This just in: Having a lot of followers on Twitter does not make one a good person. Nor does it make someone qualified to fill a political seat; especially on a national scale.

Let’s start with this: When I say “Republican” I am referring to racists; I’m referring to Christian evangelicals; I’m referring to militia groups; I’m referring to liars and grifters. Granted, not all Republicans fall into these categories. However, the people that Republican select to represent them certainly do. Reach your conclusions about what this implies.

Another note: I once boasted that I never voted along party lines. I always tried to vote for the best candidate. That is not quite true anymore. While I don’t always vote for a Democrat, I ALWAYS vote against a Republican.

I can hear it now, “Jim, wait a minute. Let’s hear what this Republican has to say first.” To me, that is like someone in 1939 in Germany saying, “Wait, let’s hear what this NAZI has to say first.”

Someone that chooses to run as a Republican in today’s Republican Party has told me everything I need to know about that candidate.

Still, some candidates really stick out.

Herschel Walker for one. He’s running to be a senator for the state of Georgia. He has had all sorts of bad press in recent months. He’s essentially a young Trump. He is a prolific liar and has the IQ of a shrub. Today, it comes out that this Pro-Life guy paid for his girlfriend’s abortion. He denies this although she has a paper trail including a bill from the clinic and a check from Walker. Also today, one of Walker’s sons has sent out a tweet saying his dad is a person that has spent his life making others miserable.

Then we have Dr. OZ who is running for a senate seat in Pennsylvania. He is not only hugely unqualified but has made a career out of promoting “snake oil” on his TV show. Being a grifter is a main qualification for running for office as a Republican. However, as far as actual experience or qualifications for the job of senator…he has none.

There are a number of others. Johnson out of Wisconsin has to be the dumbest, most racist insurrectionist there is. And yet, he may just win another term.

And finally, we have the most likely (as of today) Republican candidate for president…Trump.

This is what the GOP has to offer you.

Think about it.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: For fun, I thought I would make a list of things that either surprise me or not.

1. I am not surprised when a Lab that I’ve never met runs up to me like I’m its long-lost friend.
2. I would be surprised if any Republican took a stand in support of human rights.
3. I am surprised when my luggage shows up at the airport carousel.
4. I am not surprised when every day it seems like Trump has committed some crime that would land the average American in jail for a lifetime.
5. I would be surprised if Trump was ever charged with a crime, found guilty, and spent time in jail.
6. I am surprised when a double-stuffed breakfast croissant sandwich at Burger King tastes even better than I expect.
7. I am not surprised that Republicans complain about things without having a solution to any problem.
8. I would be surprised if I ever hit a long drive at the golf course and it stayed in my fairway.
9. I am surprised that Putin seems to be making one blunder after another with regards to the war in Ukraine.
10. I am not surprised that one Trump associate after another is found to be a criminal.
11. I would be surprised if Tesla stock does not double by the first month of 2024.
12. I am surprised that at age 64, I love Rockwall climbing; something I only started earlier this year.
13. I am not surprised that people willingly believe things that they know are not true simply because they want them to be true.
14. I would be surprised if organized religion could exist in a world where people couldn’t profit from it.
15. I am surprised that Italy has elected a Fascist government.
16. I’m not surprised that the UK is suffering economically after exiting the EU.
17. I would be surprised if Popeye’s somehow figured out how to make their chicken even better.
18. I am surprised when I can find my Hertz rental car at the Birmingham airport when they hide these things like Easter eggs in a giant car garage.
19. I am not surprised that people expose their biggest fears by openly displaying anger.
20. I would be surprised if California finally had a wet winter.
21. I’m surprised by how many elected officials are bad at math, science and economics but are experts at manipulating public opinion.
22. I am not surprised that Republicans in the House voted against a measure that would keep January 6th from happening again.
23. I would be surprised if Texans and Floridians realized that their governors are embarrassing their states.

Time to catch my flight.

And…save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: Today, I want to talk about how Republicans put lipstick on a pig in hopes of making is seem less…pig-like.

The First Amendment guarantees the right to free speech.

What the First Amendments does not do it allow you to yell “Fire” in a crowded theater when there is no fire. This is because you will be causing a panic in which people can be injured.

