I’ll start out on all personal notes. As you can see, I’m back. My wife’s surgery was a success and the resulting somewhat ancillary (my degree is not in medicine!) tests came back negative which is huge! I probably took an extra day or two off, but I must admit having Easter and Dyngus Day off was nice. My Rays are 10-0 as I pen this so all is good on the personal front. Thank you to those who reached out to me!

Now on to politics, or at least a partial attempt to catch up. I have a feeling this will be a “two part – two-day effort”.

Is It Just Me?

My regular readers know I was raised Catholic but have been an agnostic for decades. Still, I adhere to many religious (mainly Christian) principles in how I lead my life. (If only all the Americans who brag of their Christianity actually practiced it America would be a much better country but that is a topic for another day(s)).

All that said I’m disappointed by recent events in the Middle East. Easter, Passover and Ramadan all coincided this year. Christianity, Judaism and Islam are the three major religions of the region. I think it is reasonable to hope that in that spirit people would put aside their differences and get along. Instead, they killed each other. Color me both disappointed and confused. Am I the only one?

Tennessee

I’ve talked about writing a series of article about which state has the worst Republicans. Last week we might have found out which has the politically dumbest ones and it is Tennessee. (Perhaps they need to hire Mitch McConnell as a consultant. He may be evil but he is one smart politician!)

The Republican State House super majority, (note super majority!), expelled two freshman Democratic members. What did they gain? They already had total control of the chamber. The two were part of a group of three who participated in a protest on the chamber’s floor. (Whether or not it was officially in session at that moment is a question that has never been definitively answered.) The two who were expelled are Black. The third member who escaped expulsion is white. This may or may not be a case of racism but it sure looks that way.

One of the two expelled member is Justin Jones. As of a week ago he was a total unknown on the nation scene – in fact, probably in the vast majority of Tennessee. It turns out that Representative Jones (he has since been reinstated) is very articulate and has become a national figure. I can see the Democrats running him statewide in Tennessee in the future and even if he can’t win, he will be a formidable opponent forcing the Republicans to spend money in a race that would otherwise be a cakewalk.

This situation is far from resolved but I’m willing to bet we have not seen the last of Jones!

Guns

Jones and his two compatriots were protesting the fact that Tennessee is among the states that in the aftermath of mass shootings is not tightening gun regulations within its border, but loosening them. Across demographics including party affiliation and gun ownership the public overwhelmingly supports common sense gun regulations. The Tennessee Three, as they are now known, were demonstrating for gun regulation. Now, I will concede that I don’t particularly condone all their tactics, (and as I previously stated) the exact circumstances of which are still unresolved, but let the punishment fit the “crime”. No one was killed by their actions. In fact, no one’s lives were endangered. The same can’t be said for the victims of the 146 mass shooting in the US as of this writing.

This is an awful thought but could the GOP be against abortion because it would lessen the number of targets for mass school shooters?

One Of The Three Pillars

I have long stated that one of the three pillars holding up today’s GOP is racism/bigotry. I alluded to it above in Tennessee. Well, it seems Texas (no surprise) is also part of the club. Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has publicly stated that he will pardon a man who killed a Black Lives Matter protester. Keep in mind the man has yet to be sentenced.

I’ll let you connect the dots. That’s enough for me for today. As anticipated, to be continued tomorrow.

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