that read “Vaccines kill” and “Stop the Vaccine Holocaust.” He had helped organize a bus carrying 35 people from Greensboro to the capital."

This is what Haywood said...

“I’m against the forced vaccinations or forced wearing of these masks by these bureaucrats deep in the bowels of the government,” Haywood says. “This country was founded on liberty, and these mandates just slap everybody in the face.”

READ MORE... 

But what I am most afraid of are morons in the Republican state legislatures across the country with bills like this one from Arizona state Rep. John Fillmore (R), which would allow the state legislature to overturn results of a primary or general election they (Republicans) don't like. The bill...

"would substantially change the way Arizonans vote by eliminating most early and absentee voting and requiring people to vote in their home precincts, rather than at vote centers set up around the state.

Most dramatically, Fillmore’s bill would require the legislature to hold a special session after an election to review election processes and results, and to “accept or reject the election results.”

This idiot, Filmore, is effectively taking away the vote for anyone unable to leave their home, and the dufus still doesn't believe the results of the 2020 election. And, unfortunately this is the kind of imbeciles we have running the state of Arizona. 

 READ MORE IF YOUR STOMACH CAN STAND IT...

Earlier Post: "America is Destroying its Democracy -The Experts Agree"

 

 

America is Destroying its Democracy -The Experts Agree

 

The first site I came upon was one that we would not see if not for the administration of Donald Trump. As you read this post you must do it with the understanding that, although former president Barack Obama left the country in reasonably good shape at the end of his presidency, there had been an undercurrent for his eight years to thwart everything he did. This included the Democratic agenda in general. The major culprit was and still is Moscow Mitch McConnell.

Additions to this unconscionable less than a human being is Kevin McCarthy, who has been actively working to replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker in a wishful Republican takeover of the House. And then there are state governors like Florida's Ron DeSantis, Texas' Greg Abbott and So. Dakota's Kristi Noem who have given dictatorship a new meaning. They are running their states in such a Hitleresque manner it is a wonder the constituencies don't revolt.

And that, folks, is where our democracy has gone. And why the media is covering it like the following...

The Washington Post says, "Democracy is on the brink of disaster. For voters, it’s politics as usual." Sam Rosenfeld recognizes the fact that the American public has decided to let politicians run away with their country, and do absolutely nothing about it. Apathetics, I call them. And maybe Trump isn't all to blame as Rosenfeld reports...

"Worries about the state of American democracy didn’t begin when Trump rejected the election’s results — indeed, they predate his entrance into politics. For the last two decades, analysts have connected dysfunction in governance to deepening party polarization, marked by an asymmetrical Republican shift toward procedural hardball and extremism."

READ MORE... 

Canadian author Stephen Marche opens his new book, "The Next Civil War:

Dispatches from the American Future." with "The United States is coming to an end. The question is how." And with the natural reaction from Americans when an outsider criticizes us, he or she is just a U.S. hater. Not so says the author, Dean Obeidallah, who explains...

"In fact, as Marche explained on my SiriusXM radio show last week, it's the opposite: Marche wrote his book because he "loves" the US after working and living within its borders off and on for years. His hope, he says, is to warn Americans of where the nation is going before it's too late."

It seems that everyone but Republicans have discovered the fact that our country is on the verge of losing its democracy and wants to help...

Marche isn't the only Canadian worried about their southern neighbor's future. Just days before Marche's book released, political scientist Thomas Homer-Dixon -- the executive director of the Cascade Institute, which focuses on ways to address threats to society -- penned a powerful op-ed in Canada's "Globe and Mail" that begins with a similar warning. "By 2025, American democracy could collapse, causing extreme domestic political instability, including widespread civil violence," Homer-Dixon writes. "By 2030, if not sooner," he adds, "the country could be governed by a right-wing dictatorship."

READ MORE... 

