The Common Ills: 2023: The Year of Touch Grass

Monday, January 01, 2024

2023: The Year of Touch Grass

Guess who don't sue. Once upon a time, in the Clinton era, he was an attractive man on cable, a pundit that was much sought after. All that changed when a woman came forward who he raped. And then another. And then another. Back then, networks just got rid of people like that quietly and so he didn't get exposed to the press -- though many in the press knew the story -- and especially knew it from the mother of one of the survivors.

In 2023, the so-called post-#MeToo world, found the rapist back on TV. No, not on CNN or MSNBC. They cut him off around the time Clinton left the White House. But a conservative 'news' outlet grabbed him up as a pundit. He now lives in fear, however, that the reasons CNN and MSNBC kicked him to the curb will come out.

Ease your furrowed brow ____, conservative 'news' outlets are where all the 'alleged' rapists eventually land -- right, Ed Henry? _______ should be more worried that he'll be dropped because of how awful he now looks. And, please note, this is after he had work done from a prominent plastic surgeon (the fourth best one in Los Angeles). Despite the attempt to freshen up his face, he still looks like a victim of the bubonic plague -- that's what a steady diet heavy on illegal drugs will do. Kids, you have been warned, stay away from the nose candy.

That was 2023 for you. All the bad pennies got picked up.

But you gotta touch grass when you pick up a penny.

In 2023, Ron DeSantis refused to touch grass and he ended up Mike's choice for Idiot of the Year.

That's right Doo-Doo DeSantis.

What an idiot. He started out the year as the self-proclaimed king of the GOP and he ended the year as Mike Johnson's plus one.

A tiny man who tried to fuel a campaign on hate saw all the enthusiasm and support leak out of his campaign month after month yet wasn't able to grasp that he was running voters off.

Flash forward ten years and Doo-Doo DeSantis is living in obscurity, an unemployed dad raising his three gay children now that Casey has left him and moved to China to marry Zhong Shanshan.

Yes. Ronald refused to touch grass but many of his early supporters did which is how the 34.3% of GOP voters supporting him at the start of the year crashed to 11.7% by the end of the year. You can't blame his supporters for fleeing -- $160 million is supposed to buy an increase in support.

Tiny Ron's pep squad also suffered. Moms For Bigotry. With the possible exception of the airhead bigot Naomi Wolf, no one did more to build and support the hate group Moms For Bigotry than Ronald. Founded by Tina Descovich ("Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Tina Descovich, co-founder of the controversial group Moms for Liberty, to the Florida Commission on Ethics."), Tiffany Justice and the notorious Bridget Ziegler.

For those who don't know, Moms For Bigotry is a racist group (with connections to Proud Boys) that hates the LGBTQ+ community and works to eliminate both groups from being represented in schools or public libraries. I don't know that Bridget had sex with Tina Desocivch and Tiffany Justice but, then again, I don't know that she didn't.

See Bridget -- ("Sarasota School Board Chair Bridget Ziegler, whom DeSantis endorsed during her campaign," "The most prominent name DeSantis appointed Monday to the board of the district, which the new law renames the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, is Bridget Ziegler, a conservative education activist who was a major backer of the 'Don't Say Gay' bill.") isn't the 'straight shooter' she self-presents as. In fact, it's most likely that her hatred for gays is a cover for her lesbian desires. I wouldn't have said that when her scandal first broke. Her husband is accused of rape and the woman he's accused of raping had sex with him and Bridget together. And Bridget let that stand for awhile because a three-way left a man in bed with her. But, as December wound down, turned out she made some sex tapes as well. And at least one didn't feature her husband, just her and another woman. At SALON, Amanda Marcotte noted lasts week:

Since there's no limit to Christian right hypocrisy, readers will not be surprised to hear that the couple who would ban books for others allegedly felt no shame about creating hardcore porn for themselves. Police reportedly recovered a video of Christian Ziegler and the accuser having sex. Now sources say police have a second video, of Bridget in bed with the unnamed woman. She was doing this while also terrorizing teachers in for advertising non-explicit LGBTQ-affirming events.

