Happy Indigenous Peoples Day!

 Celebrating a genocidal maniac has never made sense to me. Not to mention he's not even Italian but probably a Sephardic Jew from Spain. Not to mention he never set foot on North American soil. Not to mention he was such a bad navigator he thought he was in India. May as well turn Veterans Day into General Custer Day. Shhh, don't give em any ideas.

Hurricanes And Eugenics !!

 Hurricane Milton, this week's storm of the century, millennium or ever, crashed into the west coast of Florida overnight and tore the roof off of that dump they call Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays which could be the silver lining of this hurricane. Florida officials, including Governor DeSantis, are falling all over themselves to address misinformation about the FEMA reaction yet still not offending the Florida blowhard who started all the bullshit.

Trump owns the Republican Party, and to cross him on anything he spews out of his tiny mouth brings death threats and the Wrath Of Donnie on his shitpost site Truth Social. So, Florida officials have to tread lightly in numerous ways. They must praise the leadership of Governor Shorty, yet still expose the lies and dangerous misinformation from the cult. Because the leader lies, they all lie. The GOP bigwigs, the Rubios, the Tubervilles, the MTGs, the crazies at Fox News all must back up the horse manure that Trump dumps on the airwaves. Thus, there are thousands of people in the affected areas of Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia, still reeling from Helene's destruction, now believe that FEMA is making them evacuate because once they leave, their property is seized, or that accepting the initial $750 (up from $500 when The Felon was POTUS) would lock them into getting no more money. All of this is bullshit, of course. Trump and his minions are lying to bash Kamala Harris on the response from FEMA. They ran out of money because they gave billions to "illegals". It's dangerous rhetoric because it encourages people to stay in harm's way, and distrust people trying to help them. But Trump and his political goons keep it up. Crazy like "they" control the weather tweets from Cro Magnon Marge. It's all so evil. But it's not the most evil thing coming out of a Trump rally lately.

That would be the talk about "genes" and "poisoning the blood of America". Its eugenics, Trump style. It's racist, it's evil, its Nazi-like. But Trump knows that the hordes of human halfwits who follow him will buy into it because they already believe it. Trump is just the blowhorn for their racism. Yeah, I know these dumbulbs all have brown, black and Jewish "friends" just like they always do. But the browns are "invading" their communities taking the shit jobs they wont do. The blacks are "running rampant" in blue cities killing every white person crossing the street for coffee, and the Jews are secretly "running" the whole damn world keeping them down.

Trump has already claimed the new immigrants (browns, blacks, Muslims etc) are "poisoning the blood" of America just like his buddy Adolf said. Now he thinks murdering is in the "genes" of Hispanic immigrants. Nothing can be done. It's all genetics. Except for those two white guys who took potshots at him I guess. Trump's genetics are the best, MIT grads and real estate deals and building giant buildings and stable geniuses. Not to mention bankrupting casinos, banging anything that moves and snorting gawd knows what.

As this election enters its final 26 days, America's Hitler will get worse. His only hope is a giant turnout of white nationalists and dumb white men. Will it happen? I don't pretend to know. But this racist eugenics garbage is just unreal in 2024. This shit is so 1924. 

We are not going back.

More Rants And Thoughts For A Monday!

 This is what every normal person does at 3am right? The former President of the United States, a raging mental case, went straight from dodging flies attracted to his stench, to lying about a very dangerous hurricane that killed over 200 people. Instead of the old thoughts and prayers bullshit, this fuckin guy decided to start exploiting tragedy and death for his own political gain. Oh, I know, none of this is surprising, it's who he is, but to lie to hurting people and knowing that some of them are dumb enough to believe anything he says, is unconscionable. 

The guy is obviously demented, mentally ill AND just a bad person. Whatever syphilis entered his brain probably on Epstein Island is doing a real number on this guy. He's getting worse. FEMA has stolen money to give to illegal aliens. FEMA has stolen money from a bank. FEMA has abandoned red state America. FEMA has no money left. All of these lies hurt real life people whose lives have been destroyed. Why pile more onto them, especially when he knows that to many people his words are gospel. 

