TWATs25 For Week Ending 6/12/22

 

So I received this comment::

It’s hard to tell, but it sure does sound like you may be making excuses for the mentally-deranged’s active debasement and predation on kids in our Schools. If so, you are despicable. ....and FYI the actual words *”...separation of Church and State” -DO NOT EVEN EXIST IN THE CONSTITUTION, and —we ARE a CHRISTIAN NATION. Maybe there is a Country for you somewhere that worships Lucifer.

For those that think I am “ making excuses for the mentally-deranged’s active debasement and predation on kids in our Schools.” [sic] Congratulations, you have successfully weaponized the word “grooming” to create a new boogeyman to demonize and stigmatize queer and trans identity.

Being LGBTQ+ IS NOT a mental illness; there is no link between sexual predation and LGBTQ+ people.

The comment is correct “separation of Church and State” does not appear in the Constitution. But,,, the idea has a long history beginning in 1635 with Roger Williams. In 1802 it continued with Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptist Association. And finalized (so to speak) in the 1947 case Everson v. Board of Education, the Court cited a direct link between Jefferson’s “wall of separation” concept and the First Amendment’s establishment clause.

Bear in mind, the only reference to religion in the Constitution is in Article VI: “No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” IOWs, political power in the United States may never be limited to people of one faith – a necessary condition for a “Christian nation” – but must be open to people of all faiths or none.

While this is a Reader Digest version, I strong suggest you study American history related to said topic(s) BEFORE you accuse me of being despicable.

First an update concerning Texas. https://www.yahoo.com/news/court-rules-against-texas-gov-200101887.html

A court in Texas granted a temporary restraining order Friday, which blocks the state’s child protective services from investigating PFLAG families that allow their trans children to receive gender-affirming health care.

,,,

The Travis County District Court’s ruling will stop the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) from investigating the parents involved in the suit, according to a news release from the organizations. For those families, if they are contacted by the agency, they will only need to provide information on their PFLAG membership.

,,,

“That families will be protected from invasive, unnecessary, and unnerving investigations by DFPS simply for helping their transgender children thrive and be themselves is a very good thing,” Brian K. Bond, executive director of PFLAG National, said in the release. “However, let’s be clear: These investigations into loving and affirming families shouldn’t be happening in the first place. PFLAG National and our chapters throughout Texas remain committed to ensuring every transgender Texan is safe, empowered, and can thrive.”

As noted, “weaponizing the child-welfare system against loving families causes irreparable harm.”

What I find fascinating with assholes such as Awes, the need for the most graphic of executions. “They should be lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head! That’s what God teaches. That’s what the Bible says.”

Uhm,,, Where exactly does the Bible state such? It sure ain't Romans 1:23-28.

As Hemant notes, https://onlysky.media/hemant-mehta/christian-hate-preacher-calls-for-the-execution-of-every-single-homosexual/

Needless to say, there’s literally no evidence for any of the claims he’s making about gay people. He doesn’t provide them because they don’t exist. And even though none exist, it doesn’t matter, because he’s not interested in facts. Awes just wants to rile up his congregation with unfiltered hate speech because what are his other options? Preaching about the love of Christ? No thank you.

New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist preachers like these always insist they’re not encouraging vigilantism. They insist they’re not asking anyone to pull a trigger themselves. They get mad when people say they’re calling for the murder of gay people. That’s not true, they claim. They’re just saying that, in a righteous world, the government would do their faith-based dirty work for them.

And as a reminder, this is the same church of Jonathan Shelley who appeared at an Arlington City Council meeting to push back at recognizing Pride Month; now 3 weeks ago https://interestinghmm.blogspot.com/2022/06/last-few-stories-for-week-ending-52922.html

 

It started with Paul Gosar and then traversed the depths of the GQP reaching the lips of Michele Fiore. https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/06/gop-politician-says-uvalde-shooter-transgendering-theres-no-reason-ban-ar-15s/ As Alex Bollinger states, “A Republican elected official in Nevada is joining the chorus of GOP politicians who are trying to deflect blame for mass shootings from guns to transgender people.”

 

A bit of comic relief but,,, this is why FOXNews can not be taken seriously. https://www.rawstory.com/pete-hegseth-speaks-american/

If you remember, Rachel Hamm is the woman that claimed that Jesus appeared in her closet and told her to run for secretary of state in California as a Republican. Thankfully she lost, badly. (As of Thursday, she has 389,583 votes, trailing both fellow Republican Rob Bernosky (660,229) and Democratic incumbent Shirley N. Weber (1.98 million votes).)

But in true GQP fashion, a la Kandiss Taylor, https://twitter.com/RachelHammSOS/status/1535049441752715264

The blatant hypocrisy is mind-blowing although I should not be surprised. Greene's decision to employ Yiannopoulos is a stunt that fits her strategy to attract media attention and troll her colleagues. She is all about headlines, fuck everything else. Milo best be careful he doesnt outshine his boss or he will find himself unemployed again. https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/06/marjorie-taylor-greene-just-hired-ex-gay-rightwing-troll-milo-yiannopoulos/

And finally,,,

There is hitting the bottom of the barrel, when Gaetz said that he would rather give Nancy Pelosi a sponge bath than eat dinner with Adam Schiff.

