370 Comments

GOP senators from Texas fail to show up to hear testimony of their constituent is another example of cowardice from this party. To blame physicians is the ultimate avoidance. They are bullies who run away when threatened. So typical

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Texans-all hat, no cattle. Which means going for the appearance, but have no substance. In the case, those good old boys don’t have the courage of their convictions, it appears. That poor woman lived a nightmare, almost died, and will suffer the physical and emotional damage of her loss for the rest of her life, and those “representatives” don’t have the courage or simple good manners to show up? Disgusting.

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Typical of our “representatives.” They are vermin masquerading as human. The Texas trio in Austin makes them look virtuous. They are proud of their evil, so far…

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Where were they when Texas experienced that massive power failure two-three years ago? Ted was getting on a plane to Cancun for a little R&R, until he was caught. Where was the other charlatan? Expect more of the same from those manly men in power. Since they're GOP, they'll continue to pass the buck back to the medical community and encourage patients to sue.

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It's interesting to note that the pro-birth pols never sought the input of the medical profession before they passed this ignominious legislation, but they are quick to hold the docs responsible for whatever goes wrong. Such duplicity and ignorance!

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They are such wimpy cowards, all of them. To blame the medical profession is beyond the pale. These people have blood on their hands and lots of it. If I see one more sanctimonious "pro-life" poster with an infant with a fancy hair-bow, I will counter that with the image of a dead baby and her mama in grief and near death all because of them. Good God almighty. This is so horribly, terribly wrong, wrong, wrong. Somehow, someway, all of these people have got to be held accountable.

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What cowardly bastards, all of them. I actually hate them. What they did to that woman and to women we will never hear of, deserves prosecution. Our second child died in infancy. To put a woman through the death of a baby and then compound that by further torturing the mother when you have to medical tools to correct that is barbaric and morally reprehensible. Do these idiots have any flipping idea what they are doing?

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Yet these senators keep getting re-elected. We have a conservative problem. When human garbage Ted Cruz can’t be unseated, there is little hope for the women suffering horribly.

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True, but IMO "conservative" is the wrong word for these people. They're not trying to "conserve" or protect the Constitution or the well-being of the American people or the U.S.'s standing in the world. I think "anti-democratic" better describes what they're up to. We have an anti-democratic problem, and the fact that thanks to gerrymandering, voter suppression, and other strategies, the anti-democrats can't be unseated. Not easily, at any rate.

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I have not referred to them as conservative for many years, but as far right radical regressives, appealing to the worst human instincts.

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Having grown up in New England at a time when elected Republicans -- some genuinely conservative, others not so much -- were honorable, competent people, I 100% agree. I never stop wondering what the likes of, say Margaret Chase Smith, Ed Brooke, and Elliot Richardson would say about the current GOP.

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Don't forget former Massachusetts governor Francis Sargent, and former governor Charlie Baker.

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I did vote for a few Rs here in Oregon, but not for a very long time.

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You nailed it.

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Apr 27, 2023·edited Apr 27, 2023

Couldn't agree more, Susanna. Many of us have tried to make this point for years but, media continues to use the same word that described people like John McCain for degenerates like Lauren Bodirt, Maggie Q and their ilk. There is Nothing "conservative" in being proud of your son impregnating a 15-yr-old child or in being obsessed with pedophilia as these are or in wanting to destroy the country's and world's economy to "own the libs". These are sick people.

"Regressives", "Extremists", "Facists" are all more appropriate. It took several years into TFG's "so-called" illegitimate presidency for even MSNBC's commentators to use the word "Liar" for him. Until media begins to stop, it will likely be with us until they do. But, whenever one calls or writes into these outlets we have to keep making the point over and over. Don't give up.

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I keep tabs on national politics daily, but I hadn't heard about Boebert's son impregnating his girlfriend. This is what one article said about her after referencing her son's situation:

"The congresswoman has been vocal about her religious views, often invoking God when talking about politics.

In an address at a Christian center in Colorado in June, Boebert said she was "tired" of the separation of church and state, and added that the church should "direct the government."

In February, she also suggested without evidence or substantiation that God used her to stand up to "demons" such as Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

Representatives for Boebert did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours."

https://news.yahoo.com/lauren-boebert-whose-teen-son-080037314.html

So "Representative" Boebert is "tired of the separation of church and state?"

So this radically ignorant, massively unqualified, dangerously unhinged congresswoman is tired of what American democracy has proudly cherished and sacrificed its military to preserve for more than two centuries?

This proves that her gun may be fully loaded every day, but her brain is just the opposite. If she actually loves America, she should pack up her glock, transfer her subscription to "QAnon Conspiracy Nutjobs United" from D.C. back to her hometown in Colorado and stick to something she's more qualified to do, like flipping burgers at a MacDonalds.

And "Representative" Boebert believes "God" used her to stand up to "demons?" Then let's find her referrals to a good psychiatrist and an exorcist. Because while Kevin McCarthy is an evil man, Lauren Boebert can find another demonic equivalent even closer to home if she simply looks in a mirror.

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Beautifully said. Thank you.

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You are correct. These are sick and dangerous people. We have to get them out of office.

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As multiple people have pointed out regressive is a better term than conservative. I think of conservatives as religious people who want to keep women under control. They are puritanical. Regressive is what I should’ve used. But I will rephrase that we have a “people who vote republican” problem. No matter what their reasons are. At this moment in time the reasons don’t matter when women and other minorities are being actively harmed.

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Reprobates...., Rep ro bates, Shaf.

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"Conservative"...just another mis-nomer, like "Lib-tard" which IS a tad more offensive as intended by its inventors. Huh? Who? Oh heck Susanna.., you know them.. the BigR'se party.. the R'se-holes.. the R'se-wipes! Yaya, you got it. Sorry to be so gross. Just be sure to flush hard, cuz itz a long way to Ma-"R"-ahh la go.

