Quote of the Day -- On Insurrection and January 6

"If we minimize what happened on Jan. 6th and if we appease it, then we will be in a situation where every election cycle, you could potentially have another constitutional crisis, If you get into a situation where we don't guarantee a peaceful transfer of power, we won't have learned the lessons of Jan. 6." --Liz Cheney, Republican, Arizona

Quote of the Day -- Former President Karma Ediction

"At this point, Donald Trump is the only President to have more open grand juries than election wins," Neal Katyal says as The Daily Beast reports that two Georgia grand juries are underway in an investigation of the former President.

This Republican Party President--and What He's Not Doing

 So thi is where we stand now with this Republican Party President. He's fighting, still fighting to ignore our vote, our votes, our election and to deny our Democracy. But he's also doing this now, today.

Trump skipped a coronavirus meeting with G20 leaders to play golf

It's unreal.  I mean it is literally unreal. This guy keeps getting away with so much.

This, then, is what it boils down to now. This is what needs to happen.

Republican leaders swore an oath to defend the Constitution. That means telling Trump it’s over.

So how about it, Republicans? We're in the worst, most killing, deadly international pandemic in the last more than 100 years and this man, this president Trump of yours is clearly not doing his job. Worse, far worse, he's trying to ignore or deny our election.

We've had enough. Go. Talk to him. Tell him. It's over. We're done. We have to move on. For the nation's security, for our national security, we have to get this done. He's got to go. For once in his life, he has to be a mature, responsible adult and face the music, face this responsibility and reality.

Quote of the Day -- Timely Presidential Edition

 

George Takei       @GeorgeTakei

Do you know what they call someone who lost but stubbornly refuses to acknowledge that fact? 

A loser.

#Throwthebumout

The Donald Trump/Republican Party Election Platform 2020

In a nutshell.

Vote Trump?

Vote Republican?

I don't think so.

Congratulations, Missouri!! You Done Good!!

Yes sir and ma'am, Missouri won yesterday with our election and we won in at least a few ways. Here are some of those.

First, more and bigger than anything else, we won on Medicaid expansion.

Missouri voters OK Medicaid expansion 

over GOP objections

It was obscene and insane we didn't have this years ago. We were literally turning down and turning away federal dollars we could have otherwise gotten--and people would have been helped with health care at the same time.  Lunacy. Thank goodness we finally have this now.

For an overview of our statewide good news yesterday.

Here’s who Missouri Democrats pick to challenge incumbent Republicans in November

Some highlights from this Kansas City Star article:

...former Kansas City councilwoman and mayoral contender Alissia Canady, who cruised to victory over Gregory Upchurch to earn a shot at incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe.

And then there's this from the same article:

The wins by Finneran and Canady solidify the Democratic ticket moving into the fall, where Democrats hope to win back statewide offices that are all currently held by Republicans.

State Auditor Nicole Galloway faced no serious opposition in Tuesday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, making her the party’s flag bearer heading to November.

“Gov. Parson had his chance. He failed the test of leadership. It’s time for a change,” Galloway said during her victory speech Tuesday night.

And she's so right, so correct.

These next two were welcome news, too, if not surprising.

Democrats Greg Razer and Barbara Washington won their respective primaries for open seats representing Kansas City in the state Senate.

This one was a big, big surprise, at least to me.

Longtime St. Louis Rep. Lacy Clay unseated by Black Lives Matter activist Cori Bush

A bit from the article:

A major figure in Missouri Democratic politics fell Tuesday night as community activist Cori Bush upset 10-term incumbent William Lacy Clay, Jr. in the 1st Congressional District, unofficial election results show.

Bush, 44, pulled ahead with 48.6 percent of the vote to Clay Jr.’s 46.5 percent, according to the Associated Press.

Clay, 64, has represented Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, which includes St. Louis City and parts of St. Louis County, for 10 terms since 2001. He replaced his father, William Lacy Clay Sr., who served in the role for more than three decades starting in 1969.

That's pretty incredible by itself. It will be very interesting to see if this is part of a larger movement and trend.

It will be interesting, too, and hopefully nothing but wonderful, to see if we Missourians overturn the Republicans' attempt in Jefferson City to undo our Clean Missouri legislation this November. I believe it's going to sail through.  We absolutely need to keep them from gerrymandering the state worse than it already is.

On to November and let's win there!

VOTE!!

And VOTE BLUE!!

The Big Takeaway From Yesterday's Election

Okay so we got that election out of the way, for better or worse.

Thankfully, we are now down to only two candidates for mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. That trying to weed through a dozen was a bit crazy but hey, this is America. We love choice.

No surprise, I don't think, the vote to possibly help pre-kindergarten with daycare died. Between the fact that even the school district didn't support it and that it was "just one more tax", I can't say I'm surprised it died.

And now we have 2 choices for mayor. The differences couldn't be more stark, could they? Jolie Justus and Quinton Lucas? Yet more of us will have to go out and do some more homework, for those not fully familiar with both.

But here's the big takeaway, the big blessing, for me, anyway, and maybe for a lot of us--the entire city?--after this election.

We likely--hopefully?--don't have to hear from or about Clay Chastain any longer.

Understand, this is not a post to mock, ridicule or otherwise make fun of Mr. Chastain. Not at all.

But come on.

We have seen and read and heard so much from and about him over the last several years and it seems he doesn't even really live here.

I get the sense he was sincere and well-meaning, good intentioned with his hopes and plans and dreams and ideas for our city. I'll give him that.

But you ought to live here. And you ought to live here full time.

And you shouldn't have what seem to be kooky--or worse--ideas. 

As mayor, you would have to lead all of the city. Everyone would have to come along with you. That means being with and behind you on your ideas.

