UPDATE - 12/15/24: The arguable politics of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

LATEST: New York Attorney General Letitia James today released a statement after the Attorney General of Texas filed a lawsuit against a New York doctor for providing telehealth abortion care. See it here.

Ken Paxton

What is the goal of this sue-happy backwoods lawyer from Texas in his non-stop litigation? He has filed 100 lawsuits against Joe Biden, alone. He is so proud of this distorted interpretation of the law that he posts it on his own site. He is suing companies over forever chemicals, also filed a lawsuit to stop Texas counties from sending out voter registration. The list goes on and on with this scenario...

"In 2020, seven members of Paxton’s staff reported concerns to federal authorities that he was abusing the powers of the office of Attorney General. All of those aides were subsequently fired, resigned, or placed on leave. Four of those fired aides then filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Paxton. And while Paxton survived a trial in the Texas Senate over their allegations, the lawsuit remained."

This is Texas politics and Paxton, along with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, are beginning to make Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis look good. These two tyrants have turned the state of Texas into an oligarchy, and the residents of the state seem either oblivious or uncaring. There is even an influx of people moving into the state. I dare say most of them are conservatives since most liberals would not deign to this kind of rule. Paxton was denied in appeal his motion to allow Texas fair-goers to carry guns in the fairgrounds.

Paxton joined Abbott in erecting barbed wire and floating marine barriers on the Mexican border for the purpose of denying immigrants entry. Two died from the razor wire and, since 1998, at least 8,000 undocumented migrants have died attempting to cross the border from Mexico to the US. Of course these people from Mexico and other countries should be forced to enter legally, and that is a huge shortcoming by both the right and the left, but the way

Greg Abbott

Texas is handling it is barbaric. 

And yet another massively inhumane law, The Texas Heartbeat Act, which has been in effect since September 2021, prohibits abortions once a 'fetal heartbeat' is detected, except in emergency situations. Any doctor who violates this strict law risks up to 99 years in prison. There have been three deaths of Texas women who weren't allowed the care to save their lives. This has prompted many women to travel out of the state for abortions. The law has also motivated several doctors to close practices and move out of Texas.

So, I say, why would anyone want to live where the state government is in perpetual litigation for, in some cases, questionable issues.. Your tax dollars are paying for the millions in attorneys fees from the law firms Paxton has hired. The time spent on all these escapades could certainly go toward more productive things for the people of Texas. The Washington Post wrote in 2022...

"Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas, has been under felony indictment for securities fraud since 2015...He is under FBI investigation for assisting a real estate developer who allegedly hired his mistress and remodeled his home."

And Texas politics strikes once again. Prosecutors in March of 2024 agreed to drop the securities fraud charges facing Attorney General Ken Paxton if he performs 100 hours of community service and fulfills other conditions of a pretrial agreement. 

Yes, people are still dying from the killing machine at the border, and women die because of a cruel law that sacrifices their life for political gain. It is all beyond understanding.

Two sides of death

Heaven and Hell

Thomas Paine was a deist, which is the belief in a God who created the universe but does not intervene in its functioning. He was an opponent of organized religion and Christianity, but he believed in a deity that was evident in nature. I am an agnostic, somewhat similar to Paine, and, in lieu of Christianity, I have a different opinion about the hereafter. Here is more Paine...

Paine believed that those who spent their lives trying to make others happy would be happy in the afterlife. He also believed that the wicked would be punished.

My opinion of the hereafter is a place where there is a huge chain-link fence to affinity, with one side bright, cheerful, upbeat and festive. The inhabitants reside in paradise, a blissful utopia that sees its residents in the prime of existence with no physical problems.

The other side dark, raining, sleeting, snowing with regular bouts of oppressive wind and engulfing surges of water. The occupants are all chained with a length that only allows them the room to get to the fence and wish they had led a better life.

There is a watchdog and it is his job to come up with methods to further torture those on the dark side. Like the denial of food and drink, forcing the bottom dwellers to disrobe in the cold, rain and snow. Making these poor souls walk on hot coals to get to the food and drink they are allowed.

