I'm so in wonder today over how the events of 1912 and 2023 are so similar.

Both crafts were thought to be invincible enough to sell to passengers, even though they had known risks and limitations.

Both crafts had both Captain and Owner present in its demise who knew of the design limitation, the men who made the mistake.

Both crafts ignored warning signs.

We lost huge minds, filthy rich people, and innocent lives.

Both events shocked the world.

Both events lie in the same water tomb on this planet forever, always to be viewed together.

Ironically, the two men who devoted their lives primarily to the history of the Titanic in 1912 have passed from this world via the same path that the 1500 souls did so many years ago.

The Titanic Mistake is hubris.

I'm so in wonder today over how the events of 1912 and 2023 are so similar.

Both crafts were thought to be invincible enough to sell to passengers, even though they had known risks and limitations.

Both crafts had both Captain and Owner present in its demise who knew of the design limitation, the men who made the mistake.

Both crafts ignored warning signs.

We lost huge minds, filthy rich people, and innocent lives.

Both events shocked the world.

Both events lie in the same water tomb on this planet forever, always to be viewed together.

Ironically, the two men who devoted their lives primarily to the history of the Titanic in 1912 have passed from this world via the same path that the 1500 souls did so many years ago.

The Titanic Mistake is hubris.

I'm so in wonder this evening over how the events of 1912 and 2023 are similar.

Both crafts were thought to be invincible enough to sell to passengers, even though they had known risks and limitations.

Both crafts had both Captain and Owner present in its demise who knew of the design limitation, the men who made the mistake.

Both crafts ignored warning signs.

We lost huge minds, filthy rich people, and innocent lives.

Both events shocked the world.

Both events lie in the same water tomb on this planet forever, always to be viewed together.

Ironically, the two men who devoted their lives primarily to the history of the Titanic in 1912 have passed from this world via the same path that the 1500 souls did so many years ago.

The Titanic Mistake is hubris.

Jordan Defends Trump - Politico article link about the Jordan/Bash CNN: State of the Union clip from today

On CNN: State of the Union, hosted by Dana Bash, Rep Jim Jordan staunchly defended Trump against the indictments he faces.

Here are his words:

“He said he declassified this material,” Jordan added. “He can put it wherever he wants and handle it however he wants.”

This is not only wrong, it is anti-American! A President is not a King. The moment he/she becomes President, follows swearing a solemn oath to the American people. This oath was written by George Washington, our founding President. Trump himself took the oath. It's very simple. Perhaps too simple.

Here are George Washington's (and Trump's) words:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

A monarch would not take that oath. A monarch does not "preserve, protect, and defend" anything except themselves and their own personal interests.

Defending the nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic, is the President's most important job. Did Trump protect us from the insurrection? No, because it benefited him NOT to do so. Did he protect us from the Coronavirus? No. Sadly, half a million Americans died needlessly because of Trump. Did he protect us from the Nazis that were growing during his tenure? "Good people on both sides." Was it in the nation's interest to kill the Iranian General (and many others)? Was it in our interest to abandon our Kurdish allies in Syria and hand the war effort over to Putin? Was it best for the nation to faun over the Saudis and Israelis, both of whom are prosecuting malicious and illegal war efforts (Yemen and Palestine, respectively) while, at the same time, undermining our strongest and oldest allies?

No, a President does not get to do "whatever he wants" as Jim Jordan says. A President must obey the same laws we all obey. And, frankly, it's not hard to do that and wield great power (see Trump's predecessor). In fact, a President is more constricted by laws than most of us. He's constricted by national security laws, confidential information laws. Though the President is at the top of the food-chain, so to speak, regarding classification of information, he/she still must obey the laws and procedures while defending the best interests of the nation. I might add that this means EVEN IF the best interest of the country is not necessarily in your OWN best interest.

The thing is, we all KNOW this. All of us. Republicans and MAGATS and bad lawyers and bad judges, they all know that the President is not King. Take a poll and ask, is being President the same as being King for 4 years?

The President would NEVER store NUCLEAR SECRETS, COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE in a bathroom or storage closet because a President knows that is NOT in the best interest of the country. WE ALL KNOW IT.

