Mostly Monday Reads: Trumperville

Posted: December 1, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: #FARTUS, #We are so Fucked, Disappearing Immigrants, Domestic terrorism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

“That peace prize is a shoo-in next year.” John Buss, @repeat1968

Good Day, Sky Dancers!

I’ve had a rough few days here in my hometown of New Orleans. I’ve been working on getting signal whistle kits together and have enjoyed the camaraderie of brothers and sisters in arms. As the sky has turned quite gray the last few days and temperatures have dropped, it sets a scene that I knew was coming, but now I’ve seen. Of course, the National Guard is overwhelmingly visible in the French Quarter. I’ll share some photos taken by friends who were gigging or living their lives there from Saturday.

Yesterday morning, during my walk, I spoke with the two professors who have a woodworking shop in an old storefront across the street from me. They were given 2 weeks’ notice to move out of the apartment they shared for 31 years. The landlord was eager to renovate the property and convert it into student housing. Today’s walk left me even more stunned.

There was an old black man pushing a luggage cart up and down the street with all of his earthly goods and his cat on top. I didn’t take a photo because it felt too sacred to capture. He headed up towards the Abandoned Navy Base and then up to the bridge area. The large gray Tabby looked like a prince, while the old man just kept muttering Stay, stay, stay. I saw my first real discussion on a group Signal Chat of a large contingent of ICE stooges getting ready to make a raid. There are tears in my eyes as I write this.

I guess making America Great these days means putting old people on the street, ensuring our hard-working neighbors stay holed up in their houses, relying on the good-hearted to protect them and bring them provisions. It means separating families and shipping them off to the swamp hellholes of Louisiana here while everyone desperately searches for their whereabouts. It also means appointing illegal prosecutors to cases “for the people”, massive Bachanalia on the taxpayers’ money in a shit hole in Florida, and an illegal attack on Venezuela. You can also read about it as rural clinics and hospitals shut down, making small-town America unlivable during a time when we’re seeing a plague of measles and other diseases long thought gone.

We’ve never been a perfect union, but I’ve never seen or read about such a great undoing as the one we’re living through now. The midterms are more important than ever.  All of this makes it very scary to go outside. I’m going to continue with the Hegseth/Venezuela disaster that BB wrote about yesterday.

This is from Jennifer Rubin writing for The Contrarian. “War Crime…or Murder? Killing shipwreck survivors is patently illegal and morally abhorrent.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who makes up in false bravado what he lacks in judgment and expertise, appears to have committed an inexcusable, unjustified violation of black-letter international and domestic law, according to a stunning Washington Post story released last Friday. The incident occurred during our Sept. 2 Caribbean military operation against suspected drug traffickers:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a spoken directive,according to two people with direct knowledge of the operation. “The order was to kill everybody,” one of them said.

After the attack, two survivors clung to the “smoldering wreck.” Then, in an action that should shock the conscience, forces murdered the two survivors. “The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack—the opening salvo in the Trump administration’s war on suspected drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere—ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, two people familiar with the matter said,” The Post reported. “The two men were blown apart in the water.”

The Trump regime claims the report is false, but the evidence has not been specifically debunked. No explanation has been given as to why the video was edited to omit this part of the attack.

Putting aside for the moment the legitimacy of the underlying order to shoot these boats out of the water (which, frankly, is hard to justify based on a false theory and made-up facts), it is impossible to imagine any Pentagon lawyer blessing this action. The concept of hors de combat—literally, out of combat—is a fundamental aspect of the law of war that prevents harming those disabled from combat.

If we are at war, this is a shocking violation of the law of war and specifically the Department of Defense Law of War Manual (updated in July 2023). Per the latter, those shipwrecked (or “those in distress at sea or stranded on the coast who are also helpless”) are protected under the Geneva Convention, and in turn, U.S. law. Not only must shipwrecked individuals “not be knowingly attacked, fired upon, or unnecessarily interfered with,” but our military must “without delay, take all possible measures to search for and collect the wounded, sick, and shipwrecked at sea, to protect them against pillage and ill-treatment, to ensure their adequate care, and to search for the dead and prevent their being despoiled.”

Conservative lawyer Jack Goldsmith reiterates, “ The DOD Manual is clear because the law here is clear: “Persons who have been incapacitated by . . . shipwreck are in a helpless state, and it would be dishonorable and inhumane to make them the object of attack.” Todd Huntley, a former Special Operations military lawyer cited in The Post report, agrees that even if the U.S. were at war an order to kill all the survivors “would in essence be an order to show no quarter, which would be a war crime.”

Meanwhile, Trump is saying Hegseth didn’t give that order. They’re also more than doubling down on attacks against Venezuela. This feels like one more thing to get everyone to stop investigating the Epstein Files. However, this is a deadly distraction and one that will tarnish our National image in South America, sending it back to the 1960s. This is from AXIOS. “Trump backs Hegseth as Congress plans boat strike review.” This article was written by Avery Lotz.

President Trump said he believesDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s denial of a report alleging he ordered military forcesto leave no survivors in a strike on a suspected drug trafficking boat from Venezuela.

The big picture: The U.S. has ramped up its military pressure on Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro despite legal experts and lawmakers sounding the alarm over the legality of the strikes on alleged drug traffickers that have killed dozens.

  • Hegseth slammed The Washington Post’s report that he directed military officials to kill everyone aboard a vessel, which allegedly resulted in a secondstrike to take out two survivors. The Intercept also previously reported on the follow-up attack.
  • He dismissed the allegations as “fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory” on X but said “these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes.'”

Driving the news: “He said he did not say that, and I believe him 100%,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.

  • The president added that “we’ll look into it” and thathe wouldn’t have wanted a second strike.
  • “The first strike was very lethal. It was fine. And if there were two people around, but Pete said that didn’t happen,” he said. “I have great confidence.”
  • Trump added, “Pete said he did not order the death of those two men,”

Friction point: But lawmakers have expressed increasing concern over the shadowy operations and are seeking to conduct their own oversight of the strikes.

  • House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said in a Saturday statement that they “take seriously” the reports of follow-up strikes and are “taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question.”
  • Similarly, Senate Armed Services Committee ChairSen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said in a statement the committee will conduct “vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances.”

What they’re saying: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that if the allegations are proven true, “this rises to the level of a war crime.”

  • Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, also said on CBS that there “are very serious concerns in Congress about the attacks on the so-called drug boats down in the Caribbean and the Pacific, and the legal justification that’s been provided”

There are many more sad stories about how this cruel administration is turning its back on the GLBT community. If I haven’t been crying about the things above, I’ve also been crying on the Anniversary of AIDS Awareness and World AIDS Day.  Each year reminds me of all my beautiful friends from high school and university who were lost to this disease. Now, I think about the adults and children all over the world who have lost access to medicines. This is from Forbes.  “On This World AIDS Day, The U.S. Declines To Participate.”  This was written by “Dave Wessner, a virologist who covers infectious diseases.”