Donald Trump will destroy democracy

These are two very specialized ideologies, but meant to be a simplification of the unyielding difference between right and wrong. We have lost our way in this determination today, particularly on the political scene. We have an incoming Oval Office lunatic that has threatened to jail Jan. 6 committee members and his enemies in general; He wants to deport 11 million immigrants and doesn't care if there are U.S. citizens caught up in the process; He has focused on unqualified and incompetent people to fill his administration.

There is more, much more, and the downside of it all is that Donald Trump wants to destroy our democracy and replace it with an autocracy. And, unfortunately, some of the American public, and it must be a relatively large portion, has turned into apathetics. They want someone to make their decisions, and for the life of me I will never understand how they want to trust Donald Trump with this task. The next four years could prove a reckoning and this includes Trump and all his minions.

Donald Trump's new administration of criminals

People who left Trump White
House first admin.

Donald Trump could not have done any better in assembling a gang of criminals for his administration than if he had conducted his recruitment in a prison. To begin with, Trump, himself, has been indicted in four cases, convicted in one and penalized in several civil lawsuits. Political scientists Austin Sarat and Tom Dumm, in a Salon article republished by RawStory, say...

"There is, of course, nothing wrong with giving people second chances after they have paid their debt to society," the pair wrote. "But everyone Trump has nominated or appointed thinks they owe no debt to society. Each of them contends or is portrayed by Trump’s transition team as a victim of a political prosecution or a left-wing smear campaign."

• First, there is former trade adviser Peter Navarro who will return to the White House after serving a prison sentence for contempt of Congress.
• And then there is his son-in-law, Jared Kushner's father, Charles Kushner, who will be ambassador to France, despite his own criminal convictions.
• Although there is no litigation, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth was picked to be defense secretary, in spite of multiple charges of misconduct.
• Again with no litigation, former Rep. Matt Gaetz had to withdraw as attorney general nominee due to accusations of his sexual trysts with minors.

The authors bring up the competence of the nominees and while Navarro and Gaetz are questionable, and Kushner is most certainly borderline, Pete Hegseth's nomination as

Pete Hegseth

Defense Secretary is beyond ludicrous. There are lots more who are somewhat dubious but don't necessarily carry the baggage of legal problems. Are you ready for this?

• Marco Rubio does not have the strength to be Secretary of State.
• Pam Bondi would trash the Attorney General's office with her spoken vendetta of Donald Trump's enemies.
• There are screams all over the medical community from doctors and scientists that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will destroy medicine as we know it today.
• And Kristi Noem as the Secretary of homeland security is another one that keeps you rolling in the aisles with laughter.
• Tulsi Gabbard, as Director of national intelligence, is highly questionable since she doesn't really know if she's on our side or the side of the Russians.
• Dr. Mehmet Oz has a fascination with Medicare advantage, in lieu of its rival so his nomination as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator could jeopardize regular Medicare.
• Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy heading Department of Government Efficiency is a total joke. Two morons for the job and Ronald Reagan couldn't make it work. Donald Trump sure as hell won't be able to.
• Stephen Miller as Deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser worries me a lot. This man and his ideologies are just plain scary.
• Kash Patel as FBI director is in the Pam Bondi mode; would rein the department with his rage against Trump enemies.
• here is one who appears qualified for the job, Susie Wiles, as White House chief of staff. And if she can hold Donald Trump down, she will deserve our applause.

It will be interesting if all, or at least some of these nominees are approved by the Senate, just how long it will take for the axe to fall on the first one.

Who is to blame for Brian Thompson's murder?

Police closing in on Brian Thompson shooter

First up would be the shooter, whom authorities believe they have found. You might think that is sufficient to explain the taking of a person's life but you would be wrong. Remember, this person had positioned him or herself in wait for Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, for the purpose of killing him. It would appear that the shooter didn't know Thompson, thus, there was some other objective in what he did. The people have spoken in social media with an opinion that Thompson deserved what he got.

Vox says it all in its headline, "The deep roots of Americans’ hatred of their health care system." The article by Dylan Scott reports there is significant evidence of the fact that the way the country provides medical services is costly in both money and human life. Not only the lives of patients but now a life of the CEO of the largest health insurer in the U.S., UnitedHealthcare. The public is more than justified in its anger when a company who could save your life uses AI for a reason to let you die. Vox goes on...

"On the same day as the shooting, news that a different insurer would restrict coverage for anesthesia during surgeries went viral, serving as a kind of cosmic confirmation of this line of thinking."

