January 16, 2025

The economics of immigrant labor

1- Ancient societies up through the Brit monarchy and the 'murican South were built on slave labor.
2- The farm labor problem in the U.S. was solved with the Bracero program, humanely importing registered migrants with orderly returns.
3- Big businesses, giant farms, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce favor cheap labor.
4- After Katrina construction boomed on undocumented labor, exploiting, not paying, threatening to report them to ICE.
5- Immigrant labor will rebuild the Palisades.

January 13, 2025

Mexico and Canada send firefighters to aid Los Angeles - posted with obvious snark (mine) at Drumpf implied - pic

Looking for a graphic of Mexican aid during Katrina and working on a current one Canada/Mexico. Meanwhile, Texas's ABBUTT is removing President CARTER's half-mast for Drumpf, and has he sent any of his border militarization to help over there? He's an insurrectionist in big and small ways.
*** ON EDIT, pic added:



**************QUOTE**********

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/11/us/mexico-canada-firefighters-california.html

.... More personnel and equipment from Ontario, Quebec and Alberta are ready to be mobilized, according to government officials. And a team of senior technical staff members from British Columbia will fill specialized roles, the government said.

“We both know that Canada and the United States are more than just neighbours,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on X on Friday. “We’re friends — especially when times get tough. California’s always had our back when we battle wildfires up north. Now, Canada’s got yours.”

Mexico quickly followed, dispatching a crew of firefighters early Saturday to help the huge deployment already underway.

“We are a country of generosity and solidarity,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said on X. Ms. Sheinbaum said that the group was carrying “the courage and heart of Mexico.” ....

*************UNQUOTE***********

January 4, 2025

Two - no, three - perps. The White guys are said (by some) to be "patriots."

In past crimes, some White perpetrators get favorable press and get-out-of-jail-free passes, but the current MAGA perps are getting royal treatment.

1- The Drumpf-Musk suicide guy is especially being played off as what a "patriot" he was. 19 years of military time of the mostly intense kind. Only a few months short of full pension, hmmm. Dysfunctional upbringing, severe interactional problems. Can't compare situations of those who get help with those who don't. I suspect a common military phenomenon - guys finding structure and rewards that make them think they're really special and know stuff better than the average bear - extrapolating specific success in well-defined tasks to a universal scope. Above all, in the MAGA narrative: White-hyper/toxic masculine-commanding-competent and "loving" Drumpf, hence "patriotic." His blow-up event is being implied to be "personal" and somehow noble for maybe choosing the car brand for not hurting others (pure speculation, so far), and he himself claimed special insight to give the country "a wake up call." Like the self-immolating monks protesting Vietnam? Why not sticking it out a few months for that pension and wonderful benefits for treatment?

2- The Isis man. Again, a significant amount of military time, possibility of rough adjustment back to civilian life, personal problems, all contributing to work falling apart (from secure military income to impoverishment) . Like the other one, instead of dealing with the personal part, telescoping it to a grander cause. Like how the military experience gave a bigger life than the outside. But there is no "patriotism" imagined here, justifiably so.

3- Guess who. T'other White guy. This one, despite what History will say in a body of studies that might rival the rise and fall of the Third Reich, has a substantial narrative in his favor for now. No need to dive into what we know of his nefariousness (again). Incredibly, besides the adulation of his zombies who say he was sent by a god and is the savior of the country, he literally gets rewarded with the ultimate worldly power and the status of being above the law.

January 4, 2025

This would irk Drumpf: HOFFA bigger "populist" and man than him

&t=114s

December 26, 2024

If Drumpf isn't barred from office for *INSURRECTION* our pretense at LAW is over with.

This is not to be confused or conflated with election-denialism - unlike the lying whining that Drumpf and his zombies have subjected the country to for the past four years. It is about *insurrection* and even if the "disability" is removed by 2/3 vote in each house, at least the nod would be made that we sort of believe what we say we do.

***********QUOTE*********

https://www.yahoo.com/news/opinion-congress-power-block-trump-130000458.html

The Constitution provides that an oath-breaking insurrectionist is ineligible to be president. This is the plain wording of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. “No person shall … hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” This disability can be removed by a two-thirds vote in each House.

Disqualification is based on insurrection against the Constitution and not the government. The evidence of Donald Trump’s engaging in such insurrection is overwhelming. The matter has been decided in three separate forums, two of which were fully contested with the active participation of Trump’s counsel. ....