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Ha! I never noticed how easily "the Rs" slips into "the aRse." I'm going to make use of this in future. Thank you!

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Agreed Susanna. I often refer to them as "so-called conservatives" or reactionary. The only thing they seem concerned about conserving is their own advantages.

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What we have is a gerrymandering problem. The people who are putting out these horrifically bad legislative actions aren't "conservative," they're fear-mongering, divisive, greedy hucksters who are intent on feathering their own nests via the public coffers.

I completely agree that Cruz is unfit for public office of any kind, and I'd add John Cornyn to the list of reprobates, too. Until true conservatives and liberals unite in the effort to clean up the messes that the grifters have made (and we can go all the way back to Reagan's administration to see it ramping up), there's not much chance of changing anything for the better.

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There are many of us here in TX that are continually trying to get them Un-elected. Our numbers are growing as more people migrate to our bigger cities - Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio. The thing is, most people are so busy living their lives that they just listen to a few slogans and watch their wallets. Texas is, surprisingly, an easy state to live in. That had led to complacency that allowed radical regressives (a better term than conservative,

which I claim even though i believe taxes and regulations are necessary for a state that works for its citizens) to get a stranglehold on the state government.

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“Texans-all hat, no cattle “ that’s beautiful.

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Apr 27, 2023·edited Apr 27, 2023

I worked one summer, 1967, during college in west God awful Texas. The joke about Texas was about the Texan who died and they couldn't find a coffin big enough to bury him in so they gave him an enima and buried him in a shoe box.

Joke doesn't apply to most Texans but sure does apply to Cruz.

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Apr 27, 2023·edited Apr 27, 2023

Enigma? Did spell correct undo enema? Or is it that any one who starts a sentence with or is unable to imagine the possibilities?

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Apr 27, 2023·edited Apr 27, 2023

Yep, I rather sure I wrote enema, I have been married to a nurse educator for 56 years and for sure know what an enema is :) . In fact when she was in nursing school in the mid 60's the nurses slang term was HHH. High, Hot, and a Hell of a lot. Damn auto corrects, sometimes it will change things and I just plain miss the change.

ps: I fixed the comment above and thank you.

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I’m relieved. As well as disappointed. I was really hoping you would stand on enigma telling me to think about it. It was really an enigma!

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The things my wife told me about what nurses have to regularly deal with, I think they're angels.

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One of my Texas-born husband’s favorite lines. Always makes me laugh.

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One of my husband's Texas-born wife's favorite lines. 😉

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And this same scenario will happen all over the country and some women will die. Legislators should not interfere in medical decisions. As for courage and courtesy, both are absent from the Rs who masquerade as being "pro-life". They are in it for power and money, nothing more.

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MT legislature is hell bent on passing laws to control everyone's behavior, public or private & with 2 weeks left, they have not addressed a budget. Very clear on priorities!

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I could hardly watch that part of the news. Such self-righteous hypocrisy. I have an ex-student who lives in Montana with her wife and I do hope they remain safe.

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So it did make national news?

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It did. We watch NBC.

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Reminds me, Carole, of ousting the Tennessee 3!

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They have neither courage nor manners and they should not be legislating anything for anybody.

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All flash no substance

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I am tired of avoiding the obvious: the mostly (white) male (with a few people who have embraced both the patriarchal and the post-colonial bargains because it serves them to do so) attack on women's bodily autonomy is actually a war declared on women. Full stop. One of my neighbors has a yard sign on their front lawn: "Pregnancy begins with a penis. Regulate that." My sentiments exactly. But what is really going on is a wholesale assault on women as autonomous, independent, legal citizens. I would like to point out that the trans people who are most frequently targeted are trans women. And why? Because a person deemed (by entirely arbitrary criteria as any legit biologist would point out) male claiming that being female is their true personhood is a threat to the supposed superiority of males everywhere. I have not seen quite so much angst in the loony-tunes Missouri legislature against trans boys and trans men--because in their warped minds why wouldn't a woman want to be a man? (Apologies to G. B. Shaw and Lerner and Loewe) The death of women is a mere bagatelle to these people. Indeed, it seems that, for them, it is a positive good. This is also unspoken in the vast majority of murders--including mass murders in public spaces: the people being killed (usually by white men) are most often women and girls. Men and boys are in some ways collateral damage when they are killed or injured: the targets are usually female.

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You speak the truth here, Linda. White, cis-gendered, heteronormative, "Christian" men are hell bent on relegating women to a place of subservient child production. They are absolutely terrified of the "other" (race/religion/gender) treating them the way that they have treated us.

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I love that yard sign, and your whole post. Thank you. Of course the patriarchy is terrified of gender fluidity. I'm using they/their to mean any person in all my non-fiction writing, now. It's so easy to do.

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Linda, OMG, what a great and powerful sign. Made me quite vigorously laugh out loud. And so true. Thank you for that.

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Linda - Thank you for sharing the sign. Like Chris it made me laugh. But all this business of controlling women reminds how in this country women were burned at the stake for being witches. Where will this end, I keep asking myself.

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Women have to go to WAR!!!

Every woman should get their male sex partner's ID and DNA so they can sue for lifetime support for a pregnancy she is forced to complete.

AND, women should consider other forms of sexual gratification...including other women.

Make the men suffer almost as much. I say almost. because there is no way a man can pay the enormous price for that unwanted pregnancy.

Why is it just about what women have to do to have autonomy?? I say go full-bore to make men miserable about this bullsh*t law.

Also: what would happen if many many women broke the laws and ended up in jail?

The economy would shut down.