In a New York Times opinion piece, David Brooks says, "America Is Falling Apart at the Seams," a statement highly appropriate in the sense that the wheels seem to be coming off from the states to the federal government. Brooks found that driving in the U.S was down during the coronavirus pandemic but the number of traffic deaths rose 7 percent. Two numbers that don't make sense until you take into consideration the pandemic has raised the stress level to the breaking point...

"While gloomy numbers like these were rattling around in my brain, a Substack article from Matthew Yglesias hit my inbox this week. It was titled, “All Kinds of Bad Behavior Is on the Rise.” Not only is reckless driving on the rise, Yglesias pointed out, but the number of altercations on airplanes has exploded, the murder rate is surging in cities, drug overdoses are increasing, Americans are drinking more, nurses say patients are getting more abusive, and so on and so on.

From airplanes to school rooms there are outbursts like we have never seen before. This article is so all-inclusive on America's fight for democracy that I strongly recommend reading it all. 

More on America's destruction of democracy later.

The Agony of the Outrageous

Donald Trump falsely claimed that Democratic politicians say that "babies can be killed even after birth." This was in Arizona, folks, so anything goes. The double-digit Republicans here will believe anything the former White House maniac says. After all, we have an ex-ice cream salesman for governor and a former Fox News purveyor of misinformation running for governor to replace Ducey.

 This is a comment from Trump in Florence, a suburb of Phoenix...

"We're done taking lectures on science from a party that tells us men and women, women are men, and the babies… and this is a fact, the babies can be killed even after birth."

 The Insider reports...

"Trump was likely referring to disproved allegations that then-Governor of Virginia Ralph Northam promoted infanticide in an interview in 2019."

Doctors say a Tik Tok trend of cooking chicken in cold medicine is dangerous.

On the outset any person with any brains at all would know not to do this. But apparently Tik Tok does not attract rocket scientists, rather a group of young people who will attempt just about anything suggested by their peers. Here's the scenario...

In one satirical video in which a man claims he's making a cold remedy for his sick wife, he pours bright green decongestant over the chicken and advises letting it sit there for "5 to 30 minutes" as the medicine marinates in the chicken.

"Make sure you're constantly flipping over the chicken. You don't want to give one side more attention than the other," he tells the camera. "Sometimes the steam really makes you sleepy."

Cheers!  

Ron DeSantis Opens Antibody Centers That Are Useless Against Omicron. In case you are not in the loop, Omicron has surpassed Delta in its transmissibility and its coverage, thus, the virus we are fighting now. But, this is something the demented governor of Florida would do for two reasons...

ONE: His top donor invested millions in the COVID-19 antibody treatment the Florida governor is touting. TWO: DeSantis is so stupid he probably doesn't know what an anti-body is anyway.

 Here's what the Daily Beast says...

If Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were a responsible leader dedicated to the well-being of his constituents, he would have made clear that the Regeneron monoclonal antibody being administered at his five new treatment sites is all but useless in the current COVID-19 surge.

But DeSantis is DeSantis, and therefore his own top priority. He is happy to offer false hope in the middle of a pandemic—as his state breaks infection records week after week—if he believes it is to his political advantage.

Ron DeSantis obviously cares absolutely nothing for his Florida constituents since he has blatantly allowed 5,289,959 Covid-19 cases and 63,569, many preventable, deaths with his reckless handling of the pandemic.

 Peace!

The Agony of Stupidity...Republicans and the 2020 Election

 

Some wingnut math teacher from Ohio by the name of Douglas Frank, with a Texas flag print bow tie, uses the National Anthem to rev up a crowd of double-digit Republicans to listen to his ridiculous, absurd mathematical equation that he claims proves the 2020 election was stolen. Here's the scenario...

"Just about every county in the country was hacked," Frank told the dozens of Texans huddled in a ballroom at a local country club on Sunday. When he finished speaking more than 90 minutes later, they gave him a standing ovation.