Finally, there is the bipartisan inquiry of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol. More than half of the witnesses whose testimony was displayed at its nine public hearings were Republicans, including members of the Trump administration. The inescapable conclusion of this evidence is that Trump engaged in insurrection against the Constitution. In particular, Trump unlawfully demanded that his vice president, Mike Pence, throw out votes in the Electoral College for political opponent Joe Biden, a power he did not have. While the riot was in progress, Trump used Pence’s rejection of his demand to further enflame the crowd and cause them to chant “Hang Mike Pence.”

The unlikelihood of congressional Republicans doing anything that might elect Harris as president is obvious. But Democrats need to take a stand against Electoral College votes for a person disqualified by the Constitution from holding office unless and until this disability is removed. No less is required by their oath to support and defend the Constitution.

*******UNQUOTE*********

December 22, 2024

Narcissism has been a big topic about Drumpf since 2015, bigger now adding MUSK.

With due obeissance to the estimable Mary BEARD, who is on record puncturing the wingnut fad for Stoicism, this description of the inevitable FALL of these monsters is more pertinent than ever. It doesn't name Drumpf in the first half while making the reference inescapable, and it dates back to October before MUSK took over.

https://m.

December 19, 2024

We should be wedge-trolling Drumpf by calling MUSK co-president, real-president, shadow-president

December 12, 2024

My riposte to wingnut Comments on news sites - my coping mechanism

In the then-soon aftermath of our shock of the election results, when we were all sorting out what our reactions were going to be, my immediate one was to slam back Comments on wingnut news sites. A DUer whom I respect Replied that, fine, if I wanted to pass/waste time - which fairly much punctured my hurt and coping mechanism.  But I have done it anyway.

But really personally impactful has been that I broke-off/shunned/blackballed my local radio wingnut station that I had been attempting corrective information against their wingnut propaganda for over 30 years. Election night/dawn I sent them an email saying that this was goodbye-cruel-world-forever-take-that. So, really, I don't listen to the local radio propaganda circus AT ALL anymore - it's their loss.

*** But, back to the title subject, I am actively counter posting in a couple of national wingnut newspaper sites. Hence, as follows:

Of course the MAGAts have been orgasmic over their win, gloating over every news item about it or about our horror. So with the Notre Dame event, they were glorying about how Drumpf was there and was greeted warmly (read, "civilly" ) by the real leaders.

So, my riposte:

December 10, 2024

The MAGAts are trying to pin MANGIONE on "Leftists" - (Ivy league, very smart, elitist, et al. )

In the past couple of years they waged a campaign against university leaders and professors as their definition of "Woke" as if innocent blank minded students were being brainwashed and then turning around to cover the country with unthinking talking points, parroting, and bumper sticker slogans.

They've done it before, like how the serial killer in Philadelphia was publicized relentlessly in wingnut outlets as "the abortion doctor." Back then, here, inconsequential moi posted about what they were doing, that he committed his crimes as a serial killer whose m.o. was to use surgical techniques, *not* anything to do with Pro-Choice reproductive rights. As I did the Search just now to track him down, I was gratified to see that the Wiki entry (now) labels him as a "serial killer."

So they're doing it right now with this MANGIONE person - making him out to be "Leftist" if not specifically by politics, by those things they use as code - elitist, Ivy League, anti-capitalist, etc.

More Wingnut-adjacent than anything: There are articles out there citing that he followed ROGAN, had quoted approvingly *ucker CARLSON, THIEL, VANCE. He's got more in common with Drumpf - pater familias real estate developer, his school, and in the category of thinking he's smarter than he really is - and MacDonalds.

***********QUOTE*********

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_Gosnell

(born February 9, 1941) is an American serial killer and former abortion doctor. He provided illegal late-term abortions at his clinic in West Philadelphia. Gosnell was convicted of the murders of three infants who were born alive after using drugs to induce labor, the manslaughter of one woman during an abortion procedure, and of several other abortion- and drug-related crimes.[3][4][5][6][7] Staff at Gosnell's clinic testified that there were hundreds of infants born alive during abortion procedures, and subsequently killed by Gosnell.[8][9][10][11] ....

**********UNQUOTE*******

December 5, 2024

Not what one/Dem might think - not surface Blue/Red thing.

Back in 2001 at a flea market, I was naturally 'whelmed like everybody, but there was a stall selling *all* red/white/blue ceramic ELEPHANTS in red/white/blue. I told the seller this was NO/ZERO one-sided thing, that I would buy something donkey. He said he would bring some next week, and he did. I think he learned something.

*** However, the WHITE ELEPHANT has nothing todo with the Repuke party. This is from a retail outfit, and it refers to my grandfather's saloon named The White Elephant.