The United States will not formally commemorate World AIDS Day this year. This decision comes on the heels of recent federal funding cuts that threaten to disrupt hard-earned progress combatting this global epidemic. Despite significant scientific advancements in HIV treatment and prevention, many people worry about our efforts to end this ongoing crisis.

Since 1988, December 1 has been recognized as World AIDS Day by communities throughout the world. It is a day to remember the people who have died of HIV/AIDS, demonstrate our continued support for people living with HIV and strengthen the global efforts to end this epidemic.

U.S. presidents have recognized the day in various ways. Seventeen years ago, President George W. Bush discussed the unparalleled success of his signature initiative, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. He also noted that the red ribbon displayed at the White House was, “a symbol of our resolve to confront HIV/AIDS and to affirm the matchless value of every life.” Just a year ago, President Joe Biden remarked that, “we renew our commitment to accelerating efforts to finally end the HIV/AIDS epidemic.”

This year, the U.S. State Department sent an email to employees that stated, “The U.S. Government will not be commemorating World AIDS Day this year.”

One could argue that a day of commemoration does not save lives. But funding does. And the HIV/AIDS funding landscape has changed dramatically during the Trump administration. Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, noted in a recently released report that, “this year’s disruption to the global response has exposed the fragility of the progress we have fought so hard to achieve.”

My friend John Autin captured this photo Saturday night in the French Quarter of the National Guard Occupation.

Politico reports today on the number of Trump nominees withdrawing. “Record-setting personnel issues are marring Trump’s second term. The president has nearly doubled Joe Biden’s mark for nominees withdrawn from the Senate in the first year.” Something rotten is in the beltway.

On the surface, President Donald Trump’s second-term personnel operation has been a smoothly running machine. The Senate has confirmed more than 300 civilian nominees since January, even changing the chamber’s rules to move them faster.

But there are clear signs of breakdowns behind the scenes. Trump has withdrawn a record number of nominees for a president’s first year in office as he faces a combination of GOP pushback against some picks, vetting issues, White House infighting and, in some cases, the president’s own mercurial views.

Trump has withdrawn 57 nominations, according to Senate data — roughly double the 22 nominations he withdrew during the first year of his first administration and the 29 his immediate predecessor, Joe Biden, withdrew during his first year.

The pace of withdrawals, the highest since at least the Ronald Reagan presidency, has flown below the radar in the day-to-day churn on Capitol Hill, with many Republican senators expressing surprise at the data in interviews. But they also acknowledged the obvious: In some instances, the White House just isn’t making sure Trump’s nominees can get the votes.

“It would appear that some nominees haven’t been vetted, and … somebody says, ‘Go with them anyways,’” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said in an interview.

After POLITICO reported he made racist comments in a group chat, Ingrassia withdrew despite telling senators he had “no recollection of these alleged chat leaks, and do not concede their authenticity.” But Senate Republicans had already privately telegraphed to the Trump administration for months that his nomination was in serious peril.

Asked about the withdrawals, a person close to the White House granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal dynamics pointed to Ingrassia as a key example.

“Would I say some vetting has been questionable? One thousand percent,” the person said, adding of Ingrassia: “That was a vetting nightmare that was only allowed to happen based on certain relationships and acquaintances with people that are making the decisions.”

DHS outside the Boggs Bldng on Poydras. Downtown New Orleans

The New York Times reports that Alina Haba was found to be an illegal U.S. Attorney by an Appeals Court. “Appeals Court Says Alina Habba Is Unlawful U.S. Attorney. The judges wrote that the Trump administration appeared to have become frustrated by legal and political barriers that have prevented its preferred U.S. attorneys from leading federal prosecutors’ offices.”  All the best people, you know.

A federal appeals court said on Monday that Alina Habba had been serving unlawfully as the U.S. attorney in New Jersey, dealing a blow to the Trump administration and most likely setting up a showdown at the Supreme Court.

Ms. Habba is one of a number of U.S. attorneys whom the Trump administration has sought to keep in power through a series of unusual maneuvers even though she was neither confirmed by the Senate nor appointed by district trial court judges — the two traditional pathways. Defendants in New Jersey had challenged her authority as U.S. attorney, leading to Monday’s decision.

In its ruling, the three-judge panel, based in Philadelphia, affirmed an earlier ruling by a Federal District Court judge. The court said that the government’s tactics had violated the law as written and concluded that, overall, the Trump administration appeared to have become frustrated by legal and political barriers to placing its favored U.S. attorneys in charge.

The maneuvers undertaken to keep Ms. Habba in charge exemplified the difficulties the administration had faced, the judges wrote. And yet, they said, “the citizens of New Jersey and the loyal employees in the U.S. attorney’s office deserve some clarity and stability.”

There is no moral, legal, or intellectual clarity to anyone who serves this administration. I firmly believe their goal is instability. This makes the Midterm elections even more significant.

And, again, hello from Occupyied New Orleans.  The national news has started covering us as the movement of ICE goons into the area continues. This is from CNN. “What we know – and don’t know – about the immigration crackdown expected in New Orleans this week.”

As Department of Homeland Security agents are expected to surge into New Orleans this week, the latest Democrat-led city targeted by a federal immigration enforcement crackdown, a common thread has emerged among local officials: They’re being kept in the dark – and it’s spiking fear among the immigrant community.

There is “mass chaos and confusion” as the campaign looms, newly elected Councilmember at-Large Matthew Willard told CNN. He said he and other local officials have received scant details about the operation – and the information they have received “isn’t reassuring.”

“We’re really just fearful of the unknown, and looking at the coverage that we’ve seen in other cities by CNN, we certainly don’t want that here in the city of New Orleans,” he said.

Our new mayor is a Latina who was born in Mexico. This is what Councilwoman Helena Morena had to say.  CNN also talked to Orleans Parish’s Congressman.

New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, who was born in Mexico, has said she’s received limited information about the expected operation but that the fear among immigrant communities is palpable.

“You have parents who are scared to send their children to school,” Moreno, a Democrat, told CNN affiliate WWL. “At my church,” she said, “there is a one o’clock service, Spanish-speaking service every Sunday, that keeps getting smaller and smaller. People are really, really scared.”

Her office has released guidelines for interacting with immigration enforcement agents, urging people to comply with orders from law enforcement and to record with their phones if they feel safe.

US Rep. Troy Carter, who serves on the House Homeland Security Committee, told WWL he also wasn’t briefed on any Border Patrol operations and suggested federal agents had profiled people in other cities.

