Paxton is a well known corrupt partisan hack. He is a complete culture warrior trying to turn the clock back to 1950 if not back to 1900. He wants rights only for white straight cis men. Women are to be controlled and used by men. There will be no LGBTQ+ people allowed in pubic or in society. They will hide and be afraid. As for non-whites. They won’t have rights nor ability to rise in society, business, or anything amounting to making gain for themselves. He wants them to be segregated and below every white person. Texas is not in play, it will go red and vote republican, so why raid the offices of the blue democratic leaning districts. To give credence to the upcoming cries of the election was rigged and election fraud when tRump and the republicans lose the election. They are doing everything they can to set the stage for what they fear most, loss of power, loss of the ability to rule over everyone else. Hugs. Scottie
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) office executed search warrants in one of the state’s largest urban counties — and biggest Democratic strongholds — where it alleges vote tampering.
On Tuesday the attorney general’s office searched offices in Bexar County, the state’s fourth most populous county and the home of San Antonio. The office said the searches followed a two-year investigation, and that “secure elections are the cornerstone of our republic.”
The searches came amid a broader push by Paxton to prosecute election fraud — a campaign that in 2023 spent $2.3 million to prosecute just four cases, according to the Houston Chronicle.
BREAKING NEWS: Attorney General Ken Paxton's office executes search warrants in several counties, including Bexar County, in ongoing election integrity probe. https://t.co/rAAW4J7nNxpic.twitter.com/FpSIlPmIKr
Paxton is a dick. He's searching "multiple San Antonio-area election offices" for evidence of fraud in SA, a big blue dot in a big red state. What does that tell ya?
It’s a newsletter I read because I enjoy tea. Also, she’s a part of Romancing the Vote, an organization that does work near and dear to my heart. I also own one of her books, with several more on my wishlist. Anyway, she’s got a little editorial in the letter this week, worthy of a read. There is no link to the letter, but the link to sign up for the letter is here.
“The Purpose of the Postmenopausal Female…
“I’ve been immersed in politics for, um, several weeks. Part of it is hope that finally, endlessly, we will be able to put some of the awfulness of the last years behind us and move forward into a world where we care about an equitable future.
“But also, confession time: JD Vance speaks directly to a very specific grudge that I’m holding.
“You want to know my grudge? I am endlessly grudging against what I call in my head the ‘legal abuser network’—that set of people who think that power is more important than, you know, treating folks with dignity. They’ve aligned themselves with abusers over and over and gaslit everyone who remains. JD Vance is On My List. In other circumstances, ‘stop being such assholes and treat people well!’ would be a moral statement and not a grudge. But they tried to induct me into the ‘no, look, you’ll get power, it’s cool, just pretend the abuse didn’t happen’ club, and so it’s absolutely a grudge and I want them all to fail.
“But I digress.
“I have been taking a very grim pleasure in watching people flip over rocks and seeing—yet again—that there is JD Vance, writhing away from the light like a many-legged centipede, leaving a trail behind him filled with things like his rancor for childless cat ladies and his belief that the Italians and the Irish were violent immigrants who maybe should have been banned from entering the country in the 1840s, and his statement that the only purpose that a postmenopausal female (it’s always females! Jerks like JD Vance can never use the word ‘women!’) serves is to do childcare.
“Last night, I was thinking about how Vice President Harris has reinvigorated a campaign that many (but not me) thought dead. I was watching Michelle Obama deliver a speech as probably one of the best orators in the nation, possibly beating out her husband who is a generational talent at giving speeches. And I thought about how many women in their generation—a scant decade older than me—faced barriers to entry from so many sides, and how much of who they have become was shaped by opposition.
“And it made me doubly proud to be the party of Not JD Vance, because as we can all plainly see, the purpose of a postmenopausal female is to kick ass.”
August 22, 1958 President Dwight Eisenhower announced a voluntary moratorium on nuclear weapons testing. A report outlining a system for monitoring and verifying compliance of a complete ban on such testing had been released just the day before. The Conference of Experts, as it was known, had been meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to work out the details on detection of violations of such a treaty. The U.S. delegation was led by Nobel physics laureate Ernest Lawrence from the University of California (the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is named after him). Eisenhower predicated his moratorium on U.S.S.R. and U.K. agreement to the same limitations. All three countries agreed to the one-year halt in testing and to begin negotiations on a complete test ban at the end of October; all three performed last-minute (atmospheric) tests before the opening of talks.
