Republicans doing what? Causing what?

Republicans are against the public having healthcare for some reason.  Paxton, Texas leadership, and a good segment of the republican part simply want non-white people / all immigrants to suffer as much as possible.  As if just by living they have committed the worst possible crime.  Plus dreamers?  Look republicans keep passing laws that kids are property so they had no choice being dragged to the US with their parents.  Plus they have been here, raised here, never caused problems, added to the economy.   Denying them healthcare is stupid and just trying to hurt them.  Plus it costs taxpayers more as dreamers need care they must have but can’t afford to pay for.   Hugs

PSA: migrants desperately seeking shelter may be in your area. Call ICE asap if seen.

Thumbnail

Government run by gang thugs.  That is what maga and the maga republicans want.  tRump has always been a mob boss wannabe but was never good enough to really do it.  He is a school yard bully who never grew up and has only regressed over the years.  He thinks might make right, and that who ever can bully or threaten the most gets all the toys and their way on everything.   Is this how we think things should be run?  Is this for the good of the country?  And if this is the way the republicans are going to act then how should democrats respond?  Corporate media both print and video are afraid to attack tRump so they ganged up on Biden and the democrats, but they never pointed out that tRump was everything they attacked Biden for being.  Now the brownshirts and thugs are making congress people offers they don’t dare refuse.  Hugs

In recent days, allies of Trump adopted an approach that is not novel for the president-elect and his followers: Make life extremely uncomfortable for anyone who dares to oppose him. The swarm of MAGA attacks that Sen. Joni Ernst has experienced is a warning of what’s in store for others who express skepticism of his personnel choices. 

Read the full article. As I noted yesterday, among the attacks on Ernst are threats to resurface allegations of an adulterous affair.

If you are a bigot who hates gay people then you believe this false idea.  If you are a racist you believe that black / brown people are inferior and erode standards.  In fact that was said about blacks when the military was first integrated.  However that notion got totally destroyed due to the bravery and proficiency of the black divisions in the 1930s and 1940s.   Same with gay people.  Most people in the military don’t care your sex partner as longs as they are not forced against their will to join you.  It is only the bigots, the fundamentalist religious people.  It is the Christians like Hegseth who has said that the goal is to make the military Christians who want all the gay people out.  Notice it was gays he objected to, not lesbians.  The upper military brass has studied this, the idea of LGBTQ+ in the military and all the studies show that the military benefits greatly for allowing the LGBTQ+ to serve openly.  Look let’s be honest the military was full of gay people in the 1980s when I was in, both the Navy and the Army.  We just stood the chance of getting blackmailed or discharged if a bigot like Hegseth found out.  Again all of maga want desperately to return to the fantasy time of the 1950s thinking that was the best of times, but only if you were a white straight cis male.   The rest of the population suffered from the unfair laws.   Hugs.  

New: Pete Hegseth Lamented Don't Ask Don't Tell Change, Women in the MilitaryThe Trump nominee's views on women and LGBTQ+ individuals raise questions about his fitness

PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes.bsky.social) 2024-12-10T13:10:06.098Z

From the linked article which I suggest reading.

Hegseth’s views risk alienating large segments of the armed forces and undermining morale by suggesting that certain groups are inherently less capable of serving. The Department of Defense has long moved toward embracing equality and diversity as pillars of strength. A leader who dismisses these values could jeopardize decades of progress and fail to inspire trust and cohesion among service members.

In a time when military challenges require unity and innovation, the Secretary of Defense must represent the best of modern leadership—respect for diversity, evidence-based policy, and a commitment to national security above outdated biases. Pete Hegseth’s comments reveal a personal belief system with negative views which raises doubts about his fitness to lead the military

This is more gang thuggery.  Notice this part:  … as he threatened local officials to open the city and its county jail to the will of federal immigration agents.     Hugs

The very same weaponizing the government and the DOJ to attack enemies that tRump and the maga right claims is happening under Biden was routine under tRump.   Notice the use of the deep state tools to gather information including personal information which should have been protected legally.  That is why all these people who claim tRump won’t be vengeful and won’t weaponize the government are just blowing smoke, he will and he has.  Hugs