“Turn on the television. Turn on the internet. Pick up a newspaper and you find some people who were profiled because they looked a certain way,” Carter said. “Never mind the fact that they were actually US citizens.”

My Holiday Craft Project

There’s a huge rally this evening at the Park that is deep in the city’s complex of Federal Buildings. When I worked at the New Orleans Fed, my office faced directly towards it. I’m actually hoping they get an overflow of people. It’s right there on St. Charles near the Old City Hall, and you’ve undoubtedly seen it if you’ve watched any Mardi Gras parades on TV.

So, I’m so sorry I’m such a Debbie Downer today. I’m going to go pack up more signal whistle kits for the rally.

I hope you had a wonderful long weekend. I’m not going anywhere. This country is not going down on my watch.  If my Daddy could bomb NAZIs, I can certainly frustrate a few.

Please stay safe out there… these ICE GOONS are serious!  Our legislature and the Governor have empowered them.  I just weep for my city and neighbors today.

What’s on your reading and blogging list today?

Mostly Monday Reads: Life in the Time of Cruelty

Posted: November 10, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: #FARTUS, #We are so Fucked, court rulings, Democratic Politics, presidential pardons | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

“The end is nigh. Gas prices haven’t dropped, electric bills have gone up, groceries are ridiculous, a year later, Putin is still killing Ukrainians, there is no peace in the Middle East, tariff costs are still passed on to consumers, America is once again the laughing stock of the world, need I say more?” John Buss, @repeat1968

Good Day, Sky Dancers!

There has been another bit of good news to complement last week’s. However, we cannot let our guard down or our actions slacken. Even a few battles won will not end a war. Today, the Supreme Court dismissed a case to overturn its landmark decision legalizing same-sex marriage.

There is a distinct possibility that a stronger attempt may be underway, so vigilance is necessary. More analysis is likely to come out as court watchers ponder the decision.

This is from the AP’s Mark Sherman. “Supreme Court rejects call to overturn its decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.” The dissenting voices hint that more compelling cases may come before them.

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

The justices, without comment, turned away an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the high court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Davis had been trying to get the court to overturn a lower-court order for her to pay $360,000 in damages and attorney’s fees to a couple denied a marriage license.

Her lawyers repeatedly invoked the words of Justice Clarence Thomas, who alone among the nine justices has called for erasing the same-sex marriage ruling.

Thomas was among four dissenting justices in 2015. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito are the other dissenters who are on the court today.

Roberts has been silent on the subject since he wrote a dissenting opinion in the case. Alito has continued to criticize the decision, but he said recently he was not advocating that it be overturned.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was not on the court in 2015, has said that there are times when the court should correct mistakes and overturn decisions, as it did in the 2022 case that ended a constitutional right to abortion

But Barrett has suggested recently that same-sex marriage might be in a different category than abortion because people have relied on the decision when they married and had children.

The basis of Davis’ complaint may be the reason why the religious fanatics placed on SCOTUS by extreme right-wing theocrats might have been encouraged to wait for a more direct call to overrule Obergfell. This is explained in this NBC News analysis by Lawrence Hurley.

But reconsidering Obergefell was not the main legal question presented in Davis’ appeal.

Although the court has a 6-3 conservative majority, none of the other justices joined Thomas’ opinion.

Just last month, Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the abortion ruling, indicated he was not pushing for Obergefell to be overturned.

Davis, represented by the conservative group Liberty Counsel, refused to issue any marriage licenses in the immediate aftermath of the Obergefell decision. She said that as a conservative Christian who opposed same-sex marriage, she should have a religious right not to put her name on marriage licenses involving same-sex couples.

Her office in Rowan County, Kentucky, denied licenses to several such couples, including David Moore and David Ermold, who subsequently filed a civil rights lawsuit.

Davis was ordered to issue a license for Moore and Ermold, but defied the court injunction and still refused to do so. The judge then held her in contempt, and she was jailed for six days.

While she was jailed, Moore and Ermold were able to obtain their marriage license.

Subsequently, the state changed the law in order to address the controversy, allowing for a license to be issued without the clerk’s name on it.

But Davis’ case continued, with Moore and Ermold seeking damages for the initial refusal.

After lengthy litigation, a jury awarded $100,000 in damages. Davis was also required to pay $260,000 in attorney’s fees, according to her lawyers.

Davis then appealed, claiming that she should have been able to cite as a defense her right to the free exercise of religion under the Constitution’s First Amendment.

After losing an appeal at the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March this year, Davis turned to the Supreme Court, raising that question, as well as the much more contentious issue of whether Obergefell should be overturned.

While the Supreme Court has for now given no indication it would seek to overturn Obergefell, it has in other rulings in the last decade strengthened religious rights at the expense of LGBTQ rights, including by expanding the ability of people to seek exemptions from laws they object to because of their faith.

Are they just waiting for a better case to come along? That is the question from me and others. Only time will tell.

The other big headline is the end of the government shutdown. The circumstances surrounding the resolution are far from ideal. There are a large number of articles expressing anger and disgust at the actions of eight Democrats in cutting this deal. It’s quite challenging to keep up with the decline of the world’s once-great democracy. This is the headline from Politico‘s Katherine Tully-McManus. “The 8 Senate Democratic Caucus members who voted to end the shutdown. There are few obvious threads connecting the group who broke the partisan impasse.”

Eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus broke ranks Sunday and voted to advance a deal to reopen the federal government.

That’s fewer than the 10 Democrats who broke ranks in March to advance a previous GOP-led stopgap funding bill — a move that sparked a huge backlash against Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

There are few obvious threads connecting the group who broke the partisan impasse this time. Some of them helped broker the agreement with Republicans over the opposition of Schumer and most other Democrats, who wanted a guaranteed extension for expiring federal health insurance subsidies.

Most, but not all, previously held state-level office — including four former governors. Most, but not all, come from presidential swing states. Two have announced they are retiring from the Senate after their current terms end, and two are senior members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

None are up for reelection in 2026.

More on these eight senators at the link. There are numerous punditry thoughts on what is being called “The Great Cave-in.”  This first take is from MSNBC’s Steve Benen.  “As the Senate advances a plan to end the government shutdown, what happens now? As the shutdown continued, the pieces were in place for Democrats to stand firm in support of a popular cause. Eight senators folded anyway.”

As the ongoing government shutdown was poised to begin in late September, three members of the Senate Democratic caucus — Nevada’s Catherine Cortez Masto, Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman and Maine’s Angus King — broke party ranks and voted with the Republican majority to prevent the breakdown. That gave GOP leaders 55 votes, five short of the 60-vote threshold.