August 22, 1964 Fannie Lou Hamer, leader of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), testified in front of the Credentials Committee at the Democratic National Convention. She was challenging the all-white delegation that the segregated regular Mississippi Democrats had sent to the presidential nominating convention. Singing at a boardwalk demonstration: Hamer (with microphone), Stokely Carmichael (in hat), Eleanor Holmes Norton, Ella Baker . Mississippi’s Democratic Party excluded African Americans from participation. The MFDP, on the other hand, sought to create a racially inclusive new party, signing up 60,000 members. The hearing was televised live and many heard Hamer’s impassioned plea for inclusion of all Democrats from her state.The hearing was televised live and many heard Hamer’s impassioned plea for inclusion of all Democrats from her state. In her testimony she spoke about black Mississippians not only being denied the right to register to vote, but being harassed, beaten, shot at and arrested for trying. Concerned about the political reaction to her statement, President Lyndon Johnson suddenly called an impromptu press conference, thereby interrupting television broadcast of the hearing. Hear her testimony Link to photo gallery
August 22, 1971 The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) arrested twenty in Camden, New Jersey, and five in Buffalo, New York, for conspiracy to steal and destroy draft records. Eventually known as the Camden 28, most were Roman Catholic activists, including four priests, and a Lutheran minister. “We are not here because of a crime committed in Camden but because of a war committed in Indochina….” Cookie Ridolfi The Camden 28
August 22, 1972 Rhodesia’s team was banned from competing in the Olympic Games with just four days to go before the opening ceremony in Munich, Germany. The National Olympic Committees of Africa had threatened to pull out of the games unless Rhodesia was barred from competing. Though the Rhodesian team included both whites and blacks, the government was an illegal one, controlled by whites though they represented just 5% of the country’s population. It had broken away from the British Commonwealth over demands from Commonwealth member nations that power be yielded to the majority. Read more
August 22, 1986 The Kerr-McGee Corporation agreed to pay the estate of the late Karen Silkwood $1.38 million ($2.68 in 2008), settling a 10-year-old nuclear contamination lawsuit. She had been active in the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers union, specifically looking into radiation exposure of workers, and spills and leaks of plutonium. The story of Karen Silkwood
The Democrats are offering joy and hope while Trump offers doom and gloom Read on Substack
(I’m sharing in full because he doesn’t write this stuff on WordPress anymore, though he publishes the toons. This one is particularly funny and timely, so it goes here.)
Tuesday was better than Monday for me here in Chicago. I didn’t get food poisoned or crack my head open on Tuesday. Yay.
In fact, I felt really good. Despite feeling like I’d rather have a salad, I went out and got some Chicago deep dish (more on that later today), I took a nap, and then I headed to the convention earlier than I did Monday.
I took the L on the Orange line, transferred to the Green line, and got off at Ashland, walked down the street, and landed smack-dab in the group of RFK Jr supporters.
I wanted to see what they were up to because they were being pretty noisy but there wasn’t many of them. When I walked up, they all started laughing and started shouting something about the bear. What bear? I had momentarily forgotten about RFK Jr’s confessions of dumping a bear carcass in Central Park. I had also forgotten I was wearing a Taylor guitar shirt with a bear on it. And for some reason, one of the RFK Jr people, a crazy lady, had decided I was someone important enough to be lobbied.
RFK Jr fuckers defacing posters of Kamala Harris on Ashland
She started talking about Kennedy being censored and even without me arguing with her, proceeded to follow me down the street for the next three blocks. I kept asking her, “Don’t you need to go back to your friends?” Nope, she just kept following me talking shit about vaccines and herbicides.
And each time I asked if it was her group that defaced some Kamala Harris posters, she’d ignore the question and launch into more conspiracy shit.
Libertarians are just as bad. Start a conversation with a Libertarian and see what happens. I dare ya!
I eventually ditched the Kennedy lady by running away, hopping over some bushes, running through a backyard and a Taco Bell drive-thru, and then hiding behind a garbage can where I stayed until after she ran by screaming, “Mr, I haven’t told you about chemtrails yet.” No, what I actually did was say to her, “Well, I’m just going to try to keep walking away from you until you take the hint” and two blocks later, she finally gave up.
Then I found the Billy Goat Tavern.
The Billy Goat Tavern
I had heard of this place. I entered and the convention was on all the TVs. The volume was on too. I’m used to going into bars that have Fox News on (even all the ones in Milwuakee were playing Fox News). This one had CNN. Oh, thank god.
I sat down to some people working for the DNC but I didn’t bother them until, for some reason, one of them said all Geminis are Republicans and that’s when I bothered them, saying, “Excuse me, sir, but I’m a Gemini and I assure you I am NOT a Republican.” They were a bunch of obnoxious blazer wearers.