This was withdrawn almost immediately with the murder of Brian Thompson. It was a stupid decision to arbitrarily restrict anesthesia time in surgeries, to save money, of course, with no consideration whatsoever for the needs of the anesthesiologist, who, in fact, has the responsibility for the patient. Here's another blunt comment from Vox...

"Put every aspect of this tragic episode together and you have the rotten core of American health care. The cruelties of the US medical system and the ongoing blame game between the private industries that profit from it have left patients angry and confused — and looking for someone, anyone, to blame, fairly or not."

Luigi Mangione, suspected
Brian Thompson murderer

Scott thinks the only way to solve the problem is to confront all the industry offenders who are responsible for this aggregate of failures. The author also harks back to the days when medicine was much simpler. The participants were allies, not fighting each other constantly for profits. He also explains, "prices have continued to spiral upward, accelerated by the aging of the baby boomers and by important but costly advancements in medical science." Conversely, guess we couldn't do without any of this.

Obamacare was a strike against the private insurance industry, but since its enactment, Republicans have tried non-stop to kill the program. With only a mention now, but worth considerable coverage in the future, big pharma was caught off-guard by Biden's recent Inflation Reduction Act. We'll see the full effect in 2025....

"a provision allowing for Medicare to negotiate prices with drugmakers, which would lower costs and allow the program to cap seniors’ out-of-pocket costs."

And I have never seen a blame game carried out with the intensity of that in the medical insurance industry. Here are the sordid facts...

• Hospitals blame drug companies (for charging high prices that they must pass on to payers) and insurers (for restricting benefits and leaving patients exposed to uncovered bills)
• Drug companies blame insurers (for charging patients high out-of-pocket costs for medications) and hospitals (for exploiting technical programs like 340B to artificially boost their profits); they also blame the pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) who coordinate among drug manufacturers, plans, and pharmacies
• Insurers blame hospitals and drug companies (for charging too much money for their services and products, which patients bear through higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs)
• Patients blame everybody (for the high costs they face and the hassles of navigating this complicated system).

I can only hope that this murder will not take the same course as does those in gun violence...here today, gone tomorrow.

 

Will Brian Thompson's murder end a corrupt insurance industry practice?

Doctors without authority

Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare was murdered and drew headlines like this on WGTC...

"‘He was a serial killer’: Americans have no tears to shed for murdered CEO who denied patients life-saving care."

This may seem callous to some but it is a pent-up feeling for years of those deprived of their rightful medical care. WGTC continues...

"UnitedHealthcare is the kind of insurance company that scams people, but we hardly ever hold it accountable. Well, some people on the internet haven’t forgotten about the company’s past."

Social media is screaming how UnitedHealth has the most denied claims in the industry and they do it by using AI. The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations reported, "the nation’s insurers have been using AI-powered tools to deny some claims from Medicare Advantage plan subscribers," according to YahooNews.

There's more...

"The report found that UnitedHealthcare’s denial rate for post-acute care — health care needed to transition people out of hospitals and back into their homes — for people with Medicare Advantage plans rose to 22.7% in 2022, from 10.9% in 2020."

There is also a lawsuit accusing Brian Thompson and other executives of UnitedHealth of insider trading related to an ongoing Justice Department investigation, according to YahooNews. Here's the scenario...

"Thompson, 50, was one of three UnitedHealth Group executives named in a class action lawsuit filed in May that accused them of dumping millions of dollars worth of stock while the company was the subject of a federal antitrust investigation, which investors say wasn’t immediately disclosed to shareholders."

Taking advantage of this privileged access to inside information is considered a breach of the individual's fiduciary duty. And if you're willing to break one rule, why not another, which, of course, was Thompson's initiation of the use of AI for the purpose of denying claims. A move that ranks UnitedHealth the frontrunner in that process. 

Neiscope says the public's reaction is incredibly dark, with one person cracking the following remark, "Our apologies, but bullet wounds are only covered under our Platinum+ package." Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch commented...

"Let's be clear: any act of violence or loss of life is a tragedy. But the internet's indifference to Thompson's passing — and gallows humor about the notorious deficiencies of the private insurance industry — are simultaneously ghoulish and illustrative of America's profoundly dysfunctional medical system."