At that point, the Republican plan, in a nutshell, could be summarized in one word: wait.

GOP leaders, in the White House and on Capitol Hill, assumed that just enough Senate Democrats would cave under pressure. Those assumptions proved true. MSNBC reported overnight:

After nearly six weeks of a painful shutdown, a critical number of Senate Democrats backed a Republican funding bill to reopen government — with little to show for holding out so long. The breakthrough, which came together suddenly on day 40 of the shutdown, offers Democrats few new concessions beyond what Republicans had already proposed.

There’s quite a bit to this, so let’s unpack the details.

Is the shutdown over?

Not yet. The Sunday-night vote in the Senate was a procedural vote to advance a bill intended to end the shutdown. It received 60 votes, but the underlying legislation still needs to pass.

Who caved?

In addition to Cortez Masto, Fetterman and King, who’ve consistently voted with Republicans to end the shutdown, five other Senate Democrats sided with the GOP on the procedural vote: Dick Durbin of Illinois, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jackie Rosen of Nevada and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. (Durbin and Shaheen, it’s worth noting for context, are retiring at the end of their current terms.) Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, meanwhile, voted with most Democrats against the package.

Did they get anything in exchange for their votes?

Not much. The deal, to the extent that it can fairly be described as such, includes three full-year appropriations bills to fund some federal departments through the end of the fiscal year and money to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It also reverses Donald Trump’s shutdown layoffs (also known as “reduction in force” notifications, or RIFs).

What about the Affordable Care Act, which was largely the point of the shutdown?

Republicans promised Democrats there will soon be a vote on extending the expiring ACA subsidies.

For health care advocates, does this offer some reason for hope?

Not really. Even if there is a vote, there’s no reason to assume it will pass the GOP-led chamber. And even if it were to pass, there’s no guarantee that the Republican-led House would care.

So why in the world did these eight senators cave?

According to King, it was time to surrender because the status quo “wasn’t working.”

This final analysis is by Sarah Ewall-Wice, writing at The Daily Beast. “Dems Skewer ‘Trainwreck’ Schumer for Caving Over Shutdown. WHAT THE CHUCK?! The Senate minority leader is facing calls to resign despite his “no” vote.”

Democrats from across the political spectrum are livid with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer after a group of Senate Democrats caved and reached a deal with Republicans to end the government shutdown.

Schumer, 74, came out against the bipartisan plan and voted against moving it forward in the Senate on Sunday night.

However, eight Democrats joined Republicans in a 60-40 vote to proceed, sparking turmoil within the party.

“Tonight is another example of why we need new leadership. If @ChuckSchumer were an effective leader, he would have united his caucus to vote ‘No’ tonight and hold the line on healthcare,” wrote Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton, who is challenging Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey in the primary.

He called on Markey to join him in a pledge not to vote for Schumer as Senate leader.

Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz posted an image of Schumer photoshopped into the Amy Schumer movie ‘Trainwreck’ with the caption “Different Schumer, same title.”

“Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced,” wrote progressive Rep. Ro Khanna. “If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?”

He replied that he was a “fan” of Sen. Chris Van Hollen in response to political commentator Krystal Ball’s suggestion that he should become the leader.

We know what or who the basic problem is. Who wouldn’t love a Substack titled “Are you f’ng kidding me?” That’s a daily question around here these days. This is the brainchild of JoJoFromJerz. The title is even hotter. “Portrait of a Man Who Doesn’t Give a Fuck. Starring: indifference, ego, and forty-two million people he is actively fighting to starve.” Yup, are president is the ultimate example of Anti-social Personality Disorder.” He comes replete with a lifetime of examples. And there’s that photo that keeps showing up everywhere, including this blog when I peeled it on Monday.

This photo should be hung in the Louvre of moral decay.

Look at it. The tableau is so absurd it feels storyboarded by Voldemort and Liberace’s real estate LLC. A man collapses on the floor where presidents once ended wars and launched moon missions. Now the room has all the gravitas of a Vegas timeshare bathroom, festooned with Chinese-made American flags marinated in Drakkar Noir. It’s as if history’s most consequential decisions are now being made in the world’s tackiest escape room.

Aides kneel. Hands reach. Chaos unfolds.

And Donald Trump just stands there — bored, irritated, visibly put-out — like the collapse in front of him is a personal scheduling conflict. His face isn’t concern. It is inconvenience.

His jaw hangs open in that dopey, defeated pout you only see when a chain-steakhouse diner learns their “Buy One Get One Ribeye” coupon expired yesterday. His eyes aren’t searching for a pulse; they’re searching for the nearest camera.

He’s not seeking help. He’s seeking a close-up.

If Dante were alive today, he wouldn’t write The Inferno. He’d pitch a reality show called Keeping Up With the Collapse and hiss to the crew, “We don’t need CGI. Just let him talk.”

The entire scene looks like Norman Rockwell painted The Death of Empathy, directed by Jeffrey Dahmer and executive produced by Satan. Hang this next to The Scream and the painting would lean over and whisper, Is that guy okay.

It feels like someone pitched, What if Succession had a baby with Idiocracy and then handed the baby the nuclear codes. It should not be funny. But it is. It should not be real. And yet here we are.

Because this photo is not merely symbolic of who he is.

This is who he is.

A convicted felon. Found liable for sexual abuse in a court of law. A man whose closest approximation to empathy is jabbing the close door button in an elevator while someone sprints toward it.

This is who Donald Trump is.

He doesn’t give a fuck about anyone but himself.

A man collapses behind him. Just as our country has been collapsing behind him for the entirety of this second so-called term.

And he doesn’t give a fuck.

He is not thinking, Is that man okay. He is thinking, How dare he steal my scene.

This is who Donald Trump is.

He doesn’t give a fuck about anyone but himself.

He isn’t numb to suffering—he feeds on it. Suffering is his currency, his spotlight, his scepter. Every ounce of pain around him inflates his sense of importance. He doesn’t create, build, or inspire; he only knows how to conquer by making others smaller, hungrier, emptier. His power is measured in what he can take away. He is a parasite of misery, thriving on the wounds he inflicts.

Go read the entire post. She’s right. He doesn’t give a fuck about anyone but himself. And here’s more evidence, as Trump pardons all of those election-denying cronies while possibly looking forward to handing one to that miserable sex-trafficking ghoul Gislane Maxwell. The first article comes from Politico‘s Kyle Cheney. “Trump pardons top allies who aided bid to subvert the 2020 election. Pardon recipients include Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, John Eastman and dozens more.” I weep for justice in my country today.

President Donald Trump has pardoned a long list of prominent allies who backed his effort to subvert the 2020 election, according to Justice Department Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, who posted the relevant document Sunday night.

