The Joke Is On the American People

A few weeks ago I posted a question on Facebook about Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson. He is an insurrectionist who is still serving in the U.S. Senate and as far as we know, isn’t being investigated for his part in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Johnson was given a pack of “alternative” Wisconsin delegates that had the former guy, #45, i.e. Orange Man, winning the state’s electoral votes as well as those from Michigan. There is a law against that. Well, two that would apply: Obstructing Congressional or Administrative Proceedings (18 U.S.C. 1505) and Conspiracy to Obstruct to Defraud (18 U.S.C. 371).

Johnson could be and should be indicted for his actions on January 6, 2021  and the weeks leading up to it. He wasn’t the only U.S. Senator trying to overturn the 2020 election. There were more than a dozen, one of whom is new Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville. He didn’t know the three branches of government nor what we were fighting against in WWII. Not the brightest bulb in the chandelier.

So I posted this message: “I have to ask my Wisconsin friends: WTF! Your GOP senator Ron Johnson was arguing in a Senate hearing that climate change — global warming — is good for Wisconsin … WTF?”

My friend from high school, Dave M., replied “Russia Ron Johnson may very well be the stupidest person on the face of the earth. And HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED!”

I had to remind Dave there was at least one other senator who could be the stupidest in the senate: Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville.

The former college football coach (Auburn) has been ridiculous since joining the Senate in 2021. Now he is holding up the Senate approved military promotions, the flag and general officers that are nominated by the president and approved by the Senate. Up until this year it was an easy, routine task, free of any controversy.

It isn’t just ceremonial. The promotions are important for readiness; positions in NATO, the Pentagon not to mention ground forces and the fleets, need to have their commanding and executive officers in place for seamless coordination during training and when the military is called upon to engage the enemy or help with humanitarian efforts.

Why is Tuberville being an ass? He doesn’t like the policy started by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that says,

“To ensure that we can recruit, retain, and maintain the readiness of a highly qualified force and mitigate the practical effects identified above, I am directing the Department to:

“Create uniform Department of Defense policy that allows for appropriate administrative absence consistent with applicable federal law for non-covered reproductive health care.

“Establish travel and transportation allowances for Service members and their dependents, as appropriate and consistent with applicable federal law and operational requirements, and as necessary amend any applicable travel regulations, to facilitate official travel to access non­ covered reproductive health care that is unavailable within the local area ofa Service member’s permanent duty station. The Department of Defense has long offered comprehensive access to contraception and family planning services for our Service members and their families. That will not change. All military medical treatment facilities with appropriate clinical capability will expand their services to include dedicated hours for walk-in contraceptive care for Service members and, on a space available basis, for all other eligible beneficiaries.”

It goes on. The entire memo is here.

Tommy Tuberville objects to the military facilitating reproductive health care for the millions of members of the military. Texas, for instance, has a number military bases, like Fort Bliss which is in and around El Paso.

Just a short aside: Fort Bliss was first established in 1848, without a name, and then on March 8, 1854 got its name to honor Lieutenant Colonel William Wallace Smith Bliss. He died from yellow fever in 1853.

Maybe this aside isn’t so short. Another big Army base in Texas is Fort Cavazos, which used to be Fort Hood. The military has had enough of naming installations and buildings after traitors, i.e. Confederate officers and enlisted men. But, some areas in Fort Cavazos still carry the name of the traitor, John Bell Hood. The main base is named for the first Latino four star general to serve in the Army, Richard Cavazos, who was a Texas-born Mexican American. He passed on in 2017 at the age of 88.

At any rate, Senator Tommy Tuberville is no friend to the men and women who are now serving and to veterans everywhere. He is a friend to Christian White Nationalists. Tuberville had this to say to radio station WBHM last week: “We are losing in the military — so fast — our readiness in terms of recruitment,” He said. “And why? I can tell you why. Because the Democrats are attacking our military, saying we need to get out the white extremists, the white nationalists, people that don’t believe in [President Joe Biden’s] agenda.”

When Tuberville was asked if the military should allow white nationalists in their ranks, he replied, “They call them that. I call them Americans.”

This is a sitting U.S. Senator. Well, despite the best efforts of many of their citizens, Alabama is still one of the most racist states in the Union. At any rate, anyone who shows this much affinity for white nationalists is at the very least a supporter of bigoted, racist ideology. More than likely, Tommy Tuberville is … one of his aids said Tuberville has a “sarcastic sense of humor.”

j/k He isn’t really a racist. He just acts like one for the cameras and microphones.

Speaking of racists: What is wrong with D.E.I.? When I first heard a MAGA nut bar use that term I went to the World Wide Webs for the definition. My first questions are these: Who is against diversity? Seriously, is there is something wrong with wanting people from different backgrounds in our society? And what is bad about equity? Being against equity means a person wants inequality in our society, as in people of color, as well as non-Judeo-Christian religions and most definitely people who are LGBTQ+ do not and should not have the same rights as we White men of European descent. Then there is inclusion. So we shouldn’t include people of color, or adherents of certain religions or LGBTQ+ .

It looks like people who are against D.E.I. are bigots, racists and bullies.

As we learned today, the former season MVP of the NBA, George Santos, has been indicted on 13 counts that include wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making materially false statements to Congress. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. Of course.

So on Tuesday, May 16, California Democratic Representative Robert Garcia introduced a privileged resolution to expel Santos from the House of Representatives. “Privileged” means it has to come up for consideration within two days. It will need a two-thirds majority to pass and kick the serial liar out. Which is not likely. The MAGA nut bars control the Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, in essence controlling the GOP in the House of Representatives. As McCarthy and his ilk have proven, George Santos ain’t so bad. McCarthy will only refer the Santos saga to the House Ethics Committee and if Santos is convicted (in court), heck, Kev would ask George to resign.

Another funny GOP story: Rep. James Comer, a far right MAGA nut bar from Kentucky was promising to bring down the so-called Biden Crime Family. When it came time to put up or shut up, Comer had to tell Fox host Maria Bartiromo that he had lost the only informant his committee had to provide testimony — and maybe some evidence — of the Bidens’ alleged corruption.

The Republican fantasies … all while they threaten to take the world economy off the cliff by not raising the debt ceiling to cover our debt. Another GOP fantasy: they want to cut all social safety net programs by 22% to screw poor people who depend on SNAP and other welfare programs, including Medicaid and school lunch programs. No surprise they also want to cut veterans benefits by 22%.

Republicans do not support the men and women who are serving, nor do they support veterans. What they do support is the military industrial complex. That’s been evident for decades. We could cut the military budget by 25% without doing harm to the men and women who are in uniform. I bet Tommy Tuberville wouldn’t dream of halting billion dollar weapons programs to make a point.

In an interview with Stephanie Ruhle on MSNBC President Biden said Speaker McCarthy is “an honest man.” That was laughable, but then Biden said it took 15 votes for McCarthy to become Speaker of the House. To win it the California Republican and to sell his soul to the MAGA right to win that job.

McCarthy is a bad joke. The Republican Party is a horrible joke. Why should Democrats try to work with the political party that is all for insurrectionists, grifters and liars? What Dems should work for is absolute control of government, and bury the GOP so deep it will take decades for them to have any influence in government.