Nut job Robert Kennedy Junior is not fit to head the Health and Human Services Dept though idiots like snake oil saleswoman Marianne Williamson is orgasming over the notion. Crackpot's big proposal:
President-elect Donald
Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to helm the Department of
Health and Human Services(HHS) is reportedly rattling drugmakers in
light of Kennedy’s prior calls to ban pharmaceutical advertising.
If
confirmed by the Senate to serve as HHS secretary, Kennedy could
marshal the country’s public health agencies to implement his Make
America Healthy Again (MAHA) priorities, leading one pharmaceutical
industry observer to claim
that Kennedy is likely to attempt a ban on direct-to-consumer (DTC)
drug advertising. However, any attempt from Kennedy to crack down on
pharmaceutical advertising would almost certainly be challenged by
drugmakers on First Amendment grounds and may lack the support of Trump
and Republican lawmakers who have so far refrained from commenting on
Kennedy’s proposal.
He really is insane. There might be a reason to add rules or regulations to the advertisements but banning them? Is the average American going to be expected to start subscribing to medical journals in order to be informed?
I'm not a big drug person. I'm on insulin. I used to be on Humira -- about four years -- due to an eye issue. I had some issues at the end and was switched over to Hadlima in July. I'm on drops for my glaucoma. I have a tablet for my neuropathy. I am in pain all the time -- my feet -- but rarely take it. They -- my feet -- have to feel as though they are burning and being scraped with a razor for me to take one of the pills. I was on gabapentin for this in 2014. I took that for about a year -- a big dose twice a day -- but it kept making me sleepy so I stopped one day in 2015. Afterwards, I was told by my doctor that you have to taper off and can't just stop taking it. Whatever.
In almost all cases, I refuse pain killers or shots the equivalent of pain killers. For example, before getting my eyes cauterized three times in the last two weeks -- retinal bleeds -- I did take numbing drops but I refused any pain shots -- yes, I was told it would make my eye look bruised but that wasn't why I turned them down.
Except for the occasional Excedrin Tension Headache tablet, that's it. And iron. I am anemic so I do take an iron supplement and had to go on prescribed iron pills in the summer of 2023 when my internalist looked at lab results and told me my iron levels were dangerously low (that was despite taking my daily iron supplement that I've taken for decades).
My point is, I'm not watching the TV to find out what pill to call the doctor about. I'm not a pill junkie.
But I also see multiple doctors. Due to my eye conditions, I see three different ophthalmologists (no optometrist) and see them several times a year -- a retina expert, a glaucoma doctor and a doctor for my general eye health -- the first and the last have done eye surgery on me multiple times.
I'm not crazy Marianne so I respect medicine. Crazy snake oil saleswoman denied the reality of AIDS in the 90s and was convinced her bad book COURSE ON MIRACLES could heal.
I hope Junior keeps talking about these crazy plans because it goes to how unfit he is for the office and it helps him make more and more enemies.
I've known Marianne for years. I tried to be kind. I'm no longer interested. She's a nut job and she's taken to reposting Glenn Greenwald and other transphobes. She feels guilt over what she did with regards to AIDS in the 90s but has never publicly addressed that -- she's noted it in conversations we've had and in conversations with others. She knows she was wrong but refuses to address the topic. I have no respect for her having watched her work to defeat Kamala Harris in the general election.
Snake oil saleswoman who is the boss from hell -- and I didn't lie about that and I didn't sugar coat it. I said that here as far back as 2020. She earned that reputation. When she's made the mistake of ripping one of her employees apart in front of me, left them in tears, I've called her on it. Her response -- our labor queen according to Krystal and Kyle -- has always been that if they don't like it, they can quit. (And the ones I saw her rip apart did quit. I hired one and got jobs for four others.)
Can you tell I just don't give a f**k anymore?
That's pretty much where I'm at now. But grasp please, Krystal Ball and others endorsed her in 2023. They endorsed someone was a nightmare as a boss, who didn't pay a living wage and didn't provide any real benefits.
You need to remember that when you see people like Krystal Ball endorsing candidates.
he United States healthcare system is so broken, sometimes I forget
that it used to be even worse. After all, 15 short years ago, pregnant
people could legally be denied health insurance, just for being
pregnant. Cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, mental
illness, AIDS — all potentially disqualifying conditions, too. Or, if
your health care plan did offer coverage, it might charge you
an exorbitant premium based on your preexisting conditions alone. In
2009, health care was a rogue landscape of private insurers prioritizing
profit above all else while making arbitrary calls over life-or-death
issues for their customers.