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Judy, I admit that my fantasies tend to be in the same direction. Here's a fun fact: in medieval England, there were multiple jurisdictions that oversaw charges of a crime called "raptus"--a catch-all term that included both sexual assault and kidnapping or holding someone against their will. Canon Law viewed sexual assault as a crime against an individual, but the standard punishment for a man convicted of what we would call rape was that he should be yoked in marriage with his accuser. Yep: the victim was forced to marry her persecutor. In contrast, in civil court (known as the King's Bench, where charges of crimes against the King's Peace were litigated) rape was seen as a crime against the community--it not only materially damaged the victim and her family, but also caused bad feeling in the community--and the punishment was . . . castration. Needless to say, these cases rarely got to trial and the conviction rate was low, but not zero. I could get behind this idea of a punishment, and I am generally a peaceful person, except when the Greek Girl in me gets really angry and Medea shows up--not the character in drag in the movies, but the "real" one in Euripedean tragedy. I'm afraid Medea is a fairly regular companion in my thoughts these days.

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When I heard there was such a thing as "Women's Studies", I thought it was ridiculous.

Now, I think women do not realize what a slave position they have been in since time began. This latest set back is one hell of a wake up call.

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Excellent point, Linda. Nonetheless, I did feel a twinge of the unpleasant down below when reading your story about the neighbor's sign.

Your point about the ghastly anti-trans hysteria (pardon the pun) is well taken. I feel that trans people are truly courageous in a way that most of us cisgender folk don't fully understand. I also feel that the attacks on them are as purely distilled an example of political cowardice as can be imagined.

Your Pygmalion/My Fair Lady reference was pretty cool too. I for one, would certainly NOT "prefer a new edition of the Spanish Inquisition than to ever let a woman, in my life"!

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Well, Daniel, nobody EXPECTS the Spanish Inquisition . . .

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Ha!!!

But you DO have a big nose!!!!!

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Or black!

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Alas, they are so "unwoke" they don't get it. Business as usual, as it's always been, and the Bible says so.

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Well, it depends on who is talking in the Bible (and which portion). Unhappily for most Christians, Jesus says nothing about women as inferior or sexuality as heterosexual. It's all the other guys who load that crap onto Jesus. The hypocrisy is indeed breathtaking.

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Cornyn and Cruz, cowardice in twos. Texans choosing these human flies are choosing to lose. Frightened are we, of our feminine side, we thrash out in anger, at that trait we must hide. There truly is no scarcity of means by which we men convey our sense of vast confusion with our lot in life.

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And now Amanda may not be able to have more children: remember these men are “pro-life.”

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MLMinET -- And now Amanda may not be able to have more children: remember these men are “pro-life.”

"𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺?" --Kamala Harris

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Kavanaugh forgot there is one: The Selective Service Act

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And I’m as sure as grits is groceries that he scampered away from that one quick as he could.

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Ha! "I'm as sure as grits is groceries". That's a good one, Camilla. I may have to use that without attribution!

Actually, there are laws governing or at least regulating men's bodies. These are the same laws that govern women's bodies as well, i.e., drug laws, and laws governing incarcerated people. I'm not advocating doing away with them necessarily, just pointing out that VP Harris' quip was a tad glib, albeit effective.

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That saying may be older than I am. Go right ahead! 😂

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Sorry. Many many "men" are carrying this flag to their own political demise every day for womens health. Women have the ability to do more besides wave the bible and pray. And they must do more...! Huh? Listen to me.., whatdya got? Bodirt? Emty-Greene, K.Bailey Hutchinson, Sarah Failin.., Lisa (party line) Murkowski.., huh? Go ahead,, name some more. Don't forget the lilly-white gran-ma Joanne Segovia (CA police union) selling fentanyl.. so strange she's off the radar? I see 'women of color' asserting themselves... where's the rest of ya? Don't light me up! And, while yer at it, knock off using the 'f' word. Tone up.

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Blame doctors is the party line. Heard it before from a governor of one of the red states that passed the draconian anti-women’s health law!

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Yes, I totally agree. These people were elected to represent their constituents not harm them or run away from them in a coward's way. Their salaries are taxpayer paid and they need to answer to their constituents, not the other way around.

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They are professional “Con-Artists”! That is all and that is everything! Is that who “we the people” want representing us ever????

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I was about to write the same thing. Then to tell her to sue the docs. Wish some of these guys would grow a backbone and stand up.

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You want the docs to stand up? The minute they do they lose their license. They can be immediately and legally canceled. And their whole staff.. you really want fewer docs and nurses and medical techs? We're already losing young folks who no longer want to pursue medical careers because of this stuff.They are not the problem.

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I read Kathy’s post to say she wants the idiots who passed the laws to stand up not the doctors. The idiots told her to sue. She sounds pro doctors to me.

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Can’t sue when the law states can’t abort when there’s a heartbeat then ambiguity.

I just hope Texans are paying her hospital bill

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I agree here. Eben, the common thread in today's letter for me was the lack of accountability with many high profile Republicans.

Reduce tax rates and government revenue, don't reduce the scope and benefit of the programs your base loves that need this funding to operate, create a deficit and then borrow the difference. Then refuse to raise the debt limit to pay for your actions. Make nebulous but highly punitive legislation to interfere with women's healthcare, then duck, cover and run when one of your constituents points out that your actions nearly killed her. Claim to be friendly to business and for small government. Then write rafts of targeted legislation to punish a company that chooses to be more inclusive in defiance of your exclusionary stance. When challenged by them in court, run away to a foreign nation. Lastly, TFG is sued in civil proceedings for defamation in response to claims he raped E. Jean Carroll. He doesn't appear in court, nor does he testify under oath. Instead, he and his oafish spawn pop off on social media, in defiance of the orders of the presiding judge.

For a party that loves to preach accountability, many of them don't like to be accountable for their own actions.

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Let’s hear it for the Mouse.

