Q NOTES # 664: Short Cuts 86

In recent news, the House Select Committee wants to request Mike Pence's personal appearance and testimony about what happened on 01/06/2021. While there's no doubt his truthful and complete account would nail down a lot of things, the conventional wisdom is that Pence used up every mg of courage available to him in January 2021, and will dodge the Committee. Too bad, since he's one of the few principal Trumplican players who actually did the right things when the chips were down.

There are plenty of liberals whose impatience is starting to irk me. They complain about Joe Biden, Merrick Garland, the Department of Justice, and the House Select Committee. Every decent American wants to see guilty parties receive harsh punishments they deserve, and the worst thing that can happen is to see them escape on technicalities because the case(s) against them were rushed through the process. The guilt that's so obvious to people who've paid constant attention to the Donnie Pudd horror show will need to be proved to millions of people who haven't, and putting that presentation together needs to be done with extreme care.

@ Daily Kos: All those trump lumps who think attacking the government is a positive thing should be required to explain in detail which freedoms their government is keeping from them. I'll bet most of them couldn't come up with a sensible reply.

Remember when Trumplicans were trying desperately to pin the blame for the 1/6 terrorist attack on left-wing groups or the FBI? Donnie Pudd just did a guest interview on hardcore right-wing OAN, much of which he spent boasting about the massive size of "his" crowd on 1/6/21, then complaining because the legitimate media failed to be properly astonished by the hugeness of his insurrectionist mob. With Pudd, everything he does is evaluated in a show biz audience context. 

By the way, that controversial audit of the votes in Maricopa County demanded by Arizona Trumplicans will go down in the books as one of the stupidest wastes of money, time and energy in U.S. history, or at least it should.

Q NOTES # 631: Short Cuts 79

Assuming we can't get Devin Nunes off the planet, getting him out of Congress will have to suffice for now.

Studies show that COVID fatality rates are significantly greater in red counties where Donno Guano got 60 percent of the vote than in blue counties won by Joe. Who says there's no good news? 

I nominate METADATA for most important word of the day. 

Just what Donno Guano needs: another federal investigation. 

Jim (Gym) Jordan, like all loyal Trumplicans, honors his leader by accusing Democrats of being every rotten thing that Trumplicans themselves are. What looks like a disturbing lack of self-awareness is actually just another type of psychosis. We always knew which crimes Guano was committing from what he accused his opponents of doing.

What's the deal with Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas? I hate to say it, but he deserves some credit for his honesty in evaluating those fucking assholes in the so-called House freedom caucus.

Q NOTES # 628: Short Cuts 78

He's sometimes overshadowed by his House colleagues, Empty Greene and Bim Boebert, but there's no doubt that Maddie Cawthorn is just as putrid as both of them.

Q NOTES # 609: Short Cuts 74

The traitors who schemed, plotted, and eventually produced their half-assed plan to execute a coup reversing the 2020 election were obviously so sure they would succeed, they left a trail of evidence a mile long. If the memos revealed so far are this horrifying, can you imagine what's in the ones they're desperately trying to keep hidden?

Q NOTES # 594: Short Cuts 69

There are numerous reasons why the Democrats need to win the Virginia election next week. One of them is that a Democrat beating the snot out of Donnie Doohickey's endorsed Trumplican favorite, and then other (D)s beating his chosen ones repeatedly, is something that would encourage Trumplicans to send Donnie this message: Just STFU and GFY.

Since January, it's been fairly obvious that Doohickey and his enablers want to prove their theory that once Nazis, the KKK, right-wing militia members, and other fascists have been given a secure place to play in their major political party, they'll do the dirty work of domestic terrorism with little additional encouragement. Imagine Doohickey's sexual arousal when he contemplates a private army of dimwits ready to kill for him.

Since he's both an arrogant egomaniac and a nincompoop, Doohickey commits crime after crime without hiding his trail. When he files a lawsuit to keep documents and other records locked away, he definitely did everything he's been accused of doing. Take that to the bank.

Q NOTES # 586: Same old, same old...

The good news is that I'm scheduled to receive my COVID vaccine booster shot early next month, sooner than expected. On a personal level, my situation's not too bad.

On the national level, the news still generally sucks, since most of the liberal blogs I read are produced by folks who believe readership generally increases or decreases according to degrees of content negativity. When the outlook is sunny, people like me find other things to do than worry about politics. When it's dreary, need to check in several times a day to see if we've reached the end yet.

