NanceGreggs
NanceGreggs's JournalA "Christian Nation"?
It looks so good on paper - not the idea of a national religion, but the notion of the teachings of Christ influencing the actions of politicians who claim to be his true followers.
If Christ's own words held any sway with those who pretend to adhere to them, the homeless would all be sheltered, the sick would all be cared for, the hungry would all be fed, and every stranger would be welcomed at the border with open arms.
The obvious problem here is that the self-proclaimed followers of the Nazarene are the same people who openly despise everything he said, everything he preached, and everything he stood for.
The legendary myth of the anti-Christ - a person or group of people determined to undermine the true tenets of Christianity - is now up-and-running in the Republican party. And their cries for establishing a "Christian Nation" have nothing to do with Jesus, but have everything to do with convenient political pretense.
When Republican politicians start feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, et cetera, I'll credit them for their "Christianity". But I'm not holding my breath waiting for the GOP to acknowledge that their idea of being Christ's disciples isn't about being thy brother's keeper, but about fucking your fellow citizens for thirty pieces of silver - while supplies last.
The Five Stages of Trumpism
DENIAL: "Trump is the Greatest pResident of my lifetime. He couldn't possibly be the lying traitor the Democrats and the complicit media are making him out to be."
ANGER: "There will be rioting in the streets."
BARGAINING: "But what if those documents are proven to be unclassified? But what if it turns out that he didn't falsify his tax returns and his financial statements? But what if it turns out that this was all a political witch-hunt after all?
DEPRESSION: "It's not looking good for our beloved "pResident". He's looking weak and defeated. His rally crowds are getting smaller, and his crack legal team is being smacked down in every courtroom while the investigations into his criminality keep piling up."
ACCEPTANCE: "I never liked Trump, I never trusted him, and I never voted for him. So what other dumb-as-fuck, racist, ignorant asshole, RWNJ can I get behind in 2024? Please advise."
Has anyone told Alan Dershowitz ...
... that the people of Martha's Vineyard who shunned him are going out of their way to embrace the immigrants who were sent there?
I hope whoever informs him makes sure he has his underwear on at the time because - well, there are some "reactions" that can prove to be embarrassing.
Common Ground
There has been much discussion of late about healing the rift between Republicans and Democrats by finding common ground, and focusing on what unites us rather than what divides us.
For the most part, I believe the people advocating this approach are well-meaning, and I do not dismiss their intentions out-of-hand.
However, I believe there are core values that have a place in such conversations that simply cannot be ignored.
Don't ask me to search for common ground with someone who thinks all immigrants are drug-selling rapists, or people who believe that children being slaughtered in their classrooms is a small price to pay to preserve the rights of gun owners.
Don't ask me to discuss women's rights with people who think a raped ten-year-old should be forced to give birth, or people who think every female should be subject to laws dictated by men.
Don't ask me to find common purpose with those who cheered the insurrectionists that attacked our democracy on January 6th, or those who still spout conspiracy theories in place of facts, reality, and common sense.
"Finding common ground" as a starting point sounds so enticingly easy, reaching that mythical place where those who support democracy and those who would destroy it meet up at a church pot-luck supper, embrace each other, and sing Kumbaya in unison and perfect harmony.
But the obvious truth is that's never going to happen. Promoting the fairytale that there is "common ground" to be found between racists, misogynists, xenophobes, homophobes, Islama-phobes, anti-Semites, anti-vaxxers, and downright crazy lunatics AND intelligent, well-informed citizens is just that - a fairytale.
I appreciate those who want us to believe that if we all just sit down and talk things over, we'll realize that what we have in common is what's really important - when what we don't have in common is really more glaringly important than anything else.
Under pain of being labelled as shallow ...
As we've heard of late (rather endlessly, in fact), Republican males seem to be struggling with issues of manhood and masculinity - that would be their own manhood of course, as Democratic/liberal males don't seem have the same problem - but I digress.
I would advise such GOP males to watch recent videos of Ukrainian soldiers liberating their countrymen - and take a lesson from all of those gorgeous, be-still-my-heart men who have women swooning the world over.
There's just something so sexually appealing about a man who stands up and fights for democracy, as opposed to a man who kneels down to kiss an orange ass.
There's something truly stimulating about a man who says fuck you to sniveling sycophants, and is willing to risk his own life in order to say it to their faces.
There's something downright erotic about men who are ready to die protecting their country's women, in stark contrast to "men" who are happy to offer up the rights of their countrywomen as a sacrifice in exchange for political power.