Among those who received the “full, complete and unconditional” pardons were Rudy Giuliani, who helped lead an effort to pressure state legislatures to reject Joe Biden’s victories in key swing states; Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff in 2020 and a crucial go-between for Trump and state officials; John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro, two attorneys who helped devise a strategy to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election on Jan. 6, 2021; Boris Epshteyn, a longtime Trump adviser; and Sidney Powell, a conservative attorney who launched a fringe legal assault on election results in key swing states.

The pardons are largely symbolic — none of those identified were charged with federal crimes. The document posted by Martin is also undated, so it’s unclear when Trump signed it. The White House and Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Giuliani, Eastman and Powell were among those identified by former special counsel Jack Smith as Trump’s co-conspirators, though he never brought charges against them. The pardons would preclude any future administration from potentially pursuing a criminal case against them.

The language of the pardon is broad, applying to “all United States citizens for conduct relating to the advice, creation, organization, execution, submission, support, voting activities, participation in or advocacy for or of any slate or proposed slate of presidential electors … as well for any conduct relating to their efforts to expose voting fraud and vulnerabilities in the 2020 presidential election.”

Though Trump has long insisted he has the power to pardon himself for federal crimes — an untested proposition — it appears he is not yet prepared to test that theory. Though the pardon document indicates it could apply to others who fit the same criteria, it explicitly excludes Trump.

In addition to his inner circle, Trump pardoned dozens of GOP activists who signed paperwork falsely claiming to be legitimate presidential electors, a key component of the bid to pressure Pence.

Regarding the potential pardon for Maxwell, this information comes from Scott MacFarlane of CBS News. “Ghislaine Maxwell plans to ask Trump to commute prison sentence, House Democrats say.”

Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking co-conspirator, is planning to apply for a commutation of her federal prison sentence, which is set to run through 2037, according to documents obtained by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee and seen by CBS News.

In a letter to President Trump on Monday, also seen by CBS News, Judiciary Committee Democrats wrote that Maxwell “is preparing a ‘Commutation Application’ for your Administration to review, undoubtedly coming to you for your direct consideration. The Warden herself is directly helping Ms. Maxwell copy, print, and send documents related to this application.”

The letter says the information received demonstrates “either that Ms. Maxwell is herself requesting you release her from her 20-year prison sentence for her role as a co-conspirator in Jeffrey Epstein’s international child sex trafficking ring, or that this child sex predator now holds such tremendous sway in the second Trump Administration that you and your DOJ will follow her clemency recommendations.”

The letter also alleges that Maxwell is receiving preferential and lenient treatment at the Bryan federal prison camp in Texas, where she was transferred over the summer after meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to discuss the Epstein case.

“Federal law enforcement staff working at the camp have been waiting on Ms. Maxwell hand and foot,” says the letter signed by Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the committee.

It appears that something needs to be done to address the fundamental nature of the Presidential Pardon. It’s supposed to be the last chance at justice for the wrongly accused. It was never supposed to be an article of power handed to an autocrat to rewrite the guilt and punishment of evil minions.

I’ve also been crying and listening to Warren Zevon songs since his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as featured on David Letterman. I love his lyrical melodies and his strong rhythms and beats. His lyrics tell stories that are both funny and sad, full of vivid characters. I have finally uncovered the underlying sadness behind most of his lyrics and can no longer unhear them. They’ve burrowed into my heart. And so, I cry, which is quite uncharacteristic for me. But then, it seems American life these days requires tears.

What’s on your Reading, Action, and Blogging list today?

Mostly Monday Reads: Shooting Down the Sky

Posted: February 13, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: just because | Tags: , , , , | 8 Comments

Hervé Télémaque
No Title (The Ugly American)
1962/64, MoMA

Good Day Sky Dancers!

Each new day I sit here, reading the news, thinking about which headlines are most substantive and meaningful, I soon discover we’ve got a bizarre timeline going on. Every day gets more surreal. I’m writing songs again to deal with it.  It’s probably why I’ve been so inspired by the works of Warren Zevon. I worked on “Living Next Door to the Ugly American Inn” this week.

Facebook punished me for using that term to describe Airbnb invaders and the local tourist pimps and whores that drag them into our neighborhoods. Facebook told me “Ugly American” was a slur instead of an essential politically-themed novel written in 1958 by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer. The movie of the same name came out in 1964 featuring Marlon Brando.  It’s also the name of an American adult animated sitcom created by Devin Clark and developed by David M. Stern.  That came out in 2010 on Adult Swim. It’s also a video game.  I’ll probably be suspended for publishing this there, but who cares?

The novel so moved President Eisenhower that he created additional protocols on how diplomatic personnel should behave abroad. It focused on making the corps understand the culture and values of where they were stationed.  It was cited in LBJ’s remarks in his speech at the University of Michigan. The speech is known as The Great Society Speech.

A few years ago we were greatly concerned about the “Ugly American.” Today we must act to prevent an ugly America.

Hervé Télémaque,
“One of the 36,000 Marines over our Antilles”

Those words have never been so valid as at this moment. LBJ spoke of pollution and its threat to the country’s national resources. Today it seems more accurate to define it in terms of how our society interacts with one another in the political environment.  It seems odd that I think of it in terms of how Americans from the rest of the country tend to act when they stay in our neighborhoods instead of the Motel Six by the airport. Although  I spent enough time in Europe and saw the behavior. I tried hard to be a chameleon wherever I went, lest I be considered among that number. I got so good at it that I was frequently mistaken for a Canadian by folks that didn’t know I came from Omaha when I attended the University of Nebraska. Then they said, you must be from the east. I was like, yup, eastern Nebraska, which is Omaha.

Many of these folks pimping out houses in neighborhoods don’t even live here.  Lots of them are LLCs that aren’t located here.

I cannot understand how someone could do that to their neighbors and neighborhood.  Then, I saw this and realized that money changes everything.  (Thank you, Cyndy Lauper.)

I thought it couldn’t get worse on the Parade routes uptown, where the visiting Chads and Karens try to stake out viewing areas with chairs, red spray paint, and all kinds of things that the city daily picks up and dumps. Wow, do they have fits when that happens? But it’s in our law here.  So, this is the next thing reported by one of our local TV news krewe at WWL. “Mardi Gras’ newest hustlers are making money holding spots on the parade route. Some people are making hundreds, even thousands of dollars holding spots on the parade route.”  I’m not sure this is what is meant in Economics texts as a “Problem of the Commons”.  There are always collaborators.

And nobody does it better than Freebird Dittmar.

“Gonna have to start petitioning to have Mardi Gras three times a year and I can stop going to work on these houses!” Dittmar, who works as a carpenter outside of Carnival Season, said.

