NEW from me + @paulblumenthal.bsky.social: Dems' wins in state legislatures are still piling up, and just wow:549 seats flipped.12 chambers flipped.13 GOP supermajorities busted.22 Democratic trifectas. A "shattering of Republicans’ control of the states." http://www.huffpost.com/entry/democr…
McGovern: "They do not listen. Speaker Johnson said yesterday that 'the voters made the wrong choice.' Are you kidding me? … you just ain't listening."
Freedom Caucus lays out legislative priorities for lame-duck sessionThe conservative group is also pushing GOP leaders to not leave Capitol Hill until the list of demands is met. http://www.politico.com/live-updates…
Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar emerged victorious against a Republican challenger, showing how President Trump may have miscalculated in pushing a state redistricting effort and granting Cuellar a presidential pardon. on.wsj.com/4iXdCe0
NEW: DHS appropriations bill funding ICE passes 220-2077 Democrats voted YES on the bill: – Jared Golden- Marie Gluesenkamp Perez- Henry Cuellar- Tom Suozzi- Laura Gillen- Don Davis- Vicente GonzalezOne Republican voted NO: Thomas Massie
Cuellar and his wife, charged with bribery, money laundering and conspiracy, were pardoned in December. In a social media post, Trump indicated he expected Cuellar to run as a Republican.
‘Loyalty does matter’: Trump backs Tijerina again, attacks Cuellar for not switching parties Source: Laredo Morning Times share.newsbreak.com/jtv0x27k?s=i16
ICE's misfits; Trump's mass deportation push has led to bottom-of-the-barrel types being given a badge and a gun by ICE, including:- a Detroit cop who shot a teenager in the back and killed him- an NYPD detective who stole $3,000 in champagne- an Arkansas cop fired for anger management issues
Massie: "I hope Hegseth addresses the 8 articles of impeachment, and doesn‘t get up and misquote the Bible in Quentin Tarantino fashion and do some pull-ups and call everybody fat and gay. I may have just given you half his speech, I don't know."
BYRON DONALDS: I didn't really hear any Republicans try to blame gas prices on BidenWELKER: We had a number of Republicans on this show who pointed the finger at Biden
Jake Lang thought he was outing a furry convention, turns out it was actual cats.I hope he donated to the event for shelter cats. pic.twitter.com/OHcRywbZ7R
Trump posts as president of the United States but he's allowed to sell early access to his posts for more convenient insider trading. Just obscene vile corruption:
🤯 even Hassett can't spin hotter than expected inflation data: "It's a disappointing report … things have accelerated over the last three months … the trickle down from higher energy prices is definitely very palpable in the data"
Andrew Perry said his body was a temple. His drinking and vaping suggest otherwise.
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The Iowa Supreme Court has rejected a nursing student’s plea that he deserved a “religious exemption” to getting vaccinated against COVID. His school didn’t buy his excuse, leading to a lawsuit, but the courts have upheld the school’s argument that religion had nothing to do with this and the guy has been lying about it the whole time.
In November of 2021, Andrew Perry, a nursing student at (private Christian school) Dordt University in Sioux Center, refused to get vaccinated before starting his clinical rotations. He needed the exemption, he said, because it violated his religious beliefs, but the school said no.
It all boiled down to the idea that religious beliefs must be “sincerely held” for the exemption to be granted and Perry didn’t have any credibility, something the Iowa Supreme Court noted in their decision.
For example, the school said, Perry didn’t even care about the issue. His anti-vax parents put him up to this: His mother Galyn said she wouldn’t pay for school if he got vaccinated. Perry himself said in an email to the chair of the nursing department, “I personally do not have a problem with the vaccine” and even “volunteered and received training to help give the vaccine to others.” When pressed in court to explain why he didn’t want to get vaccinated, religion didn’t even come up. It was all about his mother’s threat to stop paying for his education. Perry even admitted to the school that he was thinking about getting the vaccine behind his mother’s back.
Even though both sides tried to work out a compromise, there was no way around the vaccination. The school explained this wasn’t their decision, but rather a requirement of all the sites where students were receiving their training.
Eventually, Perry settled on the idea that religion would be his way out. The school said he just needed to prove he had religious reasons for not getting the shot—like a “published position” against vaccines from his denomination or proof that he had received religious exemptions during his K-12 education. He had neither.
Instead, Perry said “his body is a temple of God and that he must be a steward of his own body. Thus… if he were to knowingly put something in his body that would only hold risk for his body, he would be violating that religious belief.”
That wasn’t enough. The school needed documentation. He didn’t provide it. So they said no.