One thing I learned early on from Trump is that simply laughing in someone's face about their facetiousness is not effective. It shows how uncomfortable one is. The correct response should be outrage. Our press should stand firmly for Democratic principles if nothing else. That is, after all, why they have the freedom to do their job.

We (DUers) should expect more, many more, moments like these. Rather than laugh in their face (which doesn't help), we should be outraged as Americans on behalf of ALL Americans that anyone, especially a US Representative is suggesting that the President is actually a King with no limits, no laws, no boundaries, and no oversight. Wave the flag and call it what it is:

UNAMERICAN!

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Post-script: I was guilty of choosing to laugh at MAGATS in 2016 and being mis-led by polling. I'm not condemning anyone who made this mistake, like I did. Rather, I'm trying to find my own path to a better, more conscientious reaction so that I do not make the same mistake 8 years later.

And, my obligatory little sarcasm thingy for the "no Queens, please" joke I inserted in the title above. Being Gay Prride weekend where I live, I couldn't help but make reference to the "Drag Queen" threat - which is very real!

Source: NPR

May 25, 2023 @ 10:53 AM ET

The U.S. Supreme Court placed new restrictions on the scope of the jurisdiction the Clean Water Act has over wetlands, ruling in favor of Idaho landowners who had challenged the law.

The court was unanimous in finding that the land owned by the Idaho family was not subject to the Clean Water Act, but split 5-4 on the court's new test, which held that only wetlands that have a continuous surface connection to a body of water are covered by the law.

Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh sided with the court's three liberals. He wrote the "courts new test will leave some long-regulated adjacent wetlands no longer covered by the Clean Water Act, with significant repercussions for water quality and flood control throughout the United States."

In a second opinion, the court unanimously ruled for an octogenarian resident of Hennepin County, Minn., whose home was seized by the county for a failure to pay taxes. The county sold the home for more than the amount she owed, and the court ruled that authorities violated her Fifth Amendment rights because she was not properly compensated

The NM Legislature is in session and had some fun with naming an official state aroma, a bill developed as part of a civics lesson for students at Monte Vista Elementary School in Las Cruces, NM.



Republican State Senator Greg Baca observed:

"Could it be that his part of the state is located a little too near Texas and that, in fact, is what he’s smelling?”

Another Republican State Senator, Greg Brandt, reflecting on NM recently legalizing recreational cannabis, commented:

“Lately, about the only thing I smell is the aroma of pot, so maybe we should have made marijuana the official aroma of the state of New Mexico,”

A Twitter commenter, @RightNewsNM, later observed:

“Next on the agenda: declaring goat heads the official torture device of New Mexico.”

More humorous commentary at the article from the New Mexico Political Report, originally from the Santa Fe New Mexican:

Link to NM Political Report article by Daniel J. Chacon

The NM Legislature is in session and had some fun with naming an official state aroma, a bill developed as part of a civics lesson for students at Monte Vista Elementary School in Las Cruces, NM.



Republican State Senator Greg Baca observed:

"Could it be that his part of the state is located a little too near Texas and that, in fact, is what he’s smelling?”

Another Republican State Senator, Greg Brandt, reflecting on NM recently legalizing recreational cannabis, commented:

“Lately, about the only thing I smell is the aroma of pot, so maybe we should have made marijuana the official aroma of the state of New Mexico,”

A Twitter commenter, @RightNewsNM, later observed:

“Next on the agenda: declaring goat heads the official torture device of New Mexico.”

More humorous commentary at the article from the New Mexico Political Report, originally from the Santa Fe New Mexican:

Link to NM Political Report article by Daniel J. Chacon

I don't know if there are any Valencia County Democrats on DU besides myself, but I've been helping the DPVC for a while now and I'm very proud of our DPVC Voter Guide! It has all races listed, all election locations, and 11 Reasons to vote Democrat to share with friends. We published it in the local Valencia Flyer and are spreading it far and wide.

Our county used to be reliably Blue, but that started to change after the Tea Party. Then, TFG decided to dump a bunch of $$ into this county the past few cycles and recruited a local "mega-church" to promote GQPers and pressure them to vote Rs. It's been a nightmare.

We've worked super hard to revitalize the county Democrats. We've got a lot of hope in our candidates this year, but we are realistic that our efforts are to plant seeds that can grow in the future, rebuilding the party and our brand in Valencia.