The fact that absolutely no evidence of fraud in the 2020 election has been found. and we know of hundreds of attempts by the GOP to find just the least amount of indication there was tampering. Zip...Nada. But does that satisfy these idiots? No, they are hell-bent on coming up with the answer that Donald Trump did in fact win the election. And this mathematical moron is just another example of how this gang of imbeciles is willing to believe anything that will prove that.

And guess who is backing Frank? None other than Mike Lindell, the My Pillow

CEO, another crackpot spewing misinformation on the election and Donald Trump. Lindell brags "he has already spent $25 million on his efforts to push election fraud claims." Listen to how Frank justifies his crap reported by CNN...

"In an interview, Frank told CNN that he is an "expert witness" for Lindell's attorney, and he is paid for specific projects. He said groups that invite him to speak cover the cost of his travel and lodging. Others donate money to support his efforts. Still, Frank insisted he wasn't motivated by money or his newfound stardom among election deniers."

"My goal is to be able to pay my bills, and it's working," Frank said. "I've been able to do this a year now and my bank balance isn't getting smaller."

I'll bet it isn't. But apparently Frank's use of the "sixth order polynomial" equation is the key to his claimed success. I looked that up and here is the definition...

"In algebra, a sextic (or hexic) polynomial is a polynomial of degree six. A sextic equation is a polynomial equation of degree six—that is, an equation whose left hand side is a sextic polynomial and whose right hand side is zero."

The only thing I get from this is the "right hand side is zero," which would be an indication of the Republican lack of credibility in all this bullshit. Okay, how the hell can you people believe this garbage? I know you are from Texas and anyone who would elect Greg Abbott governor is likely to believe just about anything, but come on folks. Here is CNN's take on Frank's math...

"The equation may be better suited to math wonks, but Frank takes liberties in his presentation with snappy lines that succinctly -- and inaccurately -- describe his findings."

 Here are some comments from Frank...

"America was stolen by an Excel spreadsheet," he told the crowd at a North Carolina event.

In Idaho, he explained his theory on phantom voters: "They are inflating our registration rolls, stuffing phantom ballots and then cleaning it up afterwards. It's that simple."

He has even absurdly claimed his discoveries could land Trump back in the Oval Office.

You wonder how long America can take this hogwash? Apparently as long as this slice of the obtuse political spectrum is at work spreading this kind of fake news and the bigger slice in this country lets them get away with it. We have let this movement get away from us and we will be sorry if it isn't stopped now.

 

42% of Republicans Lie About Fake News

 

There is no doubt when you mention fake news, the first thing that comes to mind is the Fox Network. Blabbermouths like Tucker Carlson who even admitted recently that he lied and spewed misinformation. But Fox isn't the only culprit and Politico proclaims One Group of Americans Who Are Most Likely to Spread Fake News is low-conscientiousness conservatives. The research of two Duke U. professors says we oversimplify blame, generally placing it all on republicans.

In this case Politico is zeroing in on this profile saying...

"it’s not conservatives in general who tend to promote false information, but rather a smaller subset of them who also share two psychological traits: low levels of conscientiousness and an appetite for chaos. Importantly, we found that several other factors we tested for — including support for former President Donald Trump — did not reliably predict an inclination to share misinformation."

If not primarily Donald Trump supporters, who? The piece says "researchers, social media platforms, politicians and members of the media to focus their efforts on low-conscientiousness conservatives (LCCs for short) in particular." On the other hand, you can't beat these conservatives over the head with the fact they are using fake news. And here's why...

"To be clear, existing research has found that conservatives have a greater tendency toward misinformation than liberals do. For example, during the 2016 election, individuals who leaned conservative were more likely to engage with and share disinformation on Twitter and Facebook. Likewise, in the early months of the pandemic, conservatives were more likely to believe Covid-19 was a hoax, and to downplay the virus’" severity.

Nearly Half Of Republicans Admit To Lying About Fake News...

In other words, Republican conservatives are more gullible than liberals, which would indicate to me a higher level if intelligence in the latter. Here's the authors' definition of low-conscientiousness conservatives...