This afternoon, the outlook is that the Supreme Court is on the verge of abolishing the right to legal abortions in Texas and other red states. In the Senate, Manchin and Sinema are prepared to run Joe's economic agenda into the ditch with their demands, and end U.S. democracy with their refusal to reform filibuster rules. So when is a Senate majority really not a majority? 

Predictably, Donnie Doohickey finds ways to get daily media attention. This week he announced another scam. This one involves raising millions for personal use by seducing investors with a social media platform devoted to Truth. Give Doohickey credit for seeing there'll always be a flush market for the sort of bullshit he's selling.

The House of Representatives referred the Bannon contempt of Congress case to the Justice Department for prosecution. Some (R)s voted with the (D)s on that one. On the blogs, there's the usual pessimism that Bannon will never be penalized for pissing on the subpoena.

Q NOTES # 573: Short Cuts 62

There's some positive news being circulated today: Daily Kos @ a report about times when responsible bureaucrats refused to capitulate, and prevented Nacho Man from inflicting additional wounds on America. This kind of thing is very unusual, but we should be proud that somebody had the guts to do it.

Added 5:23 PM Sunday 10/10: Every morning I read a few of my favorite comic strips online, one of which is Doonesbury. I've read that one off and on for several decades. The subject of Trudeau's Sunday strip today is the insane Texas abortion bounty law, and @ www.gocomics.com had attracted nearly sixty reader comments. I usually ignore those, but today I was curious. As I read the opinions, I picked up two terms for future use in sentences like this one: Tex-Ass is controlled by Taliban-gelicals.

Sunday is usually the day of the week that I spend more time at a keyboard, before a screen, than any of the other six. Trying to catch up with national news today led me to mildly reflective thought, to be briefly summarized as follows: 

Human beings can generally be described in one of three ways: 

• People who do things or live in ways that make the world better for everybody, or at least try to.
•  People who do things or live in ways that make the world a worse place to live for most people, or at least try to. 
• People who live their lives quietly, and don't do many things that have an effect on the rest of society for better or worse. 

It seems to me that for nearly five years, news reports have been dominated by people in the second group. For various reasons, huge numbers of them have congregated around Nacho Man, who embodies every terrible characteristic of the type. It's unfortunate for those of us who occupy the other two groups that those in Nacho Man's group are often treated like normal, decent human beings instead of the bottom-feeding creatures they really are.

Q NOTES # 566: Short Cuts 58

Add me to the list of people who think it would be great if American science could eventually produce a pill that would reduce the risk of hospitalization and/or death from CV-19. Even that might not get the trump lumps on board. If we ever reach a point at which only Trumplican refusal rats are dying from the virus and its variants, we could accept that maybe there really is something like god's plan for mankind.

Occasionally I need a reminder that media organizations like newspapers and TV news networks depend on public panic to survive. People whose minds are at ease are less likely to constantly consume their product, so media organizations stay profitable by creating insecurity, uncertainty, depression or rage. Ironically, some minor problems are exaggerated, while some serious ones are practically ignored. A classic example would be Hillary's email (exaggerated) vs the former guy's subservience to Russia (largely ignored when it mattered most).

Q NOTES # 552: Short Cuts 50

We're less than two weeks away from October 2021, and the former guy, Pizza Krapp, is still trying to compel the state of Georgia to throw out the results of the election in November 2020. It's way past time for that fat motherfucker to get over himself and move along with what's left of his sorry life.

One of the popular news stories this week concerned the latest protest event planned by the White Supremacists for Former Guy movement, to be held today in Washington D.C. in a display of support for the misfits, bottom-feeders and worthless assholes who have been arrested and confined for their participation in the 1/6 insurrection riot.

At first, the stories warned that this would potentially be January 6th Riot Revisited. As September 18th got nearer, the predicted horrors were gradually scaled back. Instead of thousands of terrorists, there would probably be only seven hundred. Actually, the event drew between 200 and 300 deranged losers, and was very brief. Is it possible that tracking down, arresting and confining a bunch of 1/6 rioters sent a message to trump lumps to behave or face the consequences?

America would be a better place if the mainstream press would devote coverage to the former guy's insane behavior. Too often, it's either ignored completely or if reported, is treated as completely normal.

