The least

"the poor, the sick, the afflicted, the least, the lost, and the left behind"

Republicans never talk about these Americans. Even Democratic politicians usually only talk about "middle class working families". Man, I am sick of hearing that phrase. It seems to say that those who are alone, those who are elderly, disabled, poor, homeless .... that we don't even exist for them, that they won't work for us because they think we don't vote.

But that's not true for Hakeem Jeffries. And that's why I'm glad he has been chosen as the leader for House Democrats.

Fuentes

Meet Nick Fuentes, who most recently had Thanksgiving dinner with the Republican presidential candidate for 2024, Trump. You've no doubt heard he is a white supremacist, but that's not all. He's a Catholic who wants a religious dictatorship in the US that would, among other things, keep women not only from accessing contraception and abortion, but also from voting. There's so much more ... read his Wikipedia page if you have the stomach for it.

This is the Republican party now. The only difference between Fuentes and most Republican politicians is that Fuentes is willing to lay it all out. If you don't believe me, think Marjorie Taylor Greene.

RIP: Irene Cara

Sad to see that Irene Cara has passed away. Perhaps she's most known for singing the song Fame ...

"Fame" is a pop song, written by Michael Gore (music) and Dean Pitchford (lyrics) and released in 1980, that achieved chart success as the theme song to the Fame film and TV series. The song was performed by Irene Cara, who played the role of Coco Hernandez in the original film. It was also her debut single as a recording artist. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1980, and the Golden Globe Award the same year.

Brief But Spectacular

From PBS's Brief But Spectacular series, Dr. Warren Hern runs a clinic in Boulder, Colorado, that has provided abortion services since 1973, the year Roe v. Wade was decided. He shares his Brief But Spectacular take on being on the front line of the fight over legalized abortion in the U.S. for nearly half a century.

The doctor describes his experience with the violence of the pro-life movement ... something that the religious Right sweeps under the rug. Until they take responsibility for that, they will never convince anyone they are "pro-life".

Monarchy

When Queen Elizabeth of the UK died recently, I had a post saying that I thought monarchy was a really bad form of government and that I didn't understand why many Americans were enamored of the royals. To that point, John Oliver has a really interesting new episode on the British monarchy ...

E. Jean Carroll

More about the law and the E. Jean Carroll case ...

Hundreds of New York Women Are About to Sue Alleged Rapists (and Enablers) Under a Revolutionary New Law

Trump said he never met E. Jean Carroll, but here's a photo of Trump and Ivana with Carroll and her husband, which can be found in the case document filed by Carroll in the US District Court, Southern District of New York ...

World Cup

I'm not a sports fan but it's been impossible to avoid hearing about the World Cup in Qatar and the attendant problems. I don't think we should accept the human rights transgressions in Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries. It's like all we care about is economic and political expediency. They won't change, so can't we just dump them?

Chris Hemsworth

Above is an interview with actor Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He discusses a new Disney+ series he's starring in, Limitless. Here's a trailer ...

Hate

The US right is stoking anti-LGBT hate. This shooting was no surprise

[...] There’s a grim routine, these days, to the mass shootings in America. Some elements remain constant from shooting to shooting. Usually, the gunman is a young white man, and usually, he has a history of violence against women. There will have been mental health episodes, or previous run-ins with police. But none of this history will have stopped him from getting a gun. American mass shooters tend to use automatic or semi-automatic long guns, the kind that aren’t available to civilians in other countries. Almost always, they purchased them legally ...

Yes, this is the scenario Republicans have created with their gun fetish and their homophobia.

But it's not just politicians, it's also religious institutions. The Catholic church preaches homophobia. It is still on the books that gay people should not have any romantic or sexual relationships because these are all "intrinsically disordered". It is preached that gay couples should not be allowed to be married. It is preached that gay couples should not be allowed to adopt children. And this is preached to the faithful from womb to tomb.

But it's not just preaching, which the chuch has the right to do. It's that the church lobbies. The church uses its reputational clout and millions of dollars to affect our political system, to influence legislation that affects not just Catholics, but everyone in the United States.

And at the root of all this preaching and all this lobbying is the underlying belief that there is something wrong with gay people. Oh, sure, the church will add disclaimers ... "it's ok to say bad things about gay people, but don't physically hurt them" ... "the church loves gay people, despite how we treat them". This disingenuous passive-aggressive blame-shifting BS fools no one.

It's past time we held not just politicians accountable but the chuch too, for centuries of hate speech and action that results in violence. It is not backed up by the bible, much less by science.

Lunch

Lunch time at the homestead, currently serving chicken and liver Fancy Feast.

Prince Wendell, Misty, Gretel, and Mouse ...

Olive ...

Hansel ...

Dina ...

Dash and Mango ...

Not all the cats show up every time. This is about two-thirds of them. Welcome to my ongoing nightmare ;)

Jack Smith

Lawyer Jack Smith has been appointed by attorney general Merrick Garland as an independent special counsel to handle two possible cases against Trump: the overthrow of the 2020 election and the stealing of government documents.

Up to now, Trump has slithered out of responsibility for all his bad acts, from rape to insurrection. I hope this latest development means that he will finally be held accountable.

Nancy Pelosi

I will really miss Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. She is smart, capable, fearless, principled. She bravely defended us all from the monster and his minions for 4 long years. And that barely scratches the surface of all she has accomplished. Listen again to how Hakeem Jeffries described her when he nominated her for Speaker on 1/3/19 ...

Herschel Walker

Oh, Republican party, you must be so proud!