In other words, you can’t use your right to free speech in a way that is willfully and avoidably harmful to others. (I’m not a lawyer but this is how I interpret this.)

In the same way, you can’t stand in the middle of the street holding a sign that says, “Detour. Turn right here.” When people turn right they drive straight off of a cliff.

Seems pretty obvious.

But, we are allowed to go online and tell people, falsely, that a politician is a pedophile. People read this and decide to take the law into their own hands. They take action against something that is not true; action that results in injury to another.

Trump can incite a crowd to riot and kill and we act like it’s not a big deal. “He has a right to say whatever he wants.” Wrong.

All of this Fake News that we find from Republicans and on outlets like Fox news is inspiring violence. It does so willfully and avoidably. It is no different from yelling “Fire” in a theater.

Another example…

In Iran, morality police arrested a young woman for not wear her headdress appropriately. She later died of a supposed “heart attack.”

Iran’s “morality policy” have nothing to do with morals. They have everything to do will suppressing women and mandating strict adherence to the religious beliefs of their leaders. In short, its all about control to maintain power.

In the United States, we don’t have “morality policy.” Instead, we have “republicans.”

Republicans plan on arresting young women, and those that support them, if they fail to comply with the religious beliefs of the party. Anti-abortion laws are not “pro-life”. They are about suppressing women and imposing their personal beliefs in magic on others.

By the way, “Pro-Choice” means I want you to decide what to do with your body and I want to decide what to do with my body. “Anti-Abortion” means, I want to decide what to do with my body and I want to decide what to do with your body.

You can put lipstick on gun rights. You can put lipstick on voter suppression. You can put lipstick on unlimited campaign finances.

A pig with lipstick is not less pig-ish. It’s just a pig with lipstick.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: The idea that “I have always voted Republican and will continue to do so” just doesn’t leave me with a lot of confidence in our democracy. The GOP of today is not even closely related to what it was 30 years ago. This party loyalty is like saying, “My favorite food is whatever the Republican Party says it is.” It used to be steak and now it’s fish…because I can’t make up my own mind.

The Republican Party used to stand for low taxes, small government and personal freedoms. Let’s take a look at what they stand for today.

The Republican platform:

1. Trump won the last presidential election.
2. The FBI should be defunded because it wants to enforce the law equally for all Americans.
3. Create roadblocks to voting for people that won’t vote Republican
4. Dog whistles for racists
5. Calls for violence when they don’t get their way
6. Preventing any legislation that benefits the American public in general
7. Obstruction of all government at every level
8. Giving elected state officials the ability to override the will of the voting public
9. Praise for Putin
10. Science denial
11. History denying
12. Fear mongering
13. Anti-women’s rights
14. Arming more people so that we can fight it out with each other at schools and stores
15. Misinformation spreading (recent study shows 1 out of 3 statements by Republicans spread misinformation.
16. Support your local homegrown terrorist
17. Fear immigration
18. Go It Alone approach to our place in the world.
19. Christianity should be the foundation of our government
20. Beating police is fine if they get in your way
21. Subtly support white nationalism
22. Anit-LGBTQ
23. Coup = normal political discourse
24. Make sure we have poor people so we can staff our armed forces
25. If they lose any election it was rigged, otherwise its fine
26. Trump is chosen by God

There you have it. Nothing on foreign policy. Nothing on the economy. Nothing on the general welfare of the American people.

As your average American, they have nothing to offer me. ZERO.

Let’s take a look at the Democrat platform based on their actual actions:

1. Fight inflation
2. Fight climate change
3. Promote higher education
4. Promote democracy around the world
5. Bring manufacturing back to the U.S.
6. Fight corruption
7. Bring justice to ALL who break the law
8. Pro women’s life
9. Compassionate approach to immigration
10. Credible and reliable member of NATO
11. Support science
12. Improve healthcare for everyone
13. Separation of Church and state
14. Acceptance of all LGBTQ people and related issues
15. Anti-racist
16. Take care of the troops

These are not all-inclusive but I think you get the point. The GOP is the party of “hate” and “self indulgence” while the Democrats are doing their job of “working for the people.”