"the tendency to regulate one’s own behavior by being less impulsive and more orderly, diligent and prudent."

What this means to me is that this gang of anti-Americans are able to ignore their principles, that is, if they have any, and discipline themselves to complete a cause, no matter how bizarre or illegal it might be. Highly conscientious conservatives and their liberal counterparts are much less likely to succumb. So what does drive LCCs to spread misinformation? The researchers...

"asked participants to report their leanings on a range of potential influences: level of support for Trump, time spent on social media, distrust of the mainstream media, and endorsement of conservative social and economic values. To our surprise, none of these factors was a reliable predictor of LCCs’ elevated tendency to share false news stories."

Through a statistical analysis it was found that this bunch simply wanted chaos.

That sound familiar from Moscow Mitch McConnell and the fellow GOP not producing any agenda on the right, rather creating discord throughout the country to thwart anything the Democrats do? This is the tragedy of why the United States is in such great trouble with the Covid-19 pandemic, voting rights, racism, inequality and more.

You can blame it on Joe Biden all you want to but this research proves exactly where the buck has stopped.

I urge you to read this article because I have only touched on the surface of low-conscientiousness conservatives.

Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis Destroyed by Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom

 

With Florida's demented governor, Ron DeSantis, spewing bullshit over his new budget and his recent "successes," California governor Gavin Newsom stepped up to the plate and ripped him to pieces...

"They're [DeSantis, Abbott, etc.] performance artists, some of these people,” the governor snapped. “All you have to do is watch Fox and then just decide to plug in. I mean, it's about the easiest thing I've seen in politics. It's just, ‘What's the ticker on Fox primetime?’”

“With respect, we'd have 40,000 more Californians dead if we took [DeSantis's] approach,” Newsom continued.

“I do not look for inspiration to that particular governor … to not only the pandemic, but to other policy, including the absurdity that was his ‘woke’ initiative and the laughability around stopping something that doesn't exist, around critical race theory — just playing in and placating the right-wing punditry. It’s the CPAC primary. It’s rather absurd. And that's why I respectfully submit that so much of this is pure performance.

What is most frightening is the fact that this moron, and I am talking about

DeSantis, wants to run for president. We've just had one Republican imbecile in the White House, and this country cannot stand another one. 'But wait,' as the TV commercial says, there's more. Nikki Fried, who has served as the 12th Florida commissioner of agriculture since 2019, a Democrat, has repeatedly criticized Ron DeSantis comparing him to Adolph Hitler on several occasions.

According to Florida Politics, Fried believes that Donald Trump is now officially after DeSantis...

"Fried thinks the booster shot back-and-forth is only the beginning of issues between the Governor and his erstwhile political patron. In Jacksonville Thursday for gubernatorial campaign events, Fried predicted the former President would complicate DeSantis’ re-election prospects, potentially trying to “destroy” the Governor."

DeSantis' term as Florida's governor ends this year, meaning, if he at least wants to hang on to the top spot in the sunshine state, he has to run in November. But if he is serious about the presidency, he has to throw his hat in the ring now. Fried says...

“What I think is going to happen is we all know President Trump wants to run for President again, and so does Gov. DeSantis. And so you’re going to have two individuals that are going to hit heads.”

There's more...

“And Trump is not somebody who’s going to sit back. He created DeSantis. And he fundamentally believes that he can destroy DeSantis.”

 Gov. Gavin Newsom Compares CA & FL COVID Response...

But it is entirely possible that someone like Gavin Newsom will do the job before Trump has the chance. While DeSantis talks of putting a band aid on Florida's problems (Florida has had a total of 5,039,887 Covid-19 cases, 63,084 deaths), both 3rd highest in U.S., Newsom shows how it's done in California...

"Making use of a massive budget surplus, Newsom also proposed spending another $2 billion to address his state’s homelessness crisis (on top of the $12 billion in last year’s budget); investing $22.5 billion over the next five years to fight climate change; paying health care expenses for every low-income adult in the state regardless of their immigration status; and devoting $102 billion to help schools deal with the ongoing pandemic and expand early childhood education and child care programs."