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And for the nod to Don McClean and American Pie. Listen to the comraderie in the room.

https://youtu.be/CCA77PX43lI

Enjoy!

Salud.

🗽

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Thank you so much for sharing this, and putting a huge smile on my face this morning! I had to see it for myself.

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Smile on my face, tear in my eye. I love Joe Biden.

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Same here Daphne

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Totally agree with many thanks for that link.Cream rises to the top as does Joe Biden.

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Wow! I love that song, and Yoon knows the lyrics better than I do!

Thanks for that lovely clip!!🥰

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wow, i'm smiling ear to ear for the first time in tooooo long!

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Thank you so much for this. I was hoping to see/hear it.

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Thanks Christine!! Very fun!!

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Wow, didn't see this!

ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS!!

My evil twin thinks that the prior POTUS would NEVER have handed the microphone and the adoration off to another person.

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I loved it -- and his brief performance was better than anything TFFG had at any of his inaugural balls.

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Thanks for sharing. I had not seen that and it brought so much joy to see such fun and comaradere at the highest house in the land. Gives me so much hope.

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AND the signed guitar! What a blast 🤗

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“Why? Because we like you!”

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Mouse for Governor of Florida !

Salud, M A.

🗽

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I and anyone who's ever worked for Disney knows, you don't **** with Disney.

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I have never worked for Disney but this morning I smiled and said to myself "it's a BAD idea to f**k with the Mouse!" The origins of the corporation (in KC!) and its ties to Nazi sympathizers, antisemites, and racists are all well documented but they have spent a lot of effort and money in the last decade or so working to embrace inclusivity in all its forms. For them, it was an economic strategy that was carefully thought out--and it is really working. I was happy to see that the veiled threat of moving out of Florid-duh was out there in their press release . . .

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Oh, they're notorious. There has been a LOT of inclusifying that as you point out, desperately needed to happen. But the inclusivity has also been gently to relentlessly pushed by the vast army of LGBTQ+ artists and their allies who are the beating heart of Disney worlds, films, and universe.

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If Mickey Mouse [born in the US and over 35] were the Republican presidential candidate, then President Biden might have trouble in the 2024 presidential election.

Otherwise, as President Biden phrased it “Don’t compare me with the Almighty, compare me with the alternative.”

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Whereas TFG is the failed Antichrist wannabe although he is pretty much the polar opposite of what my Bible studies said that he was going to be, back when I was formally religious - rude, obnoxious, boorish, immature, with all the suavity of a lump of cow dung, & the intelligence of same.

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Dan I was working in Republican politics in Maryland in the 80's when Dan Fleming & his Christian Coalition took over the MD GOP. Since I was the main video operative & trainer they trusted me enough that I was privy to inside conversations, even though I was not one of them. Boy was I shocked by the behavior, the language, the petty Jr Hi-jinx. It spun me around. Helen Bentley was a congressperson from Baltimore Co and the "senior" elected official in stature, experience and age. She made it her mission to take the MD party back from Fleming & Co. at the next statewide vote. That's when I learned about working a room, counting votes and getting a result. Helen & her staff were amazing. Fleming was done for. Thank whatever deity you choose. That was the beginning of my crack with the GOP. Helen was very moderate and was supported by Union dockworkers in her district. Connie Morella was the other GOP Congresswoman from MD. She could quote Shakespeare appropriately. Both of these very talented women eventually lost in GOP primaries to much more conservative, less talented people. That's when I walked away from working with these folks.

It took a few more years before I changed registration because I was living in an area where Republicans tended to win and I wanted to be able to vote in the primary. Now I can't remember the last R that I voted for.

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Mike - I don't like the way in which the Evangelicals kept & KEEP pushing for a theocracy, so much so that the entire " Christian " church got behind TFG just because he made them a number of empty promises which he had NO INTENTION of keeping. They lost TONS of credibility in my eyes. Even more unsettling are the ones who believe or believed that he was & is a Jesus surrogate. It's really disturbing.

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I was working a large Christian event on the Mall in DC a few years ago...pre covid, after Trump was elected. I understand their feelings about abortion and respect THEIR desire's to not use that process, but I don't believe a legislated ban is at all appropriate.

During this event I had the opportunity to speak with a few of them about their support of the highly flawed DJT. They all replied that he stood with them on THEIR issues and that they believed in forgiveness. They didn't like his personal "style" but he pushed the right political buttons. When I'd say, what about this or that....they'd just say "we forgive him."

So the end justify's the means, to these "Christians". I'm not sure they are so forgiving of the Obama's, Clinton's or Biden's personal lives...because they don't push the correct political buttons on abortion or trans rights.

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I also don't care who or what the Evangelicals worship. I want them to have the same choices as everybody else.

But where did they get the idea that they should be allowed to impose their RELIGIOUS beliefs on all of us? Aside from the concept of that being unconstitutional, it is immoral. It is arrogant!

Evangelicals who want to pass religious laws that interfere with the rights of other people are simply fascists. They don't belong in a democracy.

Evangelicals have become the American Taliban. They are evil.

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and they do it with a smile. I don't understand why they want to legislate us, to be them ? It ain't gonna happen.

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Evangelical Christianity has a long history, starting in Europe and fueling genocide and dispossession in the service of spreading the Gospel and remaking the world over in the image of Christendom. Its founding model is the Roman Empire; the Crusades were its early trial runs.

It was as immoral and arrogant then as it continues to be, but there were far fewer of what we would call "mainstream" Christians who opposed conversion/assimilation by force. Nothing new at all about Christian authoritarianism--it's just not as popular as it used to be and so they have to scream louder.

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Strong words Bill but very appropriate.

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I no longer care who they claim to worship or their pretzel twisting explanations of why.

Trump and his administration DELIBERATELY tore families apart and lost the kids.

They worship Moloch and they will rot in hell.