Eventually, after realizing 20 other nursing schools weren’t going to accept credits from this private Christian school and would also require him to get vaccinated, he settled for admission into Palm Beach Atlantic University—another private Christian school—and left Dordt.
But where the decision really gets interesting is the description of what Perry said under oath when he was cross-examined about the sincerity of his religious claims.
The court noted that “Andrew clearly did not have issues with introducing other things into his body that were unhealthy or a risk to his health.” Specifically, the court noted that “Andrew conceded that he had been drunk with friends in the past” and also that “he vapes nicotine.” The court also noted Andrew’s testimony “that Gayln objects to his vaping, but has never threatened to cut him off financially if he did not stop vaping.” “Gayln also never threatened to cut off Andrew financially for drinking alcohol to excess.”
Beautiful. His “temple” can’t handle vaccinations but it’s apparently fine with nicotine and alcohol. His mother knew about those things but never even suggested cutting him off for all that. (Perry’s lawyer later argued that this was unfair because the school didn’t know about his vaping or drinking, so how dare they use that against him? but the court didn’t buy that argument either.)
Making matters worse, Perry claimed not getting vaccinated was his decision… even though he also testified that his mother threatened to cut him off financially over it. Yet, when asked what he would do if she changed her mind, he said he would be fine with getting vaccinated.
This guy is an opposing lawyer’s dream.
Ultimately, the court didn’t buy his argument that Jesus was the reason he couldn’t get vaccinated. It was about money, and there’s no My-Mom-Pays-My-Tuition exemption to getting vaccinated. (The lower court even said “Andrew’s argument would have carried more sincerity if he had contended he was trying to follow the religious commandment of ‘honor thy father and mother’; however, that is not a claim that he ever asserted in this case.”)
You almost feel bad for Andrew because he had to make up all these lies to satisfy his batshit crazy mother, but he’s an adult, and he went along with it. So too damn bad. He can live with the consequences of knowing he couldn’t even overcome the extremely low bar of using your religion to get out of following a rule everyone else has to obey.
His desire would have made it easier for COVID to spread—which should have been a deal breaker for someone who wants to go into the medical field—but thankfully the school refused to honor that idiotic request and they were vindicated in court.
You can watch the full oral arguments here:
It feels rare for a court to reject someone’s request for a religious exemption because you can’t probe their mind. But in this case, there was plenty of evidence that religion played no actual part of Perry’s refusal to take public health measures. He lied about his faith and everyone caught him. You can’t say your body is a temple only when mommy won’t pay for tuition.
Part of me feels bad for the situation Andrew Perry was placed in, but he’s not a child. He couldn’t deal with his overbearing, crazy, conspiracy-believing mother, so she became everyone else’s problem.
The Iowa Supreme Court got this right. They didn’t rule against his religion; they ruled against his sincerity. That makes a huge difference. While religious freedom is important, it shouldn’t be used as some magical phrase to get out of anything you want. It shouldn’t be a loophole, even though that’s often what it seems to be these days.
To be clear, a religious exemption shouldn’t be automatic. Someone’s faith shouldn’t make it easier for others to get infected with a virus. But at the very least, you should have to prove you’re serious about your faith if you’re going to use that excuse to harm others, and this family couldn’t even do that.
BASH: Do you see it as your job as attorney general to represent anyone in the administration being investigated by Congress?BLANCHE: Wait, do I see it as my job? The Constitution sees it as my job!BASH: So if Hegseth faces impeachment, would you represent him?BLANCHE: Well, yeah
wow — Blanche on Fox News Sunday claims oversight from Dems is "not the way this country can survive or live with these ongoing threats … if you work in this administration, you have a lawyer. It's me."(Note that at the end even the Fox News host is a bit taken aback by Blanche's rhetoric … )
Blanche: "I understand there are people who have said they believe there is some sort of corruption. That's largely because the media and Democrats have highlighted any time there's any kind of success in this country that has to do with anybody in this administration, they call that corruption… "
BASH: Trump said Democratic lawmakers are 'extortionists and should be in prison.' Is that a possibility?BLANCHE: Well, it depends on what the crime is and what they've done
here's is full footage of the crashout Attorney General Todd Blanche just had on CNN, including him confirming he'll investigate Democrats on Trump's demand and leaving the door open to trying to imprison them
Todd Blanche was Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, and as Attorney General of the United States, he’s still acting like it. Blanche should be defending the Constitution, not threatening our Committee for doing our jobs.