Okay, so maybe that last point hasn’t changed too much. But
when Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law in March
2010, it undeniably expanded crucial access to health care for millions
of people. In 2024, less than 9 percent of people in the U.S. are
uninsured, compared to nearly
17 percent in 2009. In addition to banning private insurers from
discriminating based on preexisting conditions, the ACA expanded
eligibility for Medicaid coverage, introduced new health insurance
subsidies and extended dependent child coverage up to age 26. (I happen
to be a 1998 baby, so the impact of that last reform was felt
particularly acutely by my social circle this year.)
These are worthwhile wins, but from the moment the ACA was enacted,
it has suffered a crisis of dual identity. When news headlines began
calling the legislation “Obamacare,” Republican detractors saw their
moment to seize the term; they’ve brandished it ever since to make the
ACA out as an example of Democratic overreach and liberal government run
amok. Obama will forever be the face of the health care legislation he
championed, in all its wins and failures, even years after his second
term ended.
Marianne chooses to carry water for Trump's nominees. You need to stop pretending these people are your friends or that they are fighters or champions. They don't care about you. They lie to you over and over. And you can see it with Marianne right now.
I'm not in the mood for the stupidity. Too many people are either stupid or they're lying. They don't need to be writing their bad articles filled with lies and errors. I'm looking at you, COMMON DREAMS. They've got a real problem at their website and Ava and I'll probably cover it at THIRD. There's an article that a correction or two will not help. The whole thing needs to be scrapped -- it's nothing but lies. But when the 'progressive pin up' (not AOC) says it, COMMON DREAMS doesn't care whether or not the claims are true. They just rush to retype and end up with egg on their faces. It's a shame that they'd rather protect a do-nothing member of Congress than provide their readers with the truth.
Speaking of stupid, I saw the Sam Seder video a number of you e-mailed about.
What do you say to that?
Maybe that idiots shouldn't speak. Sam Seder has clearly never worked for or volunteered for a campaign. He's an idiot and the caller whose point Sam ran with was an idiot as well. But then most DSAs are idiots. I've never been a fan of them because they started off liars and you can actually trace them back to the pro-Vietnam War side of the left.
Like their ancestors, the DSA really stands for nothing but trickery and lies.
Is Sam DSA? I hope not. I hope he's just dumb.
What I do know he is? Another White person who doesn't want to address the racism and sexism. It's really something to watch them, isn't it? To watch them pounce on one 'answer' after another, day after day, while avoiding the racism and sexism.
If you notice, MORNING JOE's not the only one losing audience members. MEDIASTOUCH may be skyrocketing through the roof with streams. But that's not true for a lot of others. THE MAJORITY REPORT appears to be one of many with a huge drop off. You can go to their page and look at their streaming numbers.
That drop off's not all that uncommon when people start to notice that you're not addressing racism and sexism. You're program seeks a left audience. But you ignore racism and sexism and can't understand why you're audience is no longer into you? It appears Mika and Joe aren't the only ones running off their once large audience.
Friday, November 29, 2024. COMMON DREAMS platforms old man know nothing and pretends he has insight (insight? LOL -- maybe when he apologies for the dead Iraqi people), Mexico's president gets the better of Satan Trump, COMMON DREAMS struggles with journalism (if you want a hateful candidate not to get elected, try mentioning his declared rivals in the race), Miss Sassy JD Vance, and so much more.
Donald Trump’s angry threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on all U.S. imports from Mexico—delivered Monday via the cautious diplomatic language of a Truth Social rant—is widely being depicted as a bluff. Trump declared that once in the White House, he will impose the tariffs unless Mexico stops migrants and fentanyl from “pouring” into the United States. Seen as a feint, the tactic could theoretically get Mexico to halt the migrant flow, allowing Trump to pull back on tariffs later while boasting that on the border, he has already bent Mexico to his will.
But amid all this parsing of Trump’s intentions, a crucial fact about his new move is getting lost: At the center of it is a lie. This lie is hiding in plain sight: It’s the underlying suggestion that Mexico is not doing anything to stop migrants from coming and that Trump’s threat of tariffs is needed to change that. Here we’re getting an early glimpse of how he will deceive voters about some of his most potentially destructive designs, on tariffs and immigration alike.