It’s his second year holding down a spot on the parade route and his services don’t come cheap. This year, he’s got three “big groups” paying him $2,500 each to hold their St. Charles Avenue spots and one group paying another $800 for a spot on the Endymion route.

Just a block away, Vera Hendriks and Alex Foley are holding a spot for their boss, who’s paying them with tickets to MOM’s Ball.

And while they were eating lunch, they got an offer to expand their turf for another $100 each.

“Once you’re out here you’ll meet people who offer you money to just sit here,” Foley said. “I haven’t had an experience like this.”

But it’s not just the hustlers making money on the route. Working from home has revolutionized how people stake out parade spots for people like Michael Scruggs, who was technically on the clock Friday morning.

“Unfortunately not all my clients are on Louisiana time, so they don’t realize it’s Mardi Gras time,” Scruggs said as he answered emails from a folding chair on the neutral ground.”

And if you’re thinking about getting in on the game, Freebird has some advice for you.

“Stay out of it! It’s mine,” he said with a laugh. “Or do it somewhere else. Uptown is my route!”

“Clients!”  Give me a fucking break!

Red Cross (You and Me)
1985,Hervé Télémaque

Let me just take a moment to talk about the artist of the paintings here.  This is from an artist that just died last November, as reported by ARTnews. Please don’t mention this to Ron DeSantis, or we’ll have museum collection bans next.  “Hervé Télémaque, Artist Whose Piercing Work About Racism and Colonialism Brought Him a Late-Career Rise, Dies at 85.”

Hervé Télémaque, a French artist born in Haiti whose poignant works tackling racism and colonialism have only recently garnered mainstream recognition in Europe and the U.S., died in a hospital near Paris on Thursday. He was 85.

The Aspen Art Museum in Colorado, which is now hosting a version of Télémaque survey that first appeared at the Serpentine Galleries in London, announced Télémaque’s passing. The museum said he had been battling an autoimmune disorder.

Télémaque has proven a hard figure to classify. During the ’60s, he was grouped in with the Narrative Figuration movement, a French style that sought to revive representational painting as a leftist political strategy. He has also been considered a Pop artist, and in a recent show presenting a global history of Surrealism, he was labeled a tangential figure of that style, too.

But to say Télémaque is a member of any of these movements would not adequately capture the vibrancy and the complexity of his art, which often took up histories of racism and colonialism—and their continued influence on the present—in striking, ambiguous ways

Okay, now, some Gratuitous Warren Zevon music.

I heard Woodrow Wilson’s guns
I heard Maria crying
Late last night I heard the news
That Veracruz was dying
Veracruz was dying

Someone called Maria’s name
I swear it was my father’s voice
Saying, “If you stay, you’ll all be slain
You must leave now, you have no choice”
Take the servants and ride west
Keep the child close to your chest
When the American troops withdraw
Let Zapata take the rest

So, why am I writing a Song called “Shooting Down the Sky”?  Well, it’s not often you live in times where Reuters reports this. “Ruling out aliens? Senior U.S. general says not ruling out anything yet“.  I’m curious why no one is telling us about these four unidentified sky objects that Biden called NORAD to shoot down.  After all, I probably paid for a bit of an F-22 raptor, even if it’s only part of a bolt.

 The U.S. Air Force general overseeing North American airspace said on Sunday after a series of shoot-downs of unidentified objects that he would not rule out aliens or any other explanation yet, deferring to U.S. intelligence experts.

Asked whether he had ruled out an extraterrestrial origin for three airborne objects shot down by U.S. warplanes in as many days, General Glen VanHerck said: “I’ll let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out. I haven’t ruled out anything.”

Okee dokee, then.

Hervé Télémaque: “Fonds d’actualité No1 (Current Affairs No1)”

The Chinese aren’t wasting time playing tit-for-tat in the big game in the sky.  This is from the Washington Post.  “China says at least 10 U.S. balloons have flown in its airspace since 2022.” I thought Donald Trump had created the US Space Force so we could have some really high-tech budget busters to deal with them.  I guess it was all about the uniforms, decals, and soundbites.

China’s Foreign Ministry on Monday said the United States has sent at least 10 unsanctioned balloons into Chinese airspace since last year, as the two countries feud over a Chinese airship discovered and shot down by the U.S. military this month. The United States denied the allegation.

Hitting back at allegations that Beijing had used the balloon, discovered floating over the western United States, for surveillance, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a press briefing that it was “common” for U.S. high-altitude balloons to fly into other countries’ airspace.

“The United States should first reflect on itself and change course, rather than slander, discredit or incite confrontation,” Wang said.

The comments come after a U.S. fighter jet shot down another unknown object flying off the coast of Alaska on Friday. U.S. and Canadian officials then said a U.S. fighter jet shot down an unidentified object in Canadian airspace on Saturday. A fourth object was shot down over Lake Huron on Sunday afternoon.

Hervé Télémaque:
“Inventaire, un homme d’intérieur”

So, our next big conflict is about balloons?  Isn’t that a bit like World War 1? At least the Zeppellins Airships were visually interesting.  The BBC sums it up here.  “Mystery surrounds objects shot down by US military.”  This is not what all those 90s movies told me to expect.  Will Smith, the nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

The US military is unsure what three flying objects it shot out of the skies over North America were – and how they were able to stay aloft.

President Joe Biden ordered another object – the fourth in total this month – to be downed on Sunday.

As it was travelling at 20,000ft (6,100m), it could have interfered with commercial air traffic, the US said.

A military commander said it could be a “gaseous type of balloon” or “some type of a propulsion system”.

He added he could not rule out that the objects were extra-terrestrials.

The latest object – shot down over Lake Huron in Michigan near the Canadian border – has been described by defence officials as an unmanned “octagonal structure” with strings attached to it.

It was downed by a missile fired from an F-16 fighter jet at 14:42 local time (19:42 GMT).

The incident raises further questions about the spate of high-altitude objects that have been shot down over North America this month.

US Northern Command Commander General Glen VanHerck said that there was no indication of any threat.

“I’m not going to categorise them as balloons. We’re calling them objects for a reason,” he said.

“What we are seeing is very, very small objects that produce a very, very low radar cross-section,” he added.

Speculation as to what the objects may be has intensified in recent days.

Well, of course, speculation is intensifying!  You’re not telling us a damned thing!  Paging, Ron Serling!!!

Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon Xbox Live and PSN
Cartoon!

Okay, one more thing about hot bags of air, and then I’m done.  “Steve Bannon Ran Up Huge Legal Bills and Stiffed His Lawyers”. His Godfather, Donnie Trumpo, taught him well.

Steve Bannon—the nativist American media personality who’s backed by a Chinese billionaire—hasn’t paid the lawyers who spent years defending him against an onslaught of criminal charges, according to three sources who spoke exclusively to The Daily Beast.