"DROP HER! Yeah ok, I'm not sure what that means, does it mean "drop her" as in attacking her physically, "drop her" as in a lot of people are voting for her and I know I'm losing North Carolia and Georgia so don't vote for her? Who knows with this schmuck. To admit he's losing anything is almost impossible to imagine, so I'm going with he's calling on his goons to do something. Mister "Beat the hell out them" and "Don't be nice when you put them in the car" has done it before. This guy cant go away fast enough.

The Leonard Leo/ Harlan Crowe Money Circus has reconvened in Washington. The Supreme Court has already told Texas, yeah go ahead ,podnah, and let women die there's plenty more out there to birth our babies. The Texas abortion law which forbids Texas hospitals and physicians from performing virtually any abortions. The Biden Administration sued them over the fact they were ignoring federal law that required abortions be done in case of a medical emergency. Texas sued back cuz they're intent on keeping the harlots in their place. The notoriously MAGA 5th circuit court locked arms with Texas and upheld the law. Today SCOTUS said yeah, Texas looks good, we aren't taking the case. Good luck Texas Women.

Liz and Dick Cheney. Hey great, you're voting for Kamala Harris. Now go the fuck away. This Cheney love that many of my fellow lefties have for these two is baffling. They aren't fucking heroes, one is war criminal who can't leave the country or the Hague awaits, and the other was a conservative freak who voted just like any other MAGA devotee. And yes, I realize that this is an F5 tornado headed for democracy, and we need to keep an eye on the ball to keep from being stuck in a storm cellar for the remainder of time, but just say thanks and move on because you know if a Cheney ever got close to power again, it would be same MAGA shit, different MAGA leader. Ever notice how Mama Cheney never weighs in on this?

Finally, with a benefit of time, I'm talking Pete Rose. Rose died last week, and the tributes began to pour in, put him in the hall, he's the greatest blah blah blah. I never ever liked Pete Rose. He was a cocky hillbilly who made good by being a great hitter, a great baserunner and a real prick of a human being. Chrissakes, his totally unnecessary headfirst slide bullshit was meant to impress who exactly? Sportswriters? Casual fans? Rose got his nickname "Charlie Hustle" not because of his alleged dedication to giving it 100% but by Yankee great White Ford seeing Rose run to first after a walk in a spring training game and derisively saying "Oh look at Charle Hustle go". Rose was a statutory rapist, a liar, an addicted gambler, a misogynist, in other words, a dumber Trump if that's possible. Not a good guy. Even two ballpark tour guides in Cincinnati stated they didn't care for him. I'll tell you why I couldn't stand him in an anecdotal way.

In 1983, the Phillies and Rose were at Wrigley in the waning days of the season. I was there with about 2000 others because the Cubs were just losers and couldn't draw flies at the end of yet another losing season at the time. The Phillies were warming up in the Wrigley outfield and began to come into the dugout one at a time. Two kids in the front row, just in front of me, appealed for autographs from the Phillies. Al Holland came over and signed, Darren Daulton came over and signed, Mike Freakin Schmidt walked over and signed, Gary Maddox signed and then came Rose. As the kids called for Pete to come over, instead of ignoring them, Pete Rose stopped. He stared at these 10-year-olds for a good 30 seconds then out of Pete Roses's mouth came "Fuck Off" and he hustled off the field. Yeah, great guy. Rest in Peace Big Guy, I hope you heard the same Fuck off at the pearly gates.

Walz V Vance!!!

 Well, I'll tell you one thing, this debate between two Vice Presidential nominees was certainly a throwback to the old days, when two fellas got together and debated civilly and politely. Yeah sure, one was lying his ass off the entire time and the other was at times a bit baffled on how to express himself, but ya know, it was nice to see the civility. For 90 minutes at least.

Vance was the slick Yalie acting like he was the smartest guy in the room and condescendingly mansplaining to the two female moderators his lies. He treated Walz, the midwestern gadfly in a small town in Nebraska who the town knows is the lib but still get along with, like a lesser while lying about everything. Usually when you think you're the smartest guy in the room, you aint even close. The Dunning Krueger Effect, folks. But Vance is incapable of not thinking that because he truly believes his bullshit don't stink. 