All this is laid bare by the sharp response to Trump’s threat that new Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum issued Tuesday. Her statement is getting attention for its barbed claim that American guns trafficked to Mexico are fueling crime and violence there among gangs supplying U.S. markets with drugs. “Tragically, it is in our country that lives are lost to the violence resulting from meeting the drug demand in yours,” Sheinbaum noted acidly, suggesting that the two countries’ interrelated national challenges underscore the need for cross-border cooperation rather than Trumpian confrontation.
That’s a harsh indictment of Trump’s whole worldview. But this dry bureaucratic bit also deserves note:
You may not be aware that Mexico has developed a comprehensive policy to assist migrants from different parts of the world who cross our territory en route to the southern border of the United States. As a result, and according to data from your country’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP), encounters at the Mexico-United States border have decreased by 75% between December 2023 and November 2024.
What this polite (and euphemistic) language says is that Mexico is already acting extensively to thwart migrants who travel through that country—originating south of Mexico—so they don’t reach our own southern border. As Sheinbaum notes, this is partly why border apprehensions in the United States have dropped sharply of late.
But that must not be a real issue. If it were a real issue, COMMON DREAMS would be addressing it, right?
Instead of offering more garbage by Ralph Nader.
Who is the stupid idiot who thinks Ralph Nader is needed today. He's 90 years old and he's an idiot and he was always an idiot.
He's not political -- though he thinks he is. He also thought he was cute in the 70s and he was wrong there too. People laughed at him when he was on THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JOHNNY CARSON because he was a joke. That's why he was invited on. He wasn't respected. He was flop sweat. He was the weirdo everyone laughed at. He was a little circus monkey that Johnny could laugh at.
And you got the idea, even as late as 1996, that Ralph grasped that. That's when he was the Green Party's presidential nominee for the first time and he didn't actually campaign.
2000 is when he did his part to destroy Iraq. A reality that both he and COMMON DREAMS pretend didn't happen.
Over a million Iraqis did not die, they try to pretend, as a result of Ralph Nader.
This is not a minor issue.
The same people who want to scream "genocide" at Joe Biden don't expect accountability from others?
Ralph Nader didn't deserve to be a candidate in 2000. One of the reasons that Bully Boy Bush got into the White House was Ralph Nader.
For those too young to remember, 2000's candidates were Ralph for the Green Party (this time actually campaigning), Bully Boy "Saddam tried to kill my daddy" Bush for the GOP and Al Gore for the Democratic Party.
Gore was not the perfect candidate -- few ever are. But he ran a good campaign. He should have chosen a better running mate (Joe Lieberman was a disaster). But a media that didn't care about realities or outcomes trashed Al over and over while giving a pass to Bully Boy Bush.
So there's the media with their constant attacks on Gore.
There's the Supreme Court that stopped the recount -- after Sandra Day O'Connor's infamous election night hissy that led other party goers to ask her husband what happened? At the time, the networks were calling it for Al. Sandra's husband explained she wanted to step down from the Court but now could not because it would mean Al could appoint her replacement. No surprise, the Court rushed in to a process that they didn't need to be involved in because the Constitution made clear how this would be resolved. The Court ignored the Constitution and rushed into to stop the recount when it became clear that Gore was gaining votes (he was the winner).
So there's the media and there's the Court.
And then there was Ralph.
Bully Boy Bush declared war on Iraq.
Iraq is in ruins to this day. Over a million and a half Iraqis are dead as a result. Women have lost nearly all rights. US troops remain on the ground all these years later.
Ralph is responsible.
He's not the only one who is. But, yes, he is responsible.
And all these years later, he continues to try to pimp himself as an expert. He continues to pimp himself. Let's be clear on that. It's all about Ralph.
And I'm saying NO.
Iraqis have suffered. Ralph could go slink off into the shadows. Wouldn't be courageous. But Ralph's not known for courage.
Instead he wants to write another column about the Democratic Party and how awful it is.
The only thing the world needs to hear from 90 year old Ralph is the acknowledgement that he is partly responsible for the Iraq War.
He's had plenty of years to address that. He refuses to. So sit his tired ass down and stop platforming him.
I'm not joking here.
Ralph should not have run.