I've actually watched Fright Night, the 1985 original film, and the 2011 renake, and I can say that Walker is a terrible movie critic. He'll be even worse as a senator.

Bye Trump?

Supposedly, Republican politicians are now doing some "soul searching" after their loses in the mid-terms. Good luck with that, soulless Republicans.

They still don't get why they lost ... they think it was because Trump made bad choices of candidates. They won't take responsibility for what they themselves have done, from robbing Americans of a constitutional right, to making jokes about the attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband. Their search for a scapegoat as a way to save themselves is the political equivalent of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

But anyway, they're only messing with us. They will not abandon Trump ... they can't get elected without Trump's adoring zombie horde of voters. They will be back down at Mar-a-Lago, kissing Trump's thing, before you know it. And that's why we will continue to be treated to the slow motion crash/burn of the Republican party.

Yay!

Hope we keep the House too.

More ...

Some might wonder why I care so much about abortion. It's not abortion I care about, it's the status of women in society. It infuriates me that conservatives, especially the Catholic church, work overtime to keep women in a subservient position in life. Banning abortion and contraception (and divorce) all work towards keeping women economically and physically dependent - we must be allowed to make that most basic personal decision of whether or when we have children.

One more article from America magazine on the elections and abortion ... ‘Lives are at stake’: Catholic leaders react to abortion rights victories in midterm elections. I have a few excepts and comments.

After the passage of California’s Proposition 1, the California Catholic Conference issued a statement calling the decision “devastating for women, children and families.”

How so?

“We must continue to insist on legal protection for unborn human life”

Why is this such a priority above all else when there's nothing about it in the bible?

Votes are still being counted, but a ballot measure in Montana, the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, is also expected to fail.

That's right, and do you know why? Because it is completely unnecessary. News flash - infanticide is already illegal. This kind of law is how conservatives perpetuate the idea that liberals are Satan-worshipping lizard people who drink the blood of children. (read more: Montana’s LR-131 on the verge of failure ).

“Abortion is now legal in Michigan at an unprecedented level, and millions of lives are at stake,” wrote Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron in a letter to Catholics ....“We awake today to the news that Proposal 3 has passed, altering our state constitution to allow for unregulated and unsafe abortion on demand in Michigan,” he wrote, saying that people of faith are “deeply saddened by this grave assault on the dignity and sanctity of unborn, innocent human life.”

Why unsafe? Abortion is actually safer for women than giving birth. "On demand" ... that's what really bigs conservatives, the idea that a woman can decide for herself what happens in her own pregnancy. And about those "deeply saddened" people of faith - a majority of Catholics are actually pro-choice.

On the ballot

Abortion rights advocates score major midterm victories across the country

In the 2022 mid-terms, abortion was on the ballot in a number of ststes. As I go to bed, it looks like pro-choice is winning in all the states. Let this put to rest at last the pro-life movement's lie that a majority of Americans are against a woman's right to choose. It's time the church finally acknowledged this memo.

Hansel

I came across this picture of little Hansel from a few years ago. So cute :)

Lies about Prop 1

One feature of the pro-life movement is that it lies. An example today from the Jesuits' America magazine ...

California bishops: Women deserve better than Prop. 1’s extreme expansion of late-term abortion.

As Americans prepare to cast their ballots this Election Day, Californians have a consequential vote to consider: Proposition 1. “Prop. 1” is extreme and would remove all restrictions on abortion in California, enshrining access to late-term abortion up until the moment of birth, even if both mother and child are healthy. And it would all be paid for by California tax dollars ....

The article is full of untruths, but let's just stick to the first paragraph ...

No, prop 1 does not ... not ... "remove all restrictions on abortion in California, enshrining access to late-term abortion up until the moment of birth, even if both mother and child are healthy".

This is the pro-life movement's favorite bugaboo ... late term abortion, on demand, up until the very moment of birth!!!

It's a lie. California law, like Roe, like the Women's Health Protection Act, provides for abortion access up until the time of viability, not up until birth. The only time something like this would happen is if the health or life of the mother was threatened and for some reason, the fetus could not be removed alive.

Remember that this is also true for all Republican abortion bans that give an exception for the life of the mother.

Here's existing CA abortion law ...

Abortion in California is legal up to the point of fetal viability (generally between 23 and 24 weeks' gestational age), or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person. - Abortion in California

There is nothing in prop 1 that changes California law - it just puts it into the state constitution. Here are the exact words of prop 1 ... Constitutional Right to Reproductive Freedom. Legislative Constitutional Amendment ...

Proposition 1 changes the California Constitution to say that the state cannot deny or interfere with a person’s reproductive freedom and that people have the fundamental right to choose:

- Whether or not to have an abortion.

- Whether or not to use contraceptives.

The reason this is happening is not because California is extremist. The reason for prop 1 is that conservatives overturned a constitutional right women depended on for 50 years, and because conservatives are now planning a national ban on abortion. It's conservatives and the pro-life movement who are the extremists.

Bail

The Republicans have been going whole hog on the crime issue, saying that Democrats are soft on crime. One particular area often brought up is no-cash bail, in which someone arrested for a crime can get out of jail until their arraignment and trial without having to pay an arm and a leg. If that sounds like a bad idea, watch this ...

It's Biden

I see in the news that Trump says he's almost certainly going to run for president in 2024. Of course he is ... that's his plan for staying out of prison. And so now the question is, will Biden be the Democratic candidate in 2024? I believe he will be, and he should be. This is why ...

Yoda

On this cold November morning, Yoda has chosen her little igloo bed from Target :)