2023 was when Moms For Bigotry were forces to touch grass since they got knocked off their high horses. Before that, they terrorized children. Families have left Florida to protect their children from the actions of Moms For Bigotry. John Russell (LGBTQ NATION) reported a few weeks back:

Students at a Seattle middle school sent a message to Moms for Liberty: “Stop bullying and excluding LGBTQ youth and families.”

Last month, the anti-LGBTQ+ organization’s official X account posted photos of an envelope full of cards it received from Seattle Public Schools. The hand-made cards were decorated with rainbow stickers and featured messages like “LGBTQ+ rights are human rights” and “Gay is slay, love is love, & ur wrong! Grow up!”

Exactly.

But the thing is that no one should have had to suffer. And they wouldn't have if we had a functioning left. Moms For Bigotry should have been called out from the beginning but they weren't even called out at the beginning of this year. Amanda Marcotte has covered the topic seriously, THE MAJORITY REPORT has, LGBTQ NATION has, Olurinatti has, THE HUMANIST has, QUEER NEWS TONIGHT has, but so many ignored the issue.

It's apparently too 'icky' to address for some on the left. At a time when we most needed to be all-for-one, a number of people on the left (Katie Halper, for example) just couldn't manage it. Olivia Empson (GUARDIAN) notes of Moms For Bigotry:

The growing number of book bans in the US are using a so-called parental rights movement as cover for a wide-ranging attack on civil rights in America, a Democratic congressman has warned.

Earlier this month, a new study by PEN America revealed that there had been at least 5,894 book bans in US public schools from July 2021 to June 2023, with more than 40% of them in Florida, birthplace of a rightwing parents group called Moms for Liberty.

The books targeted are frequently those which tackle issues like racism, gender or LGBTQ+ rights.

“Book bans are a baseless attack on our civil rights and civil liberties under the guise of parental rights,” warned Florida congressman Maxwell Frost, who introduced the Fight Banned Books Act earlier this month.

“If the arts and literature our students read are getting attacked, what will happen next?” Frost told the Guardian in an interview.

On 5 December, alongside Congresswoman Frederica Wilson and Congressman Jamie Raskin, he unveiled the planned legislation and vowed to take a stand against censorship by providing grants to school districts to fight them.

“We found that one of the real problems in Florida after the book gets officially taken off the shelves is that school boards do not have the resources necessary to battle the book bans and get the books back on the shelves,” Frost said.

And you can refer to Ariana Lee's article for THE NATION:

It has been 70 years since the Lavender Scare, when thousands of gay people in the US government were fired or forced to resign from their jobs. Now, this same discrimination is driving modern-day legislation. “We’re talking about the systematic, intentional targeting of queer people,” says Jay Jones, the first openly transgender vice president of the Howard University Student Association.

In May of 2023, the Human Rights Campaign tallied over 520 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have been introduced in state legislatures, along with 70 laws ranging from bans on gender affirming care for transgender youth to the censorship of school curriculum.

A staggering two-thirds of LGBTQ+ youth report that potential state or local laws banning the discussion of queer topics in education has made their mental health “a lot” worse. Acts passed by governments in red states, such as Florida’s controversial HB 1557, commonly referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill, contest queer inclusion, mirroring the mass hysteria of the Lavender Scare and contributing to the stigmatization of queer youth and educators nationally.

“I think it’s scary. I’m not even gonna lie,” says Jones of legislation methodically targeting LGBTQ+ youth. She explains that she sees Florida’s legislation as a “test,” gauging how far anti-LGBTQ+ legislation can expand as other states adopt similar laws. In June, Jones’s home state of Texas signed into law Senate Bill 17, making it the second state to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion offices at public universities. According to the Human Rights Watch, Texas is also responsible for more than 20 percent of anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced nationally.

“It’s a scary thing, not only for LGBTQ youth, but also for folks who aren’t knowledgeable and can easily fall into this indoctrination,” says Eshe Ukweli, a transgender digital creator and journalist.

Although southern states have gained the most scrutiny for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, “it’s occurring everywhere,” according to Matthew Juarez, a queer student activist and executive director of StudentsActNow.

