Category Archives: elections

elections, healthcare, politicians, politics, religion, YouTube

“In God We Trust”; but, in politicians we don’t trust…

The featured photo is of a quarter we used to decide where our next vacation will be. I think “In God We Trust”should come off of our currency, too… But that’s just me.

It’s been an interesting news week. A few days ago, I read about a new law passed in Louisiana requiring every classroom in every public or charter school to hang a sign that reads “In God We Trust”. This new law, which went into effect on August 1 of this year, replaces an old one from 2018 that simply required an “In God We Trust” sign to be hung somewhere in every school. The law, known as HB8, was authored by Rep. Dodie Horton. Ms. Horton, a Republican from Haughton, Louisiana, explained her reasoning behind writing the law, thusly:

“It doesn’t preach any particular religion at all, but it certainly does recognize a higher power.”

Naturally, this policy is controversial. Not everyone is Christian. Not everyone is religious. Not everyone believes in a “higher power” of any kind, nor do they necessarily want public schools to be pushing religious beliefs on their children. Moreover, it seems to me that given the sorry state of education in the United States today, legislators have much bigger fish to fry than ordering every school to hang a paper sign in every classroom reminding everyone that “In God We Trust.” Quite frankly, not everyone DOES trust in God, and it’s wrong to make that assumption. I would much rather Ms. Horton and her ilk do something about crazed lunatics killing kids in public schools with their high powered rifles, than hanging a stupid paper sign about God.

I am, myself, a Christian. I don’t go to church anymore, but I was raised Christian, and I do have a basic belief in God. I think this policy sucks, though. Louisiana residents may be mostly Christian and Republican, but not everyone there is. And taxpayer funded public schools should not be places where there’s any hint of religious indoctrination. These signs– make no mistake about it– refer to the Christian God. That’s not right. If you want your kids indoctrinated, send them to a private, religious based school.

I’ve got no problem whatsoever if religion is taught about in school, as long as the instruction isn’t just about Christianity, and it doesn’t push kids to choose one belief system over another. I actually wish I had known more about different religions than Protestantism when I was a young person. It would have spared me significant embarrassment when I ran into more worldly people in my early 20s.

Frankly, I hope the ACLU sues the hell out of Louisiana for this, although given our current Supreme Court makeup, with an actual “handmaiden” serving as a justice, I doubt it will do much good. Dodie Horton obviously “pooh poohs” the concerns of the ACLU. She said:

“It’s a positive message in this world that throws so many negative things at our children,”

Yeah… tell that to many struggling adults who suffered from religious trauma and abuse when they were kids, Dodie. It is a thing. Check this blog for the many book reviews I’ve written by people who have turned those nightmare church experiences into published memoirs in an attempt to process what happened to them when they had no choices or control over their own lives. Many kids get enough religious bullshit at home and in the churches their parents force them to attend. This should have no place at a public school. At best, it accomplishes nothing, as a lot of kids don’t care about religion. At worst, it might lead to indoctrination or trauma.

I see that charming Dodie Horton has also supported a “Don’t Say Gay” bill, too. She’s not a mental giant, is she? Sigh…

Moving on…

I was relieved to see that voters in Ohio showed good sense in rejecting Issue 1, a Republican backed ballot measure that would have made it significantly more difficult to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. The measure would have raised the threshold of support required for future amendments to Ohio’s constitution. Currently a simple majority is necessary; if Issue 1 had been approved, 60 percent support would have been required. It also would have required that any groups proposing amendments get signatures from voters in every one of Ohio’s 88 counties. Currently, only 44 counties must be represented on petitions. Issue 1 also would have eliminated the ten day “curing” period, which allows groups ten more days to gather more signatures in the event that any collected are deemed invalid.

“Beau” really does a good job of explaining why Issue 1 should have been rejected. Thank God it was.

Since Issue 1 was rejected, that means that a proposed amendment that would protect abortion rights by enshrining them in Ohio’s constitution has a higher chance of successfully passing in November. All that will be needed is a simple majority, rather than 60 percent approval. Republican lawmakers have admitted that Issue 1 was dreamed up as a means of preventing abortion rights from being enshrined in the constitution. They want to please their constituents, even though it’s pretty clear that more citizens want abortion rights to be protected than restricted.

I have not made it a secret how I feel about the extreme importance of abortion rights. I’m no longer directly affected by this issue, except that I see the restrictions as a violation of healthcare privacy. Moreover, as I have pointed out MULTIPLE times, sometimes people need abortions for truly heartbreaking medical reasons that are no one else’s damned business! Other times, people simply aren’t ready to be pregnant or to parent… and it should NEVER be up to unintentionally pregnant people to gestate babies to supply to would be adopters. The prospect of that makes me sick to my stomach… because the next thing that will come is forcing pregnant folks to seek medical care and put aside their own civil rights in favor of the developing fetus’s. They’ll also come for birth control.