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LOL....So Bridget what do you really think? I hate to see anyone pull their punches like this....

I had to look up Moloch...I love it

In the Hebrew Bible, Moloch is presented as a foreign deity who was at times illegitimately given a place in Israel's worship as a result of the syncretistic policies of certain apostate kings. The laws given to Moses by God expressly forbade the Jews to do what was done in Egypt or in Canaan.

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Mike According to the New Testament, Jesus acknowledged Judas’s 30-pieces-of-silver betrayal, but I read nothing about forgiving Judas. Ultimately Judas committed suicide alone.

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The Guardian reported on a right wing fellow running for governor in NC who had spoken at two Baptist Churches. Bad optics if not worse.

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TFG, “rude, obnoxious, boorish, immature, with all the SUAVITY of a lump of cow dung, & the intelligence of same” [emphasis added]. Best description I’ve read in a long time. Thanks for making my day, Daniel!

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My pleasure ! &hearing about the Antichrist - church attendance started yielding diminishing returns in 2010, so I avoid formal religion in the same way that I would people with covid, monkeypox, H1N1, etc., although I've got a cousin who's both religiously & politically conservative, & since she takes care of my finances, I can't totally ignore her although I'D LIKE TO.

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I spit my coffee at my computer screen

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Barbara, If I had read Daniel’s comment while drinking my coffee, I would have spit some out too 🤣. Perhaps we should start a “Spit Coffee” rating scale to gauge commenters’ humor, ranging from 1 coffee spit (somewhat funny) to 5 coffee spits (extremely funny).

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The top rating should be when it shoots out your snoot!

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Rose, haha, good idea. Another group I participate in posts a "Windex Alert" before something that would cause a coffee spew....

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Love that Windex Alert!

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Apprentice Antichrist and sorceror's apprentice who can't stop or stem the sewage tide he's spouting... Cannot... for love, for hate or for money...

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Some people are getting tired of his endless Moebius Loop repeating his pathetic " greatest hits ", they want to move on even if they have to vote Independent or even Democrat. Add to that he's considering Mad Marjorie as his V. P. running mate....There's no version of this that REALLY ENDS WELL for him being crowned " King ", " Ruler for Life ". & if he keeps deteriorating to where he's unable to keep his rotting mitts on the presidency, there's no way that anybody other than a die - hard MAGAT will accept Mad Marjorie as leader of the Free World.

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Bravo, Daniel!

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If there is a Biden Trump rerun, there will be a lot of focus on the positions for vice president . It will be interesting to see how that pans out. I can't see Pence returning, but nothing is impossible these days.

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Trump is thinking of asking Mad Marjorie to be his VP, which will be like John McCain choosing Sarah Failin', which buried his chances of winning the election, even though she seems like a model of STABILITY compared to MTG.

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MTG would not be able to keep her mouth shut and give Donald sole possession of the spotlight.

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The GOP - where raving lunatics can find a safe haven. It's gonna cost them.....

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Daniel, from your lips to God’s ear.

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Excellent observation. And can death star share the spotlight with anyone??

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Good point.

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MTG isn't "Trump's type." If he chooses a woman, I'd bet it's Kari Lake.

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Would he trust her with a hot iron?

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MTG will be his new Michael Cohen, but much worse.

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I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tucker Carlson become Trump’s running mate. THAT would raise plenty of cash and enthusiasm and cash and cash….

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Not Pence. Nikki Haley, or Tim Scott, or Kari Lake, or Kristi Noem - more likely. Trump will make it a beauty contest, draw it out for weeks, like a series of episodes of The Apprentice.

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I agree in that I think T***p would most likely pick a woman as a running mate in an feeble attempt to try to give his candidacy some kind of cred. We all know it would only be for show. I think MTG is too nuts even for T***p. . . Kari Lake fits the bill really well. . . Noem, maybe. . . I don't know if Haley would be willing to swallow her pride and take back some of her criticisms of T***P, though Haley does possess (marginally) more "smarts" on the face of it. All of this, of course, is up in the air if T***p crashes in the polls among Republicans after major sh!t hits the fan and the indictments start piling up. We'll see. . .

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You are probably right, John. What I was looking at is 1.) who could bring in more donations to the campaign and who could draw more crowds to Trump rallies - Tucker or the likes of Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Kari Lake, or Kristi Noem? Money and crowd size always ENGORGE Mr. Trump. Tucker is truly a National Name. And, 2.) I also see hints and bread crumbs that could be scattered along the Campaign Trail about Tucker running for President in 2028 with MT (read EMPTY) Greene as his VEEP-mate.

Anybody SCARED yet????

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Apr 27, 2023·edited Apr 27, 2023

I hope that when their campaign goes into high gear, probably 2024, that the messaging emphasizes "How WE will finish the job." The WE being Biden and Harris, along with Congress. The under-message: It’s the goals and plan of the administration, of the Democratics for all Americans, and that Harris will deliver on it were age to overtake Mr Biden. Afterall, Biden isn't a King and Harris is being prepared (as was Biden under Obama) to carry the ball to the end zone, the wrap around to elect this second term of the administration. IMHO, having Harris on the teams in the second term can be used to real advantage if the messaging point of the collaboration of the heads of the party and demonstrates how the executive branch should run, not with a VP as merely a symbolic officer, which hasn't been the case in any of the last three Democratic administrations.

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This makes such good sense to me! I really admire how well VP Harris is doing her job & glad she is on the ballot with President Biden.

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How about the Mouse runs against DeSantis ?...and in a way they are. I read that Disney Land CA is having a new adult themed LBGQT night...they have way more media power and fans than Ron will ever have. This won't be boring. Baby Yoda to the rescue....

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I live (or rather, am stuck) in Florida, and I would love it if Disney packed up and left this godforsaken state.

