After my hiatus this format was inevitable. The only questions are will one day be sufficient and how much will I miss.

Hurrah For France

In reaction to the attempt of America’s right wing to backslide and in the process disregard the majority of Americans on choice, French President Emmanuel Macron is proposing to enshrine the right to an abortion into the French constitution. Remember that France is heavily Catholic and has an emerging radical right wing political party.

Oh, Georgie Boy Again

Republican New York Representative George Santos (at least that is the name he appears to be currently sticking with) survived an expulsion vote in the House of Representatives but that didn’t prevent new criminal charges. This time they include stealing credit card information from his donors. Santos and Trump: the gifts that keep on giving if you write a left leaning American political blog.

Bootgate

Republican Florida Governor and 2024 presidential wannabe Ron “Kinky Boots” DeSantis is mired in a controversy (well maybe more than one) about his footware and height. It is alleged that he is not only wearing boots with heels but has additional lifts concealed in them. On a podcast the other day he was asked how tall he was to which he quickly and with a straight face replied “5’11””. My driver’s license lists me at 5’10” (yes, I’ve shrunk a bit) but I’m willing to bet if we stood next to each other in bare feet I’d be closer to the ceiling. But then does anyone really believe Donald Trump is 215 pounds? Why lie, especially when your lies are easily disproved?

History Repeating Itself

On my recent travels I listened to Rachel Maddow’s podcast Deja News. One episode compared the shipping of Blacks from Southern states controlled by racist governors in the 1960s to the recent antics of Republican Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas. In both cases they shipped (yes, I find that word distasteful when dealing with humans) non-whites to northern destinations under false pretenses and with no notice to the “receiving” destinations to play to their racist political bases. They will; go down in history as the 21st century versions of Lester Maddox and George Wallace.

A Silver Lining

There may be one silver lining in the cloud that is Mike Johnson’s assentation to the House Speakership. Kevin McCarthy was a prolific fundraiser for the GOP. I doubt Johnson will be able to match him in that area.

A Warning To The MAGA Useful Idiots

A common denominator among many of the most fervent in the MAGA base is hatred. Like their 20th century fascist role models, Trump and his minions feed your prejudice and the hatred that accompanies it. You hate “the other” and blame them for all the shortcomings you endure. These “leaders” are manipulating you into hating and will until you become “the other”. Think about that.

Gun Culture Trumps Common Sense

The mass shooting in Maine will (hopefully) be studied for years as an avoidable and prolonged tragedy compounded by errors. There was a multitude of red flags that should have prevented the shooter from possessing firearms. Maine – and in fairness many other states – has a gun culture so strong that restricting firearms borders on unconscionable to many. As mass shooting become more and more commonplace in America more states go to open carry and lessen restrictions. Yes, there is a right to bear arms in the Second Amendment of the Constitution but no right, including a constitutional right, is absolute!

Also, can you believe it took authorities three searches of a landfill to find the dead body of the shooter? Did the corpse move? The only explanations I can think of are incompetence or the body was killed elsewhere and moved there to cover an extrajudicial murder.

Ivanka Who?

In another example of just how stupid does he think we are, Donald Trump said that Sidney Powell was never his attorney. Is he going to deny knowing his obviously favorite child next?

Oh, And Sidney

When asked her age in court Powell said that she was 68, and in the process touted he (in her opinion) youthful appearance. Sorry Sydney, you certainly look your age and, like me, a career in magazine cover modeling isn’t in the remaining cards.

A Non-Political Note

Basketball coach Robert Montgomery “Bobby” Knight passed away at the age of 83. In my 15 seasons at the high school and college levels I was fortune to experience a lot of great moments. I had some great kids play for me and coached with, met and worked for some really good and talented guys!

One of the highlights came in the 80s when I was an assistant coach at the high school level and I was Coach Knight’s gofer for a weekend when he appeared at a clinic. We didn’t talk politics.  Had we I doubt we would have agreed on much, if anything, but he was a basketball (especially when it came to defense) genius. The man was flat out smart. I count him among the most intelligent (although very flawed) people I have ever met. He will always be special in my mind!

Well, I missed a lot and we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

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