May 8, 2022

I am an illegal alien. That makes me sound like an extraterrestrial, which I may be to many people. I like to think of myself as an undocumented worker. I say avocado, you say avocado. I get up early every morning, get in my car, and drive to my job where I cut your lawn, trim your hedges, and take care of your children. And that seems to be where the controversy starts.

My car is unregistered, I have no insurance, I have never had driver education, and I don’t have a license. I know this bad, but what choice do I have? I am here illegally after all. Some legislators want me to get a valid drivers license, register my car, take drivers ed, buy insurance, and pay excise taxes. I am all for that, but it makes other legislators uneasy. They see a valid drivers license as a gateway drug to illegal voting. They suggest that my drivers license clearly show that I am here illegally.

That all sounds all well and good, but why in the world would I want to advertise to the world my immigration status? I don’t know what the answer is. I just want to keep getting up in the morning, getting in my car, and going to my job cutting your lawn, trimming your hedges, and taking care of your children. You guys figure it out.

May 6, 2022

If you truly believe that abortion is the taking of a life, which I don’t, then you cannot allow any exceptions. Women who have been raped by a family member or a stranger are out of luck. That fetus is a human being. Any women whose health is jeopardized by a pregnancy is out of luck. The state gets to decide who lives and who dies. Women are pitted against themselves. Any fetus diagnosed with life-threatening and life-altering disabilities must soldier on, and pray there is a social safety net to catch them. If you believe otherwise, you are not being ethically consistent, and we all know what consistency is.

To take it another, logical step forward as the state of Louisiana is doing, anyone who aborts a fetus is guilty of murder. Anyone, who abets an abortion by driving the getaway car, is also culpable. Planned Parenthood becomes a terrorist organization, and members may find themselves on a no-fly list. These acts of domestic terrorism would allow the government to enact “Marshall” law. Your fellow citizens will be deputized to turn you in. Everyone becomes a Barney Fife. We will have to refund the police so they can go after these violent offenders. “Hands up, and hand over your uterus.”

Morning after pills would have to be considered lethal weapons. They would have to be regulated by the ATF, and not the FDA. As soon as the fertilized egg started mitosis, it would be too late. Justice Harry Blackmun wrote that Roe was really a decision about the right of doctors to exercise their judgment about a patient’s best interest without risking prosecution and prison. Too bad. We will have to release non-violent offenders to make room for criminal doctors and women. We will have to expand the ability of hospitals to recruit even more doctors from overseas. Doctors from Ireland need not apply.

The uteri of women will be subject to search and seizure laws. The only question will be if the government has to knock first. Hospital admissions will have to involve an administrator and a government oversight official. Men with guns don’t kill people. Women with contraceptives do. Men who pass these laws should be subject to condomnation.

May 4, 2022

One of the secrets to cheating in three card monte is for either the dealer or a shill to distract the mark. Well before the mark catches on, the dealer and his associates are long gone. Today’s Republican Party is the dealer, and the Democratic Party is the mark. While the Dem’s are being distracted by ginned up issues like critical race theory, book banning, pedophilia, LBGTQ rights, the big steal and the big lie, insurrections, and voter restrictions, the Republican Party has hidden the abortion pea under one of its cups, and the Democrats have no chance of finding it. The fear of many is that Progressives have little bandwidth left to deal with the Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe vs. Wade. Women may be on their own.

I have had the pleasure of personally knowing Sally Blackmun, daughter of Supreme Court Justice, Harry Blackmun, who wrote the majority opinion on Roe vs. Wade. Blackmun was appointed by Richard Nixon. The case was decided 7 to 2. She would tell stories of drive by shootings at her home after the case was decided. She discussed her personal, painful experience that led her to Planned Parenthood. I wish more people could hear her story. If they did, they would have second thoughts about what is coming. In the meantime, focus people!

May 2, 2022

As the war in Ukraine drags on, Russian oligarchs find themselves in more peril than Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Two oligarchs recently committed “suicide” after murdering other members of their families. This should not be surprising to anyone familiar with Bill Browder’s work in getting the Magnitzky Act passed. Today, we learn that another oligarch, who was critical of Putin online, was forced to “sell” his company when he received an offer he couldn’t refuse. It is difficult, however, to feel any sympathy for these people.