The cost of medical care has gone up while the quality of care has gone down. But the epitome of it all this is there is now a company "whose business model depends on turning down payments for care recommended by doctors for their patients," according to ProPublica.org. (They sell this software to insurance companies). The name of the company is EviCore by Evernorth and they are owned by the insurance giant Cigna. Here's the scenario...

"A ProPublica and Capitol Forum investigation found that EviCore uses an algorithm backed by artificial intelligence, which some insiders call “the dial,” that it can adjust to lead to higher denials. Some contracts ensure the [insurance] company makes more money the more it cuts health spending. And it issues medical guidelines that doctors have said delay and deny care for patients."

There is no wonder the American people are furious over being conned out of the healthcare that is rightfully theirs. But when will the masses revolt against this wrong and others perpetrated by Donald Trump?                                         

Why hasn't Joe Biden issued blanket precautionary pardons?

President Biden has a list but this time it is a good one. It includes those who have actively opposed Donald Trump, and he is considering giving them blanket precautionary pardons. Daily Beast describes them "Trump’s biggest political foes," with a mix of Republicans, Democrats and former administration staff...

The main three are former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, Anthony Fauci, former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Adam Schiff, newly elected California Senator. There are more.

Here's a headline for you from Reuters: "Trump taps team geared toward retribution and remaking of government." A clearcut designation of loyalists who share Donald Trump's thirst for revenge. And, a promise to take away your democracy and turn it into a dictatorship. I don't believe the average person in this country wants to give up thinking for themselves and turn over their lives to an oligarchy. Only the double-digit Trump followers. 

And here's a kicker from Reuters: "Trump's team reflects preference for outsiders with disruptive mentality."

Kash Patel, Trum's current choice to head the FBI has bluntly "vowed to go after Trump's perceived enemies," according to Reuters. Listen to this from Politico..

"For years, Trump has peppered his speeches and social media posts with vengeful calls for his political opponents, his critics and members of the media to be prosecuted, locked up, deported and even executed. In the waning weeks of the 2024 campaign, he escalated those promises of retaliation to a fever pitch."

According to NPR, many of Trump's targets are lawyering up...

"It would be naive and foolish for anyone not to take this seriously," said Mark Zaid, an attorney who represents several people threatened by Trump. "We have to prepare as much as we can for what might be coming."

Zaid adds, although he is somewhat concerned, he hopes Donald Trump's vengeance objectives will not have to leave the country for protection.

Is this the kind of America you want to live in? For the anti-Trump group, it is an unequivocal no. 

Trump taking healthcare from most needy

 

Do you live in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah, or Virginia? There are three million of you who could immediately lose your health coverage if the Republicans cut extra federal Medicaid funding that's helped states to increase what you receive.. Here's the scenario from AlterNet...

"If Congress cuts federal funding, Medicaid expansion would be at risk in all states that have opted into it — even those without trigger laws — because state legislatures would be forced to make up the difference, said Renuka Tipirneni, an associate professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health."

There are forty other states and the District of Columbia extending this health insurance to 21 million people, a move that has brought U.S. uninsured rates to an all time low. In exchange, the federal government pays 90% of the cost to cover the expanded population. A lot of this does depend on politics at the state level. Here's another if..

"If Congress cuts federal funding, Medicaid expansion would be at risk in all states that have opted into it — even those without trigger laws — because state legislatures would be forced to make up the difference.

Republican states would no doubt oppose the above and let the program expire. The article points out that "Six of the nine states with trigger laws — Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, and Utah — went for Trump in the 2024 election.

"Conservatives oppose the ACA, saying "the program costs too much and covers too many people." Liberals say "the Medicaid expansion has saved lives and helped communities by widening coverage to people who could not afford private insurance." And here's an interesting fact...

"Nearly a quarter of the 81 million people enrolled in Medicaid nationally are in the program due to expansions." 

In other words there is a specific, established need here, but Donald Trump doesn't think it is necessary. I have come to the conclusion that the new Donald Trump administration is not necessary. 

 

MR. PRESIDENT: If you look frail, if you talk frail, and if you walk frail, you must be frail...

 

 

  ...too frail to lead this country for another four years. I know, we all know, what you are afraid of; the lunatic who could win the White House without a strong Democrat in the race. But, the American public has decided as reported by Politico...