This is not in doubt. Nor is this new. I said in 2000 when various people -- including Phil Donahue -- tried to persuade me to support Ralph.
He had no skills for the presidency.
He shouldn't have run.
Let's review.
He had no charisma.
We expect some level of charisma. Bernie Sanders has charisma.
Ralph never did.
He was always a joke.
In the seventies, he could get on THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JOHNNY CARSON. Because he was so gifted? No. Because he was flop sweat. He was the monkey that Johnny made fun of and that people laughed at. He didn't just lack charisma -- flop sweat. He turned off viewers, they laughed at him.
And he went on TV, please register this, as a consumer advocate.
Nothing wrong with being a consumer advocate. But nothing there says "President."
He knew nothing about politics or about issues. He didn't see citizens, he saw consumers. And that's why he didn't grasp issues.
He got THE ROLLING STONE INTERVIEW in 2000. That's a prestige feature. It's an in depth interview. And it was noted that Ralph really didn't connect with women. Yes, he was unmarried and that's another reason he shouldn't have run. Until 1980, no divorced candidate had won the presidency -- Ronald Reagan was the one who broke that. Jerry Brown ran in 1992 in the Democratic Party primary (I supported him) but one of his liabilities for some voters was that he wasn't married. For whatever reason, they couldn't relate to the bachelor. Now here was creepy Ralph, single, and running.
But that's not the issue I'm talking about. Women knew he was fake. And in that interview he proved he was. He dismissed reproductive rights. Worse, he slammed Gloria Steinem and others for not taking up his issue. He wanted to do away with high heels due to the effect on consumers.
I think, as women, we can make our own choices. I think we can decide for ourselves whether or not to have an abortion. I think we can also decide for ourselves whether or not to wear high heels.
But for Ralph, in 2000, reproductive rights did not matter. Those dumb women didn't get it, Ralph was sure, and he was going to save us all by taking on Big Cobbler which has been gaslighting women for centuries.
That alone said he wasn't up to the presidency. Just that alone.
However, there was so much more, so very, very much more.
His supporters ignored it -- Christopher Hitchens (Islamophobe), Ani DiFranco (better known today for her racism), Michelle Shocked (who outed herself as a vile homophobe in San Francisco in 2013), etc.
He had nothing to offer.
I said that in 2000 and I say it now.
And he has nothing to offer now. The only thing of value that he could speak to or write about was that he grasped he helped destroy Iraq.
And yet COMMON DREAMS platforms him.
He has nothing to offer.
He's attacking the Democratic Party -- again.
He has nothing to offer.
The Democratic Party is not above criticism.
That's not the issue.
The issue is he has nothing to say. His last new 'idea' was back in the '00s when he was saying that the left needed a billionaire to save it via funding.
No, it didn't. It's amazing he wants big money donations out of politics but would ever advocate publicly for the left to have a Daddy Warbucks.
Does no one see the conflict in those positions?
ONLY THE SUPER RICH CAN SAVE US -- he published that book in 2009.
Why is COMMON DREAMS platforming his garbage.
The reason the right wing requires so many billionaires is because their actual plans are a disaster to people. Without the money and the messaging, they will be defeated. They are Mr. Burns on THE SIMPSONS. And to suggest that the left needs to be saved -- excuse me, can only be saved -- by the super rich goes against every leftist belief and ideology.
We don't platform Michael Moore because he's as stupid as Ralph Nader. Both lack political convictions and drop support for various issues and both are always whining to be rescued. Rescue your own damn self. And the only way that happens is when we work together.
Ralph has nothing to offer. His political comments are insipid and shallow and make the faux insight from the Sunday chat & chews seem deep and ponderous. He doesn't understand revolution. He doesn't understand anything but consumer advocacy.
I'm sorry, Ralph, but civic duty and daily life? Those are things which go far beyond after Christmas returns to a store.
He has no background and he has no education on the issues he struggles to write about.
He also can't turn a phrase, can't invent (or even really popularize) a term, and he can't make you laugh or even smile.
So why the hell is this man who is responbile for the destruction of Iraq being platformed?
Howard Zinn was not a Democrat and he frequently criticized the Democratic Party. If he were alive today and COMMON DREAMS was platforming him? No problem. Howard Zinn was a historian. Howard wrote about what he knew and what he had expertise in.