With plans like this, people have a tendency to listen to the positive and to success. But California does have its coronavirus problems with 6,635,535 cases of the virus and 77,928 deaths. The huge difference is that Gavin Newsom is using

proven scientific protocol to fight Covid-19, not the fake science used by Ron DeSantis. Florida Politics reports...

Trump has predicted that if he runs for President again, DeSantis will not run. But DeSantis has not promised he will not run for President, apparently irking Trump. Instead, DeSantis has tended to deflect the question.

So when will the showdown occur, and most of all, who will come out on top and who will end up all bloodied? 

Recollections of U.S Racism

 

Today is Martin Luther King Day, the same date in 1968 King was asasinated standing on a balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. I lived in Memphis for several years in the 50s and 60s, know where the Lorraine motel is, and know how racism must have been festering in the South on that date. It still is, and isn't just in that part of the country. But now, because Covid-19 origiginated in China, the bigots are afrer Asians. 

It would be nice if we could celebrate some progress today, but, unfortunately, it has gotten much worse, thanks in part to Donald Trump.s four years in the White House. My post of August in 1999 dociments the antics of some of the worst offenders: "Racism at its worst in the U.S.today documented." I called these incidents, "Horrifying examples of racism in the United States." I am appalled at the face of one woman and the finger of the other.

Here's one I posted in 2012, commenting on racism in the state of Mississippi, "At best, Mississippi is an apologetic racist state." I spent time in the state, once lived there, but mostly in the late 50s and 60s in a sales position and remember blatant use of the "N" word. Here's an excerpt from that post...

To say that racism is no longer prevalent in the South is pure bunk. But this problem isn’t confined to the Southeast region. I now live in Arizona and can attest to the fact that this state is one the most racist I have ever been in. The modern take on racism has moved into the 21st Century to include Hispanics, and racial fanatics like former Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce who authored anti-immigration bill SB-1070, signed by his partner in prejudice, Gov. Jan Brewer.

I live in Arizona and can verify regular bigotry still exists here. Just recently the

pro-basketable team Phoenix Suns were accused of racism targering the owner Bob Sarver and his wife. Another 2019 post is a "Welcome to rampant racism for the ages," which covers the global aspects of this discrimination. Here's a passage from that post...

The U.S. doesn't have an exclusive on racism; it is worldwide, says the site Global Issues. It also suggests an interesting concept that racism is a "misunderstanding of Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution." It goes on...

Since the above is pretty lengthy, please read it in the blog. And another on 2017, "Donald Trump-Jeff Sessions share history of racism." I recall here a quote used repeatedly by Trump while still in office, "[I'm] the least racist person that you’ve ever encountered?" You know what happened between Trump and Sessions. And here is another post where I ask, "Is racism still a dirty word, or...just accepted today?" The answer is an unequivocal YES! Hre's how I start the post...

My take is that it is definitely a dirty word, even many racists would agree with that, but it is like one of those rogue genes that are the basis for a particular kind of behavior which allows those who have it to justify what they do. I grew up in the South, fighting with racists all my life, even within my own family, and when I finally left in the 1960s, there were still lynchings of black people, their houses being burned to the ground, all orchestrated by the Ku Klux Klan.

As a very young man, I once watched a Klan lynching, hidden behind bushes since I knew I cold be next if they saw me. I was with two other kids my age, friends until I witnessed them chortling to themselves in support of what was going on. It is my feeling that this illegal racist execution is what solidified my hatred of racism. It has never changed. These are a few of my blog posts on racism, but you can see all of them here.

 

 

The Republican Party and its Antics Stink

 

That's right! The Republican Party has a distinctive stench that has been building for the last several years and threatens to develop into a full blown putrid, rancid, rotting cult of denial and incompetence. And they are determined to take democracy down with their ineptitude. CNN says that it is, "The biggest news story of 2021? Our imperiled democracy," with this comment...