Now, in the United States, we have various government officials trying to punish people and companies who dare criticize their policies. The most obvious example is Ron DeSantis’ Mickey Mouse action to strip Disney of its special status for taking exception to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Previously, DeSantis imposed fines on small business owners, who dared to enforce mask mandates on their customers. J.D Vance, Senate candidate in Ohio, wants to seize the assets of the Ford Foundation and other NGO’s. He also wants to impose special taxes on companies who voice concerns about efforts to restrict voting. Texas and other states look to punish women and their enablers for exercising their Constitutional right to abortion. The list goes on.

It is no wonder that Putin finds sympathizers on Fox and other conservative outlets.

April 27, 2022

The fabled musk deer searches the world over for the source of the scent which comes from itself, or so the saying goes. In a similar vein, Elon Musk is searching for his voice by listening to himself. His voice says, “Buy Twitter.” I really don’t care if Elon Musk buys Twitter because the reality is that all social media sites are owned by multibillionaires, which deserves a separate discussion A social media website has replaced the 10,000 acre ranch in Montana as the ultimate symbol that one has arrived. However, people are concerned, and rightly so, about what the Musk might do with Twitter. And they are especially concerned that he may release the Kracken, the creature with the ability to eat our brains and our time.

I know it is somewhat controversial, but I think Trump should be allowed back on Twitter as long as he does us favor though. He needs to admit that he purposely and continuously lied on Twitter, and used it as a weapon of misinformation. He also needs to confess that he used Twitter to incite an insurrection at the Capitol, and apologize for his actions. Lastly, he needs to be subject to the Bobby Knight, one strike and you are out rule. One demonstrable falsehood, and you are gone.

I am not on Twitter so someone please let me know how it goes.

April 22, 2022

Bill Browder has just published his follow up book to “Red Alert.” It is titled “Freezing Order.” It’s a true story of murder, money laundering, and surviving Vladimir Putin’s wrath. Bill Browder was the individual responsible for getting the Magnitzky Act passed worldwide. The Magnitzky Act targets and attempts to freeze the ill-gotten gains of Russia’s oligarchs, which have been laundered by numerous financial institutions around the world, and typically reside in the banks of western nations. The Magnitzky Act directly threatened Putin, and the billions of dollars he has personally stolen and hidden. In addition to assassinating several individuals involved in uncovering the Kremlin’s money trail, Putin put a stop to the ability of Americans to adopt Russian orphans.

After the Mueller Commission indicted twelve Russians for interfering in the 2016 presidential election, Putin offered to trade the twelve for Bill Browder, which Trump thought was a good idea. Donald Trump, Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort famously took a meeting with a Kremlin lawyer and KGB spy, who wanted to talk about “adoption,” which was code for getting the Magnitzky Act overturned. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California was mentioned prominently in the book as being a Russian asset.

Which gets me to Kevin McCarthy. In 2016, McCarthy was quoted as saying that he thought that there were two people that Putin was paying, Dana Rohrabacher and Donald Trump. The New York Times reported today that McCarthy said that he “had enough of this guy,” meaning Trump, after the January 6th insurrection, and looked into having Trump removed via the 25th amendment. McCarthy knows the truth about Trump, but he chooses to appease Russia’s “useful idiot” to achieve his dream of House Speaker. His dream will be our nightmare.

April 19, 2022

What is it with Trump supporters? It’s not bad enough that they voted for him, and almost enabled him to flush democracy down the drain. They also have a need to let you know in no uncertain terms that they voted for him. They have a need to get in your face in the most outlandish and tacky ways with the news that they supported and still support Trump.