Oh wow, think of all those poor people who voted for tRump because they believe everything he says and think he is a smart businessman.  Too bad no one tried to explain to them that tariffs are paid by the consumer, that means the person buying the item.  Oh wait yes there were people trying hard to tell them that.  In fact the black woman they just couldn’t vote for was saying that very clearly as was everyone but right wing media that is deep into the cult of tRump.  Hugs 

Fox Business: “Dollar Tree could drop some products if tariffs are enacted”

PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes.bsky.social) 2024-12-10T17:58:54.369Z

This man has shown nothing but contempt for all normal behavior and respect for the those in congress.  He has done a lot to destroy the post office and to make it unreliable.  Remember that he was destroying sorting machines and shortening delivery routes during an election so many mail in ballots never got counted.  In deeply rural areas no other mail delivery service covers that area so they depend on the post office.  The post office is the only government service mandated in the constitution.  Remember DeJoy is a multimillionaire who owns a company that competes with and contracts with the post office that he is in charge of.  Sounds like a conflict of ethics that needs real instigating.  Hugs

As normal Musk is spouting off on stuff he knows nothing about.  Homelessness is caused by several factors, a major one being the cost of housing.  With hedge funds and wealthy investment companies buying up all the housing in an area and jacking up the rents while providing no maintenance support.   They don’t care, a large profit is demanded.  The fact that people can not afford to live these days because people like Musk demand ever more profit, a man who has so much money he could waste 44 billion on a whim and not suffer any lowering of his lifestyle.  That is what life is like for these clowns.  They have no conception of what life is like for the rest of us. By the way, the article he cites as his proof says the exact opposite of what Musk claims.  That is why you need to read more than the headlines and look at the pictures.  Providing housing does work, but as the article referenced states the programs need the correct amount of funding and supervision.  Hugs

 

The article does not support the contention that providing shelter to people who need it is fruitless or that all unhoused people are criminals. Rather, the article details how the converted hotels in San Francisco were “underfunded and understaffed,” leading to substandard living conditions.

Read the full article. As the linked piece notes, a large percentage of the homeless are children, veterans, queer kids rejected by their parents, and women escaping domestic violence. But they’re all violent, drug-addicted liars, according to Musk, whose tweet currently has 25 million views.

Delusion run strong in this one.  Need I say more.  A fox entertainment host is also claiming tRump will buy a large track of property for the US making more states.   Hugs

Donald Trump is once again “joking” about annexing Canada into the United States, this time calling Justin Trudeau the “Governor” of the “Great State of Canada.”Totally normal and not crazy at all

Republicans Against Trumpism (@rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social) 2024-12-10T05:53:56.198Z

Montana Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Families & Doctors, Blocks Ban on Healthcare for Transgender Youth

AffiliateACLU of Montana
December 11, 2024 1:15 pm

47’s Healthcare Promises

New Jersey governor signs law blocking book bans

We need more of these laws protecting the representation of minorities and the ideas the fundamentalist right hate, such as female autonomy.   The only way to get more states to do this is to elect more progressives, become more vocal over what we want, and to support those who advocate for the full support of equality and inclusion of everyone in society, sometimes called DEI.   Hugs

=============================================================

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signs legislation aimed at barring public libraries and schools from banning books on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, at the Princeton Public Library. (Mike Catalini / AP)
 
Gov. Phil Murphy, at the Princeton Public Library, signs legislation Monday aimed at barring public libraries and schools from banning books.
 

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, signed a law Monday prohibiting public schools and libraries from banning books and protecting librarians who obey state law.

Murphy’s signing of the Freedom to Read Act comes amid an ongoing push by conservative lawmakers and activists across the country to challenge books they consider inappropriate for minors, particularly those about LGBTQ issues and race. Lawmakers in at least 13 states this year have introduced legislation to disrupt library services or limit their materials, according to an NBC News tally.

“Across the nation, we have seen attempts to suppress and censor the stories and experiences of others,” Murphy said in a statement. “I’m proud to amplify the voices of our past and present, as there is no better way for our children to prepare for the future than to read freely.”

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy during an interview in New York, on Nov. 22, 2024.  (Jeenah Moon / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
 
Murphy during an interview in New York on Nov. 22.