Like Michael Moore, Ralph has no area of expertise. Moore, for those who don't know his 'activism' that well? We'll do one example. Mumia needs to be out of prison and out of prison now. At one point that was Moore's position. Then he writes -- and is shocked by the backlash -- that we all know Mumia did it.
He wrote that. And then was surprised that people were outraged by it.
Because he has no core beliefs.
He and Ralph are like MAGA.
It's phony populism with no real core beliefs.
And COMMON DREAMS is platforming him?
Texas is a border state. Though many are unaware of it -- it got some news coverage in August -- Governor Greg Asshole has implemented something new. I believe it went into effect at the end of October.
If you go the hospital? You're going to be asked whether or not you're a citizen. And, on your medical record, your answer will be noted. That's bad enough. That's outrageous in fact.
But now that it's been implemented, certain Texas hospitals are adding to it.
That includes -- most shockingly -- the Christus Health System which has multiple hospitals in Texas.
So you ask and the person says "no" and that's the end of it.
Wrong.
As it's been explained to the ones who will have to ask (the workers), they (the supervisors) better not see any photo ID in there with a "yes" to the citizenship question if the photo ID is a passport from another country or any kind of photo ID that's from another country. If they get that, regardless of what the person stated -- yes or no -- they are to mark the person -- and their medical record -- as a non-citizen. (You are supposed to scan in a photo ID when checking someone into the hospital unless they already have an account with it scanned in.)
Shocking from Christus? Until Ava and I did a piece on this for a community newsletter, I was not aware that Christus -- which will be part of the move attacking immigrants -- was based in Chile.
So a hospital system -- with hospitals throughout the US -- that is based in Chile is going to be helping Greg Asshole and Satan Trump track Latinos.
They go where the money is, I guess.
But this is a serious issue and it is a real issue.
Ralph Nader doesn't know about real issues. He regurgitates stuff that's been said over and over and he does a superficial sentence or two about a headline he read. And that passes for insight?
CAIR did nothing but attack and demonize Kamala Harris. They are among the reasons Donald Trump will be sworn in next month. One of his supporters is running for Matt Gaetz's Congressional seat. Satan has endorsed the man.
I'm not getting the threat that CAIR's caterwauling about. He hashtagged it "BombsAway." Does CAIR believe he's planning on bombing the two women? Does COMMON DREAMS?
That's beyond stupid but CAIR and COMMON DREAMS have often been beyond stupid of late.
It wasn't a nice Tweet but who expects nice Tweets from MAGA.
If CAIR wanted to help, they shouldn't have been attacking Kamala during a general election.
But they did as did the Tlaibs.
As Marica notes, Rashida's on her own.
I don't give a sweet f**k what happens to her. She and her sister refused to stand with Black women. So now, we'll staycation when it comes to Rashida. Your issues are your issues.
There was this belief that we were all in it together and so we spent forever on your issues and on protecting you.
But you didn't care to reciprocate.
You made that very clear with your non-stop attacks on a Black woman. It wasn't about Palestine. If you really gave a damn about Palestine, you would have supported Kamala. Instead, you attacked and tore her down. You attacked her supporters online. You attacked people being enthusiastic and happy that she was running.
What you did was s**t the bed.
And things are probably going to be tough for you with Trump going back in the White House.
We're not going to try to make things worse for you. We're not going to be monitoring what you say and calling some tip line.
But we're also not going to expend our energies trying to help.
You s**t the bed. Now you have to sleep in it. We're not cleaning it for you.
And this notion that COMMON DREAMS has that we owe any thing to those of you who destroyed Kamala's chances? We don't owe you s**t.
Kamala against Trump? This was the time for us to all pull together.
And you refused. Racism and sexism were more important to you.
Don't pretend the Palestinians in Gaza were important to you. Your racism and sexism was so great that you sold us out. And, yes, we are learning that some of you truly sold us out -- that you actually got money for it -- and we'll be spreading that throughout the community via beauty shops and barber shops and Black churches and so much more.
You made yourself the enemy.
Some e-mails ask can't we just forgive and forget?
No, no, no.
As bad as things feel right now? Trump's not even been sworn in. You ask those of us effected by your betrayal for forgiveness four years from now after the country's suffered. That's four years you can try making amends for your actions.
You're the enemy because you put Trump in the White House. Don't come crying to us over the next four years about how we have to all pull together. The time to do that was during the 2024 election.