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Mike Gilda, the lovely witch of the North would be Mickey’s campaign manager while the wicked witch of the East would be Ronnie’s manager until she melted.

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Republicans have sabotaged our nation’s fiscal standing and compromised its health and education programs, and the wellbeing of the world’s economy and climate to satisfy their selfish and desperate party-preservationist agendas. Contrast this with the times Democrats approved debt ceiling increases under tfg’s corrupt administration to save the integrity of our nation’s economic standing among the world.

This should be sufficient justification for voting blue across the board!

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It should be, but we both know it won’t.

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Fake white Biden liberals, praising Biden for spending zillions of borrowed dollars for Worthwhile Projects, heedless of how their spending spree exports inflation (thanks to the Almighty Dollar as a global reserve currency), compounding the economic woes of hapless darker-skinned countries who have been enslaved by the International Monetary Fund. And then there is Biden's profligate waste of money and weapons supporting the thuggish, corrupt, undemocratic one-party right-wing regime in Ukraine, pumping up a global weapons black market with who knows what ghastly terrorist consequence in the works, while the zombified Ukrainians make payments on their unpayable I.M.F./NATO loan with pounds and pounds of bloody flesh, the latest permutation of the most far-reaching genocide in history.

"The blood is so much, you know, it runs in rivers."

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-15-2023/comment/11967315

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-23-2023/comment/15163701

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If a federal law relating to meddling in court cases across state lines does not exist, perhaps it's time to enact one. The judge in the E. Jean Carrol case has warned Trump that if he keeps running his mouth about the trial, he could be opening himself up to legal peril. After the warning, Trump kept doing it. That's got to be contempt, at least. Bang! "Thirty days in the hole on Rykers Island, for contempt of court, Mr. Trump". Why can't something be done about this idiot? C,mon all you lawyers out there, enlighten us....

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The Court has jurisdiction over Trumo as a named abandoned served defendant in the case. He could find him in contemot or, at a minimum, initiate a hearing to determine contempt .

I suspect the Judge is acting prudently in eschewing same, under the circumstances.

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Thank you Counselor Streeter, that's interesting. But can they touch him in Florida? Seems these issues came up in his earlier trial. Are these the circumstances you mention?

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Hi LeMoine,

The circumstances I was referring to are primarily that the Court is in a tough position having to administer fair and impartial justice in a highly publicized case, with a former President as the defendant. Too quick of an enforcement ruling, ala contempt, could be seen as unfair. Unfortunately, some eggshell treading must be done.

Nonetheless, the Court has jurisdiction over the Parties, as related to the case. The fact that Trump is hiding in Florida has no mitigating impact upon the Court's powers, including the contempt power.

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Thanks. Daniel. The eggshell factor really irks me as it surely does others. Especially in view of our national pontificating about how the "rule of law" is supreme in the USA and that all people are treated equally before the law. Anyone still believing that BS should be taught to read.

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I’m not a lawyer, so take this with a large grain of salt. This is a civil case, not a criminal case. Trump is not required to attend. It will likely hurt his case if he doesn’t, but given his inability to keep his mouth shut, it will likely hurt his case if he does. Rock, meet hard place. Good.

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Brilliant suggestion! Rikers Island!

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Yes Rikers, thanks Louis.

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Seems that all repubs in the House have jumped on the clown car. TC is right, there is not one decent Repub left in the House. I would venture to say that all our problems today are the direct result of, or exacerbated by, Repub greed, hypocrisy and lies that have been front and center since Ronnie and even before. In fact, they may be the reason why Churchill famously said that Americans usually do the right thing after they have tried everything else. After all, he watched republicans counter every effort FDR made to support him against Hitler as he carried the burden almost alone. Their opposition to democracy during Democratic administrations has been almost as catastrophic as their “interpretation” of it when they held power. In fact, a planned coup in 1933, (Google Smedley Butler), proves that the planned coup of 2021 was not a one-off. Republicans have never had much use for democracy.

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Each time (not often) I see the name Smedley Butler, my mind morphs it into “Snidely Whiplash”…..

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Ha! That's pretty good, Barbara!

"I'll save you Nell!"

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As told to me ‘Stalin and communism was worse than Hitler and fascism’! Recall Hitler used the giant German corporations to build his war machine, so he was a capitalist in the repubs minds!

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Fascism has been characterized by some political theorists as an authoritarian melding of the state with corporate powers. The gates of Auschwitz read "Arbeit macht frei" or "Work makes (you/us) free"; the Nazis kept meticulous accounts of every scrap of material that could be extracted from their industry of death (some truly nauseating scenes from "Night and Fog" come to mind: mountains of human hair, teeth--anything that could possibly reenter the market for trade).

And fascism in Germany was all about production: producing more Aryan families; space for Aryan families to live and work in; war technology to clear the world for Aryan domination; constructive technologies to build out "Aryan civilization" into the space cleared. They had an aesthetic of production and domination: plans for fantastic, epically-scaled architecture, some realized and some not; ideal, classically-inspired artworks to show the supremacy of the Germanic physique and culture.

And Hitler drew inspiration from colonial American practices: from the Protestant/Calvinist emphasis on constant work to methods for rounding up and exterminating whole populations of inferior races and cultures.

We should keep an eye on today's fascists and where corporate power aids and colludes--and where it does not. It is not clear to me that global capital can quite so easily serve a single minority as European and American industry could 100 years ago, but it is sobering to consider.

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Fake white Biden liberals, praising Biden for spending zillions of borrowed dollars for Worthwhile Projects, heedless of how their spending spree exports inflation (thanks to the Almighty Dollar as a global reserve currency), compounding the economic woes of hapless darker-skinned countries who have been enslaved by the International Monetary Fund. And then there is Biden's profligate waste of money and weapons supporting the thuggish, corrupt, undemocratic one-party right-wing regime in Ukraine, pumping up a global weapons black market with who knows what ghastly terrorist consequence in the works, while the zombified Ukrainians make payments on their unpayable I.M.F./NATO loan with pounds and pounds of bloody flesh, the latest permutation of the most far-reaching genocide in history.