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: I recently sat next to a guy on an airplane that fit the MAGA profile to a tee. Although we never mentioned politics, he certainly fit the profile.

I got upgraded to first class and a giant, maybe 6’6” plops down beside me. He smells of alcohol and is somehow really loud without saying anything. His cell phone is playing a video on max volume for all of us to hear. I hate him already and they haven’t even closed the door to the plane.

I’m not interested in talking with a drunk so I try to ignore him. He clearly wants me to look his way and when I don’t, he eventually says, “So, you heading home to Rochester?”

Me: Nope.

Him: Where you from.

Me: California.

Him: Hmmmfff…one of those. I’m from Florida.

At this point, I just shifted so my back was sort of to him and he got the message.

Up in the air, we were offered drinks. He asked for “anything with alcohol in it.”

It was a 1 hour flight and he had 4 of these drinks.

Finally, he can’t help himself and turns to me and says out of the blue…

Him: Tesla

Me: Yes

Him: Why don’t they use the NASA battery.

Me: I have no idea what you are talking about.

Him: Those spaceships that have supposedly been sending back pictures for decades, they must have a good battery.

Me: I doubt that any battery stays charged for that long. I’m sure they have a way to generate electricity on the craft.

Him: No way. How would they do that?

Me: I don’t know but if I had to guess, they have a radioactive isotope onboard that generates heat which is then converted to electricity.

Him: How would it do that?

Me: I don’t know, I’m not a physicist.

Him: EXACTLY. You don’t know. They don’t want you to know. Do you really believe they have been sending back pictures for all of these years? That stuff is all made up.

Me: Really.

Him: Yes. OCCAM’S RAZOR says that the simplest solution is the right solution.

Me: This is why you think you are correct?

Him: I know I’m right.

Me: So, by your theory, if you don’t understand something, it doesn’t exist?

Him: Hey, I didn’t say that but I know for a fact all of that space crap is fake. For example, we never landed on the moon.

Me: Are you a conspiracy theorist?

Him: No way! I believe in critical thinking.

Me: Do you think the earth is flat?

Him: Hey, I’m not trying to argue!

It should be noted that my impression was that he very much wanted to argue. He’d been getting louder by the minute.

Me: We are done talking.

I turned away and he kept trying to engage.

Finally, a woman behind us reached between the seats and tapped him on the arm to get his attention.

He spun around and shouted, “Don’t you touch me!!”

This is a 300 pound monster yelling at a little woman. All she said was, “I think you are being too loud.”

He went on yelling about “touching” as if she had just stabbed him with a knife.

Meanwhile, the plane had landed and was coming to the gate. I could see the flight attendant was paying very close attention in case things got out of hand.

They didn’t.

The drunk was the first one off the plane and left with quite a huff.

I never felt like I was in any danger although at one point I had to tell myself to be ready to grab him if he went for the woman behind us.

This story is really about the fact that there are people like this. He was convinced that his critical though process had proved that there was no space program. In spite of mountains of data and proof. Just like people believe Trump when he says the election was stolen. They are certain that their critical thinking skills are working at max capacity and yet…they can’t see that the world is not flat just because they want it to be.

Alas…

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: Trump, the pandemic, the death of John McCain…all of this and more has revealed something about the soft underbelly of America – That being that fearful people walk amongst us.

These fearful (aka angry) people often call themselves Evangelicals. They think of themselves as Patriots. They are racists. They have temper tantrums when they don’t get their way. They believe in conspiracies and think “facts” are optional.

Gather all of these people into one room and you’ll find one common thread…they are all Republicans.

You can’t argue with them. I stopped trying a long time ago.

There is only one thing to do; only one way to make their whining fade into the background.

VOTE!!

If you want laws enforced…vote out Republicans.

If you want hate to be addressed constructively…vote out Republicans.

If you want rationale and thoughtful government that is equally representative of all Americans…vote out Republicans.

Not voting is the same as voting FOR a Republican.

You matter. Make a difference.

VOTE!

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: I have Trump fatigue. There is just so much wrong with this man. There is so much “evil” that it would be hard for me to come up with any comparable historical figure. It’s obvious to me. It’s obvious to everyone. Let’s stop playing nice.

Occam’s Razor says, “This simplest solution is always the best.”