I will help immigrants -- especially undocumented ones. Why? Undocumented didn't vote for Satan Trump. They can't vote, they're undocumented. Nor can immigrants in this country that went through the entire paperwork process to get into this country. But the groups that went for Trump are on their own. That's where I stand. I do not speak for everyone. But, no, I don't feel the need to defend Rashida ever again. Those days are long gone.
You made the choice to put Trump back into the White House.
Don't come to me whining that we all need to pull together.
As for COMMON DREAMS?
Why are you wasting our time?
Gay Valimont and Stanley Gray. Where are those names in your report?
If you believe the Republican running for Matt Gaetz's seat is a serious threat -- I do believe he is -- then every report you write about him should include the names of the Democrats planning to run against him. Gay Valimont has announced she will run. Stanley Gray has filed his paperwork. There will be a Democratic Party primary before the special election.
Every time you cover that awful man -- whose name we're not even going to note -- you should be mentioning the Democrats who want to run against him -- and when it comes down to just one Democratic Party candidate, you should be mentioning them non-stop.
Do you not know a damn thing? Seriously. How do you expect people to get elected when you don't mention them or note their existence? COMMON DREAMS really needs to get their act together.
A few hours later, Vance posted a meme without any additional caption. The image shows Vance and Trump in the famous Thanksgiving scene painted by Norman Rockwell, with Vance playing the part of wife.
PatriotTakes, which says it is dedicated to "researching and monitoring" right-wing extremism "and other threats to democracy," responded, "This is a real tweet from vice president-elect JD Vance depicting himself as Trump's wife."
We covered it last night and I'm copying and pasting in order to note Isaiah's two comics this week:
Elizabeth e-mailed to ask about JD Vance's Tweet.
Haven't been on Twitter. But, earlier tonight, I did post Keith Edwards' video below.
In the video, he notes JD Vance Tweeted an image. Norman Rockwell's FREEDOM FROM WANT is a famous painting -- Alex has the family recreate it for a school project in the third season of MODERN FAMILY -- episode 23 "Tableau Vivant."
That's what Elizabeth's talking about. JD Tweeted it with his face and Donald's face imposed upon the married couple and an electoral map of the US imposed over the turkey.
Long before Miss Sassy (a cat) popped up in JD's Ohio cat stories, Mike and Isaiah had dubbed JD Miss Sassy -- his drag name. Photos from law school leaked out of JD in drag -- only JD. The other men in the photos are not dressed in drag. He had already served in Iraq. And he chose to hang out with other men and dressed as a woman.
And his contemporaries from that time note that was not his only drag moment in law school.
So we have our first cross dressing Vice President come January. He gets to make history.
Knowing what I know, I'm not at all surprised that he would post that image and put himself in the woman's dress.
------------------------
E-mails asked about Miss Sassy the cat. Some crazy woman in Ohio was convinced her cat had been eaten by immigrants. Turned out, it had just run away -- wouldn't you if you lived with that woman? See Mike's "Miss Sassy meets Miss Sassy" for more on that.
And here are some more of the Miss Sasssy comics Isaiah has done (that's not all of them) -- and when people repost the snapshot, the Flickr images do not repost -- but there are links you can click on that do show up in the repost -- and I'm stealing this from THIRD's "Isaiah covers the 2024 presidential election:"
Miss Sassy has proven to be very popular with community members and
Isaiah admits he has a blast drawing Miss Sassy. It's JD's id exposed.
So when Robert Kennedy Jr. was flirting with endorsing Donald, we got "Miss Sassy Puts Junior On Blast."
Having endorsed Convicted Felon Donald Trump, Junior raced to campaign
for him as did Trashy Garbage (Tulsi Gabbard). Don't worry, Donald's
running mate set them straight in ""Miss Sassy Will Not Be Denied Or Upstaged." "
When the Thanksgiving post goes up early, it's because I'm writing the TD post while cooking. I do almost all my own cooking for TD. (Thanksgiving Day -- or Turkey Day, your pick.) I had a lot of early guests so couldn't break free -- and didn't want to -- ahead of the lunch. I then ate too much. I had 3 pieces of ham, two rolls and tons of vegetables. A regular size salad is about my speed for lunch so to have a plate full of food was more than I'm used to. That left me sluggish. I skipped turkey so I wasn't sleepy from that but I was sleepy and, each year, as soon as everyone's eaten and mingling after, I always take a nap (due to staying up all night cooking). I went upstairs and had some dreams -- and knew what I'd be writing about tonight. But when I woke up, I went downstairs to make sure everyone is fine and to say goodbyes to anyone leaving, then went back upstairs and went right back to sleep.