And then a large Black man with a red “Make Chicago Great Again” cap sat next to me and I thought, “Nah…he’s wearing it ironically.” I quickly learned he was NOT wearing it ironically. Republicans don’t do irony…duh! There’s just one Black Trumper in Chicago and who does he take a seat next to at a bar? Me, that’s who.
And this guy bitched. He complained about everything. First, he was angry about the phone charging station at the bar that wouldn’t work for him. It worked but I didn’t tell him how to work it. Fuck that guy. Then, he complained about Doug Emhoff’s speech, especially when he mentioned brisket. The Trumper said, “That don’t appeal to Black people, talking about brisket. We need ribs.” And then he said, “Black people don’t relate…you know…,” and then he looked at me and said, “N-word,” except he didn’t say, “N-word.” He said the word.
I didn’t engage because I didn’t want a conversation with him. Trumpers are often like Libertarians and RFK Jr fuckers. They want to talk to you, they don’t want to stop talking to you, and they try to convert you. They’re worse than Hairy Krishners.
Put a dime into a Republican and the record won’t stop.
I finally broke my silence when he said, “I’m driving a bunch of Black senior citizens in a van on election day to vote for Trump,” and that’s when I said, “No, you’re not.” He started to speak again and I interrupted, “Just stop.” Amazingly, he walked away…but he returned later to yell at the charging station some more.
And then (What? Is there a magnet on me?), a couple of Democrats from New Mexico made a bee-line from the front door to me to ask if Democrats are supporting genocide. They told me they were not voting for Democrats this time because of their support for Israel. I told them, “Yeah, make Trump president and then see what happens to Palestine.” They never sat down. It’s like they only came into the bar to scream at me. Or maybe they just thought they didn’t want to stay at the Billy Goat if people like me were there. I tried to distract them with, “Have you met the Black MAGAt screaming at a charging station?”…but nooooo…they insisted on yelling at me before leaving. They were nice.
I feel it’s important to point out that the MAGAt was Black because that is weirder than a run-of-the-mill MAGAt. It’s like Blacks for the Klan. It doesn’t make any fucking sense.
I went back to watching the speeches and would occasionally converse with the people who said all Geminis are MAGAts, but I didn’t talk to them much. They were annoying and kinda stupid. Who needs that?
I sat in the bar from Emhoff to Obama. It was a great spot to meet and see people from the convention. I plan to return tonight and maybe get a burger this time. I hear good things.
On the train, I saw a couple with DNC shirts and I asked if they were enjoying the convention and the young lady said, “yeah, we’re going to move to another car.” What? She made me feel like the crazy Kennedy lady of the Black bar MAGAt. What did I do?
When I got off to transfer, I ran into them again and she said, “Hey, have a great night” and I responded with, “Yeah, whatever.”
I sure told her.
Creative note: My buddy and fellow cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz is also in Chicago for the convention, except he gets to go inside (fucker). We were talking this morning and he asked if I added a dateline to my cartoons from Milwaukee which reminded me that I had to do that for my Chicago cartoons. Thanks, Lalo. Proofreader Laura also brought it up a bit later.
Drawn in 30 seconds: go watch this on the page, they’re interesting. Also, if you subscribe, you get these in email.
(My great- Aunt and Uncle lived in St. Petersburg, and my sister and I went there to visit. I got to hold a lime, and a grapefruit, attached to trees in their backyard, which was a big deal to a little kid.) Good news for Florida!
By KATE PAYNE Updated 10:28 PM CDT, August 20, 2024
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — School board candidates in Florida backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis were defeated Tuesday in several counties, results that opponents of the Republican say are a rebuke to his conservative education agenda.
Incumbent school board members in one of Florida’s largest swing counties appear to have held off a challenge from candidates backed by DeSantis, according to preliminary results. Activists had hoped that three challengers endorsed by the local chapter of Moms for Liberty would win a conservative majority in Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
But unofficial results show current school board chair Laura Hine and incumbent member Eileen Long have held on to their seats, after arguing that a political shift on the board could create turmoil in the district and distract from the mission of student achievement.
In a third race for an open seat on the Pinellas board, candidates Stacy Geier and Katie Blaxberg appeared to be headed for a runoff, after no one in the three-way contest cleared 50% of the vote.
With 100% of precincts reporting, Hine, the board chair, carried 69% of the vote over DeSantis-backed challenger Danielle Marolf’s 30%, according to preliminary results. Incumbent member Long brought in 54% of the vote over the 45% netted by Erika Picard, who was also endorsed by the Republican governor.