Introduced in early 2023, Pennsylvania’s HB 216 calls for gendered sports teams to be expressly designated by biological sex, ostracizing transgender athletes and students. On March 8, the bill was referred to the Committee on Education, leaving transgender youth fearful for their future in their respective sports.

The Hate Merchants scream and yell and get attention but as people see it for the hate it is, they reject it. And that's what happened in 2023 as people saw these hateful people for what they really were.

Also touching grass of late? Joe Biden's dreams of a second term.

His refusal to demand a cease-fire has damaged his poll numbers. Some don't realize how bad this is or want to deny just how bad it is.

'It's 2024! Joe's a done deal!'

Why is that? Because it's an election year?

1968 was an election year as well. It was March 31, 1968 that LBJ announced he wouldn't seek re-election.

If Joe decides not to run, who does the country have to rally behind?

Not much.

You can waste your vote on the Green Party if Jill Stein's the nominee. That's all it will be if she gets the nomination -- that and a confession that the Greens really aren't the visionary people so many people hoped for.

Why do I say that? She's 73 now, 74 before the election. At a time when Americans are ever more bothered by the number of elderly people in Congress, on the Supreme Court and in the White House, Jill Stein's really not a sign that the Greens are any more in touch with Americans than the duopoly parties. Then there's the fact that it's 2024. Jill was the Green's presidential nomination in 2016. And before that in 2012. Doesn't look that they have much to offer or much to pick from if she's the nominee for a third time. And while the Greens say they're about peace, the reality is that Jill's already run two presidential campaigns where she failed to call out the ongoing wars and make them an election issue.

'Well there's Cornel West!' He won't qualify to be on the ballot in enough states -- and buy a clue because the media refuses to give you this fact for free: You can't just write in a name. In most states, even a write-in candidate has to meet certain thresholds. Cornel doesn't have the money -- wouldn't have it even if he didn't owe for child support and back taxes.

'There's Robert F. Kennedy Jr.!'

You mean Team Kennedy that sent out six different fundraising e-mails on December 31st? Doesn't speak well for the campaign. But then, what does?

The upcoming benefit? The one where Andrea Bocelli will be performing?

I thought Bocelli was an Italian? So foreign money donations? He's already had British Eric Clapton do a in-kind donation with a performance in September.

I guess they can't put Dionne Warwick on stage, just on the invites.

Remember, Dee Dee Warwick molested Whitney Houston.

Dionne doesn't believe it happened and that's her right. The molester's her dead sister. But there's nothing in it for Whitney's siblings to lie about this and they've gone on camera stating that cousin Dee Dee molested Whitney. Molestation and incest. Dionne brings so much with her endorsement.

And let's note what a joke Junior is: Earl Wilson is his favorite justice. All those wanting justice for the murder of John F. Kennedy, grasp that. Junior's happy to use his uncle's death to try to win votes but he's also happy to prop up The Warren Commission.

Back to the Democratic Party, Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson are also seeking the party's presidential nomination. Dean could get the nomination -- provided he's able to locate a personality donor. Marianne could get it if Joe announced he wasn't running. She's got enough issues she talks about to garner votes and, as she demonstrated in 2020, she's not going to actually ever rock the boat so she's no threat to the DNC. If you missed it, in a fall 2020 appearance on RISING, Marianne made comments about dirty tricks that took place in the race for the party's presidential nomination. But she wouldn't actually raise or address these alleged tricks until after the election. Don't anybody tell her this, the shock might kill her, but the 2020 election ended three years ago.

Someone new could emerge to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

As it stands currently, however, it's hard not to be as depressed as many were by the choices in 2016 and in 2020.

Maybe if the political parties ever touch grass, they'll grasp what most Americans feel which is unenthusiastic about this year's elections.

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Previous year-in-review pieces:

2022: The Year of WTF

2021: The Madness of the Partisan Left (The Year of Silencing Speech)

2020: The Year Long Walk of Shame

2019: The Year For Dummies
2018: The Year of Media Self-Exposure
2017: The Year of Chicken Little
2016: The Year of WTF
2015: The Year of the Ass

2014: The Year of Self-Exposure
2013: The Year of Exposure
2012: The Year of Avoidance
2011: The Year of the Slow Reveal

2010: The Year of Enough

2009: The Year of Living Sickly