If you live here or even nearby, feel free to download our DPVC Voter Guide 2022. It makes a great Pocket Voter Guide. You can print it out and take it to the polls with you, or just download it and bring it up on your phone while you vote. Special thanks to all the local Democrats who have been working so hard! Keep it up - we're almost there!

Download the DPVC Voter Guide 2022

Look at this article from biased Axios and you'll see how the GQP wants to play the Dems next.

The House passed a bill to codify BOTH gay marriage and access to contraceptives before the SCOTUS takes those privacy rights away. 47 House GQPers voted FOR the measure.

But there was always doubt as to whether the Senate could get the 10 GQP votes to overcome the filibuster. Well, here is their solution. They want to separate the issues and pass access to contraceptives but NOT secure the right for everyone to get married.

Will the Dems in the Senate go along with this GQP sleight of hand? "We are just happy to get whatever crumbs the GQPers will allow," is the response I expect to hear. Too often, Dems will play into the GQPer's hand.

We can NOT allow this to happen. We must INSIST that the Senate Dems and Schumer keep both issues together because they are all based on privacy rights. In fact, they need to make sure that interracial marriage is also a part of the deal. "It's all or nothing," is what the Dems must insist on.

Why? Because by separating the issues, the GQP can say, "We are reasonable and certainly are not against contraceptives. We're not against interracial marriage either. But, gay marriage? We are DEFINITELY against that!"

By allowing them to separate the issues, we let the GQPers run the show. They will look great to their supporters while depriving all gay Americans of their rights, even though all these issues are based on the same interpretation of the law - the right to privacy.

I can see this issue coming and we, the heart and soul of the Democratic Party, must insist LOUDLY that the issues must be tied together so that the GQP does NOT get to say "privacy rights are fine for straight men, but not for women and not for gay people."

I want to believe our leaders are smart enough to foil this plot before it ever gets off the ground, but I'm worried.

----

Notice how this article from Axios has already done the GQPs work for them. They make no mention of the fact that the contraceptive issue is tied to the gay marriage issue. They are in the SAME BILL that the house passed with 47 GQP votes. But Axios has the Republican's back and is happy to see gay marriage be chopped out of this protection, so the GQP can get their win/win situation, even when the Dems are in control.

From Axios:

GOP senators weigh supporting bill protecting birth control access

Some Republican senators say they are open to reviewing a House-passed bill protecting access to birth control, potentially teeing up another surprising bipartisan response to fallout from the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Between the lines: Democrats are eager to force Republicans on the record as not supporting birth control in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning the federal right to abortion — and only months before the midterm elections. But there's a chance that a messaging bill could wind up being something more.

Driving the news: The House on Thursday passed a bill to protect a person's ability to access contraceptives, with eight Republicans joining all Democrats present in supporting the legislation.

House lawmakers have been focusing on passing legislation in response to Justice Clarence Thomas' concurrence overturning Roe v. Wade saying that the court should reconsider "all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents," including that guaranteeing birth control access.


GOP senators weigh supporting bill protecting birth control access

James Corden announces final year, but gives no reason for exit.

I LOVED Craig Fergeson! I was picked by David Letterman to follow his show. Craig made me laugh every night, just like Letterman. When Colbert took over from Letterman, Craig was told he had to go.

Corden followed - a Brit who was totally unknown to US audiences, though he had done work in the UK.

I have never enjoyed Corden. He is not funny or clever to me. I tried to enjoy his show and his humor, but it has never worked. I'm sure there are people here who enjoy James, but I just don't find his style and comedy entertaining. He comes across as an inexperienced amateur. His jokes are all sophomoric. He tries way too hard to be funny and clever and it shows.

All that to say that I'm thrilled to know the time slot after Colbert is open again! I really hope that CBS will take the advice of Colbert. I wish they would consult with Letterman and Jon Stewart. But, I imagine CBS will ignore input from talented comedians. I would not be surprised if they hired one of these "conservative comics", some of the most un-funny people around, in an attempt to draw in Republican viewers. (Comedy is completely anathema to conservatives.)

Fingers crossed that we get lucky and CBS finds someone that can really make us laugh. We really need much more of that on the TeeVee!