Mention this to the anti-choice crowd, and they usually come up with comments that amount to “slut shaming”, and offer zero accountability to the men who got them pregnant. Nor does it take into account the fact that besides men who rape and molest, there are also men who cajole, whine, and pressure women to have sex, and lots of women who, for whatever reason, feel they can’t say “no”.

It’s still pretty early since Roe v Wade was overturned, but I really think these extreme abortion bans are going to cause huge problems on several levels. There will be more poverty, child abuse, substance abuse, and domestic violence. And states that enact these ridiculous laws are going to find a significant decrease in the availability and accessibility of decent healthcare, as good doctors leave those states, refuse to train in them, and go where they can practice the way they were trained without interference from law enforcement or government officials who have NO MEDICAL TRAINING WHATSOEVER.

For more on this, have a look at Mama Doctor Jones’s recent video…

Mark my words… this is a look at the future.

It’s not just OB-GYNs who are going to leave, either. Other doctors will also leave, especially if they happen to be married to an OB-GYN, or someone who has high medical risks and needs competent care. Because if they came for the OB-GYNs, who’s to say they won’t come for other doctors? And who wants to practice medicine in such an oppressive environment, anyway?

What’s sad, though, is that so many people still don’t get it. They don’t understand why abortion rights are so important and extreme bans are so very dangerous to ALL females. Read the comments on MDJ’s channel, and you’ll see so many people who aren’t thinking critically about this. They keep spouting off how fetuses should have rights that supersede those of the person who is growing them in their bodies. It really is tragic.

Anyway… neither of these issues are situations that will ever directly affect me. I just feel like the country is going backwards. It’s depressing. But I’m glad to see that people in Ohio still have some good sense.

In other news, Bill says his molar just “sheared” off, and he’s probably going to need an extraction. 🙁 Guess he’ll be joining me on the dental implant train.

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controversies, elections, narcissists, politicians, politics, Trump

Rachel Maddow scared the hell out of me yesterday…

Every once in awhile, I watch segments from Rachel Maddow’s show on YouTube. During the afternoon yesterday, I saw a couple of segments from her show that gave me chills. It’s strange for me– an American living in Germany– to watch the United States from afar these days. It seems like there’s a group of radicalized culty Republicans who are trying to turn the United States into a dystopian nightmare. It’s so disturbing for me, even as I realize that part of Rachel Maddow’s job is to stir up the masses and score ratings for her network.

The first video I watched was about how attorneys general in 19 red states signed a letter to Joe Biden about how they want to be able to track female residents who leave the state for abortion care. This idea, to me, is extremely creepy and wrong. What’s especially upsetting is that not all of the people who signed it were men! Have a look at Rachel’s commentary on this. It’s not just abortion care that is at risk, either– it’s also gender affirming care for people who are transgender… even potentially fertility care or birth control!

Maybe it’s time to donate more money to NARAL and Planned Parenthood. This is an absolute OUTRAGE!

What the hell has happened to our country? Have people lost their minds? Are some people so fixated on money, power, and control over women that they are willing to harass them over their PRIVATE medical records and healthcare choices? This is fucked up. What’s sad is that so many people just don’t care, and are willing to hand over their freedom and privacy to people who would champion this kind of public policy.

Later, I caught another segment on Rachel’s show… This one was even scarier to me, because unlike the one about reproductive rights, this one affects everyone if Trump gets re-elected. I doubt his fans are listening, but if they vote for him, they are voting for the end of the United States as we know it. Trump would like to be a literal dictator, and there are some dimwitted minions who are still trying to help his cause.

Please do not vote for this asshole. He belongs in PRISON.

I hear so many Republicans talking about how important the Constitution is. But, according to Rachel Maddow, Trump and his buddies would like to toss out the Constitution, which was supposedly “made up by liberals”, and give the president all of the power. What Rachel described in her segment was pretty much the Russian model of government– you know, the government controls everything, and we no longer have the right to speak up or criticize on pain of going to prison? Seriously… watch that segment. It’s scary stuff, and so many people are sleepwalking, simply responding to Trump’s nauseating brand of charisma. He says what they want to hear, but what he actually wants to do is control everyone and everything. He is a very dangerous man.

Weren’t Republicans supposed to be the party of less government control? According to Rachel Maddow, Republicans want to take away states’ rights– “identify the pockets of independents and seize them”. It’s being pushed by a group called the Heritage Foundation.

Since I have a subscription to the New York Times, I can gift the article that explains this plan in depth. Click here if you want to read about it. Here’s a brief excerpt for those who don’t want to read the gift article.

“The president’s plan should be to fundamentally reorient the federal government in a way that hasn’t been done since F.D.R.’s New Deal,” said John McEntee, a former White House personnel chief who began Mr. Trump’s systematic attempt to sweep out officials deemed to be disloyal in 2020 and who is now involved in mapping out the new approach.