In September, PEN America, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting free speech, reported that the number of books being removed from school shelves during the 2023-24 school year had tripled from the previous year, to more than 10,000.

 

The PEN America report, along with one from the American Library Association released that same month, outlined how frequently challenged books are often about or written by people of color or those who identify as LGBTQ.

In 2023, the American Library Association’s list of the 10 most challenged books nationwide included Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” a novel about a young Black girl who grew up after the Great Depression; Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” a graphic memoir about the author’s exploration of gender identity from adolescence to young adulthood; and George M. Johnson’s “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” a coming-of-age memoir about a queer Black man.

New Jersey -is the third state to sign a law prohibiting the banning of books at public schools and libraries, following Illinois and Minnesota.

The new law is set to take effect in a year from the governor’s signing. However, the state education commissioner and the New Jersey state librarian are permitted to start implementing it immediately “as may be necessary,” the law states.

“Through this legislation, we are protecting the integrity of our libraries that are curated by dedicated professionals and making those resources available to help every student to grow as a critical thinker,” New Jersey acting Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer said in a statement.

“Is the Cold-Blooded UnitedHealthcare CEO KillerGetting This Much Love Because He’s a White Man?

There’s just no damn way a Black man would get the same treatment.

(This is a valid POV. Also, if you go ahead and click the links, you’ll get simply the embed you clicked on. If you click the link above, you can see the whole story with the embeds. The whole story is here, with the embed links.)

By Lawrence Ware

The response to UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson being shot and killed in Manhattan last week has been…interesting, to say the least. Dude, whose identity remains unknown and is probably somewhere cooling in Istanbul while the Feds and everyone else continue searching for him, has turned into a something of a pop culture icon.

The online reactions of Black folks to the killer and Thompson himself have run the gamut, from outright hostility, like this guy…

…to intellectually nuanced and dense articulations of why they are unmoved about the killing of this white man who theoretically became rich off the back of the misfortunes of the sick. (Let’s call this intellectual hostility.)

What’s most surprising is the amount of love this hoodie wearing, N95-masked gentleman who used a silencers to kill a man in broad daylight in the heart of New York City is receiving. There has not been this much adoration for a white man since Channing Tatum took his clothes off dancing off beat in Magic Mike. I mean, there’s already been a lookalike competition:

https://www.theroot.com/embed/inset/iframe?id=tiktok-7445767917418876190&autosize=1

There are even folks thirsting over this dude like they have been walking though the Mojave desert and homie is a glass of water with some liquid IV:

But let’s be clear. Even though the NYPD (shockingly) said here that the killer is “light skinned:”

…ain’t no damn way a Black man would get this kind of love if he pulled the trigger. I’m quite positive that there are white people in the sundown town of Cullman, Ala. who are fine with a white man doing this crime but would pull out their big ass trucks with a Confederate flag on the front to find the perpetrator if he was Black.

Denzel Washington could have pulled the trigger, and folks would have thanked him for the years of joy he brought to their lives and thrown his ass under the jail.

The response to this murder (I refuse to call it an “assassination” because Thompson could have caught some lead for something as simple as sleeping with the nanny and her boyfriend pulling out the .44 on him.) is at once expected in our society and, well, pretty nonsensical.

And like all things that make no sense anymore, I blame this on Donald Trump…and that dude hasn’t even moved into the White House yet. I’m just glad the killer wasn’t a Black man, because we’d all be face-down in handcuffs getting profiled throughout the damn country.

McConnell: MAGA Isolationism Won’t Make US Great

Understand McConnell shares the lion share of blame for why we are where we are at today.  At all turns this racist money grubber has placed party over country, and power over decency.  He would love a rollback of all civil rights and more money to the wealthy which he is one of.  He craved power because with it came the money.  He was one of the top fundraisers in the Senate because people knew if they bought him they could depend on him.  However never underestimate him.  What he says here is true, and his party should watch carefully.  History shows that the more other countries like you, the more you are the friend they come to, then the more sway you have over them.   Yes it can be over done, but it is a fact.  Soft power seems a silly waste of money to many, but to those who think it out while it is a small part of our national budget it normally keeps the US from needing the world’s largest military a lot more.   Hugs

================================================================

 

“Within the party Ronald Reagan once led so capably, it is increasingly fashionable to suggest that the sort of global leadership he modeled is no longer America’s place. But let’s be absolutely clear: America will not be made great again by those who are content to manage our decline.