To me, this means no overly complicated things. What you think you are seeing is really what you are seeing. There is no man behind the green curtain.

Trump is a criminal. I say this because nearly everything he does has a criminal flavor to it. His university was closed due to fraud. His foundation was closed because he was using it as a piggy bank. He is in legal trouble for tax fraud, election tampering, and dozens of other equally major crimes.

In 2016, Trump’s elder son said, “We get our money from Russia.” The next thing you know, the Mueller report finds that Trump was working with Russia on his 2016 campaign. Once elected, Trump would hold meetings with Putin where no other American was allowed in the room. He offered to let Putin interrogate Americans. He praised Putin for invading Ukraine.

Now, he was found to be in apparent violation of the Espionage Act which is intended to stop treason. He was found to have classified data, a lot of classified data, stored in sheds at his residence. This data, of the most sensitive nature, was classified higher than Top Secret. He was asked for it. He denied he had it. When they went and got it….he said, he had declassified it in his head as was his right.

My question is, “Why did he have this at all?”

Could it have something to do with Putin? Could it have something to do with North Korea which exchanged love letters with him? Could it have something to do with Saudi Arabia which invested $2 billion in Trump’s son-in-law and recently hosted a golf tournament at one of Trump’s courses? The same Saudi Arabia that Trump claimed we should share nuclear secrets with?

Would Trump sell out his country for personal gain? Does he seem like the type of person that would toss his closest allies under a bus to keep his head above water? Certainly seems that way to me. But, maybe asking his lawyer, Cohen, about this. That’s the lawyer that Trump “barely knew” when it looked like he was turning on Trump.

It is my view that Trump is probably guilty of every crime that we think he “may” be guilty of. That’s the simplest solution. Alternatively, he just has a long string of bad luck; of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and unknowingly spending his life with people that exhibit criminal behavior.

Finally, let’s not forget his enablers – The Republican Party.

If I know all of this about Trump, then they know it. They know it and yet, they support him.

The party yesterday filed an article of impeachment against the Attorney General for having the nerve to go to Trump’s house and take back the highly classified secret documents Trump had illegally stored in a shed in violation of the Espionage Act.

Let’s stop pretending.

The sooner Trump and his enablers are gone, the sooner we can get back to the business of leading the world.

Time to save that world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: I read today that about 8,800 elderly die every day. They are more likely to be Republican than not. Also, every day, 11,000 young adults reach the age of 18 and become eligible to vote. This age group tends to be predominantly Democrat.

This is not a new phenomenon. The Republicans have been losing membership constantly for the last 2 decades. The ranks of Independents and Democrats are growing. The only way the GOP can stay in power is to (1) Gerrymander to allow the minority to rule the majority or (2) Squash opposition voting through a variety of suppression techniques to allow the minority to rule the majority or (3) Keep their base fired up and angry so that they make sure they vote.

None of these have anything to do with serving the public good. NONE.

Trump gets a search warrant served. He claims the FBI planted fake evidence. The Republican Party says the FBI is corrupt and should be defunded.

That is who they are.

I was a Republican until about 2005 when I noticed Bush lied about WMDs in Iraq.

That made me skeptical. It made me stop trusting elected officials, from either party.

Instead, I turned to fact-finding. This is way, way different from waiting until I hear what I want to be true and then clinging to that.

For example, the FBI wanted to investigate Hillary. I questioned the wisdom of the timing but it never occurred to me to call the FBI corrupt because they were doing their job. In my view, if evidence said she should be investigated, then she should be investigated.

Back in the day, when I was a Republican, I liked them because they “stood up for American businesses.” They wanted to get rid of regulations. They wanted to stop taxing the rich, claiming high taxes would make the rich stop trying.

When I became skeptical when I started to look closer, I found the following: The Republican Party will support any position that (1) enriches its members and/or (2) helps it to stay in power. They were passing tax cuts for the rich simply because the rich paid them to do that. They cut regulations because companies paid them to do that.

Pay attention. That’s my recommendation. Forget what “tribe,” you think you belong to. Think about how you would like things to be done and they pay attention; not to words but deeds.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: There has been a lot of news over the last few years about frustration with government and the possible end of Democracy. I think this really comes from all of us not seeing consequences for illegal behavior by our elected officials.

