May 19, 2021

I am a single mom with two young children at home. I had it tough before the pandemic, and it has only gotten worse. Schools are not fully open, and day care is not available. I was released from my pre-pandemic job as an in-home, healthcare worker. It paid barely above minimum wage, and was no where near the $15 per hour that has been talked about. I cleaned homes on the weekends to try and make ends meet. I haven’t had the time or the resources to get vaccinated, and I am not sure how I feel about it anyway. I will eventually, but, regardless, I am reluctant to get back to work until I know that everyone has had their shots. I can’t afford to get sick because I have a preexisting condition.

I know that people think that I am sitting at home eating bonbons on the couch, and watching soap operas. Nothing could be farther from the truth. My workload at home has increased dramatically with Zoom-based education. I barely graduated from high school so I am struggling to help my child get through his schoolwork. I saw something on TV this morning that the average women’s workload has gone up 77% with the pandemic. That rings true with me. I want and have to get back to work, but I need a job that pays better than minimum wage, and includes benefits. The government checks have been a godsend, but they barely keep our heads above water. I know they will run out shortly.

I need childcare, open schools, food security, and job training. I don’t need your lectures.

May 16, 2021

Republicans have met the enemy, and it is us. The enemy is not white supremacists, or domestic terrorists, which is redundant. The enemy is not Russia, and it’s hack attacks on our infrastructure. The enemy isn’t even Jewish space lasers. As it turns out, the enemy is poll watchers. Republicans are signing into law heavy fines, felony charges and jail sentences for poll workers, who make errors or violate the rules. Poll workers may find themselves sharing a jail cell with drug dealers, and pedophiles like Matt Gaetz. The situation is so dire that Republicans will have to arm themselves with AK-47’s to protect the rest of us from the Democratic, AntiFa, Communist poll watchers of the radical left. I for one will sleep better at night knowing that Republicans are standing at the gate, protecting our right to free and fair elections.

No good deed goes unpunished. Poll workers are community-minder volunteers, who just want to help out. They are often senior citizens looking for something productive to do. Now they are being vilified as if they had been plotting their entire lives to throw the electoral process into chaos. Republicans, get real. They only thing we have to fear is fear itself…and you.

May 12, 2021

Republicans are quickly being escorted by Donald Trump into the inferno as they descend down the nine circles of hell.

Limbo: Limbo is reserved for those poor souls who were not yet baptized by the demagoguery of Donald Trump, and voted for him in 2016. They can still be saved, but, as time passes, it looks a lot less likely.

Lust: This circle is populated with porn stars, politicians who paid off porn stars, and politicians who thought it was okay to grab women by the genitals. If you look around, you will see Jeffrey Epstein, Matt Gaetz, Roy Moore, Bill Clinton, and more. You will also see Evangelicals, who looked the other way while this was happening.

Gluttony: Here reside the selfish and the self-absorbed. They sacrificed the common good for personal self-interest and satisfaction. They sated themselves at their private clubs while others suffered.

Greed: The fourth circle of hell is filled with those obsessed with wealth. Those who favored tax cuts over all else. They used their increased wealth to pay lobbyists, who, in turn, secured more tax cuts. Also, those born into great wealth and then squandered it suffer here as well.

Wrath: Politicians, driven by hate and anger, are doomed here. They include those who rail against the “crooked” media, the “deep state,” gold star families, Muslims, immigrants, women, blacks, and anyone else who disagrees with them. They get to spend eternity fighting amongst themselves.

Heresy: Here we find Republicans who refused to disavow the claim that the election was stolen.They drove out all others who refused to be complicit in the “Big Lie,” and branded them heretics.

Violence: The seventh ring of hell is reserved for mass murderers, and those who make it easier for mass murderers to get guns. Also, space is reserved for those who choose to do violence against nature by not protecting it.

Fraud: People who claim fraud with no evidence are frauds themselves, and deserving of the fires of hell. “Fraud is worse than violence because it uses uniquely human abilities for evil purposes.” They will be required forever to look for fraud where no fraud exists.

Treachery: Here we find the white supremacists and avowed racists, who were willing to attack the U.S. Capitol to overturn an election. Traitors earn the worst fate of all because treachery “betrays a sacred bond of trust.”

May 5, 2021

For the record, I am not on Facebook because I found it to be a colossal waste of time. I found that Facebook wasn’t a tool. I was Facebook’s tool. Regardless, I think that Facebook’s decision to not reinstate Donald Trump to be very Trumpian. Essentially what they said is that it is something they will continue to look at, and they will have an announcement in the future. Stay tuned. In true Trump style, I suspect nothing will happen, and they will continue to kick the can down the road. Think healthcare and infrastructure.

I cannot conceive of any scenario or philosophical argument that would justify giving him his platform back. Facebook is not a public utility. It is not a right enshrined in the Constitution. As someone once said, “It is what it is.” If his comments and actions don’t warrant permanent banning from the website, the question becomes, as it was during the impeachment hearings, what does? Hate speech, a torrent of lies and disinformation, and incitement to violence seems like a pretty clear case to me. The burden of proof should not be on Facebook to let him back. The burden of proof should be on Trump to demonstrate by word and deed that he deserves to be allowed back. He has to disavow white supremacy, and the “Big Lie.” He needs to be subject to the “Bobby Knight, zero tolerance” policy. The first time Trump throws a chair at the referees or attacks a student, he has to move to Texas. That should teach him.