"Biden’s slide in the polls since the debate puts him in a hole larger than all but two incumbents — who were both defeated for reelection — going back more than four decades."

Four Democrats have come out in favor of you dropping out of the race, while it's still time to prep a new candidate. Make no mistake, Mr. Biden, this is of extreme importance since the election is only a little over three months away. Some of the pundits say it is already too late. Axios reports...

"8.5 million watched Biden's ABC News interview."

 ...only 16.6 percent of the number who watched the debate. One might draw the conclusion that many voters have either made up their minds or just weren't interested. Neither is good for Joe Biden.

In the George Stephanopoulos interview, the President said he didn't need a cognitive test because he takes one every day.  David Axelrod in the New York Post...

“When George Stephanopoulos asked him (Pres. Biden) if he’d be willing to take a cognitive test, he said, ‘I take a cognitive test every day.’ Well, the fact is, that may be true, but 75% of the American people think he fails,” said Axelrod.

And what is astonishing is Mr. Biden denies he is losing to Donald Trump, again from Axios. From the West Coast, "Hollywood moguls want to replace Biden for America’s leading role," according to Axios...

"Several feel deceived by the White House and top campaign officials for keeping Biden's age issues a secret while they promoted his candidacy and donated millions."

An example...

"Abigail Disney, a longtime Democratic supporter, told CNBC she planned to stop any contributions to the party "unless and until they replace Biden at the top of the ticket."

ABC News reports, "Wealthy Democratic donors sound alarm over Biden staying in race," and this is the call all over the current political spectrum. So why doesn.t President Biden answer the call and do the right thing? Now, when a new candidate can be groomed to beat Trump. The time is slipping away, if it isn't already too late. If I were Joe Biden, I would not want to go down in history as the one who helped in the destruction of democracy.

Please Mr. Biden, do it now.

The search for a termination to Trump violence

 

If supporter reaction is any indication as to the backing there is for Donald Trump violence, look at what the Daily Beast says happened right after his 34 count guilty verdict...

"Just moments following former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict on 34 counts in his hush money case in New York, WinRed, the Republican fundraising platform, crashed due to an influx of supporters flocking to the site to donate to the presumptive Republican nominee."

And, yes, a dollar donated to Donald Trump is a dollar donated to violence. But, at the same time the left saw fit to also take advantage of the situation...

"However, Trump and his supporters weren’t the only ones who were fundraising off of the verdict. Democrats immediately started sending out emails asking for donations to their campaigns including Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Wiley Nickel (D-NC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee."

Meanwhille, a Republican Congress mirrors "Trump’s attacks on justice system and campaign of vengeance after guilty verdict," as reported by the Associated Press. This never ending idolatry for a certified lunatic has brought the GOP to the edge of disaster; their persistence has given them no choice but to continue a path of destruction. His detractors were quickly silenced...

"And those Republicans who expressed doubts about Trump’s innocence or political viability, including his former hawkish national security adviser John Bolton or top-tier Senate candidate Larry Hogan of Maryland, were instantly bullied by the former president’s enforcers and told to 'leave the party.'”

The Guardian reported, "‘No way out without bloodshed’: the right believe the US is under threat and are mobilizing." A sign by one of Trump's minions says, "Load Your Muskets," a call for violence if I ever heard one. Dan Bongino on Truth Social media said, “Pick a side, or YOU are next,” clearly a hostile threat to anyone who doesn't agree with these hypocritic turncoats. More from The Guardian, misinformation is pushing the drive to bring more Republicans into the fold...

"In one viral claim, people say it’s not clear what crimes Trump even committed (the charges for falsifying documents are listed in detail in the indictment, and have been broken down piece by piece by the media). In another, posts claim the judge gave incorrect instructions to the jury before deliberations, which an Associated Press fact check deemed false."

Salon says, "So far, however, Trump's open desire for more mob violence has not amounted to much." But that changed when SCOTUS recently "ruled in favor of a January 6 defendant who argued that he was wrongly convicted under a law criminalizing the obstruction of an official proceeding." It isn't clear yet the extent of this ruling, but it is certainly an opening to put these convicted rioters and murderers back on the street. They tried to take over the government through insurrection, defined as...

