AverageOldGuy
AverageOldGuy's JournalMeanwhile, here in Virginia
Back in 2021 Virginia Democrats did not go to the polls and votes, so, Glenn Youngkin was elected Governor -- along with equally incompetent Lt Gov and Atty General. Youngkin -- who was fired from Carlyle Group with a tax-free $40 million golden parachute -- campaigned wearing a red vest and an "aw, shucks, Ah'm jes' a good ol' boy" line of bullshit about how he would remove "CRT" and "porn" from the schools. We are stuck with him until Nov 2025 (Virginia elects state officials in odd-numbered years and the Gov can serve only one term.
Meanwhile:
He vetoed several pieces of bi-partisan, pro-worker legislation.
https://bluevirginia.us/2024/03/virginia-afl-cio-appalled-at-governor-youngkins-vetoes-on-pro-worker-legislation
And he appointed to the State Board of Health Yesli Vega, a local wackjob who tells us how rape cannot cause pregnancy.
https://bluevirginia.us/2024/03/glenn-youngkins-most-extreme-bizarre-appointment-yet-extremist-yesli-vega-who-doubts-pregnancy-after-rape-to-the-state-board-of-health
Oh, and I forgot to mention -- last week he endorsed Trump.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DEMOCRATS DO NOT VOTE.
My predictions about Trump's legal cases
Trump is facing a multitude of legal cases; for what it's worth -- which is not much -- these are my predictions of the outcome in each case.
1. E. Jean Carroll case: $93 million judgement is on appeal; Trump wins appeal, pays $0.
2. NY Fraud case: $450 million judgement is on appeal; Trump wins appeal, pays $0.
3. Stormy Daniels hush money case: Jury finds him not guilty. After the trial, jury foreman is asked by reporters about the jury deliberations, foreman says the only thing Trump was guilty of was paying 130 large for a piece of ass.
4. Insurrection case: Supreme Court rules President is immune for all acts while in office and after leaving office.
5. Classified documents case: Based on SCOTUS ruling in insurrection case, Judge Loose Cannon drops all charges.
6. After charges are dropped in insurrection and classified document cases, Garland wakes up from morning nap long enough to tell Jack Smith to shut down his office, burn all documents, and please close the door, it's time for my noon nap.
6. Georgia judge says, because DA was getting it on with a married man, all charges in every case she brought are dropped.
Trump catches Brooklyn DA on 5th Avenue, shoots and kills him, is not arrested.
Am I a bitter old man? You bet your sweet ass I am. At 80, retired from the Army 30 years ago after 30 years in uniform, too damn long in a place called Vietnam (there's a couple of paragraphs in your high school history book about Vietnam). I put 19-yr-old kids into body bags -- with their whole lives no longer ahead of them.
I have taken responsibility for every action I ever took, no excuses, no appeals, regardless of the consequences.
Last week I reminded my two grandsons they must do the right thing in every thing they do. No more. From here on it I'm advising the to lie, cheat, steal, push everyone else out of the way.
Am I a bitter old man? Goddam right I am. 80 years. For this?
And now it's "smart electric meters"
I retired 17 years ago to a small, red, rural VA county. Big mistake but that's another story.
My county and the surrounding rural counties are home to a lot of hardcore MAGAts -- my county went 70% and 72% for Trump in 2016 and 2020 and likely will do the same this year. Back during the Tea Party heyday, we had two very active and vocal Tea Parties, complete with every road in the area featuring at least one big 4X8 sign featuring the latest Tea Party horseshit. Our local Republican Parties are still headed by old Tea Parties who are now MAGAts.
Virginia has a network of regional jails, all in rural or semi-rural areas. It costs a lot to operate a jail, so, each regional jail serves 5, 6, 7 or so counties, each of which contributes $$$ to the jail as does the state. Regional jails close to big cities house people from the big city who are awaiting trial or sentencing. Because we are 2-3 hours out of DC, our regional jail houses federal prisoners -- the regional jails are paid for holding these prisoners from outside the area.
For the last 3 years or so, our regional jail housed between a dozen and three dozen Jan 6 prisoners.
