Why is there cruelty?

 Maybe Seneca figured it out:

 "All cruelty springs from weakness." — Seneca

So much violence

 There is so much violence in America. There is so much violence in the world. I try to understand. I try to be understanding. I’m not doing it very well. 

Tyre Nichols, 29 year old black man, was beaten to death after a “traffic stop” by five black cops. He was defenseless. He was not a threat. The officers are charged with second degree murder. How to understand this?  

Maybe it is about the thrill of being dominant. The bully, who is afraid of being weak, feels strong when they crush the spirit of another. 

Maybe it’s a group dynamic where the madness of violence escalates as each feels compelled to escalate the violence. 

Maybe it’s just sadistic sexual pleasure in inflicting pain. 

Maybe it’s men in pain wanting others to feel pain just like they do. 

Maybe it’s hypermasculine “tough guy” compulsion needing to prove something - to others - to themselves. 

The video was terrible. Human atrocities are hard to bear. 

There is a cult of violence in the country, in the world, and certainly in police departments. This one can’t be blamed on racism. This is endemic to police culture.  

If I were a police officer I would be enraged that my good name is being destroyed by sadists in the profession  I would want a meaningful purge of the deranged next to me.

It just goes on and on  

The Right Wing Extremist Coup continues

 The right wing extremist January 6, 2021 coup only partially failed. Those members of the House of Representatives that were part and parcel of the coup, helping to plan and execute the coup, have been reelected in November, and are now on key committee positions in the new House of Representatives.

It is very good news that the bulk of the “Election Deniers” were rejected by the voters, but key insurrectionists are in the House now. 

What happens when those who planned the insurrection, and we’re being investigated by the January 6 committee, are now in charge of the same committees? The answer is obvious, the criminals will conduct false investigations of those who were investigating them.

Democracy is still under threat by authoritarian, autocratic fascists. They call themselves Republicans, but the Republican party that I was once a member of has been killed by these extremists long ago.

My hope and expectation is that these people are so blatantly unpleasant, nasty, unattractive, and unfair that they destroy themselves and open the possibility for the Republican Party to once again become the Republican Party rather than the anti-democracy, autocratic, theocratic, oligarchical, Qanon party that it is today. 

Nasty, unprincipled, dogmatic, authoritarian, uncooperative - House Republicans

 They don’t play well together. Let’s hope they destroy each other before they succeed in their goal of destroying democracy, America, and the world. -- 

Gun sanity in Illinois

 In this time of right-wing extremist nuttiness, it is nice to see a sign of sanity in Illinois - a ban on assault weapons.

"Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed a statewide assault weapons ban on Wednesday, making it the ninth state to adopt the measure, reports Axios.

The gun extremists, aided by the extremist right-wing Supreme Court majority, have destroyed the original meaning of the Second Amendment to ignore the intent - which was to empower individual States to have a readily armed state sanctioned militia it could call up to defend the state against foreign invasion.  That obvious intent has long been ignored and discarded to become everybody gets to have whatever weapons they want, including weapons of war - assault weapons.  And hundreds of slaughters every year is the result.  

But Illinois is the 9th state to say no to this idiocy.

Thank you.

Hakeem Jeffries alphabet of Democratic values

 Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives gave a memorable speech in his first official speech a minority leader. He laid out the alphabet of Democratic  Party Values as contrasted to those of the dysfunctional Republican Party.  I honor it here:

“House Democrats,” he said, “will always put 

American values over autocracy, 

benevolence over bigotry, the 

Constitution over the cult, 

democracy over demagogues, 

economic opportunity over extremism, 

freedom over fascism, 

governing over gaslighting, 

hopefulness over hatred, 

inclusion over isolation, 

justice over judicial overreach, 

knowledge over kangaroo courts, 

liberty over limitation, 

maturity over Mar-a-Lago, 

normalcy over negativity, 

opportunity over obstruction, 

people over politics, 

quality of life issues over QAnon, 

reason over racism, 

substance over slander, 

triumph over tyranny, 

understanding over ugliness, 

voting rights over voter suppression, 

working families over the well-connected, 

xenial over xenophobia, 

‘yes, we can’ over ‘you can do it,’ and 

zealous representation over zero-sum confrontation.” 

Well done. 

January 6 Republican insurrections - 2021 and 2023

 1/6/21 - Trump sent the violent right wing autocratic insurrectionists to attack the Capital and take over America.  They failed. Prison for many. Destroyed lives resulted.  

1/6/23 - the self proclaimed Republican “Taliban 20” forced the hapless and helpless Kevin McCarthy to concede to all their demands (and getting nothing in return other than the title of Sneaker of the House - but we all know he will not be in charge).

What do they expect to be able to do? Destroy the Federal Government, of course.  Republicans, especially the Tea Party, the Freedom Caucus, the MAGA Cult, and The QAnon conspiratorialists have long despised government agencies because they get in the way of their profits, in the way of their exploiting the environment, in the way of their freedom to express their multiple bigotries, etc.  

But I think they will fail again.  I think they will destroy themselves instead. I think they will display their profoundly unpleasant and ugly characters and their dysfunctional pathologies. 

I think they will fail again, because I think American goodness, truth, and beauty is stronger than American greed, bigotry, and ignorance. 

But, to paraphrase Bette Davis in one of her old movies, “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride”

Deal with the devil

 Kevin McCarthy made a deal with the "devil" (Trump, the Tea Party crazies, MAGA crazies, Freedom Caucus crazies) and now he is in hell. A well-deserved hell, indeed.  He has failed to get the votes to become Speaker of the House 11 times, so far.  The Republican extremists will never vote for him.  I'm not sure they will ever vote for anyone other than one of their own extremist fanatics. 

McCarthy groveled to the Former Guy, to the MAGA cult, to the Freedom Caucus, to the QAnon nutjobs.  And all he can find as he prostrates himself in the mud, is mouthfulls of mud.

Make a deal with the devil and you don't get the deal, but you do get the devil.

They don't play well together

The Republicans narrowly won the House of Representatives in November and are trying to select someone to lead them and become the Speaker of the House.  They can't do it.  They have the same problem now that drove John Boehner out of the Speakership years ago - the Freedom Caucus is nuts.  Boehner quote:

“They can’t tell you what they’re for. They can tell you everything they’re against. They’re anarchists. They want total chaos. Tear it all down and start over. That’s where their mind-set is.”

The Freedom Caucus/Tea Party folks were the first ones to drive me out of the Republican Party.  They seem to literally want to end all government and let the bigots, oligarchs, and hucksters pillage and despoil America at will. 

So, now the country and the world get to watch while people who seem to hate everything that is decent or worthwhile turn on their own Republican Party and strut their ugliness on the big stage of American government.

I write this while the votes for Speaker have failed twice.  It is kind of entertaining watching obnoxious people being obnoxious.

Name That Party!

The Former Guy is threatening to run for President as a third party candidate if the Republican Party doesn’t wholeheartedly support him. He said ”…you lose forever without me. I don’t care. This is what Republicans deserve for not sticking up for me.” 

I would like to give him some suggested party names - 

1. I’mNotaLoser Trump Party. 

2. I’mStillImportant Trump Party

3. PleasePayAttentionToMe Trump Party

4. PleaseDon’tForgetMe Trump Party

5. MyPeckerIsReallyBig Trump Party

6. You’llBeSorry Trump Party

7. PsychopathsOnly Trump Party

Just a few helpful suggestions….