“We have got to stay focused on that work at hand and not be subject to the social political winds. Education is vital. And it has to be stable,” Hine told The Associated Press ahead of Tuesday’s elections.
In the third race for the board, Stacy Geier garnered 37% of the vote compared to Katie Blaxberg’s 34%, with a third candidate Brad DeCorte netting 28%, according to the county’s preliminary results. Geier was endorsed by DeSantis and the local Chapter of Moms for Liberty, while Blaxberg has argued parental rights activists have gone too far, with some equating books with pornography and labeling teachers as “groomers”. She found herself on the opposing side of the local chapter of Moms for Liberty and was targeted by conservative activists online.
“The misinformation that has been spread by this group of people and the intent to … place mistrust in our teachers,” Blaxberg said, “people are tired of it.”
Much of the political debate in the races had hinged on “parental rights”, a movement which grew out of opposition to pandemic precautions in schools but now is animated by heated complaints over teachings about identity, race and history.
Long, one of the Pinellas incumbents, said she sees the results as an admonishment of the governor.
“People want sanity. People want common sense. And people believe we should educate everyone,” Long said. “The people have spoken.”
Incumbents in Hillsborough County hold off conservative challengers
“She wants to take away your private health care. There are many people in this country who spend a lot of money on private health care.
“It’s the best health care in the world, by the way. But they want to do it. They worked hard to make money and they want to do it under her. You’re not going to have private health care plans anymore.
“And you can be a wealthy person or middle income person and you want to spend on a really good plan, better than a government plan. And you’re not gonna be allowed.
“You’re all going to be thrown into a communist system. It’s a communist system. You’re going to be thrown into a system where everybody gets health care.” – Trump, at yesterday’s disastrous “press conference” in New Jersey.
Wow. Trump finally said it out loud. Everyone having access to health care is bad. pic.twitter.com/YVxWuFkY9C
He is appealing to the selfish assholes who want to deny everyone but themselves of any privilege. ” This is not about me hoarding. This is about you who should not have anything.”
If you take that argument to its logical conclusion (since timely health care in more than just a few cases literally saves lives), what it obliquely implies is that the amount of money you have in the bank is the measure of your worth as a human and that you don’t necessarily have a right to life.
Guess what. The anti-abortion challenges to EMTALA are also going to destroy EMTALA itself. Get used to being dumped back in the parking lot if you should be unlucky enough to not be able to prove your ability to pay. Too bad if you are brought in without identification or an accompanying family member with the insurance card.
… EMTALA … requires hospital emergency departments that accept payments from Medicare [i.e. virtually all hospitals] to provide an appropriate medical screening examination (MSE) for anyone seeking treatment for a medical condition regardless of citizenship, legal status, or ability to pay. Participating hospitals may not transfer or discharge patients needing emergency treatment except with the informed consent or stabilization of the patient or when the patient’s condition requires transfer to a hospital better equipped to administer the treatment.
… EMTALA, as a federal law, supersedes state laws that ban abortion. So, doctors who perform emergency abortions to stabilize a patient are protected by EMTALA. Hospitals that fail to do so could face fines or be booted from Medicare. …
[with more about cases SCROTUS heard and punted on]
An Iowa man fired for posting a comment on his employer’s intranet site condemning the rainbow pride flag as an “abomination to God” was not illegally fired based on his religion, the Eighth Circuit ruled Wednesday. @roxalaird16https://t.co/il3obOetLO
"More people believe in UFOs than believe in Congress."
— Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) ahead of the House Oversight Committee's hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) next week pic.twitter.com/ZSyuRFe2aQ
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) on leading an upcoming hearing on UFOs:
“The Tic Tac videos … the military denied that that even existed … The Pentagon's coming around because they smell dollars. The war pimps at the Pentagon, all they wanna do is drain more dollars from us.” pic.twitter.com/LdioUWgoU7
Walters has ordered daily bible lessons in all public school classes and has vowed to fire any teacher who does not comply. Earlier this week around 25 Republican lawmakers moved to impeach Walters for refusing to their demands for transparency on his spending. They are particularly irked that Walters has traveled the country on the state’s dime to appear at far-right and pro-Trump events. The speaker of the Oklahoma House has said that he needs a majority to sign onto the impeachment letter before any action can begin. Walters is widely expected to run to succeed Christian nationalist Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is term-limited.