One of our local Tea Party remnants -- now calling themselves the "XXXXX Patriots" -- adopted the J6ers as their personal project. "Patriots" picketed the jail; met weekly with the jail leadership, visited J6ers; protested the "brutal treatment" of the J6 "political prisoners"; attended every county's monthly Board of Supervisors meetings, demanding the Supervisors cut off funds to the jail because the J6ers were being "tortured."
Now that our jail no longer houses J6ers, the "Patriots" hold monthly vigils in front of the jail where they read off the names of the "political prisoners," sing a few hymns, pray, pledge to the flag, and go home.
Enter SMART ELECTRIC METERS. Our area is served by both Virginia's Dominion Electric Company and a local electric co-op, both of which have started installing "smart electric meters." The smart meters monitor household electric usage by the minute, every so often each day the meter transmits usage data to the electric company where the data is used for billing. You are notified if you usage ramps up so you can -- if you wish -- reduce usage (change the thermostat setting, turn off some lights, etc.).
The Patriots are now on fire about the smart meters. The meters are "spying on us," "listening to our conversations, monitoring our cell phone." The radio system the meters use generates "dangerous levels of radio frequency (RF) energy that causes brain damage", and on and on and on. Patriots are at every Supervisors meeting, spouting their nonsense. Installers have been driven off with guns. I can't recount all the conspiracies about "smart meters" that are racing through my county. Went to the local hardware store yesterday, four guys were lolling around the front door raving to each other about smart meters - - - I thought I would have to put on my rubber boots to wade through the bullshit they were spouting.
I'm calling the electric co-op today, asking them to install a smart meter on my home, mainly to piss off my MAGAt neighbor.
And they wonder why they don't get any respect.
This is a rant and I probably should delete it.
But, here it is.
I watch MSNBC almost every night between 9:00 PM and midnight -- this three hours has (1) at 9:00 the lady who replaced Rachel; (2) Lawrence at 10:00, and (3) Stephanie Ruhle, 11:00 to midnight.
For the last few nights, these three programs are FILLED with commercials for a credit card company -- the commercials feature Kevin (I don't know and don't care and don't want to know his last name) and his "cash-backin' " routine. I mute the sound. I cannot stand listening to this no-talent loudmouth. There are so many of these obnoxious ads on these three shows that I am just about to stop watching them solely because I am tired of "Kevin" and his mouth.
I first saw him in what is likely the worst, most obnoxious TV ad I have ever seen in which some guy had made lasagna and the commercial was nothing but a shouting, shrieking match "KEVIN!!! DO YOU WANT SOME LASAGNA?" Kevin: "WHAT!!!" "KEVIN!!! DO YOU WANT SOME LASAGNA?" "WHAT!!!" "KEVIN!!! DO YOU WANT SOME LASAGNA?" "WHAT!!!" "KEVIN!!! DO YOU WANT SOME LASAGNA?" "WHAT!!!" Repeat, and repeat, and repeat. And this was supposed to be funny and was supposed to make me want to buy whatever it was they were advertising.
End of rant -- I'm reaching for the mute button again.
Did Russia pay Trump's $91 million bond?
After a month of complaining about being required to post $91 million bond in the E. Jean Carroll case, Trump suddenly stepped up with the money.
DID RUSSIA PUT UP TRUMP'S BOND? We report, you decide.
https://new.deepleftfield.info/insurance-company-guaranteeing-trumps-91-million-bond-appears-to-have-ties-to-the-kremlin/
. . .
According to the Washington Post, the Federal Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Chubb Group LLC, provided the massive bond guaranty.
. . .
Chubb, it turns out, has extensive ties to Russia and the Kremlin, with environmental nonprofit group Rainforest Action Network (RAN) reporting on its website, “Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg talks a big game on climate change, but those words ring hollow when examining his company’s business practices. Chubb insures fossil fuel infrastructure in Russia that is bankrolling Putin’s war on Ukraine, . . .
The national security implications of Trump taking money from a company that invests heavily in Russia are massive and terrifying, especially since the ex-president is scheduled to start receiving weekly national security briefings now that he’s been declared the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee by the GOP.
The Washington Post reports on Chubb but does not comment on the Chubb-Kremlin connection.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/08/trump-91-million-e-jean-carroll-defamation-bond/
Latest from the Dark Side
I'm one of three members of my county's Electoral Board -- two R, one D (I'm the D).