BASH: You have signaled you intend to investigate the 'Trump crime family.' How far does that go? Do you want to include Don Jr and Jared Kushner?GARCIA: This is the most corrupt family to ever be in the White HouseBASH: So yes?GARCIA: Absolutely. They should be expected to answer questions
Lang has been arrested at least six times since being pardoned. He and fellow far-right extremists are calling for another attack on the US Capitol in January. The video below has over three millions views and the cult is celebrating in the replies.
In recent months Kobach appeared here for rescinding driver’s licenses for trans and intersex people and for demanding that Kansas cities repeal bans on ex-gay torture. You will recall that Kobach somehow escaped charges over his role as lawyer and board member for Steve Bannon’s private border wall scam.
She was “testing the system” and the system fucking caught her. In the video report below, a reporter attempts to question her in her driveway, but she just walks away.
Q: If I said Joe Biden is the part owner of a company and it has all of these investments from the Middle East, you would say that sounds corrupt, right?
Trump: Well, he did have a lot of different things.
again, something of a banal observation, but i think contributing to the general feeling of powerlessness and rage in america today is the extent to which our elites engage in such flagrant, grotesque, even performative contempt for the rest of america
Also important to remember about Trump:He believes in NOTHING. He has now morals, values, principles, or firmly held beliefs. He has no ideology. People like Stephen Miller think they’ve found their man… while Trump can and will turn on them on a dime whenever it suits him.
The piece goes on to lie that “many openly supported transgender surgeries for minors.” The tweet below from the Congressional Equality Caucus has gone viral with millions of views and the cult is replying with the usual slurs and lies.
Trump continues to cast doubt on the midterm election results.“Does anybody really believe that this “Election" was honest. How could the Polls be so wrong???”
NEW: A firm linked to Trump’s sons got nearly $40 million in federal contracts to screen for Ebola and other diseases.XpresTest has experience conducting Covid screening in U.S. airports but has never worked with Ebola or biosecurity services abroad.
Massie: "I hope Hegseth addresses the 8 articles of impeachment, and doesn‘t get up and misquote the Bible in Quentin Tarantino fashion and do some pull-ups and call everybody fat and gay. I may have just given you half his speech, I don't know." pic.twitter.com/W5EumfVJ5J
“Japan cannot afford to lose workers, skills or productivity through preventable ill-health, discrimination or exclusion,” said a new report.
A new report by Open For Business suggests that a lack of LGBTQ+-inclusive laws and policies has become a massive economic burden for Japan, costing the nation somewhere between ¥6.04 and 16.42 trillion (or $37.3 and 101.5 billion) per year.
These costs are fueled by lost earnings from the LGBTQ+ wage gap, as well as “the excess burden of depression, suicide and self-harm, cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS,” the report explained.
“These are not hypothetical future losses,” the authors emphasized. “They represent costs that Japan’s economy, employers and public services are absorbing today.” The report says the numbers should be especially alarming given that Japan’s population is expected to fall to 87 million by 2070, compared to 125 million in 2020. On top of that, it is already experiencing a contracting population of those of working age.
“In this environment, Japan cannot afford to lose workers, skills or productivity through preventable ill-health, discrimination or exclusion,” the report said, adding that “inclusion can play a pivotal role in protecting Japan’s competitive position.”
The authors also pointed out that the country is ripe for progressive policy change since public opinion on LGBTQ+ people has improved tremendously, leading to “a growing gap between Japan’s social and corporate progress.”
According to Equaldex, Japan has not legalized same-sex marriage, has no hate crime protections for LGBTQ+ people, and does not ban conversion therapy. Employment discrimination protections vary by region, but there is no national law.
The Open for Business report pointed to another report, the Nijiiro 2026 Report, which found that more than half of Japanese workplaces have no LGBTQ+ protections in place.
“Public attitudes and many leading companies have moved considerably, but national frameworks and everyday workplace experience have not yet caught up,” Open for Business CEO Ken Janssens told the Washington Blade. “That creates both a challenge and an opportunity.”
Janssens added, “The country ranks 14th globally for talent appeal but 55th for talent readiness, according to the report. In that context, Japan simply does not have talent to waste. Every worker who is less healthy, less productive, pushed into lower-paid work, or unable to participate fully because of discrimination represents a cost that becomes harder to absorb as the labor force shrinks.”
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Missouri voters have rejected Amendment 3, a ballot measure which sought to permanently ban gender-affirming care for youth in the state while also repealing a 2024 voter-approved abortion-rights amendment .
Amendment 3 failed after getting only 44% of voter support, according to The Missouri Independent. Had it passed, it would have made most abortions illegal in the state, except for those that are conducted in cases of medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, and within the first 12 weeks of pregnancies caused by rape or incest.