An act or instance of rising in revolt, rebellion, or resistance against civil authority or an established government.

Only idiots would deny what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, and apparently that includes the conservative justices of the Supreme Court.

ABC News finds 54 cases invoking 'Trump' in connection with violence, threats, alleged assaults with the following as an egregious example...

"After a Latino gas station attendant in Gainesville, Florida, was suddenly punched in the head by a white man, the victim could be heard on surveillance camera recounting the attacker’s own words: “He said, ‘This is for Trump.'" Charges were filed but the victim stopped pursuing them."

This is not the United States we know. This is not the Republican Party we have known. It is time to terminate the Donald Trump ideology of violence and bring this country back to its traditional self. 

 

JOE BIDEN: It's time to fish or cut bait

 

Bden Trump 2024 Debate

To begin with, there is no amount of political strategy that will take away the impressions garnered by those who saw Joe Biden's performance in last Thursday's debate with Donald Trump. In one case it was described as "dead man walking." It is said he had a cold, begging the question, could they have delayed the debate until he was better? Like the next day at Biden's North Carolina rally where the media described him as "energetic," "Jacked up," "re-energized." Still, Joe Biden is a gentleman politician with a fifty-year record as an outstanding statesman. So what does he do?

Since the first lady is his closest and most listened to adviser, and the fact that she praised the President's performance saying, "You did such a great job," negated her opportunity to be honest with her husband, having a realistic conversation with him about what had just happened. The Daily Beast says, "Jill Biden Must Step Up Now to Help Oust Her Husband." Think the word "oust' is a bit harsh, but it is the general feeling of the national and local media across the country that Joe Biden must go. There is an enormous amount at stake and Jill Biden plus his staff must make the President realize this.

Yes, 'it's the cognition stupid,' a line customized often as here, coined by James Carville in 1992 originally as "It's the economy stupid," for Bill Clinton's campaign. The word, cognition, has been around a long time but was brought back forcefully with The Washington Post describing Donald Trump...

"bragged about purportedly acing a widely used cognitive test that was administered to him when he was president, suggesting that the test included identifying drawings of three animals."

When in fact...

"The creator of the test in question, called the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, or MoCA, said it has never included the specific combination of animals described by Trump in any of its versions over the years."

But, of course, this could have been just another of Trump's lies; however, the media chose the more

seductive reason that he was having trouble with cognition. It is a buzz word now that comes up almost daily to describe either of the two men, so often repeated but is completely overlooked or denied by Trump supporters. The fact that Trump saw animals in the cognitive test sounds almost delusional and probably should be analyzed by a psychologist. And back to Joe Biden, Slate put it succinctly...

"The president got absolutely lost during Thursday night’s debate while attempting to make a point about … something, possibly Medicare enrollment, and it looked terrible."

The Financial Times says, "It is not too late for Joe Biden to go," an opinion by Edward Luce, who comments...

"The best that can be said of Joe Biden’s stumbling debate performance was that it took place in June. If he were pressed to step down as nominee there would still be two months to go before the Democratic convention. For Biden’s loyalists, who have always moved swiftly to shut down any hint of dissent about his candidacy, Thursday night was a moment of truth."

ABC News reported, "Biden addresses poor debate performance, attacks Trump at Raleigh rally," saying that...

"A senior campaign aide told ABC News that the president is "absolutely" not considering dropping out of the race after stumbling with answers and is committed to a second debate."

"The crowd constantly shouted, "Four more years," during the event which also included remarks from first lady Jill Biden."

These are the major considerations in Joe Biden's current predicament, and we're still experiencing the fallout. In post-debate comments, Donald Trump called President Biden "grossly incompetent." In a Washington Post article four years ago, by Daniel W. Drezner, he wrote about, "The unique incompetence of Donald Trump in a crisis," where he compared the missteps by the Obama administration in the 2014 Ebola crisis with Trump's 2020 inept handling of the Corona virus...

"The bureaucracy — composed of the experts dedicated to solving the problem — royally screwed up its initial handling of the crisis."

Biden spent the weekend at Camp David with family and close allies to discuss the situation. We may be surprised by what we hear from the White House today or later this week. One can only hope the right decisions are made. 

 

Steve Bannon: Almost as scary as Donald Trump?

