Category: Opinion

The Mouth Of The South

And that would be James Carville….the quintessential grumpy old man….you may remember him from his opposition to progressives or his statement that if progressives win he would leave the Democratic Party, among other jewels from this old fart.

I do not agree with him on too many things simply because he is entrenched in the corporate wing of the Party….but I will say that on one point I do agree with him….and that would be his takedown of Jeffries for his meeting with that bastard Kushner….

Here is what he had to sat….

James Carville launched into a passionate and incendiary takedown of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) Monday after news that the latter met with Jared Kushner recently surfaced.

“Let me try to explain something,” Carville said. And Hakeem, you’re a smart guy … let me explain something here, very, very clear. You have Democrats that have a different position on Medicare for all, whether that’s a good idea. You have Democrats that have different positions on effective policing, and there’s a whole variety of subjects of which there are some disagreements within the Democratic Party.”

But Carville said that doesn’t extend to everything.

“On one thing, on one thing, there is no disagreement,” he said. “There’s unanimity. And it is simply this: in the opinion of every Democrat in the United States, progressive, moderate, middle road, left, f*ck, I don’t know whatever you want, we believe one thing above all. These people are a pack of felons and traitors and you do not meet with them. You do not meet with them!”

A more appropriate response to Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law via Ivanka Trump, would be to “drag his ass before a committee and find about what backdoor-dealing whorehouse sh*t he’s got going on with Steve Witkoff and everybody else,” Carville added.

The Trump administration and assorted family members and cronies “have no idea what they’re doing,” he continued. “They’re making every backdoor bullsh*t deal they can. And we don’t meet with them. Don’t meet with them.”

Carville added, “F*ck these people!”

(mediaite.com)

There is not much that I agree with Carville on but in this case I will have to bow to his words.

He is right….there is no way they can agree on anything unless it is who gets the loin share of the corruption.

Jeffries is a corrupt corporate Dem that is only interested in the cash thrown his way….when I heard about the two meeting I thought it smell like rotten fish….and I have not changed my mind.

What do you think of Carville’s takedown?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Let’s Look At The Dems And Their Possibilities

We all know that the mid-terms are less than 6 months away and the voted in the primaries has already began….and the Dems are making some in-roads into taking back Congress.

But is it sound Democratic polices or just a dislike of Donny?  Sorry to say it appears the hatred of Donny and his policies that is driving this bus.  But will the hatred of Donny save us?

My opinion is the rise of Dems will do little to save us from the damage of Donny.

But here is an opinion on this phenom….

All told, Democrats already seem as though they’re headed for a great midterm election. Voters already troubled by the state of the economy now have the impacts of Donald Trump’s teeter-tottering war in Iran to contend with, and polls tell us they aren’t happy ⁠– per poll averages from the analyst Nate Silver, nearly 55% of Americans oppose the war in Iran, 61% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, and 57% of Americans disapprove of Trump overall. As it stands, Democrats have a six-point advantage in generic congressional ballot polling over Republicans.

And Republican hopes that a mid-decade redistricting rush would save their tight majority in the House have been frustrated. The partisan gerrymandering war of the last several months peaked with the victory of a ballot measure in Virginia that allows the state’s Democratic legislature to draw maps that would eliminate three Republican seats and a riposte by Florida Republicans who approved their own map that could allow Republicans to gain as many as four seats in that state – mere hours after the supreme court struck down provisions in the Voting Rights Act banning racial gerrymandering.

While the redistricting battles will drag on, electoral history and Trump’s standing give Democrats plenty of reason to presume it will take the House in November ⁠– on average in elections since the end of the second world war, the president’s party tends to lose well over 20 House seats in midterm elections and Republicans currently hold the chamber by just three. And given polling for competitive races in Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, and elsewhere, even the Senate may now be in Democrats’ reach.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/04/democrats-trump-election-voter-poll

Some voters see the likes of the mayor of NYC, Bernie and AOC, among others as the true intent of the Democratic Party and also see them as the savoir of a struggling party.