The final clause in the measure would “prohibit gender transition procedures for minors,” which is curious, seeing as the state has banned gender-transition surgeries for minors since August 2023. The measure would also ban puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy for minors.
Currently, state law forbids any new prescriptions of the aforementioned medications for trans youth until 2027; the measure would’ve written this ban into the state constitution, meaning it would continue indefinitely.
Sadly, the state’s Republican-led legislature will likely continue to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth indefinitely. However, the rejection of Amendment 3 at least shows that citizens still support access to abortion and reproductive healthcare.
I am very tired and Ron made the supper I asked him for yet I could only eat half of my portion. He was glad I ate that much. Ron wants me to go to bed, but I wanted to do this post first and I have not finished the cartoon / meme / news roundup I was working on. But this post is important. And yes please comment on it, I will try to reply to the comments.
So as I have already told everyone I was adopted at age three. My adult female adopter wanted a cute cuddly toddler to hold and make of. So at first she did not join in with the abuse but she only stopped it if she was there when it was happening. And then only if it was by their children who I call my hellspawn siblings. My adopting adult male was allowed to do what ever he wanted with me and she never cared and occasionally joined in. As I grew out of the toddler stage her care about me simply diminished to nothing, and she actively joined in with the abuse and abused me herself.
The male that adopted me was the oldest of 8 children. His dad was a drinker who drank himself to death. The male left school before the 8th grade and worked to provide a living for his family. So that gave him a dislike for schools and book learning and for some years I was forbidden to have even school books at the house. He was a hard worker and one of the ways he because so strong was that he pulled ships on the Saint Laurence seaway into the docks by hand. He built up very powerful shoulders, arms, and the rest of his body. At family gatherings he would brag how when they would go out drinking, others in the family would pick fights and then come get him to do the fighting. According to him no matter how many there were he never lost. I did see him fight a few times and he was viscous and powerful. But for me he was an overwhelming force for a tiny boy who had no chance to defend my self against him. He enjoyed using his much greater size and strength to hurt me.
To explain his way of thinking and dealing with the world around him I will repeat a story he often told and I heard as a kid sitting on the counter during their drinking parties as my job was to keep very quiet, when someone raised their empty glass I was to rush over, take the glass, mix their drink, return it, get patted on my ass or groped me, and return to my place. It was not always the counter but you get the idea. I was the drink boy and if someone wanted I was also a party favor / treat.
The story was he was at a restaurant, and a group of famous TV wrestlers came in. They sat down and ordered. Then at some point I guess the meal came or they got complementary bread. One of the group members reached for the butter and the largest guy took his knife and hit the guy across his hand repeatedly saying “I go first”. The largest guy then took most if not all the butter. My adopting thug brawler adult male thought that was the pinnacle of manhood and success. He tried to be the biggest guy that way all my life. It was easy for him to do to a small boy who was malnourished and once hospitalized for malnutrition because I was not always allowed to eat or be fed. His strength allowed him to do things to me that haunt me to this day.
However I think I became the better person. I have a real loving relationship with my spouse not the hate filled tit for tat that my adopting adults had. When he was dying his last month he begged Ron to come get them and bring them to Florida as his own hellspawn were making his life miserable. He had three final wishes, and Ron and I made sure he got all three. The second week after he got here the little grasp he had on reality went bye-bye, and he was bedridden and needed constant personal care. I had to provide that care as Ron was working 12 hour shifts. I have written about having to clean his genitals, to hold the penis that raped me and from which he made me drink his urine as he urinated, I helped him poop and after he soiled himself I cleaned the asshole that he made child me lick with my tongue to punish and humiliate me.
I was barely able to hold it together the weeks he was here. At home I cried and sobbed and Ron who did not yet know my full childhood abuse couldn’t understand why my health was deteriorating so rapidly. After he died I told Ron more parts of it slowly filling him in on the horror I lived. So when my adopting adult female was also dying and we had already let her live in our park model here in our park he refused to put me through it again, demanding she go to hospice.
OK well sorry to burden all of you with this. But it has been on my mind for several days, and I have had nightmares for several nights. I needed to deal with these memories / thoughts. While I really dislike throwing my burden on everyone who comes here ( you really are a grand group of people) it does help me to get some of this poison I carry out of myself, out of my system. I guess it is true what they say, a burden shared is a burden lessened. Thank you. Hugs
First let me say that I know I have not been replying to comments. I really want to do so and will try to do better. I read each one and saved it. But this post is what happened today around 11 am as I was watching the Sunday news shows.