"The headlines began in January with the first serious attempted coup in US history and have been running ever since, highlighted by the unceasing machinations by supporters of Donald Trump to either restore him to office or find some extra-legal way to eliminate the possibility he could ever lose if he ran again."

In this piece, Bill Carter, a media analyst for CNN, points out that, even with a raging coronavirus pandemic, "our imperiled democracy is the biggest story of the year." Considering the impact of Covid-19 with 64,789,362 U.S. cases and 868,128 deaths, this statement should scare the hell out of any American that cares about the future of their country. Carter comments further...

"I certainly don't believe I have seen any other news story in my own lifetime, which goes back to the 1950s, that has shaken the nation to its foundations as this one has."

Former President Barack Obama says, "Democracy is at a greater risk today," adding...

“while the broken windows have been repaired and many of the rioters have been brought to justice, the truth is that our democracy is at a greater risk today than it was back then.”

Former Pres. Obama warned about democracy's loss a year ago...

In other words, we, as a nation, learned absolutely nothing from a gang of Trump Republican double-digit hoodlums attacking the U.S. Capitol, doing damage to the premises and making the first real charge on our democracy in years. There are those who support this kind of insurgency, those who don't, and then there are the apathetics. It seems the latter is a growing majority, the ones who stay at home for elections, then bitch and moan when they don't like the results.

Obama puts it all in perspective by chastising the GOP, going all the way down to state legislatures...

“Historically, Americans have been defenders of democracy and freedom around the world — especially when it’s under attack,” he continued. “But we can’t serve the role when leading figures in one of our two major political parties are actively undermining democracy at home. We can’t set an example when our leaders are willing to fabricate lies and cast doubt on the results of free and fair elections.”

CNN's Jake Tapper says, "Americans aren't hearing the 'democracy in danger' alarm," and I believe he would agree that those who have are not doing enough. But the warnings are there...

There is "a dagger at the throat of democracy," President Joe Biden said

 

Thursday.

The country "teeters on the brink of a widening abyss," former President Jimmy Carter.

In her remarks Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris put the January 6 insurrection alongside Pearl Harbor and 9/11 as a wake-up call for Americans.

And here's another important point of view, "Majority of business leaders believe democracy is threatened," a faction that the GOP should be listening to. Karl Evers-Hillstrom of The Hill says...

"Seventy-two percent of business leaders say they are concerned that U.S. democracy is under threat, according to a Morning Consult poll of 400 company executives released on the one-year anniversary of the Capitol riot."

That is significant and a group that President Biden should tap into to support his voting rights legislation. Here's the scenario...

“This research clearly shows that the leaders in America’s business community view democracy and voting rights as an economic issue,” said Rhett Buttle, founder of Public Private Strategies. “Now, it is important that advocates, policymakers, and leaders in Congress and the administration engage the business community to advance solutions that will stabilize our democracy and protect access to the ballot for every voter.”

Joe Biden's voting rights legislation hangs with barely a thread and it would appear he does not have the votes to save it. When you think of it, the right to vote is so basic under our Constitution...the way in which individuals express their political preferences. Then ask yourself, why do Republicans want to deny the right to vote for a selected few? The answer, of course, is that they lose elections when these select individuals are allowed to vote. Keep this in mind when voting in November.

 

 

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to health workers...'Shut up and save us.'

 

E.J. Montini, local Phoenix columnist, strikes again, and as before, he castigates the current governor-thank God! only one more year-Doug (the DUD) Ducey for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic in Arizona. In his recent State of the State address, Ducey's emphasis was on education and border security, each of which is important, but this idiot ignored the state's 1.5 million Covid-19 cases, and 25,000 deaths. Basically, his reaction,"Shut up and save us."

Montini's response...

If I was one of them I’d be tempted to respond, “Fine, then save yourselves … jerks.”