Updated 1:31 PM Sunday 19 September:  A perceptive article @ Daily Kos explains why it's a waste of time to attempt any serious negotiation with Trumplicans. America will only function as intended, and will only be safe, after the Trumplicans have been overwhelmingly defeated in election after election. In the meantime, get as much accomplished as possible in spite of them. 

Another update 1:49 PM Sunday: Over the years, Matthew McConaughey has grown on me a little as an actor, despite his identification with Texas U. He was recently the subject of a cover story in the AARP magazine that I read. McConaughey's been hinting that he might try Texas politics with a run for governor against Greg A-Butt, and there's at least one poll that shows he's more popular than A-Butt. 

After eight years of Ronny Reagan and four of former guy Pizza Krapp, I'm leery of show biz people who veer into politics. Only one decided to begin his political career in what previously was the most powerful office in the world. As we now know, his lack of experience was the LEAST important reason Krapp should never have been allowed within 150 miles of the White House. 

As far as I know, McConaughey hasn't revealed his party affiliation, but I haven't seen any clues that he's a goddamned Trumplican. In any event, on his first day in office, he'd be a better governor than A-Butt. 

As far as I'm concerned, too much time and effort has been wasted discussing WHAT Gen. Milley and others did, at the expense of discussing WHY they did it. 

@ Wonkette: Keep those conspiracy theories flowing, you Trumplican idiots! I  enjoy the new one that says liberal Democrats are constantly urging Trumplicans to get vaccinated because they really want Trumplicans to be exterminated by COVID, and encouraging Trumplicans to be vaccinated actually guarantees they'll REFUSE to be vaccinated and will die instead. Okay, there's a diabolical plot if I ever heard one.

Q NOTES # 542: Short Cuts 46

Maybe if right-wing media can sell the vast election fraud angle in the California recall election, it will discourage (R) voters.  

Let's be candid here and acknowledge that Greg A-Butt is more likely to commit a rape in Texas than prevent one.  

I'm not particularly a huge fan or user of social media, but I'm beginning to view it more favorably now that it's serving the purpose of getting assholes who can't behave in public fired. Too many social misfits started thinking they're the American mainstream because Cheez Doodle was allowed to get away with all kinds of shit. They need to learn that when they act like trash, they'll be tossed out like trash.

Q NOTES # 532: Short Cuts 41

After getting the important stuff done this morning (a trip to the grocery store and my daily walk), I decided to spend some time online, checking the discussion at a few dependable websites to see if anything changed drastically since Friday.

Edward Asner died at 91, and at least four right-wing talk radio hosts (all anti-vaccine advocates) have died from COVID recently. That makes the score 4-1 (or 1-4 depending on your point of view).

My observation after reading as much as I could stomach is that the same people pissing and moaning about President Biden's handling of the Afghanistan situation are the same damned pimples on the ass of the world who believe Donnie Dump was the greatest precedent (sic) ever. This is all the reason I need to ignore their opinions. Their motivation is obviously a desperate need to change the subject, which the press is happy to help them accomplish. 

Some of the usual suspects (Empty Greene, Bim Boebert, and Lonely Lindsey Graham) have made noises about impeaching Joe. Since these are the same social misfits who watched Dump commit at least five impeachable offenses per week for four years, and gave him a pass on everything, my reaction is "STFU and GFY."

Q NOTES # 521: Short Cuts 36

According to news stories I saw last night, Greg A-Butt is now claiming that he's testing positive for COVID. I'm skeptical because this is A-Butt we're discussing, and since he's presumably been vaccinated, this might be a scam to "prove" the "vaccines don't work."

Assuming he's telling the truth for once, A-Butt will get a Blue Ribbon medical treatment (Regeneron) that's apparently reserved for worthless (R) dipsticks like Donny Pustule and Greg A-Butt, and is way out of reach for the typical COVID sufferer. Greg is part of the  I'M OKAY, SO GFY social class, many of whom are RepubliQAn politicians.

Bottom line: Under A-Butt, state government is just another experiment in corruption, incompetence, and epic failure. Greg wants to replicate at the state level what the fat stinking turd did nationally.

Of course the former guy sees the recommended COVID booster shots as a 'cash grab' by the drug companies. That fat motherfucker's consciousness is dominated by cash grab schemes and rip-off conspiracies.