This is about to end.

Specifically, it is about to end for the Party of Corruption, also known as The Republicans.

For years, Republicans have had a platform that consisted of two basic issues: (1) stay in power at all costs and (2) prevent the Democrats from achieving any success. Nothing about governing, In fact, if you take a look at the only two things the Republicans “accomplished” over the last decade, you see (1) a tax break for the rich that added $8 trillion to the national debt and (2) the overturning of Roe v. Wade. To be fair, I think they also named a couple of post offices.

Let’s look at how that tide is turning.

1. Last night the FBI executed a search of Trumps home. To do this, they needed a judge to see enough information that he was convinced there probably was a crime. The FBI is run by a Trump appointee. And Biden, Schumer and Pelosi were not informed so there was no political issue here.
2. Alex Jones of Infowars is forced to pay nearly 50 million dollars to the families of Sandy Hook after he spent years claiming the mass killing of kids was “fake news.”
3. Last week Congress passed one of the most significant spending bills in the last 20 years to fight inflation and climate change.
4. Unemployment is at near historic lows.
5. Gas prices are continuing to drop.
6. Sweden and Finland got our approval to join NATO, an organization that has maintained world peace for over 70 years. BTW, Trump tried to end it.
7. Steve Bannon is probably going to jail.
8. Some gun control passed a couple of weeks ago. A good start.
9. Kansas went to vote and shot down an anti-abortion Republican referendum by a margin of 2 to 1.

I saw a comment online last night: “I prefer presidents that don’t get raided by the FBI.” This is jab at Trump’s comment, “I prefer soldiers that don’t get captured.”

Fox News is scrambling to make this a big nothing burger. They complain that this is political because it is so near the election cycle and could never happen to Hillary; forgetting the FBI announced an investigation into Hillary 11 days before the election.

Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy sent a tweet threatening the Attorney General over the raid.

Trump supporters are getting their diapers all bunched up. They are actually complaining that the FBI is investigating a possible crime. An FBI run by a Trump appointee.

Republicans are imploding and online, the rest of us are gleefully watching them squirm.

Why are we so joyful?

We are celebrating that things are getting done. We are celebrating that congress is governing. We are celebrating consequences for illegal behavior.

It’s been a good last few weeks. Let’s hope it continues.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away..,

Jim

This just in: There is a difference between saying something and doing something. This is not to say either is good or bad; they’re just not the same.

Republican: “We support our troops” then vote to not give veterans healthcare. Note, this bill has been supported by Republicans in the past but they now oppose it because the Democrats brought it up.

Republicans: “We support our police” then celebrate the attack on Capital police who we just doing their jobs on January 6th.

Republicans: “We are Constitutionalists” then work tirelessly to make sure they can overturn elections that result in non-Republicans being elected.

Republicans: “This tax bill will enable you to fill out your taxes on a post card,” then pass a tax bill that does nothing other than cut taxes for the very rich and explodes the national debt.

Republicans: “We need to let the people choose the next Supreme court justice so we will wait several months until after the 2016 election,” then rushed Brett Kavanna’s appointment through before the FBI can follow-up on several accusations.

Republicans: “We will not rest until this gun violence ends,” then sends thoughts and prayers as a proven ineffective solution.

Republicans: “Joe Biden is to blame for high gas prices” all the while knowing that in a capitalist economy, the government does not control prices or production.

I know we are all sick of politics but don’t fall into the trap that “they all do it” because they don’t.

Abortion is now not allowed in many states because of Republicans.

We have out-of-control gun violence because of Republicans.

We are doing virtually nothing to combat climate change because of Republicans.

A big chunk of Americans falsely believe the election was stolen from Trump because of Republicans.

Donald Trump will get away with trying to overthrow the government on January 6th because of Republicans.

Chip manufacturing is still mostly done overseas because of Republicans.

Racism is now acceptably mainstream because of Republicans.

Voting by minorities and the poor is now difficult because of Republicans.

Healthcare is far worse than most of the industrialized world because of Republicans.

Russia is a welcomed influencer in our elections because of Republicans.

I can find no redeeming qualities of today’s Republican Party. None.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away.

Jim