Re; our (latest) Speaker of the House: yay. Yay? Because, not only does this extremely conservative pod caster and constitutional lawyer oppose abortion, gay marriage, and the separation of church and state, he also denies the 2020 election result, still. Yay? I’m glad we have a speaker, because the house of representatives has a lot of business to get to, but – FFS. This guy? He looks the part (middle-aged white guy in a suit, and card-carrying conservative Christian) but for all his smooth looks and reasonable seeming niceness – no. Please, no. And – he’s what we’ve got. It’s been a three-week shit-show brought to us by the GOP, and I expect the shit-show isn’t entirely over – but for now, for at least seventy-two hours, maybe a week, or whenever the government needs to be funded again, we’ll at least be free of endless speaker speculation, conference and floor votes and the concomitant failure of anyone but this guy to win enough of his own party conference which is in the majority (basically the equivalent of your family refusing to vote for you), and more bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. Knowing that he got into the Speaker’s chair because he’s a MAGA maggot is not comforting. H wants to end Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare, wants a federal ban on abortion, an end to WIC and other programs that benefit women and children living in poverty (because that’s pro-life, right? not to mention that his state, Louisiana, is among the worst regarding rates of women and children living in poverty). I could go on. This guy?
In 2024, I predict and will be working toward a Blue Wave, putting the people’s house back in the hands of those who don’t traffic in bullshit and performative governance, which is not governance at all. Appearing on Fox News doesn’t not pass legislation that will help the American People. Hakeem Jeffries will make a terrific Speaker, and I for one can’t wait.
And – just yesterday – one more in an endless stream of mass shootings (I believe, but don’t quote me as it might be a larger number, that we average at least two per day?) this time in Lewiston, Maine. Yet another white male was able to get lots and lots of ammo and guns despite mental health issues (thanks, Republican congress!) and is described per the AP as Robert Card, ‘a firearms instructor believed to be in the Army Reserve and assigned to a training facility in Saco, Maine. ..Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023….It did not provide details about his treatment or condition but said Card had reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” the military base.’
I fucking hate guns. Enough already. Long past enough. We need to reinstate the assault weapons ban, including the provisions keeping guns out of the hands of anyone who has had mental health issues within – what’s a reasonable amount of time – NEVER AGAIN, let’s try that, a never-ending period of time, universal background checks, federal databases of all gun sales and purchases. Let’s treat guns as the lethal weapons they are. JHFC. Enough.