I am not sure what it was that triggered it, a news story or an advertisement, but for me the stuff on the screen stopped registering, and my mind / emotions became flooded with memories of my childhood abuse. I don’t want to be graphic as I love each of you that come here but my mind flooded my head with memories such as positions, like me being forced and held with my legs over my body as I was nude on my back, the feelings of each pentation, the feelings of fear from each threat, and the despair from being told that later I would be abused as my abusers wanted me to accept they could / would do what they wanted to me and I had no escape.
Oh gods of the universe so much more. Then my mind flooded me with the blows from slaps, from punches, from the pinches / squeezing of my testicles until I begged my abuser to rape me or use me as they wanted. Then my mind moved from that mat in the hallway I had for a bed to being forced to ask for and open my mouth to drink their urine, which went on from age 3 until age nearly 8 when most of my abusers moved out only leaving it a thing my adopting adult male did to humiliate me. So much more flooded over me.
I had done such a good job over the last few months keeping the memories at bay. At denying that entire aspect of my life. I went through each day pretending it never happened. I smiled and was jovial with people I met so they wouldn’t suspect I was one of those damaged guys whose body was used as a toy by anyone who wanted it.
But that failed me today. I simply stopped. Over an hour later I realized I was quietly cringing in my office, hunched over my desk, not seeing anything on my computer screens which were now in screen saver mode. So much pain, so many feelings, so many memories I struggled with. I knew I had to pull myself together. As in my childhood and as a young adult I knew I couldn’t show to anyone what was happening. So I closed my door and made myself pull it together. But hours later I am still emotionally wiped out. Ron is napping and when he gets up we are going to make a lasagna together.
I won’t let on what happened to me, I will pretend just as I did back then as a child after the principal pulled me out of class, raped me, and sent me back to class as that nothing happened. I am so tired these days.
Ron just got up and said he was ready for us to make the lasagna and I will put on a happy face and join him. I will deal, I have for all my life. Hugs and loves.
I know I have been remiss for not keeping everyone up to date. But I have saved every incoming comment to get to. My focus has been to keep getting the cartoon / meme posts out and the news posts, but I really want to get back to focusing on comments.
My health had been getting better with the recent steriod shots I got. But then everything went bad. I stopped being hungry and my stomach stopped emptying to now when I ate a small amount for breakfast and it doesn’t look like I can eat anything more today / tonight. Ron offered to make a lazanna or order pizzas for me but I can’t swallow or eat. Plus I am so tired now all the time. I just want to go to bed. Yesterday I went to bed at 3 pm and did not get up until 5:20 am. But today I did the dishes. 2 days ago I made a loaf of bread in the new bread maker that came out grand, like my loaves used to. We sliced it today and Ron really loves it. I can’t eat any of it yet.
But don’t worry I will rebound soon. I dont have the results for many of the tests the doctors want. 4 days ago Ron made me a wonderful steak I loved. He cut it in half at my request so we both could enjoy it but then he cut his half in half again as he is not to have red meat. It took me two days to eat my portion but it was so good. He saved his second half for me to eat and I had it this morning. It tasted so grand. I love a good steak with buttered bread or a salad.
OK I am going to go to bed for a while. It is 4 pm here. But please know I see the comments and I am saving them. As soon as I get more energy I will reply to them, maybe tomorrow if I can wake up earlier enough. I am grateful to each viewer and each commenter. I hope this me being so tired, or not seeing well, or being in so much pain will soon end. It has to be right. The doctors are running tests, I had the endoscopy, which showed great problems which I need to scan the results and post them. The doctor took the biopsies. He told Ron and I after the procedure that my stomch had not emptied and he found liquid and food still in it after two days with out food. The pictures show three bright red spots on my stomach wall. I am not sure what that means. I had to push my follow-up appointment back a lot due to Ron wanting to be with me at my appointment but his sister scheduling an appointment she needed him at the same day and time. Anyway I love you all. I am going to bed now. I am really tired. Oh crap I promised Ron I would drink a nutritional drink before going to bed. I do not want to. Maybe if I just go to bed with out making any issue he will miss it. Hugs
Republican candidate Brandon Herrera, who called children “cum” trophies and made a semen joke about MLK’s I Have a Dream speech, sells ejaculation enhancement pills and shares his experience with them on his podcast.Herrera said women wonder “what the fuck is physiologically wrong with you?”
Breaking: Marshall Rawson, an unrepentant white supremacist who: -marched w/ Nazis at deadly Charlottesville rally-called for execution of queer people-wrote "public lynchings worked" has been elected to the Florida state House of Representatives talkingpointsmemo.com/news/marshal…