“Our current executive branch,” Mr. McEntee added, “was conceived of by liberals for the purpose of promulgating liberal policies. There is no way to make the existing structure function in a conservative manner. It’s not enough to get the personnel right. What’s necessary is a complete system overhaul.”

Mr. Trump and his advisers are making no secret of their intentions — proclaiming them in rallies and on his campaign website, describing them in white papers and openly discussing them.

Why in the HELL should Donald Trump, someone with a long record of screwing over people, have any right or ability to overhaul the US government? This is a man who only cares about money and power. Voting for him is like voting for Saddam Hussein or Kim Jong Un. And his followers, mainly, are just plain blind to the fact that by empowering them, they are causing their own demise!

I really hope that Trump’s campaign goes right down the sewer, where it belongs. He’s a criminal madman, who needs to be put away somewhere before he completely destroys our country. Below is a little bit more from the article…

“What we’re trying to do is identify the pockets of independence and seize them,” said Russell T. Vought, who ran the Office of Management and Budget in the Trump White House and now runs a policy organization, the Center for Renewing America.

The strategy in talking openly about such “paradigm-shifting ideas” before the election, Mr. Vought said, is to “plant a flag” — both to shift the debate and to later be able to claim a mandate. He said he was delighted to see few of Mr. Trump’s Republican primary rivals defend the norm of Justice Department independence after the former president openly attacked it.

People wonder why I passively hope to be beamed up… it’s because of people like Donald Trump. Rich, powerful, corrupt, and evil people… and I don’t feel like there’s anything I can do except vote and write blog posts… and donate whatever money I can to causes that fight against fascism and taking our country back 100 years. He’s still got his cheerleaders, though.

Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Mr. Trump’s campaign, said in a statement that the former president has “laid out a bold and transparent agenda for his second term, something no other candidate has done.” He added, “Voters will know exactly how President Trump will supercharge the economy, bring down inflation, secure the border, protect communities and eradicate the deep state that works against Americans once and for all.”

Yeah, cuz he did so much during his first term… golfing, feeding football players fast food, making racist and sexist statements, and otherwise fucking up on the daily! And none of the “promises” he made during his first term ever came to fruition, either. Instead, it was one scandal and circus act after another! Now we’re stuck with Trump’s terrible Supreme Court picks, who are fucking extremists! More from the Times…

The two driving forces of this effort to reshape the executive branch are Mr. Trump’s own campaign policy shop and a well-funded network of conservative groups, many of which are populated by former senior Trump administration officials who would most likely play key roles in any second term.

I am quite worried about this. And I would love it if a well placed lightning strike hit Trump during his next golf game. Of course it won’t happen, but I can dream, can’t I? People say Biden is demented… I say Trump and his cronies are much worse. The New York Times and Rachel Maddow are warning us.

Personal power has always been a driving force for Mr. Trump. He often gestures toward it in a more simplistic manner, such as in 2019, when he declared to a cheering crowd, “I have an Article 2, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president.”

Mr. Trump made the remark in reference to his claimed ability to directly fire Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel in the Russia inquiry, which primed his hostility toward law enforcement and intelligence agencies. He also tried to get a subordinate to have Mr. Mueller ousted, but was defied.

Early in Mr. Trump’s presidency, his chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, promised a “deconstruction of the administrative state.” But Mr. Trump installed people in other key roles who ended up telling him that more radical ideas were unworkable or illegal. In the final year of his presidency, he told aides he was fed up with being constrained by subordinates.

FUCK YOU, TRUMP!!!!! AND FUCK TRUMP SUPPORTERS, WHO WANT TO FOIST HIM AND HIS SICK BRAND OF “LEADERSHIP” ON THE REST OF US! At least I still have the right to say these things… for now.

As much as Trump’s first term was a disappointing farce, a second term for him would be disastrous. He would have no constraints, and no reason to rein in his impulses to try to control the country and its citizens. He must be stopped.

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elections, politicians, politics, true crime, Trump

Self-appointed masters of the drop boxes…

Happy Tuesday morning to all. Yesterday, Bill, who has been feeling under the weather, finally took a COVID test to see if he was infected with the virus. Some people who were TDY with him in Bavaria had gotten positive results. Sure enough, he’s got the bug, so he’s working from home today. I told him days ago that he shouldn’t go in to work, because he’d be spreading his germs. Did he listen to me? Naw. Oh well… guess my MPH degree didn’t help this time. 😉 Fortunately, he’s not very sick. He just has the pesky head cold version of COVID. So far, I’m not feeling sick, either, but then I had COVID a few months ago. Maybe my immune system is working. I’m glad we didn’t go out and do anything over the weekend.