If I was one of them, I would organize state healthcare providers and come up with a recall petition to dump this moron in disgrace before the end of his last year. More than "1,000 physicians, nurses, caregivers and others have signed an open letter to Gov. Doug Ducey, health care leaders and state and county officials asking for immediate action to help combat the latest omicron surge of COVID-19 cases in Arizona," according to the Arizona Republic.

Here is an excerpt from the letter...

“Our healthcare workforce is suffering from moral injury and burnout from the sustained onslaught that wave after wave of COVID has had on us, our families, and our communities. The COVID-19 pandemic is running unmitigated throughout the state and is straining our hospitals and affecting patient standards of care. Our current situation is unsustainable.”

"Unsustainable," should ring bells and send up flags all over the governor's office.

So, one must assume that Ducey's aides are as stupid as he is? Two top aides left last August, his Chief of Staff, and Deputy Chief of Staff, to take jobs in Washington and Arkansas. The COS is a key position for any politician and you have to wonder if what little brains Ducey had...left with them. The letter also clearly states healthcare workers are suffering from moral injury and burnout.

Here's the scenario...

"The group is asking Ducey, lawmakers and other officials to implement indoor mask requirements, increase access to COVID-19 testing, provide free, high-quality masks to the public and increase funding for air filtration systems in schools and businesses. And they want a safer workplace for themselves.

"They’re asking us this collectively, and they’re asking it individually. You can see some of their stories online."

Recognize CDC protocol? Wearing a mask indoors, increase COVID-19 testing, increase funding for air filtration systems in schools and businesses. This doesn't sound unreasonable to me and these moves could help suppress future outbreaks of the virus. Phoenix-based Dr. Christina Bergin is one of the letter signers and had this to say on her Twitter account...

“We are the ones seeing the devastation of this pandemic day in & day out. We know the realities of working in the hospital and in outpatient settings right now … And that earlier thread didn’t even get into single rooms turned into double rooms, or physicians trying desperately to find beds for critically ill patients but not being able to find any. And it didn’t address the deep moral injury that comes from seeing so much death … .”

Montini wraps it all up with nurses on the frontline begging for help with both Covid cases and deaths soaring. The totally obtuse Ducey chose to ignore all of the above in his State of the State address. But even after all this Montini notes that none of the healthcare workers said, “Fine, then save yourselves, jerks.” They have an oath they keep, which they do. Politicians have one too, but do not keep it.

I would like to thank E.J. Montini for his excellent commentary, which provided the substance for this blog post.

Doctors Venting Misinformation Guilty of Malpractice?

 

NBC says "doctors spreading lies are facing almost no consequences for what they’re doing." You've heard it before...you should be honest with your doctor so he or she can provide you with the best medical treatment. And, the Hippocratic Oath demands as much of physicians. You trust the doc, so, if they go online and come up with some disinformation for either attention or for profit, some will believe it, no matter how false or bizarre. It's happening every day on the Internet.

The Associated Press reports that 70% of Americans trust doctors "according to the poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research." This is bipartisan among Democrats and Republicans; as well as equal among men and women; and white, Black and Hispanic Americans. In addition, nurses are trusted 79%, pharmacists 75%, but hospital executives only 22%.

NBC's opinion piece, THINK, continues...

"But a vocal minority of doctors are undermining this relationship and taking advantage of the public’s trust by intentionally spreading Covid misinformation and disinformation."

And here's how...

"From making false claims about vaccines to offering to sign medically unnecessary mask exemptions in exchange for payment, these “disinformation doctors” are amplifying lies and often profiting from a cottage industry of social media posts, websites, live and virtual conferences and podcasts."

‘I think you’re crazy’: CNN reporter confronts doctor spreading Covid-19 lies...

This is scary as hell since it is obvious that some of this misinformation must have resulted in deaths. And that is why physicians who do this must be held accountable. Have you heard this one?...

"Across the country, physicians have falsely claimed that Covid vaccines change people’s DNA, that the vaccines have been proved ineffective at preventing Covid and that the vaccine has killed more people than the disease itself."

