Optics isn't everything, but damn if they aren't telling.
TFG's chief goon Bovino may be gone (thrown under the bus, in truth) and Noem made a convenient lateral move of sorts, but the thuggery and criminality of ICE and CBP remains and there is no real hope Mullin is willing to do what is right.
I've known women who've been in abusive relationships and had they remained, who knows what could have happened. But this much I do know, their damaged sense of worth, isolation and fears of further harm, if they have children, financial dependence, and the trauma bonding are reasons many will stay.
Chief Justice Roberts deserves rebuke and ostracization. Never should he, Thomas, or Alito ever be held in any measure of esteem. They have been unethical. They have been corrupted. They have strayed far afield of judicial prudence. They are undeserving to have served on the Supreme Court bench.
There are many days of late our Judicial Branch doesn't feel quite legitimate. Tragic that scuzzball McConnell engineered the means for TFG to put on the Supreme Court bench three justices whose fealty to our Constitution, the concept of stare decisis, and the rule of law often appears "trumped".
Record Store Day and the start of the NFL Draft occur within days of each other. Four days apart, actually.
For individuals such as myself, a Detroit rock-n-roller and a lifelong Lions fan, it's almost like hitting the lottery.
Almost.
#RSD #NFLDraft
We've a missing or deceased 10 scientists with ties to top secret research on our country's nuclear, aerospace, and fusion programs now possibly linked to the disappearance of a USAF general. Speculation and conspiracies are popping off everywhere... The very premise for a Michael Crichton thriller.
Just 'cos...
Currently, a little more than sixty nations in our world are governed by authoritarian leaders meaning more than one-third of 195 countries are nations that oppress and suppress. Toppling a few more authoritarians as Hungary had recently Orbán would be a damn good thing. My America, you listening?
By my count, TFG between his last administration and now the current, has screwed the American farmer 4-5 times. Our country depends on stability which hasn't been the case since TFG rolled back into the Oval (as apparently the brutal mess he'd left the last time had been insanely memory holed).
I've friends across the border. They're reticent to cross the bridge, pretty much for any reason, and I can't blame them. We've mucked it up. Probably the most fortunate geographical, historical, and cultural relationship on the planet, friends and allies, and we've just kicked it to the curb.
TFG and his anti-democracy halfwits are trying six different ways to Sunday to screw the voter and effectively shape the results to their liking. Whether its marginalizing or denying your vote or putting lemmings in positions of authority to predetermine coveted outcomes, this is their tact.
An amoral POTUS who sold Bibles with his name on it supported by dodgy prosperity theologians and snake oil salesmen-like evangelists with multimillion incomes perverting the intent of the separation of church and state and the guarantees of freedom of religion (including freedom from religion).
What is it with the Supremes? Almost regularly they stand with TFG (no, not the Executive Branch - unalterably they've aligned with TFG) or find offramps so that his presidency is unchecked when they should in fact be pushing back and ruling in favor of the American people and our Constitution.
The temerity of the Supremes to undo free, safe, and secure democratic elections squarely aligns with the intent of the SAVE Act to further erode and diminish the voting rights of everyday American citizens and TFG's deluded assertions our elections are rife with voter fraud and rigged outcomes.
Know what I miss?
Like, a "Man, I really wish they still made these" kinda' longing?
Mickey's Banana Flips.
Sometime in the late 80s you just couldn't find 'em anymore. Even at the baked goods outlet stores though I understood for a decent spell Nickles in Ohio were still making their version.
Every few days I muse about a return trip to Iceland. Prior to the pandemic I had planned for an extensive trip to Wales, Ireland, and Scotland then a stay in Iceland on the return home. The pandemic changed everything as had becoming the primary caregiver for my parents. Still on the to-do list.
2/ For us to thrive, we humans, our environment, the whole of nature and all its species, must flourish, expand even. The outdoors is important to the development of our children and for we adults, our general wholeness. It is the simplest, most striking equation... Killing the Earth kills us all.
1/ I'm not expecting tree hugging, but public land belongs to all of us whether we utilize it or not. You don't have to hunt, fish, hike, or camp to understand how intrinsic the preservation of undeveloped land and the maintenance of ecosystems are to the larger issues of clean air and clean water.
3/ under TFG and his gang of enablers and supporters is not merely vexing; it is rightly disturbing and hurtful.
With a principled role in global affairs and demonstrating right-minded leadership in international crises, this chaos and decay cannot be who we are.
We all need to be free of TFG.
2/ But we are also a nation that has led the world in opposition to tyranny and brutality, the tip of the spear for democracy. That we've been a bedrock for the rule of law and representative government. That we've been just and charitable. That we've been aspirational.
So, our moral rot under
1/ Often, I'll hear the refrain "This isn't who we are!" and while I fervently want to believe it, I know my history and having lived some of it, recognize our country has had its share of darkness and turmoil. We've committed evil acts. We've suppressed, oppressed, and been destructively hegemonic.
TFG is a corrupt, cretinous bottom feeder with a monumental sense of self-importance and entitlement and if he thought branding prophylactics with his name would accrue a small fortune he'd do it in a masturbatory second.
Uncertainty is pervasive throughout the Gulf region as the essential tenets of this ceasefire have become increasingly in doubt. Someone is punching some damn deadly holes in this agreement as the principals angrily point fingers and pitch disconcerting counter-narratives. Everything's unsettled.
I suspect any so-called victory in TFG's reckless war of choice will be pyrrhic. It was a dangerous decision and whatever temporary off-ramp TFG has taken so he can make this needless action look like a win may not hold. Nothing won, really, as it seems more has been badly squandered than attained.
![God Wills It! Guy de Lusignan Kills the Messenger from Saladin (Kingdom of Heaven, 2005) [4K]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vnplixtbchyzpichsqzmnttr/bafkreiaqkk6qn2gou4slfm6ei723cwqppyyw2dvgtlotv2xpfzf6fcths4)
So TFG and his warmongering lemmings are really leaning into the religious messaging to contextualize our war with Iran (i.e. God supports it). It's that whole End Times bit and their animus towards any religious practice that isn't their version of Christianity (which is a whole 'nother debate).
Photo taken three minutes before the Orion spacecraft and Artemis II crew disappeared behind the moon (emerging on the other side approximately 40 minutes later)... It's a keeper. Good enough for the family album...
I fully understand the cutthroat aspects of the NFL. I just don't like it when my Lions get tarred with the nastier aspects of the business. Not a virgin, okay? But damn, we should have done a better job of managing, not just the optics, but the more substantive, granular decisions this offseason.
Just 'cos...