Walz was the guy listening to the loudmouth at the end of the bar yet resists all urges to tell the guy he's full of shit because that is who Walz is. Walz grew up in rural Nebraska, where the Republican ties are almost genetic in nature. Walz has heard this crap his whole life, and deals with it accordingly in a gentle polite manner. And boy was the crap flowing last night.

Vance lied about Obamacare, actually claiming Trump "salvaged" it, Yeah, by repealing it for hos concept of a plan. Thank you, John McCain, who actually DID salvage Obamacare. Vance, one of those guys who says your name in every sentence, was like a sleazy furniture salesman who gets in your way as you attempt to rid yourself of his presence. He lied about the economy, he lied about the border, he lied about inflation and for some reason thinks the Veep has power to institute policy. Vance, who was outwardly decent, had that inner Trump ready to go but Walz wouldn't let him unleash it.

Vance claimed he never ever proposed a nationwide abortion ban. Oh sorry, JD, screen shots are forever. Everyone with a sense of sanity knows that 100% bullshit. It was on his website until he deleted it. He pushed the Trump lie that he would veto a nationwide abortion ban. Vance lies even more smoothly than the word salad that comes out of Trumps mouth. He's a trained liar. Thanks Yale.

Walz was unpolished for sure. For the style over substance crowd, this was a slam dunk for Vance. If you're a substance over style person, Vance lost bigly. But cmon now, man, who'd you rather have a conversation with? Thats a real slam dunk.

Then came the election denial when Vance could not bring himself to say that Trump lost because he knew the perp was watching and posting on the joke Truth Social. And when that happened, Walz pounced and knocked Vance out. 'Thats a damning non-answer" was the line of the night. Because it WAS. Stop with the I'm all about the future garbage. Answer the fucking question.

All in all, the debate was pointless. Nobody changed their mind. But it was interesting to see the civility between the two men and their wives as Trump hate posted from Mar A Dumpo. That was actually cool.

So post all the "I have become friends with school shooters" stuff you want, Magats.. That was a slip of the tongue. Denying the election results from 4 years ago was a lie and a calculated one at that. Denying you were for a nationwide abortion ban was also a calculated lie.

It's your choice America. The guy who helps you fix your car or the guy who lies about how to fix it.

The Debate And Other Stuff!

Its the night for the Vice-Presidential debate and why anybody cares is beyond me. Nobody is going to change their mind based on this so-called debate. CBS News has already abdicated responsibility for when J D Vance tells his tall tales by refusing to fact check him. Same with Tim Walz, thought the only lie he's been caught at is that Menards gives back 11% in rebates when he said 10%. So, with Nora O'Donnell, the person who lost control of the 2020 debate, and Margaret Brennan, who both sides everything with a certain Chuck Todd vibe, Vance and his bullshit are free to be said. If Walz wants to fact check Vance, I guess he could but that gets into a whole different aura and gives the horse race press something to talk about. I like Tim Walz a lot. He's a rural Nebraskan who had the sense to get out before the local towns got all up in arms over the town liberal teaching their kids about communism like empathy and fairness. He's basically my Dad, another rural born Nebraskan who came to the big city to thrive. Every time Walz speaks, I hear my father. Every time Vance speaks, I hear my Dad hollering at the TV that the guy is a liar and a phony. This debate shit will be just that, shit. 

Trump went to Georgia yesterday even though nobody wanted him there. Dragging along phony "Christian" Franklin Graham, and a crew that built him a little wall of bricks from destroyed buildings, Trump called for unity then immediately reverted back to form to blame Biden for not contacting Brian Kemp about disaster relief. Of course since it came out of Trumps mouth, it was a lie pointed out by Kemp himself, who said Biden called him first and offered whatever he needed. A contrast from Trump, when he was POTUS, who delayed aid to suffering states because he didn't like the party the Governors belonged to. He made Gavin Newsome beg on camera. He gave Roy Cooper (D-NC) less than 10% of the money needed. But Biden did things like a moral human being and gave little creeps like Ron DeSantis (who voted against Hurrican Sandy aid cuz it was Noooo York City). Trump also went on his social media dumpster fire Truth Social to accuse Harris and Biden of leaving people to drown. So much for "Unity".