“At both ends of our politics, a dangerous fiction is taking hold that America’s primacy and the fruits of our leadership are actually self-sustaining.

“Even as allies across NATO in the Indo-Pacific renew their own commitments to hard power, interoperability, and collective defense, some now question America’s own role at the center of these force-multiplying institutions and partnerships.” – Mitch McConnell, speaking at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

More right wing … diarrhea on the country.

Trump NIH pick "considering a plan to link likelihood of receiving research grants to some measure of academic freedom…Bhattacharya wants to counter what he sees as a culture of conformity that ostracized him over his views on masking and school closures" http://www.wsj.com/health/healt…

Richard Sever (@richardsever.bsky.social) 2024-12-06T16:20:39.999Z

The list compiled by the American Accountability Foundation includes 20 general officers or senior admirals and a disproportionate number of female officers.  Those on the list in many cases seem to be targeted for public comments they made either in interviews or at events on diversity, and in some cases for retweeting posts that promote diversity.

The above-named group is a dark money organization that does not reveal its donors. Their leader is a former staffer for nutbag Sen. Ron Johnson.

These people what a Russian style military of only white cis straight males which Ted Cruz gave such praise to over our US military.  The thing is the Russian military was stopped and driven out of a country by the rag tag Ukrainian military with gifted supplies dripping in.  A diverse military of the entire population is the strongest one, which has been demonstrated over and over again.  Talk about a group wanting purity in a place, this is what these bigot racist haters want.  Hugs

Among Hegseth’s alleged “mistakes” are sexual assault, countless incidents of adultery (including with a coworker), at last one bastard child, drunkenly attempting to climb onto a strip club stage, on the job drinking, being fall down drunk at corporate events, shouting “kill all Muslims,” having white supremacist tattoos, belonging to a far-right misogynist Christian nationalist church, and running two nonprofits for veterans into the ground with what former colleagues call questionable spending on partying and travel. It’s what Jesus would want.

So much for draining the swamp!

1. Bondi asked for a $25,000 campaign donation from Trump, and got it.
2. Then she dropped her state’s investigation into Trump University.
3. Now she’s Trump’s nominee for Attorney General.

Watch the clip and you’ll see an excited Lummis wave a copy of her bill, calling it a “present for President Trump.” Hayes calls the bill an “enormous heist” and an “explicit bailout” of bitcoin holders should the price plummet

Alabama Town Boots LGBTQ Group From Xmas Parade After Group Received Threats And Asked For Protection

Some more to the story.  Please notice the religious hate and bigotry along with the crazy idea the Christmas a country wide holiday belongs only to Christians due to their beliefs.  Notice the misinformation deliberately thrown out to confuse and mislead the public over what the Pride float was about.  Notice the attempt to make the LGBTQ+ in to degenerate perverts trying to corrupt and harm children.  Save the kids from a threat that doesn’t exist by banning the Pride float along with LGBTQ+ people.  It is the entire Russian playbook being enacted here by religious and maga gang thugs.  Hugs

============================================================

 

The Alabama Political Reporter reports:

An LGBTQ+ float has been denied participation in the Prattville Christmas parade, with Mayor Bill Gillespie citing safety concerns. “This morning, it was brought to the City’s attention from Prattville Pride that there are serious safety concerns regarding Prattville Pride’s participation in the Christmas parade,” Gillespie said in a statement Thursday morning.

Asked to clarify these safety concerns, Gillespie said the safety concerns were brought to the attention of the city by Prattville Pride itself in a Thursday morning email:

“Subsequent to the city council meeting held on Dec. 3, there have been some additional threats made against our organization referencing harmful actions to be taken against us and our float during the Prattville Christmas Parade. At this time, Prattville Pride is requesting Prattville police officers to specifically monitor us and our surroundings during staging, as well as assign two officers to walk near the crowd alongside our float.”

Courthouse News reports:

After a hearing for an emergency injunction Friday morning, an Alabama LGBTQ organization is waiting for a ruling from federal judge about whether it can participate in the city of Prattville’s annual Christmas parade, scheduled for Friday evening. Prattville Pride filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the city after it withdrew permission for the organization to march.