I keep watching the news about the upcoming elections. There are some truly vile candidates running for office, which is worrisome for those of us who long for leaders who are respectable. However, even though I don’t like the MAGA candidates at all, I still firmly believe that people should be allowed to vote for whomever they wish. That’s part of being in a free society. I don’t like it when people try to tell me who I should vote for, so I try not to do it to anyone else. Yes, I express disdain people like Donald Trump, and I don’t understand the appeal of having him, or people who “lead” like him, back in office. But I still believe that people should be allowed to vote freely, even if I disagree with their choices. I feel that way because I want the same privilege for myself.

I was dismayed to hear about people in Arizona lurking around drop boxes, watching people dropping off ballots, taking pictures of them and their license plates, and in some cases, actually confronting them. This morning, Bill told me about an video on CNN about a woman in Arizona who was hanging out near a drop box and confronted two armed men. The woman in the story appeared to be on the liberal side of the divide, but there have also been some from the more conservative side, some of whom are bringing their guns with them. I said, “Eventually, someone is going to get hurt or killed for meddling in other people’s attempts to cast ballots.”

This is insane.

As I’ve mentioned more than once, things have changed a lot in my lifetime. I’ve been around for 50 years now, and I’ve never seen or heard of this kind of foolishness surrounding elections prior to the Trump era. People have lost faith in the voting system, and some of them are taking it upon themselves to interfere with the process. There’s actually a significant population that believes our elections are fraudulent, simply because Trump didn’t win in 2020. They can’t fathom why he wasn’t chosen over Joe Biden. I just don’t get it, though. To me, it’s very EASY to see why Trump didn’t win. I may not think Joe Biden is the most exciting or dynamic person to lead the country, but it’s least he’s a basically decent person.

This is crazy!

Donald Trump has a history of corruption that runs for miles, and he’s a proponent for violence and disorder. He’s flat out expressed admiration for autocrats; he’s had many failed businesses and marriages; and he refuses to play fairly, even with our allies. Moreover, he doesn’t care about other people; he only cares about money and power, and he says and does embarrassing things that make the United States look like a Banana Republic. To me, this is very obvious. In my opinion, Trump doesn’t have any traits that good leaders possess. All he has is superficial charisma, which he uses to wind up people who are motivated by the same things that motivate him. But they don’t seem to understand that he doesn’t give a shit about them, and neither do his acolytes. Once those people get in power, they will proceed in screwing over everyone.

Still… I realize that these are just my opinions. I understand that other people feel differently. They think Trump is awesome, and they will vote for candidates who support him, like Kari Lake, who has said that she will only accept the results of her run for governor if she is declared the winner. I say, it is certainly their right, as Americans, to vote as they see fit without interference. All I want is the same opportunity. Fortunately, I voted absentee, which is still okay if you live abroad. I doubt the candidates I voted for will win, but at least I tried. And no one brandished a gun in my presence when I voted, because I did it in the privacy of my own home, in a country where far fewer people own weapons.

People have lost their minds.

I still like to hope that there are still reasonable people in the United States. Even if they don’t like liberal policies, I would hope they would make a choice for sanity. I, for one, am not a big fan of extreme liberalism. Politically, I would describe myself as deep purple. But I am NOT ever voting for MAGA Republican extremists. They are dangerous, and they are turning my homeland into a place I don’t recognize. I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. I long for the day when it seemed like the government was run by adults with a sense of decorum. Maybe those days are gone forever. Once again, I find myself glad that I never had kids.

The drop boxes are a good thing for people who can’t make it to polling locations. These are folks who don’t have access to transportation, sick, elderly, or disabled people, or maybe those who have to work when the polls are open. They are Americans, too, and they deserve the right to vote, just as much as someone more privileged does. For all of the complaining conservatives do about people getting “free stuff” and grifting taxpayer dollars, they don’t seem to understand that their “dear leader” is the biggest grifter of all. And people who are stuck in poverty are not inherently criminals or “stupid”. It’s not a crime to be poor, and someone who has the misfortune of being impoverished doesn’t necessarily “deserve” that fate. Drop boxes help make elections more fair, because they allow more people access. But conservatives are afraid that people who make less money– some of whom are non-whites– won’t vote for their candidates. They’re afraid that straight, white people will be less powerful, and less relevant. So they bring their guns to the drop boxes and meddle in other people’s voting.

When I read about these people with their guns, voluntarily taking it upon themselves to “oversee” the drop boxes, all I can think is that eventually, someone is going to get hurt. Someone is going to end up in prison because they have been misguided into believing in conspiracy theories. Some families are going to be forever changed, in a multitude of negative ways, because of that misguided belief.

I like to hope that some of the people who believe that the elections are rigged are, overall, decent folks. But then someone gets hurt or killed or even just psychologically traumatized, and it ends up in the news. It’s just ludicrous.

Anyway, our votes are on their way to Texas. I wish us all luck.

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