"The blood is so much, you know, it runs in rivers."

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-15-2023/comment/11967315

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-23-2023/comment/15163701

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Globally, the "growing toxicity of the dollar" is pushing countries to start conducting trade in other currencies. Articles like this are becoming commonplace:

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230427/toxicity-of-us-dollar-fuels-growing-sway-of-chinas-yuan-in-mercosur-trade-1109880129.html

The eventual result will be a surge of now-unwanted "international" dollars sloshing back to the U.S.A. and fueling domestic inflation.

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'Churchill famously said that Americans usually do the right thing after they have tried everything else.' You got me laughing out loud on that one! It is so good I have to find a reason to use it in the future.

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Jeri, You state “I would venture to say that all our problems today are the direct result of, or exacerbated by, Repub greed, hypocrisy and lies that have been front and center since Ronnie and even before”.

It’s hard not to agree with that, but there's another way to look at it: The direction the Republican Party has taken in recent years is the direct result of the base instincts that have existed in the human reptilian brain since dragging ourselves out of the swamp a few million years ago. The same connection might be made when considering the failings of other good ideas gone astray such as Communism, Socialism, communal (altruistic) living and yes, even Christianity when left in the hands of our species to implement. Some things never seem to change.

(I had to edit this post due to horrible wording of the original .... hope you hadn't had a chance to read the original :)

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From

HuffPost…note last paragraph…

In February, DeSantis responded to Disney’s public opposition to the law, which forbids discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in some classrooms, by seizing control of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district and appointing five hand-picked supervisors to the district’s governing board.

But Disney impeded the effort by stripping the board of its powers just before the new members took over. And in a hilarious twist, the terms of the new agreement last “until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England.”

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OMG 😲 The dreaded Rule against Perpetuities!!

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No! really? So that's why the ducal pair I won't name are so concerned with security for their children...

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Wow! That’s a creepy plot line.

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You might want to take another look at your comment; Disney is suing DeSantis and DeSantis' board lawyers have argued that "In response to the lawsuit, DeSantis' communications director Taryn Fenske said, "We are unaware of any legal right that a company has to operate its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other businesses in the state. This lawsuit is yet another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of the Florida voters and operate outside the bounds of the law." From NPR.

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According to the Tampa Bay Times, Florida has 1800 "special districts" like the Reedy Creek Improvement District they created for Disney. These include the special districts created for The Villages, the Daytona Beach Racing & Recreational Facilities District.

You can Google this.

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yes I know, but only Reedy Creek ID is under attack.

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And that shows it is politically motivated. If it wasn’t then all the special districts would be dissolved.

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Exactly.

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Shh... Now you are making too much sense. None of those other districts is "woke" according to DeSantis thus they are exempt from rules.

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Da Sanctum’s mouthpiece should have stopped her screed at ‘We are unaware of any legal right!’ Since they (we) are ignorant of state and federal laws!

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They aren't ignorant of the laws, they just don't think they apply to them. Remember Wilhoit's law "Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect." Disney has just been made part of the out group according the DeSantis.

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Actually, Florida has many other "businesses" or special districts, Daytona Raceway & a large retirement, development/complex, The Villages, come to mind saving Florida's government big budget bucks & raising substabtial tax revenues. The 77 page complaint was posted on CNN and is based on the Constitutional rights we all enjoy incuding millions of Floridians.

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which suggests what exactly? That your governor is correct in going after RCID? Why wasn't that done sooner? Reedy Creek was formed by the FL legislature in 1967. If these improvement districts are non constitutionally acceptable, then the other IDs should go also. I would like to be in Daytona when the plug is pulled on that enterprise.

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Of course, the "districts" (all 1800 of them in FL) are valid under both state & the Federal Constitution. Disney`s 77 page complaint sets out a systematic attack by DeSantis and 7 henchmen (now also Defendants) retaliating against Disney & Staff for exercising their freedom of speech among other rights. I'm in CA so the Grandkids & the much older 'Kids' go to Anaheim.

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Thanks again for a fantastic run down & BTW, although not a major item in the news of the day, I am DELIGHTED you mentioned the S Korean singing the song American Pie in perfect tune. 😉

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Apr 27, 2023·edited Apr 27, 2023

The BBC played audio of the karaoke event at the WH. The SK president has a nice voice. He sang American Pie. Don Mclean gifted him with an autographed guitar. Civility and kindness. Not overrated.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-65408763

It's a joy to watch. Biden is trying to do everything he can to reach out to the rest of the free world, to re-establish good relations. Contrast that to the other party.

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Thank you for the link. What a joy to watch.

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Yes, me too. Thank you Heather!

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Heather, thank you for your excellent letter highlighting for us, our very courageous citizens, a singularly beloved corporation, and elected Democrats, in our struggle to keep our democracy strong despite the fascists snarling all around us. I hope many of us recognize and support the courage of Carroll & Zurawski.

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I'm glad I didn't read this letter until this morning! Let's face it, ever since trump decided to run for public office in 2015, the repugs have brazenly crawled out from under the rocks, wild-eyed for destruction. Among so many things, their abhorrent behavior towards the Obama administration (abject racism), the ongoing lack of understanding of how government works, stomping on and taking away the rights of the American people, staging a violent coup, rationalizing, and condoning the slaughter of anyone (six-year-old children for God's sake!!) by assault weapons as a 2nd amendment right, etc., etc. continues to say all one needs to know about these inhumane and profoundly greedy people.