With massive legal bills still outstanding, Bannon is now scrambling to find new attorneys, as he faces a looming trial over the way he scammed the MAGA crowd with a dubious plan to build a privately funded U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Bannon’s refusal to fully pay his bills has stunned some of his close advisers who’ve stuck around for years.

“I don’t have any reason to believe he doesn’t have money,” one associate said.

Then again, Bannon is also a known grifter and liar with a long history of peddling disinformation.

You don’t get any uglier than Steve Bannon. That’s for sure!

What’s on your reading and blogging list today?

More  gratuitous Warren Zevon

Finally Friday Reads: Florida’s Road to Fascism is a Warning Signal

Posted: February 3, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: just because | Tags: , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

By the Window in Winter, Jessie Willcox Smith,1919

Good Day Sky Dancers!

The Republican Party is all in on the culture wars. They’re signaling from all levels of government that they’re ready for White Christian Nationalism even if the rest of us–and our Constitutions–are not. The sad thing is that the states are sure they have allies on the Supreme Court that will reinterpret long-standing precedents to make it so. The headlines are horrific.

Many states are enacting laws that interfere with freedom of religion, the first amendment right of free speech, the right to privacy, and just about every other constitutional notion that empowers a free democracy. No place is turning into a model of governmental overreach than the state of Florida. The state’s fanatical right-wing governor–Ron DeSantis–is hell-bent on winning his side of the culture war. This story is told by Florida Teacher Andrea Phillips at the UK Guardian. “I’m a teacher in Florida. Here’s what the DeSantis book bans look like in my classroom. A new crackdown on books in Florida schools has had a chilling effect in classrooms.” The reports of this action include small children crying about the book snatcher’s policy.”

Many schools, including my own, do not have a full time media specialist. Due to budget cuts, we have a media specialist every other week. That means we have one person to vet thousands of books in our school alone, before we can have them in our classrooms. In addition to the mountain of work now laid in her lap, she hasn’t even been given a system to vet the books with. Currently, it is a subjective process of a single person reviewing each book with a 12-point questionnaire. One of my issues is that what one person finds offensive, another may find silly. For example, the book ‘No, David’ by David Shannon. On one page an illustration of David running pantless down the street is shown. One media specialist may find this humorous, as it was intended, while another may label it as pornographic. The lack of directives and specificities makes me fear for the future of school-based libraries.

In an attempt to shield their teachers from disciplinary actions, my district issued a directive to make all classroom libraries and media center books unavailable to students until further directed. We have been told that this is a temporary move as the district works toward compliance with this law, but with only one person to vet thousands of books, it doesn’t feel very temporary.

I work in a low socio-economic neighborhood and most of my students do not have access to books at home. Last year, with the help of my family, friends, and community, I was able to start running a Little Free Library out of my classroom. When my students finished group and had free reading time they were welcome to choose a book from my library to take home. They could keep it, share it, or bring it back and trade it out. They loved it. Word got around and students from outside my groups started asking to come and get books and I welcomed them.

Last month I put a call out on social media for more books. I was running low, and people came through. Friends shared my posts and wishlists and within a week I had more than 200 new and used books to add to my library. I sorted through all of the books to make sure they were age, topic, and level appropriate for my kids. The Friday before we were told to cover our books, I was able to give away 100 plus books and I’m thankful for that.

So after a staff meeting filled with grumbling teachers complaining about our governor, the state of our state, and venting about how disrespected, unappreciated, and undermined this makes us feel, I headed back to my room to begin packing up my classroom library.

The next day my first group of students entered and immediately asked, “Where are all of our books Mrs. Phillips?” OUR books. Not mine, but theirs. My kids know that I use my time, my money, and my resources to collect these books and curate a library for them. They are meant to build a foundation in literacy and inspire a lifelong love of reading, not just for educational purposes, but for enjoyment as well.

The Story Book, William Adolphe Bouguereau, 1877

MSNBC’s Wajahat Ali argues that it’s not only Desantis that’s all in for banning books and pushing guns. “Republicans like DeSantis and Boebert are pushing guns — and banning books.”

When given a choice between saving their voters’ lives or promoting the guns that lead to deaths, Republicans consistently tag-team with the Grim Reaper. Take America’s favorite firearms enthusiast, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who promised to wear a Glock to Congress. In a speech on the House floor Wednesday, she said: “A recent report states that Americans own 46% of the world’s guns. I think we need to get our numbers up.”

If only Boebert felt the same way about books, American kids might have a shot at being great again. Unfortunately, they’re too busy trying to survive and avoid getting shot at school.

When given a choice between saving their voters’ lives or promoting the guns that lead to deaths, Republicans consistently tag-team with the Grim Reaper.

Boebert, along with Republican presidential hopefuls such as Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas believe that allowing more people to carry concealed guns without training or permits is the sanest and most logical choice to reduce violent crime, protect children and promote freedom.

In 2023, we’ve experienced more than 50 mass shootings in America, according to Gun Violence Archive. It’s only the beginning of February. Republican leaders don’t need to respond to mass shootings with pro-life measures, such as responsible gun control, because they know their MAGA base will continue to vote against its own interests because of racial resentment and the never-ending culture war against the libs.

Why fix what works — even if it remains broken, violent, and self-destructive?

Girl Showing An Illustrated Book, Charles Roka (Róka Károly),

Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz–a trust-fund baby–is about as radical as one can get. His prescription for poor and disabled Floridians and Americans who rely on Medicare is to get a job. This is from Semafor, as reported by Joseph Zeballos-Roig. “Matt Gaetz wants to make poor Americans work for their health care.”

Rep. Matt Gaetz is trying to convince his fellow Republicans to demand new work requirements for Medicaid as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling.

The Florida congressman, who has been enjoying new influence within his party after leading the surprisingly effective conservative revolt in last month’s House speaker battle, recently broached the idea on Fox News. He tells Semafor that he’s now “socializing” the concept among colleagues, including Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

He specifically wants to tighten Medicaid eligibility rules on “able-bodied working-age adults,” particularly in states which expanded the health insurance program for the poor under the Affordable Care Act. He said he sees it partly as a solution to recent labor shortages.

“Work requirements are proving to be a very unifying concept with my colleagues,” he said in a phone interview, adding he’s had “a very positive reception” to the idea, including from McCarthy. The speaker’s office didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.

Rep. Don Bacon, a moderate Nebraska Republican, said Gaetz approached him about discussing it in-depth during the House Armed Services hearing on Thursday. “I’ll have an open mind to hear what he has to say,” he told Semafor.