And of course the domestic terrorist attack on 1/6 was planned and coordinated, not some spontaneous impulse by a bunch of goddamned tourists. 

And finally, of course right-wing assholes are traumatized by the idea that America will soon be swamped by a tsunami of refugees from Afghanistan. 

Added 12:32 PM Thursday 19 August: It's a crying shame that so many Democrats will tank so rapidly and keep trying to play the game by rules that have been obsolete since the late 1990's. 

I have to wonder how long it will take the former guy to realize that there's a movement afoot to shove his fat ass out of the way so that Ron Death Sentence can take over. If Cheezy ever figures out that Ron really wants to make him a vague memory, things could get interesting in the (R) cesspool.

The former guy's adult life has followed a pattern: He makes a terrible decision because of his own ignorance or laziness, resulting in things getting monumentally fucked up. He then immediately blames the monumental fuck up on someone else, and tries to eradicate all the evidence of his own responsibility. Vladimir Putin is probably looking at the situation in Afghanistan, and writing the former guy a thank-you note...

Q NOTES # 511: Short Cuts 29

Former guy Donny Pustule planted land mines and booby traps throughout the federal government during his four years, and one of the deadliest is Louis DeJoy, whose job is apparently to run the postal service for personal profit, or destroy it altogether. Apparently, once a postmaster general is appointed, even one as incompetent and corrupt as DeJoy, it's damned near impossible to get rid of his worthless ass. There are supposedly other investigations and lawsuits underway that may facilitate his removal. In the meantime, prepare to pay more to get slower service. Joe's done as much as he's allowed by law to do.

This is bad Louis. There is no good Louis.

Washington Monthly @ why we may have to choose between making the liberal side of the Democratic Party happy or saving the country for a few years longer.

Adding to Donny Pustule's legal problems, former acting USAG Jeffrey Rosen spent seven hours voluntarily testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, presumably spilling the dirt on Cheezy's determined effort to overturn the election. There must be some criminal activity in there that can be added to the list of prosecutions. The asshole left his fingerprints and DNA all over the damn scene.

Occasionally a helping hand comes from an unlikely place. 

This Mike Lindell character is the textbook example of a pathetic loser who chugs the red Kool-Aid from a two-gallon bucket. Does anyone have credible evidence that he's actually persuading sane people to believe he's dealing in hard facts?

If the small army of mentally defective domestic terrorists who were responsible for the 1/6 attack really show up for the 'huge' event planned for 9/18, they need to be greeted by law enforcement officers in overwhelming numbers, and crushed like cockroaches if they even try to start acting out.

To fully understand people who are still devoted to the former guy, it's necessary to understand how ignorance differs from stupidity, and why it may be possible to deal with the ignorant ones - while the stupid ones are probably lost causes.

There's always that two percent who never get the word.

Q NOTES # 496: Short Cuts 22

 There are five states leading the newest COVID surge, with Florida out in front, followed by Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri. In Arkansas, Hucklebuck Sanders is preparing to run for governor by promising to do nothing, zero, zip, nada, to preserve a sliver of acceptable public health, making her a perfect fit in that worthless shithole. No masks, no vaccine, but plenty of freedom and individual responsibility.

Q NOTES # 484: Short Cuts 15

Democratic members of the Texas legislature are leaving the state for Washington to deny a quorum and potentially derail the special session called by worthless political hack Greg Abbott.

Update 11:34 AM Tuesday 13 July: The simplest way to understand what's going on with former guy is to understand that his whole worthless existence is essentially a sixth-rate TV reality show performance, and has no more connection to the real world than all that crap that's staged for the lights, cameras and microphones and shown on cable channels.

The rest of the show's cast is just as phony as the main character. The success of the show depends completely on the utter stupidity of the audience, and their willingness to consume anything as long as it's zany and entertaining.

Allen Weisselberg has been a loyal trump lump, and is now being (a) kicked to the curb, or (b) thrown under the bus. Former guy is apparently so fucking stupid, he believes this will make his problem disappear. 

If there's any legal pathway to charging former guy with one or more felonies, and ending all of his political aspirations now, the people who have the authority to do it need to get cranked up. 

More unsurprising news today? How about the story that former guy deeply resents the Supreme Court, especially the justices he nominated. Dumb fuck thought he had a lock on the election being thrown out since three justices would owe him big time.