One of the two R's is not a fool. The other one . . .
Here are his two latest blockbuster announcements.
1. Dr. Fauci has now admitted that COVID vaccines and boosters do not prevent contracting the disease and are, IN FACT, responsible for most of the deaths allegedly from COVID.
2. "China and Biden" are planning to release a new COVID variant late in the summer, which will sweep across the nation, forcing all elections in November to be by mail-in ballot only, thereby making it easy for Democrats to harvest ballots and steal the 2024 election as they did in 2020.
You heard it here first.
Listening to Biden's SOTU . . .
I was reminded of a story about Harry Truman.
As I recall the story, Truman was on a whistle-stop tour, making a speech in which he was tearing into Republicans.
Someone in the crowd shouted: "Give 'em hell, Harry!!"
Truman replied: "I just tell the truth, they think I'm giving 'em hell!!"
Joe Biden gave 'em hell tonight.
Now it's our turn.
Incompetent, biased, crooked judge attacks Trump
Judge Kaplan:
https://www.threads.net/@gtconway3/post/C4Org3Qpu2j?hl=en
I'll just drop this here
Bertrand Russell
Yes, ladies, Republicans really are coming after your birth control pills
This is NOT only for the Ladies of DU – guys, this involves you, your wife, daughters, sisters . . . every lady you know is in the Republican crosshairs.
Republicans overturned Roe v. Wade and now the same groups are working to end your right to contraception.
I’ll be 80 this year. We were married in 1966 (that’s 58 years ago, most of them glorious, some a bit rough). For our entire married life, my wife, her sister, our sisters-in-law, our daughter and daughter-in-law . . . all have had unfettered access to family planning and birth control medication and devices. I know all DU’ers will agree with me that this is important – we were able to plan our children’s births and avoid “surprises”. (Well, mostly avoid surprises. My brother’s daughter had twin sons in college, another one graduating from high school, and then SURPRISE – Little Mr. Surprise is now six and my brother (his grandfather, a former college basketball player) is teaching him to hit 3-pointers and trash talk.)
But I digress.
For most of our history, contraception was whispered about. In most states, it was illegal to manufacture, sell, or use, or to teach about contraceptive devices. Under the Connecticut Comstock Act of 1873 it was illegal to use "any drug, medicinal article, or instrument for the purpose of preventing conception".
In 1961 Estelle Griswold and Dr. Lee Buxton opened a clinic in New Haven to teach about contraception and provide contraceptives. Griswold was arrested, found guilty, and appealed. Her case went to the Supreme Court who ruled in Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965, that “marital privacy” is a protected right and contraception is a protected private matter -- just as Roe v. Wade was based largely on privacy concerns.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/24/roe-wade-clarence-thomas-contraception-same-sex-marriage/
According to Thomas, it is “erroneous” for people to have the right to contraception and Griswold was a mistake.
In an attempt to protect access to contraception, in July 2022 the House of Representatives passed the “Right to Contraception Act”. 195 Republicans voted “NAY”.
Now, the same groups who worked for 50 years to overturn Roe are quietly working to overturn Griswold because they claim contraception is a “form of abortion” – they lie, it is not.
Don’t be fooled: Republicans are coming after your birth control pills.
Here are some sources.
https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/4064735-congress-must-codify-the-right-to-contraception-before-its-too-late/
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/republicans-contraception-abortion-2024-election-b2493130.html
https://stateline.org/2022/05/19/some-states-already-are-targeting-birth-control
[link:https://www.courthousenews.com/senate-republicans-block-bill-that-would-federally-enshrine-right-to-contraception/|https://www.courthousenews.com/senate-republicans-block-bill-that-would-federally-enshrine-right-to-contraception/
]
Oh, and let's not forget -- there are other rights that are rights only because of a Supreme Court decision, none of these are enshrined in law. Will Thomas come after these:
-- right to same-gender marriage, Obergefell v. Hodges.
-- right to marry a person of another race, Loving v. Virginia.
Profile Information
Member since: Sun Feb 14, 2021, 02:24 AMNumber of posts: 1,524