Progressives are gaining in all quarters….as a hard Leftist I see this as a positive change….but there is so much to be done will it be enough?

This year marks 250 years since the first American Revolution. Yet the American ruling class has no grounds for celebrating the occasion. The country they have ruled for a quarter millennium is teetering on a catastrophe.

As they survey the state of the nation from the bird’s-eye view of their skyscraper penthouses and corporate boardrooms, from their gilded halls of power, and their remote luxury islands, they see a picture of decline. As they look at this country’s position in the world, the mood of its population, perception of its institutions, quality of its political leadership, and its economic trajectory, they have no reason for optimism in the years ahead.

We are living through a historical pivot. On the global stage, US imperialism has lost the hegemonic grip it once held. In the space of 25 decades it has matured from colonial infancy, to unrivaled colossus, to the irreversible frailty of senile decay. Its strength has waned for decades, but in the 2020s, the gradual downward slope has started to tip into free fall. When future historians look back on the country’s curve of rise and decline, they’ll identify this decade as the tipping point.

Capitalism’s historical mission has come and gone. The next American revolution is approaching.

I say bring it on!

Get money out of politics, silence special interests and lobbyists, enact term limits and mandatory retirement requirements….work on things that will make any change permanent for that is what Donny and the Bros are attempting to do as I type.

It is time to make this country a great nation…..a beacon of democracy and freedom that it use to be….

Change is good and NOT to be feared.

Bring on the new American revolution.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Personal TomDispatch Farewell (of Sorts)

There are many of us that are critics of the Donny bunch that read TomDispatch….op-eds written for those of us that still think for ourselves….

There is some sad news….Tom Englehardt is stepping down as editor-in-chief….

 

https://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2026/06/07/a-personal-tomdispatch-farewell-of-sorts/

 

I for one will miss his insights….these are big shoes to fill and I wish Nick Turse good luck with the new gig.

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

Can We Be Hopeful?

These are days that try men’s souls….our nation seems to be dissolving in front of our eyes.

Many of us are worried the nation will destroy itself and others are just as certain that all will be okay if we just give it time to straighten itself out.

This is an opinion piece along these lines…..

I grew up in a place called Freedom.

Freedom, Pennsylvania, to be exact. In the borough of Economy. My high school is in a town named after the American Bridge Company. The son of an Army veteran and a nurse. A literal white picket fence. Family of five. A dog. The American Dream by many measures.

Nearly 40 years later, I’m not sure I believe in that American Dream. And I’m not alone in that doubt. This year, the United States will celebrate 250 years of independence — with fireworks, reenactments, and the familiar stories of founders and freedom. But for a lot of us, the milestone lands differently. Not as a celebration, exactly. More like a question we can’t stop asking.

Independence from what? And for whom?

I’ve watched the definition of freedom narrow in my lifetime. I’ve felt the quiet suggestion — sometimes subtle, sometimes loud — that people like me are outside the frame of what this country was meant to be. And yet, queer people have always been here. In towns like mine. In families like mine. Serving, building, showing up. We were never separate from the American story; we were just edited out.

When I say I’m not sure I believe in the American Dream, I mean: I’m not sure the version I was handed was ever the whole truth. What I’m still reaching for is something underneath it — a possibility that requires participation, friction, and revision. Something that asks more from us than nostalgia.

Which brings me to hope. And how hard it is to hold onto right now. Author and civil rights activist James Baldwin once wrote, Hope — the hope that we, human beings, can be better than we are — dies hard; perhaps one can no longer live if one allows that hope to die. But it is also hard to see what one sees. Published in 1972. It could have been written this morning.

https://thefulcrum.us/democracy/i-m-not-optimistic-about-america-at-250-im-still-hopeful

What do you think?

I think we can survive….but not from the sidelines as a by-stander….I think we need to go out and make our positions known and demand our rights and the survival of our country.

But that is just me.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Support Our Troops

Memorial Day has come and gone and all day long we heard (if you were out and about) just how massive our support for our troops is….sorry but Memorial Day is not about supporting the troops but rather those that had their lives taken from them in a time of war.