Caryl Lawson, vice president and co-founder of Pratville Pride, told the council the group had been subjected to “hateful pushback and rhetoric.” On social media forums, there have been suggestions the group will be clad in lingerie or will toss sex toys and LGBTQ literature to children along the parade route. There were also threats to vandalize the group’s float or toss objects including “rotten tomatoes” at members of the organization.

From my first report last month:

Prattville Pride was the very first organization to enter the City of Prattville’s annual Christmas parade this year. The group paid the fee like other organizations and says they plan to abide by the city’s rules. However, Clean Up Alabama, the group that originally formed to challenge LGBTQ+ titles in the Prattville library, is calling on the city to reverse course and deny Prattville Pride the opportunity to participate.

“The Christmas parade is a celebration of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ the Messiah. It is NOT a time to celebrate someone’s sexual preferences. And it is certainly not a place for a drag show,” Clean Up Alabama said in an email pushing for the removal of Prattville Pride. The fervor started after a far-right website highlighted Prattville Pride’s participation in the event.

There’s much more at the first link above.

Prattville caves to threats, pulls LGBTQ float out of Christmas parade

https://www.alreporter.com/2024/12/05/prattville-caves-to-threats-pulls-lgbtq-float-out-of-christmas-parade/

Again notice the gang thugs threatening violence to get what they wanted.  All it takes for places to cancel LGBTQ+ events or participation is to make a threat against them.  Seems to me to show these people did not want the LGBTQ+ event or participation in the first place. There goal is to remove us from society and public view.   Why are we letting these thugs, these brownshirts drive us out of public life.  We must fight back with everything we can.   Hugs.  

=============================================================

The float’s removal follows counsel’s warning against “prior restraint,” urging narrowly tailored actions to address compelling safety concerns.

Prattville, Alabama, USA – May 12, 2017: Official seal for the City of Prattiville hanging at Stanley Jensen Stadium, the city-owned football stadium. 

An LGBTQ+ float has been denied participation in the Prattville Christmas parade, with Mayor Bill Gillespie citing safety concerns.

“This morning, it was brought to the City’s attention from Prattville Pride that there are serious safety concerns regarding Prattville Pride’s participation in the Christmas parade,” Gillespie said in a statement Thursday morning. “Until today, there has only been conjecture and speculation regarding potential safety concerns that Prattville Pride’s participation in the parade may cause. The City will not put the rights of parade participants ahead of the safety of its citizens. Because of the safety concerns for Prattville Pride, other parade participants, as well as parade bystanders, the City has made the decision to remove Prattville Pride from the Christmas parade.”

Asked to clarify these safety concerns, Gillespie said the safety concerns were brought to the attention of the city by Prattville Pride itself in a Thursday morning email. APR has obtained that email, sent from Prattville Pride Vice President Caryl Lawson to Prattville Police Chief Mark Thompson and Assistant Chief Jeff Hassell.

“Subsequent to the city council meeting held on Dec. 3, there have been some additional threats made against our organization referencing harmful actions to be taken against us and our float during the Prattville Christmas Parade,” Lawson wrote. “At this time, Prattville Pride is requesting Prattville police officers to specifically monitor us and our surroundings during staging, as well as assign two officers to walk near the crowd alongside our float.

Some Sam Seder clips

This one address the mistaken idea that anti-trans stuff worked to win the presidency for tRump.  In fact it was not a factor according to surveys however the only ones talking about it were the tRump people.  Harris never mentioned trans except for one time saying that they followed the law on treating trans prisoners with the hormone care they were prescribed or needed before incarceration.  Again it is the law and tRump also did it in his first term.  Hugs

More on the trans issues and the bathroom ban for trans people in the capital. Trans issues in the 2022 midterms showed that trans issues was a losing issue for them.  It was the same this election.  The larger problem is the democrats being too cowardly to stand up for the abused minority.   Hugs  

We hear about the genocide by Israel of the Palestinians.  He talks about hate on the internet by right wing forced paid for and encouraged by people who want to normalize this level of violence and convince people it is good to be this bloodthirsty.   Hugs