When I woke up, I found other ways to avoid writing -- including jamming in the music room. (I stuck to piano and bass.) Community sites posted in the last 24 hours, so there were things to read:
Those are the same post. After she posted "Leftover Turkey Salad in the Kitchen," right after, Blogger/Blogspot put it behind a wall:
Sensitive Content Warning
This post may contain sensitive content.
In general, Google does not review nor do we endorse the content of this
or any blog. For more information about our content policies, please
visit the Blogger Community Guildelines.
Same posts -- the "Music -- Aretha, Chase Rice and more" has been put behind a wall.
Sensitive Content Warning
This post may contain sensitive content.
In general, Google does not review nor do we endorse the content of this
or any blog. For more information about our content policies, please
visit the Blogger Community Guildelines.
Again, the same post with a different title. Elaine reposted it immediately after Blogger/Blogspot put it behind a 'safety' wall. The new post ("Cleaning and listening to music") did not end up censored.
Elaine's post was about the two of us cleaning and listening to music. There was nothing "sensitive" about it -- unless GOOGLE is now trying to censor Aretha Franklin.
On the TD entry, I generally pull a few e-mails and respond to them.
Ralph e-mailed the public account that he watched some documentary on the late film critic Roger Ebert "and since you Ava do TV criticism, wondering what you thought of his work?"
Not much. Pauline Kael is the standard to this day. After her? Paul Rudnick did great work as Libby Gelman-Waxner. I thought Anthony Lane did some great work for THE NEW YORKER. In terms of critical studies of films -- books -- Marjorie Rosen's POPCORN VENUS remains one of the best.
Didn't dislike Ebert. Did dislike Gene Siskel who was awful to actresses over and over. But Ebert wrote shallow pieces. He also missed way too many standout moments in films he wrote about and his writing rarely went beyond thumbs up or thumbs down. He got better in the 90s and played with the form. But the bulk of his writing? Didn't care for it. I want a full meal and his writing was hors d'oeuvres.
If he spoke to you, that's great.
Elizabeth e-mailed to ask about JD Vance's Tweet.
Haven't been on Twitter. But, earlier tonight, I did post Keith Edwards' video below.
In the video, he notes JD Vance Tweeted an image. Norman Rockwell's FREEDOM FROM WANT is a famous painting -- Alex has the family recreate it for a school project in the third season of MODERN FAMILY -- episode 23 "Tableau Vivant."
That's what Elizabeth's talking about. JD Tweeted it with his face and Donald's face imposed upon the married couple and an electoral map of the US imposed over the turkey.
Long before Miss Sassy (a cat) popped up in JD's Ohio cat stories, Mike and Isaiah had dubbed JD Miss Sassy -- his drag name. Photos from law school leaked out of JD in drag -- only JD. The other men in the photos are not dressed in drag. He had already served in Iraq. And he chose to hang out with other men and dressed as a woman.
And his contemporaries from that time note that was not his only drag moment in law school.
So we have our first cross dressing Vice President come January. He gets to make history.
Knowing what I know, I'm not at all surprised that he would post that image and put himself in the woman's dress.
Next up.
There are at least 17 e-mails about that Jessica Denson video -- 17 decrying my failure to note it. It posted six days ago. I did not know of it until the e-mails.
I'm not really interested in her main topic -- vote theft. I've gone into that before. I'll note that again in a moment.
I'm sorry she's had to leave MEIDASTOUCH. I certainly have no problem noting future videos -- not on election theft.
She's done some strong work -- and may do so on election theft.
She notes David Cay J -- and I'm stopping to look his name up. David Cay Johnston is having a hissy fit. She notes that and, honestly, that's reason enough to note the video above.
Maybe when I finally pack this site in, I'll note some of these trashy and disgusting people who've e-mailed over the years.