Q NOTES # 475: Short Cuts 9

A little good news on a dismal rainy Saturday afternoon? Okay, here's something to ponder: A new poll indicates that the orange menace is gradually losing support among educated white men, even some RepubliQAns.

Orange menace has debuted his new social media platform, which is called GETTR instead of Twitter, and may be pronounced GET HER, or may be an acronym for Get Entertained Today Trump Republicans. Whatever it stands for, it's quickly become a cesspool featuring animated pornography. Way to go, fat man.

Washington Monthly features an understandable analysis of what's going on with the indictments in New York City, and why they matter.

Q NOTES # 468: Short Cuts 4

I've been reading a little bit about the pros and cons of indicting the entire Cheez Doodle Organization for starters, since if prosecuted successfully, it could leave the whole clan in a condition of financial ruin and devastation. That would be like a prison sentence for Cheezy and his rotten spawn.

Another interesting proposition would be re-framing significant sections of the For the People bill as election infrastructure, then packing them into legislation that's already headed for reconciliation in the Senate. 

Juanita Jean discusses the theory that Cheezy keeps blowing smoke about being reinstated as precedent (sic) in August because he actually believes that the authorities on his trail can be intimidated into dropping the whole matter of indicting his sorry ass.

Q NOTES # 460: The Pits

To make the point that there are still depths to which Texas has not yet sunk, there are RepubliQans in Tennessee who are ready to shut down the state's department of public health after it started encouraging kids over 14 to obtain COVID vaccinations.

It's time to kick ass and take names. Past time, in fact.

Additional proof that America isn't really so 'exceptional' would be the number of religious psychopaths who are running around spouting nonsense.  

In right-wing lunatics versus the Affordable Care Act news, the ACA wins the latest round by a score of 7-2.  

Cheez Doodle reenters politics as a U.S. representative from Florida, then replaces Madam Speaker? This is the kind of horse shit that floats around the political websites on the internet, which is apparently meant to prevent people like me from relaxing and enjoying life without the former guy. I have doubts about that idea, because in Congress, Cheezy would be basically 1 among 535. Even in a leadership position, he's a face in a crowd. I don't see that as being attractive to someone who needs to be the focal point of the political universe (and absolutely above the law), as Cheezy does. Also, the job has regular office hours, and limited time available for watching news shows on daytime cable TV.

Among conservative Catholic bishops, former guy passed every test, but Joe can't make the cut? Another rationale for refusing to take religion seriously. Speaking of religious lunacy, Mike Pence is no longer one of the poster boys for the Christian dominion cause. Tough break, Pence.

After meeting with Joe, Vladimir was very complimentary and seems to realize the rules of the game have changed since his butt boy is out of the White House. There are rumors that seeing Joe and Putin together on TV has been very difficult for the former guy.

The Democratic Party is gradually becoming the preferred option for younger voters and suburban voters, as well as urban voters. The RepubliQans are gradually becoming the choice of older white people in rural areas. Not expecting to see substantial growth in that demographic segment.

Q NOTES # 452: Survival

A contributing writer @ Daily Kos makes a reasonable argument opposing the idea that if he isn't treated gently, Joe Manchin will desert the Democratic Party and sign on with the TrumpubliQans in the Senate.

Suppose Joe Manchin is kidding himself, and the major components of the Joe Biden agenda are extremely popular among voters in West Virginia. Wonder if that might cause him to reevaluate the wisdom of his current positions? 

Added 11:26 PM: Joe is going to Europe, where one of his tasks will be attending a meeting with Vladimir Putin. Of course this set off the former guy, who's been sniffing Putin's butt for at least six years, probably more. Maybe he's afraid Putin will like Joe better than him?  

Joe wants to pay for some of his programs with tax increases on corporations and the wealthiest Americans. It turns out that nearly 70% of voters think this approach is just fine and dandy. Joe earns bonus points since most of our foreign friends love America again, now that the Cheez Doodle nightmare is over.

Q NOTES # 443

Greg Abbott as governor reminds me of the expression that was common in my high school years: That asshole could fuck up a wet dream.

The word is getting around: Former guy is assuring people around him that he'll be reinstated by August. No, really. He apparently thinks it's true, maybe. That would make him a psycho.

Another psycho is Rep. Louie Gohmert, the pride of Texas A&M, who should probably be investigated for his role in the 1/6 attempt to overturn the election.