It’s unclear when Kurt Vonnegut said this, but given that he died in 2007, it couldn’t have been too recently.
And keep in mind that our society has become far more indecent since Vonnegut’s passing. I doubt he’d be too impressed that almost half of this country’s voters support a criminal sociopath to lead them.
As previously mentioned, 2GreenEnergy “headquarters” is located in a rural part of Central California, and, as such, it has a fairly good-sized contingent of far-right-wingers.
This guy, for instance, feels comfortable in announcing to the world that he owns an assault rifle, and that he will not comply with a ban on such weaponry were it to come along.
The good news is that Trumpers are far less numerous this year, at least judging by the flags and lawn signage, than they have been in the past. My theory here is that most law-abiding people are not thrilled about supporting a convicted felon, especially one who’s facing two additional indictments for his attempt to overthrow the U.S. government.
I join those who would rather live next to a family that walked through 1500 miles of desert, desperate to escape the misery and danger of Central America, than a family of racist morons.
I’m delighted to see such solid acceptance of Kamala Harris, and feeling optimistic about November.
In the pic below, we have Trump asking a little girl if she’d like to be in a photo with him. Her response: “You’re a disgrace to the world.” Said it better than I could have.
Given that this photo was posted less than 36 hours after Joseph Biden stepped down as a candidate in the 2024 U.S. presidential race, a reader notes: Gen Z isn’t wasting any time.
Good point, but progressives face some tough realities here. Getting young people to vote has never been a piece of cake.
But will it be easier in 2024? Perhaps.
Gen Z is going to be around a lot longer than I will. One might think that the idea of life on a planet whose daily news includes stories of more frequent and intense floods, wildfires, and wars over disappearing resources would be extremely unappealing. And ignoring climate change is only one aspect of life here that will unfold if Trump is re-elected. Do our kids want a federal ban on abortion? Education and lawmaking that are “biblically-based?”
But is this generation up to the task of taking a few seconds to register to vote, and another couple of minutes to cast their ballots? So many of them seem so disconnected. Overall, unemployment is low, but well-paying and satisfying career paths have given way to extreme wage pressure and oppressive demands from corporations that use people the same way they use IT, inventory, and real estate.
Here’s a quick summary of the two major U.S. political parties’ main focus going into the presidential elections in November:
Republicans want to keep it simple: The only issues that matter to American voters are inflation and the security of the southern border, and Trump is the only person who can fix these things.
Democrats talk about a broader picture: Inflation and the security of the southern border are both important. The U.S. is experiencing the lowest inflation of the G7 countries, and Republicans are going out of their way to stop any progress that the Biden administration is making re: the border. In any case, anyone who believes that “only Trump can fix …. (anything)” is a moron.
In addition, there are many other critically important issues, e.g., women’s rights, continued job growth, organized labor, and mitigating environmental collapse.
One more thing: Trump is a convicted felon, an adjudicated rapist, and is under indictment at both the state and federal level for attempting to overthrow the U.S. government.
Here’s a conversation between my daughter Valerie and me that I thought some readers might appreciate.
She recently gave birth to my wife’s and my first grandchild, and she’s trying to take off a bit of weight. She knows that I normally don’t eat higher on the food-chain than fish, but she wanted to tell me what she was having for dinner:
Val: It’s boneless and skinless chicken.
Me: But is it chickenless?
Val: LOL!!!
Are these machines “popping up around the U.S.?”
No.
Indeed, they are appearing in Alabama, Texas, and Oklahoma, but how well do you think they would fare in blue or even purple states?
Imagine a grocery store selling munitions for AR-15s in the most populated part of California, New York, or Massachusetts. They’d be out of business within a few days, as patrons would refuse to step through the door of such establishments.
In a call I had last night with my mom, a lifelong Republican, she repeated the talking point we hear so often in today’s ferocious political climate: “dial down the rhetoric.” In this case, she was referring specifically to me and my oft-used description of the former president: “criminal sociopath.”
Obviously, Trump stands to gain if Democrats would cease pointing out that he is under indictments at both the federal and state levels for trying to overthrow the U.S. government, that he is an adjudicated rapist and convicted felon. Yet I’m not sure these are examples of “rhetoric” per se; they seem more like simple news items, like the Dodgers beat the Braves 3 – 1 or the Dow was down 100 points in today’s close on Wall Street.
Now, is he a “criminal sociopath” as I and many other Americans believe? Indeed, that’s an opinion and not a scientific finding, as it’s not up to environmental writers or car salesmen to make that call, but rather to neurologists and psychiatrists. On the other hand, it’s an opinion that’s held by a great number of American voters, as we’re all going to learn in November. Whatever his precise clinical condition, his re-election, at least indicted by his own statements, represents the end to U.S. democracy.
Most of us stand adamantly in opposition.
Apparently, the content of the meme here is true, but the rationale remains unclear. Reports have cited that the measure was taken to protect Italy’s live (soon-to-be-slaughtered) beef industry.
I wonder why it’s the province of government to tell us what we can and cannot eat. The plant-based meat industry in the United States is not strong, but our constitution will not support a ban on the sale and consumption of Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, or even demonstrably useless dietary supplements.
Here’s a reader who agrees: People are amazing to me. Why on Earth does anyone care what others want to eat? I don’t think I would eat lab grown meat, but why do I care if someone else does? It seems like a decent idea to alleviate some issues with the raising of livestock. I just wish people could mind their own business more when it comes to things that won’t affect them. Alas, wanting to control others, a true sign of weakness.