I've noted in the past when some have written if they were accusing me of things. That would include Robert Kagan who had no problem that we noted in 2004 that NPR shouldn't have allowed him to comment on the 2004 race for president since there was no disclosure that his wife was working for Dick Cheney (Victoria Nuland, see "When NPR Fails You, Who You Gonna' Call? Not the Ombudsman") but he was angry with me for writing something about him and Hurricane Katrina. Huh? I never wrote any such thing. I get really ticked off when I'm accused of things I didn't do.
Why?
Because if you tell me I got something wrong, I don't immediately say, "You're wrong!" I take you at your word. I think, "How the hell could I have been so stupid!!!!" Because I make mistakes all the time and if you tell me I did, I trust you.
My immediate response is always, "I was so wrong."
But if it turns out, after I'm taking the blame and beating myself up, that you're lying? That pisses me off.
Which is how we circle back to David Cay Johnston. Unlike sewer rat David Sirota, he didn't threaten to sue me.
He did send a nasty, rude e-mail. Fine, I'm nasty and rude here all the time.
Not fine? He screamed in text at me for not spelling his special name correctly. He savaged me for getting his name wrong.
Now most of this is dictated. I'm actually typing this post. But the snapshot is dictated and has been for years. And we have typos in it and I don't really care. If I typed it? We'd have many more because I'm dyslexic.
So apparently his name went up here as David Cay Johnson and not David Cay Johnston -- and that missing "t" was the end of the world for Davey Cay. He wrote his nasty e-mail trashing me. Which says a lot about what a bully he is and also about how vain he is -- MY NAME WAS MISPELLED!!!!!
But, here's the thing, I didn't type his name. Nor did anyone I dictated too.
Bob Somerby (THE DAILY HOWLER) had misspelled the name. We -- and it may be me -- pulled from Bob and quoted a paragraph or two from an entry Bob did.
And Davey Cay sent me a nasty e-mail where he attacked me non-stop for getting his name wrong and I'm not the one who did. It clearly noted that this was an excerpt from a post that Bob Somerby did.
And he never griped to Bob. Even though it was Bob's mistake. And Bob never corrected it.
But Bob Somerby's a man.
David Cay's abusive e-mail? That's what women have to endure online. These bullies and pigs don't write like that to men with blogs. (And I'm not the only one who had to endure one of Davey's raging e-mails. He loves to send those to women -- I doubt he knows we often share them with each other.)
Anyway.
An early attempt by Fleetwood Mac of recording Stevie Nicks' classic "Dreams" (she wrote the band's only number one hit).
Now here I go again I see the crystal visions I keep my visions to myself It's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams And have you any dreams you'd like to sell? Dreams of loneliness
I had two dreams during napping today. The first? Donald Trump suffered a massive heart attack and Miss Sassy JD Vance was now going to become president.
I woke up laughing from that one. Prior to that, the dream was that election theft had taken place, that the Justice Dept was aware of it, was monitoring it and was planning to arrest Satan Trump and company on January 6th after the falsified results had been introduced.
Now I would love for the second dream to become truth. But it's not going to.
Not in my opinion.
I would love to find out that the election was stolen because it's so much better than the truth: That America is a very racist and sexist country. I would give anything to be able to think better of voters and my fellow citizens.
By the way, per AP, Kamala currently stands at 48.4% of the vote and Donald's at 50%. There are votes still to be counted in New York, Oregon and Washington that might increase her percentage of the vote. They will not change the results. The reason I continue to note the percentage is to point out that it was a very close race and Satan did not get a mandate or a landslide from the American people.
But the election's over and the ugly reality is something I have to accept.
I.
If you don't, that's you. I don't control you. I'm not trying to control you.
But I have to focus on what seems real to me and so that's what I will be doing.
Sabina pointed out in the roundtable we did for the gina & krista round-robin -- check your inboxes Friday morning -- that a lot of people in her state (Texas) were saying the vote was rigged. They were saying they knew this because -- urged by various people online -- they went to check to see if their vote counted and they couldn't find their vote at the state website. As Sabina pointed out, there's only one tool that lets you track your vote in Texas online -- and that's if it was received . . . by mail. People who voted in person were telling her that their votes was stolen because it didn't show up on the website. But that's state's website only lets you track your vote if you voted by mail. If you didn't, your vote's not going to show up through that search tool.
We're going to focus on what seems real. That doesn't mean others can't focus other things. It does mean that I'm not interested in this topic and I've said that before. If you are, pursue it and I accept your reasons for doing so, please accept mine for not pursuing it.