May 1, 2021

Republican legislatures all over the country are going out of their way to solve voting problems that doesn’t exist. They say that they need to restore integrity and faith in our electoral process. They are promulgating the big lie by passing laws designed to make it more difficult to vote for everyone with specific targeting of communities of color that voted Democratic. Florida was only the most recent state to follow Georgia’s example. We can all look forward to political goons looking over our shoulders as we vote.

Sadly, the United States is already close to the bottom when it comes to voter participation. According to Pew Research, only 55.72% of our voting age population actually votes. This puts us slightly ahead of Slovenia and Latvia. Of the countries tracked, we rank 32nd, which is a little better than our healthcare system which ranks last among 11 major industrialized countries. It’s a travesty that when we should be doing everything in our power to get more people to vote, we are doing the exact opposite. Republicans should be ashamed, but they have been proven to be shameless. They are clearly afraid of voting rates and voting rights.

M’aidez, M’aidez!

April 29, 2021

We are getting there. Millions of Americans have received their vaccinations, and we are administering millions more every day. It may not be until Fall, but the end is in sight. At the same time, we have hard core group of citizens, who feel as if it’s their constitutional right not to get vaccinated. The anti-vaxxers, those with vaccine hesitancy, and white Republican males are all resisting the science, which is their right. However, as a vaccinated individual, I have rights too.

I have the right to exclude you from public places. It is my right to be able to move around freely, and you are impinging on that right. I can’t go to a restaurant, a ball game, a movie, the gym etc. until I know you are vaccinated. You do not have the right to endanger my well-being. Public health is not a radical concept. It’s as old as the plague.

I also should have the right to not have to pay your medical bills either through higher taxes to support Medicare or higher insurance rates. It’s your right to get sick, but it is my right to say “good luck.” Your illness was self-inflicted, and totally avoidable. At least tobacco involves an addiction. Eschewing a free shot involves either ignorance or stupidity, which should not be covered by healthcare. This is a concept that should warm the hearts of freedom-loving, take personal responsibility Conservatives.

April 28, 2021

We are all trying to get back to normal, or at least trying to define our new normal. The reality is things will be different. We just don’t know how different they will be. Many of us want to get back to dining in restaurants, and shopping offline. We want to be with and serviced by people. Zoom and Amazon have been great, but hopefully they won’t define the new normal. As the song goes, “People who need people…” However, there is one initiative that will keep people at home, and maybe under their covers. It’s the number of states that allow the open carrying of firearms in public.

Anywhere from 15 to 45 states allow the open carrying of guns in one form or another. The last thing I want to be doing is ringing up a big tab at a nice restaurant while the guy in the next table over is brandishing a gun. There is nothing like a spoonful of gun powder to help the manicotti go down. I would rather stay home, and keep doing what I am doing, which is eating and spending less. The same goes for shopping. I would like to go to a store, but I certainly don’t need to go to a store. We are on a first name basis with all of our delivery guys. It’s kind of nice.

If the service providers who depend on the public spending money in their establishments don’t protest these outrageous abuses of the Second Amendment, they might as well give up and go home. No one wants to order off of the menu at the point of a gun.

April 27, 2021

Republicans continue to embarrass themselves with specious investigations into voter fraud in Arizona. This is a thinly veiled attempt to push the big lie about voter fraud, and institute regulations to limit voter participation. At the same time, Kevin McCarthy is balking at supporting a Jan. 6th insurrection commission unless it also includes an investigation in antiFa protests, making a false equivalency between protest and treason.

While they are at it, there are other investigations they should revive. What ever happened to Jimmy Hoffa? Conservative pundit Geraldo Rivera had a made for TV special focused on unearthing Hoffa’s remains. It did not go well, but why give up on a failed concept. It’s the Republican brand. Who killed Kennedy? Donald Trump thinks it’s Ted Cruz’ father. I think it’s worth looking into. Is there alien life in Area 51? QAnon and Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green believe Jewish space lasers are starting fires in California. Who’s to say? We need to look into it.

When you look up Republican Party in Roger’s Thesaurus, a synonym that comes up is rat hole. I am not sure how that happened, but it is certainly worth looking into.

April 24, 2021

I recently blogged a piece about blacks and guns, asking the question why more blacks are not buying guns and forming militias. Now that the Derek Chauvin trial is over and he got what deserved, I would like to say that I have a lot of sympathy for the job that good cops are faced with. America is awash in guns. No other country has anything close to the number of guns we have in circulation. Anytime there is a mass shooting or insurrection, the numbers just keep going up. When a cop pulls anyone of any color over for any reason, there is a decent chance that that individual may have a gun at his disposal.

We do not want to defund the police, and we certainly don’t want to disarm the police. Ironically, the more that gun advocates assert their Second Amendment rights, the less safe we and the police get. Crazies are armed with AK-47’s. We have an arms race going on between the cops and the citizenry. The police must be well-armed just to maintain parity with the nuts. In a scenario where everyone is packing, bad results will and do happen. We cannot excuse bad behavior, but we ask the police to do an impossible job because we are unable to police ourselves.