We are rotting from within and losing the battle. "It is darkest before the dawn", but the amount of time we have been stuck in the dark is daunting. The calm and hope that things would get better during the Obama Administrations has been shattered. The misery during trump's 4 years of whatever that was temporarily lifted when Biden was elected but from day one, these miserable rats have continued to do everything possible to destroy this country and hurt so many people. It is beyond pathetic.

Yes, Biden is old (although he does more in a day than I can do in a week!), makes gaffes, etc. but what he has accomplished in 2 years (with everything that has been thrown at him) is nothing short of remarkable. He has also put together an administration that is educated, experienced, professional, compassionate, and knows how government works. Neither we nor the world can afford to lose that to psychopathic crazies. What is also nuts with our system, is it is projected Biden will need to spend $2 BILLION on a re-election campaign!!

As the saying goes, "the pen is mightier than the sword". But the "ink" is running in so many different directions in the modern world it is hard, if not impossible, to gain traction. I wish protests had an impact for change, but they don't. Tens of millions of (mostly) women showed peaceful protest solidarity in January 2016 and the dial moved backwards. However, we must pull ourselves up and together and not let a minority of ill guided, evil narcissists control our destiny. I do remind myself and others to push the "pedal to the metal", keep the voices directed and loud, and never miss an opportunity for creating or supporting "good trouble" - we cannot afford to lose this one.

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Tfg is only a FEW years younger than President Biden and in terrible physical and mental condition. He cheats on his wives and mistresses and has never been held accountable for his crimes. Wouldn’t it be nice if the judges whose warnings he is boldly ignoring start penalizing him—fine him, lock him up. He will always be a third grade bully who never grew up and should be removed from the playground ASAP.

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Thank you for this summation. Perfect.

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How about relocating Disneyland far, far away from DeSantisland? A lovely, easy-to-get to, safe place suited to happy escapism?

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Living in Florida, I would much prefer to relocate DeSantis (rather than Disney World) far, far away from our once lovely state. Not sure who would take this autocrat, though.

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I’m beyond thrilled that the corporate power of Disney is using the tools of our democracy to fight that vindictive tyrant.

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Bob Eiger is a skillful Executive along with Mickey, Minnie & everyone at Tomorrow Land.

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Great idea...how about to Russia where his ideology is a much closer match to Putin?...I live in FL as well...

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Sudan? No, wait, better idea: back to the land of his forefathers! a delightful home on the slopes of Etna, view down to the Straits of Messina... You know what happens, regularly, to homes on the slopes of Etna?

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I’ll drink to that!

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Well, Disney owns many galaxies now, perhaps they could offer him a discounted ride to Titan and hang out with Thanos.

DeSantis could probably land a job with the Empire.

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He’s adept in playing the villain, that’s a for sure!

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Yes, relocate DeSantis-- as long as it is not to DC!!!

He is so contradictory-- touting our strong " got through Covid" economy while doing all he can to push out Central Florida's main economic driver. If Disney "relocates" thousands and thousands of service economy workers will be unemployed. Once again, the poorest will suffer the most.

This is a DeSantis stunt that is boomeranging on him!

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Just turn at the second star on the right, follow the yellow brick road, then on til morning?

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In a galaxy, far, far away..... ?

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I bet North Carolina would appreciate the tourism and jobs Disney would bring if they relocated there.

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NC has their fair share of nuts.

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Yes, and Republicans every one.

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State legislature has a veto proof majority now! They are passing every copy cat unconstitutional law written by the right wing propaganda mills!

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Oh well. So much for NC. Although a cash cow like Disney might change a few greedy, conservative minds.

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Disneyland IS far, far away from DeSantisland. In California. There is no possible way to move Disneyworld. It will be far easier to depose DeSantis, and the Mouse will do what a Mouse has got to do.

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I hear NC is interested in having Disney move there.

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A long list of chaos in our country. I'm mostly concerned about the republicans opposition to raising the debt ceiling. There are enough crazies in the house to do serious damage.

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POTUS should NEVER give in to their outrageous demands...I think there exists somewhere in the constitution it is a Given the bill (debt ceiling0 Has to be paid...

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It’s in the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 4: https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/section-4/

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Thank you Rose. Section 4 should be read along with the three (3) independent Triggers of Section 3 that bar violators from public office.

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Thank you Professor Richardson. There’s so much, so very important to understand and pray about. I hadn’t realized I was hoping to ‘hear from you’ as the NYTimes reported on so many very separate issues tonight. Hope you’ve gone to sleep. I’m turning out my light now. Again, thank you.

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"Meanwhile, DeSantis is overseas on what has been billed as a trade mission." Classic bully response, if things get real, run away.

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As Ted Cruz says, when the going gets tough, the tough go to Cozumel.

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Exactly! Or as the late, great Hunter S. Thompson famously said, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro"

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Yes, for poor people and veterans , the GOP’s cruelty is still the point. “ Four extremist Republicans voted no because they believed the measure didn’t go far enough to slash spending.”

Ask poor parents trying to feed their children:

“ Congressional Budget Office said that 275,000 folks, on average, would lose benefits each month because they fail to meet the requirement and are not otherwise exempt. Another 19,000 people would receive small benefits because of the new income they earn.”

Ask veterans: “ The Department of Veterans Affairs projected the bill would reduce its budget by 22% and immediately rescind $2 billion in funding to support veterans. Some lawmakers said Wednesday that the proposal will result in 30 million fewer veteran outpatient visits and significantly increase the backlog for benefit claims.”

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/04/26/politics/work-requirements-food-stamps-medicaid-debt-ceiling/index.html

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2023-04-26/veterans-debt-ceiling-spending-cuts-9930863.html

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Love the Veterans until you have to keep your promises to them for their service. What weasels.

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You’re a warrior and I can’t sleep through the night! Can’t wait to read this. Will read while you sleep.

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