Ryan Walters slapped with defamation suit over attacks on Bixby superintendent: A suburban school superintendent is suing Oklahoma's state superintendent for more than $75,000 after being called a clown, a liar and a poor steward of taxpayer funding. https://t.co/TwboVovNHEpic.twitter.com/COP5k1dcAg
As with his previous lawsuits, this one was filed in the Amarillo division of U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Texas, all but assuring the case will go to far-right Christian nationalist and anti-LGBTQ Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk. Yesterday Paxton sued to block federal regulations on staffing at nursing homes. Last month Paxton also sued to block federal rules on birth control for teenagers. Both of those cases are before Kacsmaryk.
“True the Vote, … whose alleged data formed the basis of the election conspiracy theorist documentary ‘2,000 Mules,’ told a court it doesn't have any records to support its claims of extensive voter fraud in Georgia, reported the AJC on Wednesday.” 1/ https://t.co/pZ6lZZYynhpic.twitter.com/nfEopFsr8Y
MUST WATCH!‼️ Catherine and Gregg discuss IV3, the process of normalizing millions of voter records, and how the projects they’re working on give citizens hands on access to election integrity tools. pic.twitter.com/G4uezLyjjs
2/ Here is True the Vote founder Catherine Engelbrecht blathering about “God” on Flashpoint (which is on Kenneth Copeland’s Victory Channel). pic.twitter.com/bKswwMD9xt
Murillo last appeared here in June 2024 when he asked for $10 million in donations to stop Pride Month. He first appeared here in 2021 when he prophesied that God was about to “send down a righteous fire” to smite America’s atheists. He also appeared here in February 2024 when he joined Charlie Kirk’s alleged $100 million drive to mobilize Christian voters.
Trump-loving evangelist Mario Murillo warns that "as a Christian, voting for [Kamala Harris] will be the most reckless thing you will do in your life." pic.twitter.com/0bngGFq0ek
Read the full article. You will be utterly shocked to learn that Paxton has never sued a church for violating the same rules.
.@KenPaxtonTX is trying to shut down @FIELHouston, alleging it is "systematically" flouting nonprofit rules by advocating too aggressively against state laws and political candidates. It is his latest attempt to shutter groups aiding immigrants in Texas. https://t.co/ND4C4TDtXo
Paxton is trying to punish @FIELHouston for social media posts which he argues run afoul of the limits federal law places on 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
If judges accept that argument (and so far it seems they're not), it would put every nonprofit in the state at risk. pic.twitter.com/MbxxyeCo34
As I’ve mentioned here many times, Alliance Defending Freedom once petitioned the US Supreme Court to keep homosexuality criminalized. Since then, they have provided free legal support to overseas groups seeking to maintain or institute such laws in their own countries.
On the above post the republicans are so desperate and Comer is such a loser. They learned from harassing Hillary that if they hammer on a pretend issue and make it seem real, that lowers the candidate’s favorable ratings. It worked with Hillary so they went after Biden and his son Hunter. But it was not working like they want. They know they can not attack VP Harris, so they went for Walz. It is not governing, it is not legit, sadly they are accusing Walz of the same things they tried to hit Biden and Hunter with. How totally clueless in today’s society. Hugs. Scottie
By Eric Bradner, CNN 3 minute read Updated 4:58 PM EDT, Tue August 20, 2024
Donald Trump said Tuesday he would “certainly” be open to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. playing a role in his administration if the independent candidate drops out of the 2024 race and endorses the former president.
“I like him, and I respect him,” Trump told CNN’s Kristen Holmes in an interview after a campaign stop in Michigan.
“He’s a brilliant guy. He’s a very smart guy. I’ve known him for a very long time,” the Republican presidential nominee said. “I didn’t know he was thinking about getting out, but if he is thinking about getting out, certainly I’d be open to it.”
Trump’s comments came after Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, said on a podcast posted Tuesday that the Kennedy campaign is considering dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump. She described the decision as intended to reduce “the risk” that Vice President Kamala Harris defeats Trump.
Trump said he would “love that endorsement, because I’ve always liked” Kennedy.
Asked if he would consider appointing Kennedy to a role in his administration if he wins in November, Trump said he “probably would.”
“I like him a lot. I respect him a lot,” Trump said. “I probably would, if something like that would happen. He’s a very different kind of a guy — a very smart guy. And, yeah, I would be honored by that endorsement, certainly.”
The former president also downplayed the potential for backlash from Republicans for appointing Kennedy, who has taken a number of progressive positions.
“I like smart people, and Republicans like me,” Trump said. (snip-More on the page, linked in the title of this post.)
Scottie's Playtime 