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1534346935913652224

And then there is becoming the scum dredged out of the septic system. Implying some personal psychological imbalance due to the suicide of Jaime Raskin’s son.

https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1534660228775661569

In the end, AOC sums it up well.

https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1534999896033529856

TWATs for Week Ending 4/10/22

 

Sooooo,,,

MTG has been busy this week. As TPM notes, https://talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo/gop-turns-qanon-pedophilia-accusations-inward-mtg-romney-collins-murkowski-kentanji-brown-jackson

 

After Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mitt Romney (R-UT) announced they would support the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s to the Supreme Court, far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) started trafficking in the most vile of QAnon tropes,,,

Now to be very clear, Greene is NOT the first nor only QOP member to make such an accusation or imply it. “During Jackson's confirmation hearings, several Republicans twisted her record and obscured the facts to suggest that she was soft on pedophiles.“ https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/05/opinions/marjorie-taylor-greene-smear-kbj-filipovic/index.html

As opined by Filipovic,

Greene's comments, as well as her party members' false accusations, do additional damage beyond simply trashing a superlative nominee like Jackson. They also feed into the QAnon conspiracy theory that has bolstered support for former President Donald Trump and years ago took hold of the right-wing fringe -- and seems to be expanding its purview.

In other MTG news, https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/2022/04/07/marjorie-taylor-greene-jimmy-kimmel-police/9501031002/ she can dish it out, but can't stand the heat.

,,,the host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live,” joked this week that Greene was “especially upset with the three Republican senators who said they’ll vote yes on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who’s nominated for the Supreme Court.”  

“She tweeted ‘Murkowski, Collins, and Romney are pro-pedophile,’” Kimmel said.

“Wow, where is Will Smith when you really need him?” Kimmel said, appearing to reference Will Smith slapping Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars last month.   

Greene shared a clip of the comments on Twitter, adding “this threat of violence against me by @jimmykimmel has been filed with the  @CapitolPolice."  https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1511816972610244615

Full disclosure, I am a non-insulin dependent diabetic on Medicaid.

While this story https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/05/matt-gaetz-insulin-cost-increases-waistlines/9467445002/ currently does not effect me, it may in a few years.

Rep. Matt Gaetz justified his vote against a bill that would cap insulin at $35 a month for most Americans by suggesting people with diabetes should first lose weight before Congress steps in to help.  

The Florida Republican claimed on Twitter on Thursday and in his newsletter a day later that obese people, not pharmaceutical companies, are running up the drug's price, writing that insulin's cost "increases as waistlines increase."

"While Democrat posturing of H.R. 6833 victimizes insulin payees as people with an uncontrollable disease that are being taken advantage of and need Big Brother to throw them a raft, lifestyle changes en masse would expeditiously lower demand and the subsequent prices of insulin,” Gaetz wrote.

 

 

Two issues with Gaetz et al.

Insulin has been available for 100+ years and is fairly cheap to produce. Manufacturers of insulin know that patients will spend whatever it takes to acquire it. No one should have to choose between taking their medication as prescribed and putting food on the table or a roof over their head.

Issue number two, as I highlighted last week concerning a Cathy McMorris Rodgers tweet, Some members of the QOP hold to the stance of defending the right of greedy capitalists to be greedy capitalists.

Basically it comes down to Gaetz et al doing a fine job at ignoring the reality of the global market. As I mentioned last week, injectable insulin can range anywhere from $25-$300 per vial. There is no means to justify a 1200% price increase other than greed. Moreover, diabetics must also purchase glucose monitors, test strips, lancets, and other supplies. 

 

 

If this doesn't scare you, it should!! It is right from the Reich's playbook. http://www.theocracywatch.org/taking_over_fifteen_percent.htm And BTW, notice the date, 1993.

Parties are very susceptible to being taken over by ideologues because lower party offices have no appeal to the vast majority of our citizenry. Many precincts are represented by no one. If you decide all of a sudden because it's your Christian duty to become a precinct representative, you only need a few votes to get elected. Increasingly, they have the key say so on who will be a delegate at the national convention, and who will write the party platform and nominate the presidential candidate.

 

 

Religious-right activist Rachel Hamm is running for secretary of state in California as a Republican because she claims Jesus appeared in her closet and told her to do so. Claiming that she has been designated by God “to expose lies, to speak truth, and to establish My Kingdom every single place that you step your foot,” Hamm says she began her campaign because she “would rather be dead than live in a communist country.”

On Wednesday, Hamm was interviewed by Craig Deluz of the California Republican Assembly, a conservative activist group that has endorsed her campaign. During the interview, Hamm announced that if elected, she intends to use her position as secretary of state to make it harder for people to vote. https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/ca-gop-secretary-of-state-candidate-rachel-hamm-wants-to-make-it-hard-for-people-to-vote/

 

And FYI Rachel, voting is a right, not a privilege. 

 

So Rachel, would the folks in this clip be prevented from voting? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTi8ZfsUvPo

 

A knee-jerk response from many supporters of former President Donald Trump when they're asked who instigated the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is that it was "antifa." But when asked to offer proof of that claim, the argument falls flat.

Case in point: comedian Jason Selvig recently questioned a Trump supporter about his belief that the 2020 election results were legitimately challenged by the anti-fascist movement. 

 

Here's the thing Patrick, heeby jeeby witches and the trials they were subjected to, are not based in reality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aGW-Q-CkdI

[For shits-n-giggles - Monty Python witch scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp_l5ntikaU]

As I was finishing this script, this bit of new popped in my feed. As I suspected, Logan is blaming anyone but herself. https://www.yahoo.com/news/lara-logan-compared-fauci-mengele-050003182.html

“I was definitely pushed out,” Logan told Eric Metaxas, a conservative radio host, this week. “I mean, there is no doubt about that. They don’t want independent thinkers. They don’t want people who follow the facts regardless of the politics.”

Sorry to break it to ya lady, but comparing Dr Fauci with Joseph Mengele is not an example of being an independent thinker. You have become a tool of the Reich.

 

With that, I bring this episode to a close by introducing to you, World of Antiquity. https://www.youtube.com/c/WorldofAntiquity Professor Miano 's well thought out challenges to those who peddle pseudo-history. Miano is dedicated to education about ancient civilizations, cultures, and peoples.