 

As Republican House Speaker, Mike Johnson, tries to persuade the Supreme Court to keep Steve Bannon out of prison, it was reported by CBS News that "Steve Bannon promises retribution if Trump returns to the White House." Here's the scenario...

"House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Fox News' 'Hannity' on Tuesday night that House Republicans were 'working on filing an amicus brief with his appellate work there in his case because the January 6 committee was, we think, wrongfully constituted.'"

Meanwhile, The former Donald Trump strategist claims "his War Room is shaping Republican narratives" adding, "We’re relentless. I will never back off." That has been the blueprint of the Republican Party for years; to keep shoving misinformation at the American public, over and over, until some begin to believe it.  And those poor souls range from the hard-core MAGA supporters to those who are undecided and can be influenced by this meaningless nonsense. Yes, and in my mind this makes Steve Bannon almost as scary as Donald Trump while sharing similar means of dissemination.

CNN reports...

"The Justice Department urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject an effort by former Trump aide Steve Bannon to avoid prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction."

 But with a conservative packed court, it's anyone's guess of what they will do. Throughout all this radical right muddling, Bannon confirms the 2020 election denial, the "Big Lie," as he and his cronies describe it, is still "Driving Everything in the GOP," according to The New Republic. And then in The Guardian piece on the 'War Room,' above...

The 70-year-old – once featured on the front of Time magazine with the headlines 'The Great Manipulator” and “Is Steve Bannon the Second Most Powerful Man in the World?'– is constantly thinking about the media and shaping narratives. He believes that he wields more influence through his War Room show, which launched in October 2019, than he did working on Trump’s first election campaign or during a brief, ill-fated spell as White House chief strategist."

Now, that's really scary!

TURN LEFT AT THE NEXT CONSERVATIVE... 

,"

Clarence Thomas wants to give domestic abusers guns with gun rights already absurdly exaggerated

 

Aging is something we either look forward to or dread. With today's political crazies, one can only wait...

Clarence and Ginni Thomas

There have already been 8,026 murders by a gun in 2024, 15,299 gun injuries and 245 mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive, But Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says domestic abusers should own guns, while at the same time SCOTUS was upholding a federal law prohibiting domestic abusers under restraining orders from carrying firearms. Thomas was the only dissenter. Is he trying to persuade the gun industry now to shower him with money and gifts after having done this elsewhere for years and getting away with it?

The New Republic Reports...

"In his dissenting opinion in United States v. Rahimi, Thomas sided with gun rights advocates who opposed the rule, arguing that the other Supreme Court justices had somehow misunderstood a three-year-old opinion he’d written about gun regulation. In this case, however, Thomas only has himself to blame."

Just another case of confusing the issue in the name of gun rights in an attempt to keep the American public on the side of gun nuts. TNR says, "Thomas regularly points to historical tradition when trying to strip away people’s rights," as follows,,,

"Thomas argued that criminal prosecution is a good enough means of keeping guns out of the hands of those who would do harm, insisting that the government could not “strip the Second Amendment right of anyone subject to a protective order—even if he has never been accused or convicted of a crime.”

It is this absurd assumption that the 2nd Amendment is sacred, which is designed to skew the opinions in this country in order to put more guns on the street. There are almost 400 million out there in America with a total population of 341,784,755, more than one gun per person. Common sense tells you that with the huge capacity of this weaponry, you are bound to have more gun violence, and that is what we have in this country.

Also making sense is the idea of keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. Almost 60% of mass shootings are domestic violence related, where the perpetrator either killed family or intimate partners, with these statistics from The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence...

"On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men."

Yet, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wants to give domestic abusers guns. And, unrelated to this issue, but indicative of character, Thomas, along with his wife Ginni, is considered one of the most corrupt judges to sit on this high court. Pathetic!

 

The Republican Party festers racism

 

Dorothy Parker said, "People should be one of two things, young or dead." I am neither young nor dead, but...

Dorothy Parker at left with Algonquin Roundtable friends

   
 ...On a day to day basis I marvel at the utter tomfoolery of the Republican Party and am so grateful that I do not have that many more years to suffer the morons of the radical right. Yes, I am sure they will hang around a while whether in the minority or majority. This kind of cancer is near impossible to get rid of, espeecially with the force Trump supporters are using to prolong it. How can any sane, conscious individual still support Donald Trump after his recent Racine, WI, tirade where CNN's Daniel Dale caught him in 30 obvious lies; old news perhaps, but still pathetic.

