Just to follow-up on yesterday’s post mentioning the US Army helicopters that hovered at Kid Rock’s home in order to amuse and delight him, you’ll be happy angry to know that they received no punishment at all. In fact, they got a big pat on the back from the Secretary of Defense.
I think the hardest part about having Trump voters/donors in your life is feeling like they don’t know the difference between right and wrong.
Even if it’s someone you thought you knew well, there’s like this suspicion that never really goes away. You’re pretty sure they’d have your back if things got bad. But would they?
If they turned a blind eye to the Access Hollywood tape in 2016 and voted for Trump, do they actually think that women deserve to be treated equally in our society?
If they never said a word of condemnation of the January 6th insurrection, do they really think that every person’s vote should count in America?
If they twist and dispute the most basic facts about climate science or vaccines, do they disbelieve in experts, and therefore education itself?
If they’re OK with a President who posts vile things constantly including a video of Black people as apes, are they really OK to have around your children and grandchildren?
It’s painful to say this but I’m finding that even a lifetime of actions to the contrary cannot erase the doubts introduced by this one thing.
Listen, I know that nobody needs my hot take on what’s happening in the Middle East, but this is truly whack. The Trump regime has literally stranded upwards of 1,500 American civilians abroad. They were not warned not to travel to the Middle East before they left for their trips, and now they have no clear way to get home.
As someone who has consulted the US State Department (and enrolled in its Smart Traveler Program) before going abroad, I find this very disconcerting. Is it even safe to travel abroad now? Is the United States Department of State still a trustworthy institution? Have they fired so many experts that only unqualified people are making the big decisions? Are they just WINGING this whole damn thing???
(I’m still hoping for the best, but realistically—expecting the worst.)
A lawless President decided to topple the government of another country of 92 million without authorization from Congress or buy-in from the American people while he was sitting in his beach house in Florida.
Is it all just a distraction from the Epstein files? Maybe. Is the outcome going to involve massive cash windfall to Trump family businesses? Probably.
But what else can we do now but hope for the best? May U.S. military casualties be minimal and a new, free Iran miraculously emerge.
I’m sorry that Savannah Guthrie’s mother has gone missing, but GOOD GOD. The media coverage is ridiculous. They actually broke into primetime Olympics coverage of the men’s figure skating—with “Quad God” Ilia Malinin on deck—to tell us that absolutely nothing had changed.
How many Native American women go missing every single year and we never hear a peep from the media about them?
While Nancy Guthrie has been receiving 24/7 coverage, it sounds like things are still really bad in Minneapolis.
Copied and pasted from “The Other 98%” Facebook page:
Minnesota is still very much under assault by Trump’s private ICE army, even after the headline friendly withdrawal of 700 agents. You would not know it scrolling through your feed, where posts from Minneapolis residents about raids, beatings and shootings keep getting flagged or buried while the national press treats the state like a backdrop instead of a crime scene. And now there are early reports that ICE agents may have killed yet another person, adding to the sense that this crackdown is only getting deadlier, not winding down…On the ground this does not feel like “enforcement,” it feels like an occupation that has simply swapped helmets. The numbers have not really drawn down, they have just changed tactics, leaning harder on pre-dawn home raids, unmarked vans, so called “collateral” arrests of bystanders and courthouse stakeouts meant to snatch people when they show up to comply with the law.
———————————————————
On the bright side:
Randy Rainbow’s latest is a real gem—a perfect Ode to the Sycophants. 😂
Last weekend my church raised over $2,500 for a local non-profit social service organization that supports refugees and immigrants with a fantastic concert by Emma’s Revolution. We also raised $4,500 to buy a used car for a hardworking immigrant family from Afghanistan that several church members know.
Coincidentally, I’m LX too—same as the Super Bowl.
Last night was a bummer for Pats fans, but hey…nobody ever expected them to make it to the Super Bowl this year. It’s just too bad they were never really in the game. Husband disappointed, but not crushed.
On the bright side, Bad Bunny was awesome. I closed the activity ring on my Apple Watch dancing along. No, I didn’t understand most of the Spanish, but I liked the vibe. My favorite part was the ending where they came dancing straight towards the camera flying all the flags of the Americas.
It definitely felt like a big F U to Trump and ICE and all that they represent—white nationalism, hate, fear.
And apparently Trump took it like that.
It’s rich that a man who has been credibly accused of raping a 13-year old is complaining that salsa dancing is too “disgusting” for children to watch.
I took my family to Puerto Rico in 2016, because I really wanted to see it. We liked it a lot. Ahead of that trip, I tried to learn some Spanish with an online language learning program through my library. I gained a lot of words, but no real fluency. I did the same thing before a trip to Mexico.
Bad Bunny made me want to give it another shot at some point.
Final thought: Brandi Carlile did a beautiful version of America the Beautiful—it would make a much better national anthem.
I asked ChatGPT two Yes or No questions. I was pleasantly surprised by its honesty and inability to dodge.
After that, I got carried away:
Is Donald Trump racist? Yes or no answer only.
Yes
Is Donald Trump a sexual predator? Yes or no answer only.
Yes
Is Donald Trump a liar? Yes or no answer only.
Yes
Is Donald Trump senile? Yes or no answer only.
No
Is Donald Trump unfit to be President? Yes or no answer only.
Yes
Is Donald Trump self-dealing? Yes or no answer only.
Yes
Is Donald Trump a narcissist? Yes or no answer only.
Yes
Is Donald Trump a traitor? Yes or no answer only.
No
Is Donald Trump stupid? Yes or no answer only.
No
Is Donald Trump making the world less safe? Yes or no answer only.
Yes
Is Donald Trump bad for the US economy? Yes or no answer only.
Yes
Of all the unexpected bad news out of left field, Catherine O’Hara suddenly passing at age 71 made me cry OH NO at top volume.
Like literally everyone else, I LOVED Catherine O’Hara.
There are currently about one million tributes to Catherine online, so I’m just going to pick one favorite memory to share and that is: I honestly don’t know how we would’ve made it through the pandemic lockdown without Schitt’s Creek and Moira Rose. She was such a bright spot during that awful time. I absolutely loved all of the scenes involving the Women’s Choir (probably because I’m a lifelong Choir Lady myself), but remember her audition? The bizarre scat singing and the shaker egg in one hand. 🤣 How on earth did she come up with that? I often wondered how the other actors made it through even one take with Moira Rose without cracking up.
When Moira Rose auditions for the Schitt’s Creek Women’s Choir:
Thanks for the laughs Catherine, but you left us way too soon! There are so many other Baby Boomers that should’ve gone before you (especially the one in The White House). NOT FAIR. I was so looking forward to seeing you in Season Two of The Studio and whatever else you ever decided to do.
😢
It’s a winter wonderland here in Massachusetts. No sign of the plow guy yet this morning, but the Patriots are going to the Super Bowl – again. Therefore many New Englanders (husband, son…) are in a much better mood than they otherwise would have been. Go Pats!
And some good news: our whiny-ass, murdering, rapist, senile, spray-tanned orange President has announced he’s not going to attend the Super Bowl because he doesn’t like the halftime performer. He’s probably afraid all those Boston and Seattle fans would boo him into oblivion. In any case, Long Live Bad Bunny!
I’m continuing to work my way through “Watercolor Workbook” by Sarah Simon. If interested, she’s on Instagram: @themintgardener. All designs are hers.
Unfortunately my paint set doesn’t have one important color for botanicals: Oxide of Chromium. I’m having to make do with Sap and Veridian.
Related:
Statement from the family of Alex Pretti:
“We are heartbroken but also very angry.
Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman.
The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed.
Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
Related post:
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