Jimmy Carter turns 100 years old today. He is one tough son of a bitch for being at deaths door for two years and hanging on to vote for Kamala Harris. Carter was my first vote for President in 1976. He wasn't my favorite candidate but at least he wasn't Gerald Ford (who looks damn good nowadays). I remember my Dad thinking Carter's smile as 100% crap and the whole evangelical thing as disturbing. But he got by that, and we all voted for him. Then came hard times, inflation, gas prices, unemployment, recession, energy dependence and general malaise. Carter had the balls to tell Americans that hard times were here and let's ride it out together. Then came Ronald Reagan and his "optimism", He'd never tell you hard times were coming or even being here, it was all Carter's fault. Then came the Iran hostage crisis. Good lord, can one man be this unlucky? Ted Kennedy ran against Carter, I supported Kennedy, and didn't even vote for Carter in 1980. Oh, I didn't vote for Reagan either. 

Jimmy Carter left office. He wasn't bitter, He just reverted back to being Jimmy Carter. He spent the rest of his life making the world a better place, He built homes for the poor, he negotiated the end of wars, he monitored elections abroad, he stayed true to himself. 

Happy Birthday President Carter. You were done wrong by people like me. I hope he lives forever to remind us of the best of America since nowadays the worst of America seems to win. 

Judas Priest And Sabaton!

 

Head banging at my age is not easy. But if you get the opportunity to do so, especially when metal gods like Judas Priest come to town, by all means conjure up your 20 something self and go for it. Priest came to the Baxter Arena last night and blew the roof off the place.

Opening act Sabaton, with whom I've become familiar with over the past few weeks, is a Swedish metal band whose songs are based on historical events, mostly wars. Their 1-hour long set was crazy. With a fake tank onstage, which held drummer Hannes Van Dahl at its top, Sabaton hit the stage with Ghost Division and Last Stand, songs about a German Panzer division in WW II and the Battle of Thermopylae, which the movie 300 was based on. Yeah, these guys are heavy duty history buffs who turn head banging into an art. Lead singer Joakim Broden belts out the lyrics with a force that makes your ears tingle. The band itself is loud and proud and never stops coming at you like Stormtroopers, another song about WW II. You get Joakim playing a pink Hello Kitty guitar during Resist and Bite, yet another song about WW II Belgian fighters resisting the Nazis. You get Joakim coming out for Attack of the Dead Men in a gas mask and a firing smoke at the crowd in reference to WW I gas attacks by Germans. This is a band that is obviously ready to rock AND teach you something about history if you want. They are yet another Swedish metal band that opens for rock legends. Much like when I saw Ghost open for Iron Maiden, I must check out Swedish metal. It's smart, it pierces your ears, and it slams you in the grill with a force that you can't help admire. 

Judas Priest hit the stage to a recording of War Pigs and immediately went in to Panic Attack, You've Got Another Thing Comin and Breakin the Law, getting some of the better-known songs out of the way early. Priest is legendary. Lead singer Rob Halford is one of the best front men of all time and at age 73 he proves it. His piercing voice and energy is still there, he doesn't do much talking and leaves the stage through a curtain often, presumably to change outfits and drink lots of water (Sabatons lead singer also left the stage a lot, but presumably to read a history book). All the Priest classics are there. My personal favorite, Turbo Lover, involved a captivated crowd to sing along. The head banging never let up for an hour and 45 minutes. The encore got the crowd involved also with a sing along to Livin after Midnight and then, it was over. It went like that. This is great stuff.