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Disingenuous Republicans in the House realize that the reason the deficit is getting more considerable is the Tax Cut they gave highly wealthy individuals and Big Businesses. The defense department and military are the only places to cut spending. It continues to be the most significant chunk of US spending. If you want to see President Biden’s spending priorities look no further than the Budget Publication from last year. Republicans know this and are playing coy with where they focus their spending cuts.

NBC’s Sahil Kapur reports the one area they’ve focused on. “House Republicans float one spending cut in a debt ceiling bill: Unspent Covid money. Republicans don’t have a fully fleshed-out plan yet, but it’s an early glimpse into the party’s mindset going into a potential debt ceiling crisis later this year. “

There’s no Republican plan, let alone a bill, to resolve the debt ceiling problem. But some GOP lawmakers are floating one idea to include in a package: rescinding approved but unspent Covid relief funds.

Taking back the unused pandemic response money “certainly could” be in a debt ceiling measure to avert default, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the chair of the powerful Rules Committee, said.

“I would hope we look at that,” Cole said. “It’s something that ought to be on the table.”

Rep Mike Kelly, R-Pa., who sits on the Ways and Means Committee that oversees taxes and large portions of the U.S. budget, said he’s open to it. It would be “insane” for Congress not to look at options to cut red ink by nixing unnecessary spending, Kelly said.

“There’s areas that we should not be spending and where we could actually either reposition or just not spend it, and then bring down our debt,” he said.

“We can make cuts that don’t hurt people,” Kelly added.

The idea isn’t yet ready for prime time in the GOP-run House, the Democratic-controlled Senate or the White House. But it is the most specific Republicans have gotten in terms of whatthey’d like to attach to a debt limit hike, a question that GOP lawmakers have been notably vague on, even as they demand spending cuts as a concession to pay the country’s bills. The Treasury Department has set a June 5 deadline for Congress to act or breach the debt limit.

George Dunlop Leslie – Alice in Wonderland (1879).

Anyway, back to Florida’s Fascist-in-Charge. This article from Vanity Fair by Betsey Levin. “A Comprehensive Guide to Why a Ron DeSantis Presidency would be as terrifying as a Trump One. His bigoted policies and authoritarian behavior make him just as bad a pick for the top job in Washington.”

According to people who know him, he’s awful and has been for many years.

A former college teammate, who simultaneously praised DeSantis’s intelligence, described him like this to The New Yorker: “Ron is the most selfish person I have ever interacted with. He has always loved embarrassing and humiliating people. I’m speaking for others—he was the biggest dick we knew.” We’ll repeat that for emphasis: “He has always loved embarrassing and humiliating people.” Great qualities to have in an elected official!

When I saw the latest crap coming out of the College Board, the first thing I saw in the blueprint was Rotten Ron. I must admit to taking AP classes every day and taking AP exams. It’s a clear path to skipping many freshman classes and getting a better chance at a good school. So, if we can study the short history of Italian and Irish Americans, why can’t we get a shot at learning about Black Americans and their history here from the early 17th century forward?

A schoolboy sleeping on his book, painted by Jean-Baptiste Greuze,1755

This is by Nicholas Goldman, an LA Time columnist. This is what “cancel culture” looks like.

After reviewing the College Board’s draft curriculum for its new Advanced Placement course in African American studies, Florida Gov. (and presidential wannabe) Ron DeSantis loudly lambasted it last month — and declared that he would ban the course in Florida’s schools.

On Wednesday, less than two weeks later, the College Board came out with a revised plan, omitting or downgrading some of the more controversial pieces of the curriculum, including sections on reparations, the Black Lives Matter movement, incarceration and “Black Queer Studies.”

All this has caused great uproar. Conservatives say that the original curriculum was “woke” and “lacked educational value” and was “pushing an agenda.” Their opponents argue that the College Board now has cravenly watered down the curriculum in response to conservative bullying.

This much is unquestionable: DeSantis and other conservatives have been on a misguided mission to bar certain subjects in schools, including those they think normalize gay and transgender “lifestyles” and those perceived as promoting critical race theory, their latest bête noire. Some Republicans insist that teachers must stop teaching “toxic propaganda” about the United States.

These attempts at educational censorship are outrageous. And if the College Board made concessions in its revised curriculum because of pressure from Republicans, that was cowardly and unprincipled. (The College Board denies that it changed the curriculum due to criticism from DeSantis.)

To me, though, the chief point is not whether schools get to teach about Black Lives Matter or Black queer studies or Black conservatism or Afrofuturism or Black feminism. It’s not whether Kimberlé Crenshaw or Angela Davis has been included or excised. Even with the changes to the curriculum, there’s still plenty to learn about African American history and culture.

What matters most in my view are two fundamental principles. One is that politicians shouldn’t dictate what gets taught; academics and teachers should. We don’t want grandstanding Republican (or Democratic) politicians with no expertise in Black studies pandering to their constituents’ prejudices and forcing their politicized versions of events on educators and students. That goes for DeSantis as well as for legislators in states like California, who have over the years sometimes sought to push curricula to the left.

Since Fox and other media outlets are pushing De Santis as a Trump alternative, we need to be ready to tell folks he is not an option.

Try to slog through some of this because it’s shocking and needs to be stopped. It may get thrown out in many courts, but Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch are just bloodthirsty to make this law. And don’t forget Rotten Ron not only has used police to chase possible election fraud, but he’s also going for The Period Police for young women athletes. His hostility to women and reproductive rights knows no end.

What’s on your reading and blogging list today?

So, this is what I consider good news, and I’m leaving it here. Also, I have had this earwig since Saturday night, thanks to the Werewolves of London Krewe at IKOc. Thought I’d share it with you along with the news that Zevon got nominated (about time) to the Rock and Roll Hall of fame. Evidently, we can thank Billy Joel for this.

Warren Zevon was an artist’s artist. One of the most talented and significant singer-songwriters to emerge in the 1970s, Zevon wrote poetic but offbeat songs, often with darkly humorous and acerbic lyrics, and delivered them with a dry wit and a twisted energy like no other performer could. Throughout his career, Zevon built a devoted fan base and earned the respect of his greatest peers, including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Neil Young.

Trained as a classical pianist, Zevon began his career in the 1960s as a composer of commercial jingles, a writer of pop songs (including two recorded by the Turtles), and a singer in the folk-pop duo Lyme & Cybelle, followed by several years doing session work and touring with musicians including the Everly Brothers. Zevon’s self-titled album, released in 1976 and produced by his friend Jackson Browne, won glowing reviews from critics and admiration from artists including Linda Ronstadt, who covered four of its songs. The followup album Excitable Boy (1978) featured the smash hit “Werewolves of London,” which climbed the singles charts and earned Zevon a cult following that remained for his entire career.