Too often, it seemed Mr. Chastain had his own, very headstrong ideas but that much of the metropolis wasn't with him on them. I could be wrong on this but I don't think so.

So with this, Mr. Chastain, I think it's safe to say, again, for most of the area, maybe thank you for your thoughts and ideas and efforts. Thank you for those intentions. We wish you well.

Now, go, enjoy retirement.

Wherever you live.

Vote No On Prop A August 7

What "Right to Work" legislation gets people.

No on Prop A Moved to Aug 7th 

Missouri Jobs With Justice

Links:

“Right-to-Work” States Still Have Lower Wages 

Wages Are Lower in States With These Laws

New Study Confirms that Right-To-Work Laws 

Are Associated with Significantly Lower Wages

So-called “right-to-work” is an assault on wages

If Someone Like Trump Can Do It, This Guy Should, Too

It would be fantastic if Democrats would start running candidates like this guy and end up winning.


Links:

Meet Randy Bryce: The 'Iron Stache' coming for Paul Ryan's

Randy Bryce for Congress 2018

Democratic union ironworker Randy Bryce running 

against Ryan

Randy Bryce for Congress - Home | Facebook

Let's Be Clear On This Election

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what happened this past Tuesday. This is what took place, the above. And it occurred because the Republicans and Republican Party has done four things to load the votes and elections their way.

First, they have loaded state after state and district after district with gerrymandered and heavily gerrymandered districts. They make those districts snake through areas in order to give themselves more votes. It's well-known and documented.

Second, they write, propose and get passed as many "voter ID" laws as they can, in their obvious and direct efforts to get fewer of the elderly, Blacks, Latinos, Hispanic, Mexican, minorities, poor and physically-challenged to vote. By doing this, they've made clear they get fewer Democrats in the voting booth.

Third, they helped tear down the Voting Rights Act in recent years so, again, they can get fewer minorities in general but Blacks, specifically, to vote.

Finally, all of this helps load the Electoral College their way so what happened Tuesday, what's shown above, happens. More vote for someone but the Electoral College snaps that vote away. Candidates like Al Gore, first, in 2000 and now, Hillary Clinton, this year, win the popular vote but don't officially win the election.

If you go to this link, it shows Hillary Clinton got nearly 6 hundred thousand more votes than Trump.

US elections 2016 live results

We cannot and we will not merely bemoan the system.  We must change it from within.

Quote of the Day -- Timely

After this election, H.G. Wells' quote seems even more poignant. Carl Sagan pointed this out, too, years ago.

"Civilization is in a race between education and catastrophe. Let us learn the truth and spread it as far and wide as our circumstances allow. For the truth is the greatest weapon we have.”

--H.G. Wells

It's Election Day!

Don't forget to vote!

Eight Years Ago Today

Eight years ago today, one Barack Hussein Obama was elected into office, the highest office in the nation and the most powerful office in the world.

Don't forget. We can never forget.

And now, let's do it again, with and for the first woman, this coming Tuesday.

Vote.

And vote blue.

Compare the Two Candidates

We're coming down to the wire, so to speak, in this far-too-long, far, far-too-expensive presidential campaign (but that's another issue). And we still have the same two candidates for the most powerful government position in the nation and world and one of them is Donald Trump.

So much, heaven knows, has been said and written about this campaign and election, of course, and rightfully so. But now, today, next Tuesday, it all comes down to these two candidates.

One of them may, may, mind you, have a problem with emails, though even that's at least questionable. The other one? Check out the list of issues this guy has. In this video, to go minute 6:17 if you can't watch the entire, brief video. It spells out beautifully, perfectly and completely the differences between the two.



As the video shows, the head of the Republican Party in Congress, Paul Ryan, can't even say their candidates name, for God's sake.

And people still support this clown? This scary, dangerous, xenophobic, racist, misogynist, deeply, provenly irresponsible, uninformed clown?

Link:    The Danger Of False Equivalence

Hillary Clinton, In Donald Trump's Own Words

Don't take it from anyone or anywhere else. Take it from The Donald.



So what's the question?

Speaking of Breaking Records and Making History

So the Chicago Cubs win the World Series of baseball after all these years.




What's next? A woman president?

How Great Is This?

A bunch of our neighbors, Canadians, got together and made this video.



In response, we'd like to say thank you to all the Canadians who made this video, first, and second, sorry we're the insecure gits that made this video necessary.

We'll try to make sure we live up to it and don't let you down.

The "Silver Lining" of This Donald Trump Candidacy

With all of the ugliness and sexism and hate and ignorance and racism and misogyny, etc., that has come for and to America with Donald Trump's Republican Party candidacy for the highest office in the nation, as horrible as it has been, there is, in fact, a "silver lining" for us all.

How ironic but how wonderful, too, is it that the Republicans would end up offering the worst candidate for the presidency ever, literally, in the history of our nation, this year so that the first woman to ever get the position and support as a candidate of a major party is not just elected but elected by a huge, historic landslide?

Because wait for it, that's what's about to take place, folks.

Wait for it.

But for the love of God and all that is good, take nothing, nothing for granted. Get out there and VOTE, folks!

Quote of the Day

Hitler Keeps Learning About Donald Trump

I love these things. They began these "Hitler learns..." YouTube videos some years ago, just after the movie came out. I haven't seen one I haven't enjoyed. They're on a whole variety of current social, political and sports topics and events, at least.

So they did one on Hitler learning Donald Trump was the leading candidate for president in the Republican Party and true to the meme, it worked. It's a stitch.


Then, this one just came out since the release of the tape of The Donald being so disgusting and disrespecting of women. Horrible as his comments were and are, the video skewers him wonderfully, rightly and unmercifully.



Enjoy your beautiful, comfortable Autumn Sunday, y'all. I know I am.