As I travel around Florida, the Trumpies are all too obvious. They drive around with Trump stickers and Trump flags on their golf carts. Their flag poles have “Trump 2024” flags hanging begrudgingly below the Stars and Stripes. Cars have bumper stickers like “Don’t blame me, I voted for Trump,” and “Let’s go, Brandon.” Golf stores sell “Trump 2024” golf towels. I have to admit I was tempted to get one so I could clean my dirty balls with Trump. Golfers have no compunctions about wearing MAGA hats on the golf course. One woman had “Trump is my President” affixed to her cell phone. Along the Florida Turnpike, there is a giant likeness of Trump painted onto a soundproof barrier. Places like The Villages have Trump golf cart parades, and communities closer to the water have Trump boat parades.

You would almost think that they believe that Trump won the election. I wonder where they might have gotten that idea. Ironically, today is Patriots’ Day.

April 12, 2022

Back in the dark ages, somewhere between slide rules and ink wells, there existed this thing called a slam book. My only experience with slam books was in junior high school. Someone would create a spiral bound notebook with a page dedicated to everyone in the class. We would then pass it around surreptitiously, and make our comments. Hopefully, the comments made about yourself were generous, but there was a reason it was called a slam book. Many of the comments were benign, but, often, they were mean, and they were there for all to see. It was a negative Tweet or Facebook posting before online bullying became a thing. It couldn’t go viral, but everyone in your universe saw it.

Studies and internal research at media companies has shown that teenagers are sadder than they were just a few years ago. There may be many, plausible reasons, but two that stand out are the increased use of social media, and the concurrent decrease in social interaction. Every teenager carries around a slam book in their pocket. While slam books tended to be a one time, year-end phenomena, teenagers now live with slam books every second of their lives. Young girls in particular are harmed by what they see on their phones.

With the increased time spent on social media platforms (teenagers spend on average five hours a day on social media,) there is less time for sociability. Today’s teenagers my confuse online interactions with sociability. Teenagers may not be lonely, but they spend more time alone. This aloneness deprives them of the joy of meaningful social interactions. This trend was only exacerbated by the pandemic. There are probably other reasons for the increased sadness among teenagers, but, regardless, the trend should be worrisome. The solution seems all to obvious.

April 6, 2022

Kentanji Brown Jackson will most likely be approved this week as the first black woman to be named as a Supreme Court Justice despite the heinous and infantile (literally) questioning from Republican Senators. They accused KBJ of being a coddler of criminals, a protector of pedophiles, a defender of Gitmo detainees, and an advocate of critical race theory. Based on their questioning, she should be in front of the bench, not behind it. It was quite a depressing demonstration.

What I find interesting is that the leading antagonists from the Republican Party all represent former slave states. There was Cruz from Texas, Blackburn from Tennessee, Graham from South Carolina, Cotton from Arkansas, and Hawley from Missouri. Their questioning wasn’t racially tinged, it was racially tainted. I am confident these Senators are not racists, but I am also confident that these Senators are not confident that their constituents are not. When in doubt, they throw red meat to their voters because there are not many vegetarians below the Mason-Dixon Line.

March 31, 2022

I didn’t see the slap heard round the world at The Oscars, but it was hard to avoid after the fact as TV news organizations seemingly had it on an endless loop. I don’t watch The Oscars, and now I know why. The surprise wasn’t Chris Rock. He did what he always does. He surgically pokes fun at the people, who should be able to take it the most. He is a brilliant stand-up comedian whose profanity oftentimes overshadows his hilarity. Isn’t Rickie Gervais the poster boy for sometimes tasteless humor at The Oscars? The surprise was Will Smith. Who saw that coming, especially Chris Rock?

The whole episode seemed contrived. Will Smith laughed, then didn’t laugh. He walked up to Chris Rock calmly, and then bitch slapped him. He returned to his seat, and launched a volley of f-bombs at Rock. Real classy stuff from the would be winner of the Academy Award for best actor. If he had any class, he would have considered at least acting the right way.

At the commercial break, he should have walked up to Rock and said, “I appreciate the nice things you said about my wife, but the comment you made about her hair really hurt her. It is a very sensitive subject for her, and I know that if you had known that, you would not have said what you said. I would appreciate it greatly if you would take the time to apologize to her.” If Rock had said, “Go f@#* yourself,” then he would have deserved more than a bitch slap. I doubt that is what he would have said, however.

Now can we get back to our regular programming?