Author's archive
The Party of the New Secesh Prepares To Party Hearty 0
Now that the House of Representatives has (sort of) resolved its stalemate over should be speaker, Michael in Norfolk thinks what will come next will not be pretty.
Aside:
It reminds me of Congress in the 1850s.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
At the Idaho State Journal, Michael Corrigan remembers Donald Trump’s (and yes, it was his, as he instigated it) January 6th insurrection.
The image that haunts me is the insurgent walking around the Capitol carrying a Confederate flag.
Follow the link for more memories.
Aside:
Many years ago, in the early years of my career at Amtrak, I lived in an apartment building named Fort Ward Towers (I think it since went condo) in Alexandria, Va., and, I must say, I had a fun three years there. Right across the street was Fort Ward Park, which preserved a bit of Fort Ward, one the 27 I think it was Civil War forts that ringed Washington during that conflict. It was quiet, pleasurable place, and my roommates and I would visit it from time to time.
Fort Ward is a museum piece.
But the South is still rising again and the war is not over.
Gilded Age Redux 0
Thom argues that, “while the battle for House Speaker appears to be about personality, it’s really about ideology. It’s about the future of ‘big government’ and the American middle class” in this, the new Gilded Age.
The Function of Dysfunction? 0
Even as normal persons might be tempted to point and laugh (“Republicans in disarray!”) at the Republican Party’s inability as of the time of this writing to select a Speaker of the House, Grung_e_Gene argues that their own dysfunction perversely reinforces their narrative. A snippet (emphasis added):
I commend the rest of his post to your attention.
Also, too.
Misdirection Play, Multiple Motions Dept. 0
New York Judge Justice Arthur Engoron orders Trump lawyers to stop with the frivolous filings. At Above the Law, Liz Dye translates the legalese:
Follow the link for context.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
The rot gets deeper.
I do not think it’s much of a stretch to argue that, though slavery is America’s original sin, its fascination with firearms is its Achilles heel.
Republican Family Values 0
But, as David Horn points out at The Roanoke Times, it is not necessarily the family that you may be thinking of.
Boebert Is the New Gohmert 0
(Warning: Short commercial at the end.)
Today’s Republican Party is a vile and loathsome thing.
“But I’m the Victim Here” 0
Right-wingers, racists, and, especially these days, evangelical they-call-themselves Christians often claim that they are being persecuted for their beliefs, they they are, to quote the cliche, “the real victims here.” Their definition of “persecution,” match, is not getting everyone else bend to their will.
At Psychology Today Blogs, Araya Baker explores why these folks portray themselves as–indeed, can convince themselves that they are–victims. It is a complex and timely article and well worth the few minutes it will take you to read it.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yet another “responsible gun owner” discharges his responsibility, to (no surprises here) his detriment.
Meanwhile, at the Orlando Sentinel, Cindy Sawyer tries to make sense of gun nuts’ rationales for gunnuttery and concludes that, well, they just don’t make sense.
Much Ado about Who Knows What? 0
Noz tries to figure out why some House Republicans don’t want Kevin McCarthy to be Speaker of the House and concludes that some House Republicans just don’t want Kevin McCarthy to be Speaker of the House.
Meanwhile, on the same topic, Nick Carraway suggests that it’s much ado about a hollow man who stands for nothing.
Me, I suspect it’s just mean for the sake of mean.
We are a flailing state.
The Speaker Squeaker 0
Seth takes a look at Republicans in disarray. An excerpt:
. . . the current Republican Party simply isn’t fit to govern and, when it comes to Congress, they shouldn’t even be allowed in the doors . . .
It’s All about the Algorithm , , , 0
, , , and the algorithm is designed, above all else, to be addictive.