Trump is a confirmed racist from Blacks to Muslims, and he has his followers. Valentina Gomez, a Republican candidate for Missouri secretary of stateValentina Gomez, a Republican candidate for Missouri secretary of state, said, Black Americans who do not like the country should "kindly" leave. At times I don't like this country, but that is a constitutional right we have in our democracy. Gomez is a Trump supporter who would agree with the idea to turn America into an authoritarian state. Obviously admitting she doesn't have the brains to think for herself.

In a recent Twitter video Gomez attacked Juneteenth and said: "If you don't like America, gtfo [get the f*** out]." Once again pointing out the classlessness of Trump followers. There is more of this diatribe but what is clear is that it is this kind of senseless dedication to the Trump cause that is threatening to destroy our democracy.  It's been said that Trump is the "most racist president in modern history," and beliefs like the following do confirm that argument...

"embracing birtherism, referring to African nations as 'shithole countries,' telling congresswomen of color to go back to where they came from, calling Mexican immigrants 'rapists,' refusing to denounce white supremacists during a presidential debate and so on."

We have to get rid of the ilk of Valentina Gomez and her absurd ideology. The way to do this is through the November election. BE SURE TO VOTE!

And,,,Take a left at the next conservative!

 

Donald Trump Says He Will Be Indicted On Tuesday

 

THAT'S TODAY...Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has brought the case to this point, now looking at a possible indictment. Trump's statements so far have been based only on what he has seen in the media with no direct contact with Bragg's office. The BBC says...

"This case focuses on alleged hush money paid on Mr Trump's behalf by his lawyer to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election."

Trump has urged his supporters to launch mass demonstrations in his support like he did prior to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol where he shouted in his speech at the Capitol, "We will never give up, we will never concede," and ended with the words: "We fight. We fight like hell and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore. So let's walk down Pennsylvania Avenue." The riot erupted resulting in injuries and deaths of Capitol police.

Here's the scenario according to Time...

"As part of Bragg’s investigation, Trump could face charges for falsifying business records when he allegedly reimbursed his then-personal attorney Michael Cohen for paying off Daniels. The hush-money deal, allegedly crafted weeks before his presidential win, could also put Trump in jeopardy of violating campaign finance laws."

You have to understand that Donald Trump is up against at least five investigations, covering everything from his possession of classified documents to his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Some have said in the past that the charges brought against him by the Atlanta Atty. Gen. for interference in the 2020 election could have the most impact and provide the best venue for prosecution. Back in Jan., charges were said to be imminent.

Will Donald Trump be indicted on Tuesday?...

Barricades are being erected outside the Manhattan criminal court in anticipation of potential charges against Trump. This is because he called for protests when learning of the indictment, which resulted in the assumptions that it could start another riot like Jan. 6, 2021. But PBS News Hour said, "Trump’s calls for protests fail to gain traction ahead of anticipated indictment"...

"Former President Donald Trump’s calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap."

Now Stormy Daniels is entering the fray which Yahoo/News describes as "snarky

tweets about Donald Trump ahead of his possible indictment in New York." Here's an example...

"He probably watches my movies on repeat which may be why he has so many typos. (Slippery fingers from lube and KFC/fast food)."

Here's more...

Trump has denied that he had an affair with Daniels. He has also denied paying her $130,000 to keep quiet about the relationship before the 2016 election; he maintains that the payments — funneled through his former fixer turned nemesis, Michael Cohen — were fees for Cohen's legal services.

This reminds me of Al Capone who said, “They can't collect legal taxes from illegal money.” The feds did and put him in prison for tax evasion when Capone was clearly guilty of other major crimes like murder. And in the charges by Bragg, Trump can be tried for falsification of business records in the Stormy Daniels money transfer. But, like Capone, this is only the tip of the iceberg when he should also be tried for his efforts in launching the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

It is also clear that Donald Trump's delay in the Covid pandemic accounted for the deaths of hundreds, even thousands of Americans. These are only some of the reasons Trump should be prosecuted, and put in prison. There are more and can be found in my collection of posts on Donald Trump corruption.