“Support our troops” is a catchphrase, almost a mantra, often used by cynical politicians to suppress dissent about their disastrous wars of choice. Basically, dissenters are accused of being unpatriotic because their criticism allegedly betrays the troops and weakens national resolve. It’s a BS argument but it’s often compelling and even convincing to some.

Americans have a civic religion defined by the Pledge of Allegiance, the flag, the National Anthem, military parades and pageantry, and U.S. history taught as heritage and as a celebration of American goodness and greatness. When you step outside of that, when you criticize it, dissent from it, you must be prepared to be attacked as a heretic.

Back in 2010, I wrote an article for TomDispatch in which I argued that not every American troop is a hero. I argued instead that real heroes are few and far between, and that the ideal of heroism shouldn’t be associated so closely, even almost exclusively, with military service. These are obvious points (to me, at least), but I took some flak for suggesting that merely donning a military uniform doesn’t and shouldn’t make one a “hero.”

I remain convinced that hyping the troops as universal “heroes” isn’t a form of support. The troops know better. If you truly want to support them, listen to them. Be an informed and knowledgeable citizen. Speak your mind and don’t be afraid to criticize those who seek to use the military for dishonorable or indefensible purposes.

Since this is America, theoretically land of the free, feel free as well to speak out against the military. Our founders were suspicious of large standing armies and were wary of wars as being especially pernicious to democracy.

We Americans celebrate our troops for defending freedom, yet we paradoxically attack those who try to exercise their freedom by denouncing war and militarism. You can’t have it both ways. Unless you want hypocrisy instead of democracy, you can’t celebrate freedom while denying it.

This was, of course, the so-called original sin of the American republic: celebrating freedom while also enshrining the institution of slavery. Rank hypocrisy led inexorably to the U.S. Civil War.

https://original.antiwar.com/william_astore/2026/05/24/support-our-troops-what-it-really-means/

This pseudo-religion is practiced everyday….with the singing of the anthem or the reciting of the Pledge, etc….but most participate because everyone around them is doing it….

I have a hard time with people that blindly thank me for my service but know nothing about me or how I was treated when I returned home.

If you want to ‘thank them for their service’ then become more engaged in what they must go through to return to civilian life….in some cases it is not an easy transformation.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Are These F*ckers High?

I have read some disturbing and completely idiotic stuff coming from Donny and his band of moron but this one takes the ….Are You High?…category.

This story from The Hill….

The United States Postal Service (USPS) could begin mailing handguns if a proposed rule from the Trump administration receives approval.

Filed last month, the proposed rule would allow Americans to mail concealable guns, like pistols and revolvers, to anyone in the country. Protections similar to those for mailing long-barreled rifles and shotguns, which require them to be unloaded and securely packaged, would likely be applied.

The USPS reviewed public comments due on Monday before making any changes to its rules on handguns.

Concealable handguns have been banned from being mailed unless they come from licensed dealers since 1927. The Department of Justice called the law against mailing handguns “unconstitutional as applied to constitutionally protected firearms, including handguns, because it serves an illegitimate purpose and is inconsistent with the Nation’s tradition of firearm regulation.”

The National Rifle Association (NRA) praised the decision, claiming that the “USPS handgun prohibition continues to create massive and needless headaches for law-abiding gun owners.”

The USPS reviewed public comments due on Monday before making any changes to its rules on handguns.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) praised the decision, claiming that the “USPS handgun prohibition continues to create massive and needless headaches for law-abiding gun owners.”

Attorneys general from around two dozen states sent a letter on Monday urging the USPS to withdraw the proposed rule. They argued that the proposal would make it easier for felons to access handguns.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) is among those state attorneys general pushing back on the proposed rule, saying that the proposed rule would “make it easier for criminals and abusers to access firearms,” calling it a “slap in the face to gun violence survivors and law enforcement.”

“We cannot ignore the dangerous consequences of this proposed rule, which could open the door for prohibited individuals to obtain weapons without background checks or regard for state firearms laws,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said in a statement. “This irresponsible loophole blatantly disregards public safety and would create a direct strain on state resources.”