Sabaton and Judas Priest, touring together, is an event you must not miss. Look, my tastes are all over the board. Just this summer I've seen Lionel Ritchie , Earth Wind and Fire, Steve Winwood, the Doobies and Ringo Starr. As great as those artists are, it's not head banging. Keep yourself honest. You cant head bang every night any longer, at least I can't, but the energy saved from just enjoying great, diverse music, means you CAN head bang once in a while. Standing for 3 hours is stressful. Head banging is stress relieving. Between the two of them it doesn't matter, my knees are killing me today.

I cant wait for the next one.

Blue Dot Nebraska!

 You may have heard of this blue dot phenomena occurring here in Nebraska. These lawn signs are popping up everywhere in Nebraska District 2 which is basically Omaha, a city of half a million people in a state with two million. The state is red as hell. It's been red as hell since 1968. It used to be a reasonable red, which means the Republican politicians were not batshit crazy. They included Mike Johanns and Chuck Hagel and Dave Heineman and Charlie Thone. Now it's Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer and Jim Pillen and gang of 32 legislators who do what they are told to do by the GOP powers that be.

The blue dot. Nebraska has, since 1992, a system that allocates electoral votes by congressional district. We have 3. District 3 is full of dying small towns and people who vote Republican because their daddy did and his daddy did and blah blah.. District 1 is Lincoln but contains enough small towns in the surrounding area to keep it red. Then we have District 2, Omaha and its surrounding area and is purple. The first time my vote counted was in 2008 when Barack Obama won the district and thus, one of the 5 Nebraska electoral votes went to him. The second time was 2020 when Joe Biden won the district and in 2024 Kamala Harris will win it because quite frankly people in this big city are sick of Trump's shit.

Oh The Republicans suddenly hate the system they put in. Ordered by their boy and his minions like Charlie Kirk and Cat Turd, the GOP tried to take it back and install winner take all this year because Trump is in trouble. It failed to come to pass in the regular legislative session and again during the recent waste of $200,000 on a special session that accomplished nothing. Recently the issue came up again because Trump is panicking. 

Call yet another special session, Governor Pillen, and get this winner take all system installed by November 5th. Shhhhh, but the only other state that does this is Maine, and they can't change to winner take all after September 18th. So, on September 19th here comes Trumps lapdog, Lindsey Graham, to put the screws to the Republicans in the state legislature that Trump wants winner take all and that Kamala doesn't represent "Nebraska values" whatever the fuck that means.

Mike McDonnell is a state senator from Omaha. He used to be a Democrat then his feelings got hurt so he changed to Republican. He's a former Fire Union head from Omaha. He's also a professional Catholic pro-life advocate who has let that run his life. McDonnell got a call from Trump. He is the 33rd vote to do Trumps skullduggery and make Omaha irrelevant in presidential elections. Whay will he do?

Today Mike McDonnell announced he was NOT going to be the 33rd vote at this time. McDonnell is term limited out of the state legislature, so he's done. But Mike wants to run for Mayor of Omaha and if he blows up the system he's probably toast. So, Mike is not going to be that 33rd vote, at this time.

Pfew! At this time anyway. Meanwhile the blue dot signs permeate this city from I-680 east to the Missouri River. West of I-680 is scared, well off white people and not so many exist out there. 

The blue dot is real. The excitement for Kamala is off the hook here. She will take the district and one electoral vote. Now we just hope the coattails take down District Two's milquetoast Congressman Don Bacon, a retired General who pretends to be nonpartisan but in reality, is just another MAGA vote in the House. He may be a nice guy, but politically he's no different than MTG, Matt Gaetz or Trump himself. His TV ads portray him as a reasonable sort who works with both sides to get shit done. Meanwhile the PACS that support him portray his opponent, State Senator Tony Vargas, as a commie loving criminal advocate spendthrift. Don stays nice, the PACS do the meat chewing.

The blue dot means that Bacon is in perpetual trouble. He won last time because too damn many people voted for Biden and Bacon. But the win was razor thin. This year, with the blue dot excitement, he may be fried bacon. Lets hope so.

Want a blue dot sign for your yard? Go to BlueDotNebraska.com and find out where and when you can get one. It makes one feel like you are not alone.