One must wonder why those poor souls out there who believe this crap don't take the time to check it out. But, the fact that they don't is what these bogus physicians depend on. And the worst part is...

"these doctors are facing almost no consequences for what they’re doing. Data shows that nearly every state medical board — the state-sanctioned government agencies with the authority to license, investigate, discipline and regulate medical doctors — is failing to hold these doctors accountable."

They stick together and protect each other. Bet you have been in the position where

you criticized one doctor to another and the doctor you are talking to makes excuses for a colleague, just because they are another doctor. There have been warnings from the Federation of State Medical Boards, which represents the nation's 71 state medical boards. Here's the scenario...

“Physicians who generate and spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation are risking disciplinary action by state medical boards,” including having their licenses suspended or even revoked. In December, the federation shared survey findings showing that two-thirds of state medical boards had seen an increase in complaints “related to licensee dissemination of false or misleading information.”

Here are the results...

only 12 of the boards — just 17 percent — reported taking disciplinary action against those disseminating false or misleading information.

The figure of 17% is abysmal and just proves doctors are bound together to protect each other, which puts patients in a precarious position, in some cases a life or death situation. So what do you do? You've heard the age-old phrase, 'If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.' Take a minute to check out what you hear, especially from the Internet, and report anything that looks fraudulent. It could save your life, as well as others. 

Insurrection Index Lists Names of Those Connected with Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Riot

 

It has been said that Donald Trump sat in the Oval Office watching "with glee" the mayhem going on at the U.S. Capitol. And just yesterday Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan told the Jan. 6, commission that he would not cooperate. Many double-digits across the country agreed with Jordan, but many did not and are giving their testimony. This includes Trump's vice president, Mike Pence. Here is what the Insurrection Index is all about...

Insurrection Index is a searchable database of records on individuals and organizations in positions of public trust who were involved in the deadly attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. As of January 2022, the Insurrection Index has over 1,000 records of those in public trust who played a role in the insurrection.

There are gobs of information on "elected officials to extremist groups, individuals and organizations mobilized thousands for an egregious attack on democracy." All led by one man, the ex-White House maniac. If you want people, just select "View all profiles." You'll find a host of names including the infamous Wis. Sen. Ron Johnson, who is doubles as an anti-science advocate. Also Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Roy Blunt, Rand Paul, Rick Scott, Pete Sessions, Louie Gohnert and more.

WATCH: Capitol insurrection: Tracking the attack 1 year later...

With each picture is the position of the person. It goes on for 20 pages and I am horrified by the number of participants alone. Next is a U.S. state map, listing the numbers of individuals, elected officials, candidates from office and individuals arrested from that state. There are 1,404 records in the database that include people of trust in this country, those that should be protecting our democracy. These number 214 elected officials, 393 organizations and 1,011 individuals.

There is a box where you can search by insurrectionist name, state or affiliation. There is also a place to donate if you want to support this group. My gut tells me this is a work in progress, and one that will be a top priority for Democrats in the 2022 and 2024 elections. In the meantime, NPR is bringing us up to date on the Jan. 6, riot investigation with the reminder...

"It's been one year since a mob of Donald Trump's supporters, armed with everything from pipes and flagpoles to chemical sprays, smashed their way through police lines and into the ornate halls and chambers of the U.S. Capitol.

"The deadly assault on Congress, as lawmakers met to certify Joe Biden's election win, temporarily forced them to scramble for safety and disrupted the peaceful transfer of power."

Christopher Wray, FBI Director, has branded the attack an act of "domestic

terrorism," initiating "a sprawling federal investigation to track down and bring to account those who took part in the mayhem." Attorney General Merrick Garland says Justice is working hard to "identify, investigate and apprehend defendants from across the country." But based on Garland's handling of the Trump corruption investigation, some think it is not enough.

You'll want to check out the Insurrection Index now to see how many culprits are in your state. And then I suggest regular visits in the future, if you are interested in keeping up with the Jan. 6, investigative committee.