The Republican "men" who are currently (and constantly) whining about being emasculated by strong women, might do well to consider that strong women are drawn to strong men - which means that the vast majority of Republican men are destined to sleep alone pretty much for the rest of their lives.
What I Got ...
When I cast my ballot for Joe Biden in November 2020, I was convinced that I was voting for a decent and honourable man, one who would do his best to unite a divided country and right the wrongs done by his predecessor.
Starry-eyed - and perhaps a bit politically naive - I assumed that he would recognize the limitations of his office and would work within the boundaries set by his opponents, ever cautious of the consequences of moving too fast, too boldly, too determined to do the right thing.
What I got was a President who has exceeded all expectations - a President not content with playing defense, but a man more than willing to take the fight to the "other side of the aisle" and demand that those who are anti-democracy defend their statements, their actions, and their participation in attempting to overthrow the government they now claim to want to preserve and protect.
I voted for a mild-mannered, self-deprecating, ever-humble Clark Kent - what I got was Superman.
I have to hand it to folks like Billy Barr ...
... who have suddenly decided that being a lying, enabling Trump ass-kisser isn't a 'good look' in today's political environment.
Barr is the stereotypical sycophant who desperately wants you to believe that when he claimed the Mueller Report had completely exonerated Trump, he was just funnin' with y'all.
Brace yourselves, citizens. We are about to be bombarded by similar statements from Trump ass-lickers who have seen which way the wind is blowing, and are anxious to deny previously bragged-about blowjobs.
Try to Remember the Kind of September
I am now in my 73rd year, and I am desperately trying to remember the kind of September that existed in bygone days.
The Septembers of my past were full of Democrats and Republicans readying themselves for midterm elections. They agreed on common goals, and only differed on the best way to achieve them.
I remember my (D) mother and our nextdoor (R) neighbour driving together to a local school to register voters for their respective parties - after which they headed to the diner to share stories about their kids, their marriages, and local gossip over coffee and cheesecake - their political differences being deemed too minor to discuss.
As I fast-forward to our current kind of September, I am reminded that rational discussion is a thing of the past, and division between the parties is not only encouraged, it is exalted by those who see that division as their only hope of retaining political power.
I long for that kind of September when votes were won on the basis of the integrity of the candidates, and their visions of how to achieve a more perfect union, rather than being based on an obvious willingness to abandon the truth in order to stay in office.
And yet, being an unapologetic optimist and a staunch believer in democracy, I still believe that that kind of September I try to remember is about to reassert itself as a song that will not be unsung.
THE Question
The seizure of classified documents from Mara-Lago has triggered thousands of questions about how they wound up there, who participated in their transport, where and how they were stored, who had access to them, what classifications they held, what measures were taken to keep them secure - the list goes on and on.
The powers-that-be in the GOP have busied themselves trying to answer those questions with a combination of obfuscation, what-about-ism, deflection, threats of "riots in the streets", and what we've come to expect as the inevitable talking points about witch-hunts, political persecution, dead-on-arrival conspiracy theories, and the Magic Wand of Declassification having been ceremoniously waved.
However, there is ONE question that requires an answer above all else: For what purpose were these documents stolen by Donald Trump?
It is THE question in all of this - and it is THE question that Trump and his ass-licking sycophants have yet to answer.
The who, what, where and when of highly-classified documents being found at Mara-Laqo are valid queries that deserve investigation. But they pale in comparison to the ultimate question: WHY?
Surely the GOP knows that their silence on that topic can only mean one thing: The answer is treason, and no other explanation has been proffered because no other viable response exists.
Inevitable
In life, some things are random, some things are possible or probable - and some things are simply inevitable. And Trump's downfall is now inevitable.
More importantly, even the PTB in the GOP - despite their threats of "riots in the streets", their feigned outrage, their "we're ready for our close-ups, Mr. DeMille" performances in front of the nation's cameras - know inevitability when they see it.
Those halcyon days of "we can get through this, we can spin this, we can get on top of this" are now gone. The previously tried-and-true talking points sound less like rallying cries, and more like punchlines to incredibly unfunny jokes.
Delaying tactics are to be expected. Legal arguments attempting to defend the indefensible are par for the course. Ridiculously-contrived rhetoric is as predictable as it is laughable.
Trump is going down - and whether that happens today, tomorrow, next week or next year, the outcome will be the same.
It is inevitable - and what's more, it always has been.
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