Everytown for Gun Safety president John Feinblatt told The Associated Press that the proposed rule would turn the USPS into a “gun trafficking pipeline” for illegal weapons, “while stripping law enforcement of the tools they need to prevent and investigate gun crime.”

The NRA’s executive director for its Institute of Legislative Action John Commerford told the AP that thanks to the Trump administration, “USPS will finally allow these firearms to be shipped under the same commonsense safety conditions as rifles and shotguns.”

(thehill.com)

Who decides who is ”law abiding”?

What’s next from this admin a book of instruction on the proper use of a gun at mass shootings?

This is pour insanity….but what can we expect from the group holding all the power?

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Re-Post From Calico Jack

One of my blogging buddies writes some interesting stuff and this one is in-depth look and should be shared with the blogosphere.

Plus I love the “I Think’ logo….gotta have a t-shirt with that on it….

John Madden Explains Trump’s 2024 Victory (And What Democrats Need To Do About It)

I think the Dems are nowhere near saving this country from the chaos that Donny has created….but sadly we will just have to wait and see if they have a plan (I mean a real plan not some vague bullshit from their tiny minds).

I enjoy Jack’s writings hopefully you will find it as interesting as I do.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Taking It To The Streets

Tomorrow is May Day, the international day of the worker, and there should be protests and marches on a global intensity but for this post I want to talk about here in the US.

On May 1st, workers, students, and families across the United States will refuse business as usual in the next national mobilization planned after No Kings. As many as 3,000 events are anticipated across all 50 states, building on more than 1,300 May Day actions last year.

In Chicago, Illinois, the school district officially made May Day a “civic day of action” with instructional time and field trips to the 1pm rally in that city planned. In Guilford County, North Carolina, the board of education voted to provide teachers the option of attending the May Day rally to pressure legislators for much needed resources for the school district. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, more than 160 actions are planned statewide and the state will launch its Truth Commission aimed at documenting human rights violations by ICE agents. In Detroit, Michigan, the City Council passed a resolution declaring May 1, 2026 as May Day, recognizing it as a day to celebrate the power, dignity, and solidarity of working people. In Durham, North Carolina, the Board of Education voted to make May 1 a teacher workday, enabling teachers to attend the rally. Missourians are coming together across the Show-Me state to: protest corporate-backed lawmakers ignoring the will of voters by gutting paid sick days and passing an Everything Tax on working families, grow the movement of service industry workers’ efforts to unionize, halt AI data center developments, and demand corporations like Amazon and Enterprise, headquartered in St. Louis, cut ties with ICE.

Across the country, more than a dozen cities have announced plans for “No Work, No School, No Shopping” modeled off of Minnesota’s day of truth and freedom organized this past January.

May Day Strong is an effort anchored by 500 labor and community organizations making three demands:

  • Tax the Rich: so our families, not their fortunes, come first
  • No ICE, No War: no private armies to serve authoritarian power
  • Expand democracy, not corporate rule

Those demands are backed by the Real Affordability Agenda, a concrete policy blueprint covering housing, wages, health care, education, and worker power with over 100 bills to tax the ultra-rich to fund schools and critical services being presented in state houses across the country.

https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/as-many-as-3000-events-anticipated-for-national-may-day-mobilization-as-workers-educators-and-communities-demand-workers-over-billionaires/

There is a massive plan for the May Day celebration…..preparations are being made….

May Day is not just a show of force. It is a test of everything we have been building. May Day is how we build the muscle to keep fighting from May 2 onward.

Workers and communities moving together is the only thing that has ever shifted power away from those who hoard it. That is what May Day is for.

To those defeatists out there they will say this is a waste of time….to them I say….’nothing ventured, nothing gained’….at least people are starting to realize that they need to be heard….to them I say keep shouting.

If the halls of government will not listen then take it to the streets and be heard.

If you are interested in the day then I can help….May Day Strong’s website has a searchable map to help people find May Day actions and sign up to host their own. Signing the May Day pledge is another way to get connected and receive more information about events.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”